A few tips and tricks for better wood stacking.

  
   
   
 

 

Drying firewood properly is paramount when heating with wood as seasoned wood is the key to a good fire. Dry wood produces more heat, starts easy and is better for your chimney. When your firewood is not seasoned properly problems could arise.

First and foremost, fires will be hard to start and keep going. Secondly, wood only burns after the moisture is gone. Wet wood gives off less heat since part of the energy from the fire is spent vaporizing moisture from the wood.

   
           

Last but not least, creosote will build up much faster in your chimney when burning wood with too high moisture content. This will significantly increase risk of a chimney fire. This is a potentially hazardous situation that should be avoided. Firewood stacking is an important part of the storage and seasoning process. Stacking your wood correctly allows the wood to dry quicker and easier. Making sure your fire will burn easily and clean.

  
           

Stacking it right

The easiest and most simple method to stack your firewood is to put the end pieces in a criss-cross pattern. Much like building a log cabin, each row stacked perpendicular to the next row. It is however, important that you find similar sized pieces to retain stability. Once you have done this to the end of the stacks, you can fill the rest of the stack with the normal method of stacking. This method doesn’t require additional materials and it is quick and easy to do.
The second methods is to drive a couple of posts into the ground at the ends of the pile. This will allow your wood to rest against the posts and remain stable. Just make sure the posts are driven deep enough to support the weight. Also, you may want to put additional supporting posts in front, behind or on top of the posts to add some additional support.

Don't forget ...

The most important reason for stacking your firewood is to speed up the drying process. For that reason, it’s best to stack just one or two lengths of firewood deep.

   
           

Stacking three or four lengths deep will decrease the effects of the sun and wind drying the firewood. The more air circulation and sunlight your wood gets, the faster it will season. Also, never stack firewood directly on the ground. This will cause the wood on the bottom of the pile to stay wet and eventually decompose. You can use dimensional lumber, pallets or even posts to keep your firewood of the ground.