I'm fortunate to have acouple of open fires at chez moi.
And to that end the last week of good weather sparked my preps for next winters big freeze.
Year round I collect dead or fallen wood 'by hook or by crook' and leave this to season for a summer or more in a pile open to the elements.
Then periodically this gets chopped into manageable chunks and stored under cover to begin to dry out.
Finally about half of these these chunks get chopped into kindling sized pieces and tied with string into bundles for ease of handling, and get moved indoors to finish the drying process.
This little year long ritual keeps a little real fire going throughout the dark nights. There's something really cosy about a real fire!
Anyhow I was running out of space and so over the last weekend I built a new wood shed (more of a dry box than a shed) for the smaller pieces to give me some extra storage capacity. Recycled a couple of old pallets and some left overs to build it. Mother in law likes it so it can't be hideous!
That's wood pretty much sorted now. Any one else have similar system for wood? And any views on how long it is best to season the wood for??
Next project; Increasing my water butt collection and storage!
winter wood supply
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the-gnole
Re: winter wood supply
Really you should season a minimum of a year, two if possibleBeechwood fires are bright and clear
If the logs are kept a year,
Chestnut's only good they say,
If for logs 'tis laid away.
Make a fire of Elder tree,
Death within your house will be;
But ash new or ash old,
Is fit for a queen with crown of gold.
Birch and fir logs burn too fast
Blaze up bright and do not last,
it is by the Irish said
Hawthorn bakes the sweetest bread.
Elm wood burns like churchyard mould,
E'en the very flames are cold
But Ash green or Ash brown
Is fit for a queen with golden crown.
Poplar gives a bitter smoke,
Fills your eyes and makes you choke,
Apple wood will scent your room
Pear wood smells like flowers in bloom
Oaken logs, if dry and old
keep away the winter's cold
But Ash wet or Ash dry
a king shall warm his slippers by.
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axelt123
Re: winter wood supply
Yes regaring the wood store i currently have a few, one of which is 15ft by 15ft and 5.5ft high. With two sides closed off as its attached to a large shed and the other side is were the rain mostly comes from. To allow air flow the floor is lined with pallets and the sides by the walls. It is made from thick barn feather board and corragated steel roofing. And we also have made one from a full size wooden pinpong table by making a lean to on a shed.
About seasoning wood most wood will be fine after a year of storing if split. But woods such as oak may need seasoning several years before the become fully dry although can still be burnt. You can soon tell by weight and looking for large cracks in the wood grain to give you an idea of how dry it is.
And any dead wood you find on the floor is likly to be seasoned just dry the excess water off the surface then it will be ready.
Any questions just ask
axel
About seasoning wood most wood will be fine after a year of storing if split. But woods such as oak may need seasoning several years before the become fully dry although can still be burnt. You can soon tell by weight and looking for large cracks in the wood grain to give you an idea of how dry it is.
And any dead wood you find on the floor is likly to be seasoned just dry the excess water off the surface then it will be ready.
Any questions just ask
axel
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beefy0978
Re: winter wood supply
Cheers for the details guys;
So I take it that storing it split is the best way?
Most of my stored wood is currently in 'log' format.
So I take it that storing it split is the best way?
Most of my stored wood is currently in 'log' format.
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axelt123
Re: winter wood supply
yes spliting is good because it allows more surface area but if the logs are the correct size for your fire do worry about splitting them.
axel
axel