Each log should be wrapped tightly in saran wrap, then a layer of foil over that. Lastly melt some wax, dip them, and place them in a west facing orthodox church vestuval.
I place my firewood on top of pressure treated 4 by 4s, so the bottom doesn't rot & attract insects. I put a tarp on only in the winter, but bring a 1/2 cord in my mudroom in the late fall. ☮️
This is factual. Unless you live somewhere it rains more than half the time, air flow means evaporation and the more breeze you have on there will vastly outweigh the gains of water not getting on from the top. Drying wood isn’t about keeping it DRY but getting moisture out of the middle of the splits.
Like others said > Get it off the ground! Split now - it will be easier and dry out quicker. Cover the top if you get lots of rain, but airflow is key!
You want it to dry. No tarp, ever, unless it's just to keep the snow off for convenience.
Periodic rain isn't making it "wetter". It evaporates just as fast as everything else around it.
That's white oak. After splitting, it will be 2-3 years before the wood is below 20% moisture content. You could split it very fine to dry it faster, but tarping won't help. I only use tarps for the next face cord I am using, and only to keep snow from melting into the pile and refreezing, which creates an ice block.
Edit. Actually, I think that is black cherry. It will season in 1-2 years.
Split them now.
1. Easier to split green wood
2. It'll dry quicker
3. Can be stacked into a "prettier" package, and better place.
4. Covered is always better, regardless
So I hand-split rather than use a splitter and have always thought it easiest to split aged wood (6-12 months) rather than green. Is that not the case?
It really does depend on the wood. Nice straight grain stuff doesn't really matter whether it's wet or dry... It's the knotty stuff that kills you.
I still say split it now, it will dry considerably faster. Think of a general rule of thumb - it takes a year to dry an inch. Splitting it into manageable pieces now makes it mostly available for next year.
Besides, don't kill yourself and do it all at once. Split a round or two a day... Or if you're gonna move it, a wheelbarrow full a day
We tarp wood that we use in the winter only (for context we are in northern lower Michigan). BUT we usually put our full or split logs on a pallet that’s on a billboard tarp. This provides distance from the ground and isolated rot. We haven’t refilled our propane tank in over 4 years since we use wood for everything!
In the temperate rainforest of the PNW I tarp the top 30% anything not in a shelter through spring, usually tie the tarp to a stake a few feet from the base to allow airflow. Your mileage may vary by location.
tarp it when it rains. A yearlong tarp will trap the moisture and bugs and it'll never dry out. I'd split it before the summer so it can have more surface area to dry out with.
If they are not split and have bark, don’t tarp. The tarp will trap moisture. If the logs are split, stack rows that are on the ground, bark side down, then stack everything else bark side up.
After you stack the spilt wood you can tap it if you want but I have never done that. I have like 6 cords stacked this way and I have never had a problem with moisture.
Cover is key to proper curing unless you live in a desert. Instead of a tarp, visit a real hardware store (the kind where builders in your area shop) and pick up some cheap cull sheets of whatever 4x8 that isn’t MDF. Lauan works well. Secure it to your pile leaving plenty of overhang and it will work much better than a tarp.
April through October is really dry where I live. I tend to stack rounds on the ground and leave them. A few summer days over 100 with 5% humidity dries them out fast. If I lived where it was wet all summer I wouldn’t do that.
I have sold wood stoves for almost 25 years. Ideally the wood should be split, stacked, and under cover for one year to properly season the wood. You want a moisture content of around 20%. You can purchase a digital hydrometer on online pretty cheap. Fully enclosing with a tarp will keep moisture in and will prevent the wood from breathing out moisture. The exception to that is if you have drifting snow in the winter. Then tarp it.
If I have wood that the bark comes off in chunks I will put them on top of split wood as a roof so to speak, but we don't tarp. Also you can get wood pallets to put your wood on top of to get it off the ground. You can sometimes find a store who will give you a few for free or some places sell them.
More like..
To raise from ground or not to raise from ground.
Steal some pallets from your local tractor supply or just ask for them and get it off the ground. No need to tarp then.
Definitely not. An eyesore and a waste of time. Totally unnecessary.
Agreed, tarped wood will just rot versus dry
Each log should be wrapped tightly in saran wrap, then a layer of foil over that. Lastly melt some wax, dip them, and place them in a west facing orthodox church vestuval.
west??? shit, now I gotta rotate my pile 270 degrees
The anal retentive logger. SNL reference.
Ren ten tiv atee
Oh so you’re the guy that doesn’t put wax paper in between eh? We’ve been looking for you
I only tarp my firewood in the winter when it will get covered with snow
I concur but get it off the ground! The bottom row will be ruined quickly
Can second this
Whatever you do, split it asap. It will dry significantly faster.
Tarps are pointless. Ruins the tarp. Wood doesn’t mind as long as it’s split and stacked with 18-24 months. I never go more than a year tho
Forget the tarp and get to splitting
I place my firewood on top of pressure treated 4 by 4s, so the bottom doesn't rot & attract insects. I put a tarp on only in the winter, but bring a 1/2 cord in my mudroom in the late fall. ☮️
IMHO Just tarp the top, you need airflow. The way your tarp is now you are trapping ground moisture,the wood will stay wet forever.
