Firewood thread!!! Let's see what you got!!!!

[jblnut]

Chris the "In The Woodyard" guy from Youtube swears by just piling it loose (he uses bins made from pallets, no covering the wood or anything). I can't get away with that as I am in a residential area and my wife already hates that we have wood stacked everywhere, even though it's pretty neatly piled. Touching the wood as few times as possible is smart. I have not been at this very long (less than a year) so still trying to feel my way through the best process. Luckily, having kids to help out means that I can get away with being somewhat inefficient! We are handling this wood too many times but making small improvements as we learn.

I have watched him before as well and like his content. The loose piles on pallets are a great idea but I have a skiddy with a grapple so the pallet part is out. I think he pitches the wood off the piles into his trailer by hand so he doesn’t have to worry about crushing them.

No way Mama Bear would have been okay with the wood mess we have around here when we were living in town !! Yours isn’t such a mess though. Looks pretty clean and tidy.

I have tried the loose piles in my area and while the wood does dry eventually, stacked covered rows dry significantly faster and more even but I think you can get different results depending on your area.

Likely similar area as I’m just west of St. Cloud.

I’d be fine if it took longer to dry. I have lots of wood and lots of potential space to store it. I’m weighing stacking 20 cord a year vs something else with that much wood. Piling seems better lol

 

[Wolverine]

Chris the "In The Woodyard" guy from Youtube swears by just piling it loose (he uses bins made from pallets, no covering the wood or anything). I can't get away with that as I am in a residential area and my wife already hates that we have wood stacked everywhere, even though it's pretty neatly piled. Touching the wood as few times as possible is smart. I have not been at this very long (less than a year) so still trying to feel my way through the best process. Luckily, having kids to help out means that I can get away with being somewhat inefficient! We are handling this wood too many times but making small improvements as we learn.

I got into a “discussion” with a guy.. he swore the rain helped the wood lose moisture quicker. . Don’t trust everything you hear being the moral of the story.

 

[JD01]

If you have tractor or skid forks…totes all the way.

 

[jblnut]

If you have tractor or skid forks…totes all the way.

Oh they’re super handy, can’t argue that. I have lots of things around that can move stuff so no worries there.

For every year of firewood I want to keep around cut up I’d need 60 of them. 20 cord a year takes a bit of space lol.

 

[JD01]

If you have tractor or skid forks…totes all the way.

Oh they’re super handy, can’t argue that. I have lots of things around that can move stuff so no worries there.

For every year of firewood I want to keep around cut up I’d need 60 of them. 20 cord a year takes a bit of space lol.

Or… 100+. We stack them 2-3 high. We figure 1/3 cord per tote when split and stacked. One can never have too much firewood..

 

[jblnut]

Or… 100+. We stack them 2-3 high. We figure 1/3 cord per tote when split and stacked. One can never have too much firewood..

The dilemma for me is to go buy IBC totes or to build pallet racking racks. The racks will hold 3/4 cord or so and be almost indestructible but the totes are simpler and less $$ per cord of storage. The pallet racking racks will be around $180/ea so $240/cord and the totes are advertised around here for $40ish each so $120/cord. Seeing it typed out it's a no brainer actually. I can replace a tote once in a while if needed if they're half the money. Plus WAY less labor to do IBC totes vs building the racks. Huh. Glad I typed it all out !! Gotta go get some totes now !!

I was debating on building a shed by the boiler but stacking the totes 3 high in a shed I already have would only need a 10x24 area if they're stacked tight together. I happen to have a 24x24 shed I don't use for much right now other than to gather junk ...... Good ol' OPE. Thanks @JD01

 

[Lions fan]

The dilemma for me is to go buy IBC totes or to build pallet racking racks. The racks will hold 3/4 cord or so and be almost indestructible but the totes are simpler and less $$ per cord of storage. The pallet racking racks will be around $180/ea so $240/cord and the totes are advertised around here for $40ish each so $120/cord. Seeing it typed out it's a no brainer actually. I can replace a tote once in a while if needed if they're half the money. Plus WAY less labor to do IBC totes vs building the racks. Huh. Glad I typed it all out !! Gotta go get some totes now !!

I was debating on building a shed by the boiler but stacking the totes 3 high in a shed I already have would only need a 10x24 area if they're stacked tight together. I happen to have a 24x24 shed I don't use for much right now other than to gather junk ...... Good ol' OPE. Thanks @JD01

There's a guy on the other forum (Sawyer Rob) that builds skids out of rough sawn lumber that he can pick up with the forks on his tractor. If I was a young guy starting from scratch with plans of burning LOTS of wood in the future, I'd do something similar.

 

[Hoser]

There’s a guy south of me aways who builds 8’ long skids with end pieces and a top cap 4’ high so he parks a face cord at the end of the road and when it sells he just switches skids.
Most are square tubing frame welded up with a 2x wood floor across

 

[jblnut]

I built two of these out of pallet racking last summer and like the idea. At 8x4x4 they hold a cord of wood and the skiddy definitely knew they were there when it was wet. It was dancing with the back wheels barely on the ground. It’ll lift 5,600lbs before tipping but this was out a ways so it was an easy 3,500lbs. A bit much so I was going to do 6’ wide racks if I built more.


I made the two prototypes stackable thinking I could stack them two or three high. About a weeks worth of wood in one when it’s cold out.


Edit: I forgot I weighed one full of wood. I set the empty on first and zeroed the scale so that’s all wood weight there. 3,460lbs and the wood had been cut and in the rack from May to August. I should weigh it again this next August to see how much it lost. Hmmmmmm.