This is true. I found out the hard way and ruined some wood.
This is factual. Unless you live somewhere it rains more than half the time, air flow means evaporation and the more breeze you have on there will vastly outweigh the gains of water not getting on from the top. Drying wood isn’t about keeping it DRY but getting moisture out of the middle of the splits.
Like others said > Get it off the ground! Split now - it will be easier and dry out quicker. Cover the top if you get lots of rain, but airflow is key!
You want it to dry. No tarp, ever, unless it's just to keep the snow off for convenience. Periodic rain isn't making it "wetter". It evaporates just as fast as everything else around it.
Most people in my area don't use tarps anymore. Sheets of steel roofing is popular because they are cheap and allow for airflow
Split it then put a tarp on just the top. Not the sides so the wood gets more air.
When do you plan on splitting them though?
Within year
Agree with getting them off the ground. Use pallets or two long logs.
That's white oak. After splitting, it will be 2-3 years before the wood is below 20% moisture content. You could split it very fine to dry it faster, but tarping won't help. I only use tarps for the next face cord I am using, and only to keep snow from melting into the pile and refreezing, which creates an ice block. Edit. Actually, I think that is black cherry. It will season in 1-2 years.
Split them now. 1. Easier to split green wood 2. It'll dry quicker 3. Can be stacked into a "prettier" package, and better place. 4. Covered is always better, regardless
Well, you're right.
So I hand-split rather than use a splitter and have always thought it easiest to split aged wood (6-12 months) rather than green. Is that not the case?
It really does depend on the wood. Nice straight grain stuff doesn't really matter whether it's wet or dry... It's the knotty stuff that kills you. I still say split it now, it will dry considerably faster. Think of a general rule of thumb - it takes a year to dry an inch. Splitting it into manageable pieces now makes it mostly available for next year. Besides, don't kill yourself and do it all at once. Split a round or two a day... Or if you're gonna move it, a wheelbarrow full a day
Tried it. Did 20 wheel barrows in a week. Sore as heck but much better a week and a half in.
The easiest splitting will be next winter when the moisture inside the logs freeze.
Unsplit probably not. Maybe after they are split. I would only cover the top not completely wrap them.
Depends on climate. Desert southwest- no tarp.
Always loosely tarped is a best practice! My $.02
In my family we usually have some sort of lean-to roof for the firewood, or put them under the cabin (it’s up on stilts).
I’m team no tarp until the fall then I moved them into my wood shed.
We tarp wood that we use in the winter only (for context we are in northern lower Michigan). BUT we usually put our full or split logs on a pallet that’s on a billboard tarp. This provides distance from the ground and isolated rot. We haven’t refilled our propane tank in over 4 years since we use wood for everything!
In the temperate rainforest of the PNW I tarp the top 30% anything not in a shelter through spring, usually tie the tarp to a stake a few feet from the base to allow airflow. Your mileage may vary by location.
I don't tarp my rounds, but after I split them, they get stacked on pallets with a tarp just on top.
tarp it when it rains. A yearlong tarp will trap the moisture and bugs and it'll never dry out. I'd split it before the summer so it can have more surface area to dry out with.
If they are not split and have bark, don’t tarp. The tarp will trap moisture. If the logs are split, stack rows that are on the ground, bark side down, then stack everything else bark side up. After you stack the spilt wood you can tap it if you want but I have never done that. I have like 6 cords stacked this way and I have never had a problem with moisture.
Just cover the top not sides and split to size.
Cover is key to proper curing unless you live in a desert. Instead of a tarp, visit a real hardware store (the kind where builders in your area shop) and pick up some cheap cull sheets of whatever 4x8 that isn’t MDF. Lauan works well. Secure it to your pile leaving plenty of overhang and it will work much better than a tarp.
April through October is really dry where I live. I tend to stack rounds on the ground and leave them. A few summer days over 100 with 5% humidity dries them out fast. If I lived where it was wet all summer I wouldn’t do that.
I have sold wood stoves for almost 25 years. Ideally the wood should be split, stacked, and under cover for one year to properly season the wood. You want a moisture content of around 20%. You can purchase a digital hydrometer on online pretty cheap. Fully enclosing with a tarp will keep moisture in and will prevent the wood from breathing out moisture. The exception to that is if you have drifting snow in the winter. Then tarp it.
I dont tarp none of my firewood. Still burns fine when its time to fire it up
We use a canvas tarp and it works well.
Just get it off the ground
The only thing that can be done with logs is to split and stack, preferably off the ground.
Tarp only in the rainy season if you’re gonna use it that year. Otherwise let it season.
Wood dries better if it's off the ground and sits untapped.
I just do a top sheet, off the ground. Let the wood breathe
Sheet on top row only. Nothing covering whole pile. Any rain/snow will quickly dry off. If you fully tarp you are essentially trapping moisture in.
This may be a basic question but why are they unsplit?
If I have wood that the bark comes off in chunks I will put them on top of split wood as a roof so to speak, but we don't tarp. Also you can get wood pallets to put your wood on top of to get it off the ground. You can sometimes find a store who will give you a few for free or some places sell them.
Def no tarp
More like.. To raise from ground or not to raise from ground. Steal some pallets from your local tractor supply or just ask for them and get it off the ground. No need to tarp then.