 

[Hinerman]

Or… 100+. We stack them 2-3 high. We figure 1/3 cord per tote when split and stacked. One can never have too much firewood..

How do you dump a tote? And how long do they last?

 

[JD01]

How do you dump a tote? And how long do they last?

We have a 2ft section cut out of one side to gain access. You could dump them with a skid loader but sometimes wrecks the tote bottom. We grab the wood out and throw in the “beast.” Heat 2200sqft house, 1500sqft workshop and all the hot water 3 teenagers use. Burn about 2 totes a week.

 

[Woodwackr]

Nothing but white oaks falling over in my woods lately.

View attachment 444833

Straight, gravy cutting hardwood…extremely jealous….

 

[Woodwackr]

Dropped a couple more big oaks at church. This one had a nasty crack up the side so we wrapped a strap around it to help prevent it from splitting before it was down.
View attachment 444997

Couple more oaks and a little ash that was in the way. The white oak up close was almost completely rotten all the way through. Definitely time to take that one down.
View attachment 444998

2 17’ white oak and 3 9’ red oak saw logs in the back and firewood load 1 of 3 f the day in the front wagon.
View attachment 444999

I’m gonna have to get busy bucking this stuff up !!
View attachment 445000

I cut a few of the stumps off flush with the ground. There is an easy day of firewood in this one chunk alone !!
View attachment 445001

Flat-top, redeye, no decomp

 

[JD01]

The dilemma for me is to go buy IBC totes or to build pallet racking racks. The racks will hold 3/4 cord or so and be almost indestructible but the totes are simpler and less $$ per cord of storage. The pallet racking racks will be around $180/ea so $240/cord and the totes are advertised around here for $40ish each so $120/cord. Seeing it typed out it's a no brainer actually. I can replace a tote once in a while if needed if they're half the money. Plus WAY less labor to do IBC totes vs building the racks. Huh. Glad I typed it all out !! Gotta go get some totes now !!

I was debating on building a shed by the boiler but stacking the totes 3 high in a shed I already have would only need a 10x24 area if they're stacked tight together. I happen to have a 24x24 shed I don't use for much right now other than to gather junk ...... Good ol' OPE. Thanks @JD01

I buy most of my totes around $10. Farmers, construction(traffic paint), environmental companies, recycling centers, and bulk on FBMP hauling 26 totes at a time. Always looking for more. Been using them for almost 10 years now and they’re holding up very well as we unload by hand in front of the OWB.

 

[jblnut]

Flat-top, redeye, no decomp

Hell yeah right brotha !! Pulls over a little angrily when it’s cold but starts with a half pull when warm. Comp is around 180

Decomps are for the kids

I buy most of my totes around $10. Farmers, construction(traffic paint), environmental companies, recycling centers, and bulk on FBMP hauling 26 totes at a time. Always looking for more. Been using them for almost 10 years now and they’re holding up very well as we unload by hand in front of the OWB.

Cheapest I’ve been able to find them around here has been $35 and that was off other farms. I made a few calls today for ones at $35 and the answer was “they were sold within minutes of posting, sorry”. Well, the cheapest farm ones have been my own …. Kind of ….. last one had $13k in chem in it but the tote was free once it was empty. Same logic as all this “free” heat the stove pumps in the house I suppose

 

[Woodwackr]

Hell yeah right brotha !! Pulls over a little angrily when it’s cold but starts with a half pull when warm. Comp is around 180

Decomps are for the kids


Cheapest I’ve been able to find them around here has been $35 and that was off other farms. I made a few calls today for ones at $35 and the answer was “they were sold within minutes of posting, sorry”. Well, the cheapest farm ones have been my own …. Kind of ….. last one had $13k in chem in it but the tote was free once it was empty. Same logic as all this “free” heat the stove pumps in the house I suppose

I Stihl have my original ‘92…and the receipt, lol

 

[Hinerman]

We have a 2ft section cut out of one side to gain access. You could dump them with a skid loader but sometimes wrecks the tote bottom. We grab the wood out and throw in the “beast.” Heat 2200sqft house, 1500sqft workshop and all the hot water 3 teenagers use. Burn about 2 totes a week.

So you are burning the wood in the "beast", not selling or delivering it. Nice.

I meant how long do the totes last you? Totes are pricey around here.

 

[Hinerman]

I buy most of my totes around $10. Farmers, construction(traffic paint), environmental companies, recycling centers, and bulk on FBMP hauling 26 totes at a time. Always looking for more. Been using them for almost 10 years now and they’re holding up very well as we unload by hand in front of the OWB.

$10, that is crazy!!!!!!!!!!!!! Prices are all over the place around here; $40 to $150

tulsa for sale "totes" - craigslist

tulsa for sale "totes" - craigslist

tulsa.craigslist.org

 

[Wilhelm]

Getting there, getting more tedious as the room/space reduces.
It is firewood (turkey oak, fully debarked) for my own purposes, intended for two possibly three seasons ahead.
This box holds about 9 cubic meters of split wood.




I wish I could get cheap or free totes!
50-100€ on FBM.

 

[RCBS]

I have tried the loose piles in my area and while the wood does dry eventually, stacked covered rows dry significantly faster and more even but I think you can get different results depending on your area.

Where I am a big pile even covered is going to see rot from ground moisture if it's there very long. I've tried multiple schemes. Besides and actual shed, stacking on pallets with top cover will give optimum results. Better yet if you can position the stacks to take advantage of sunlight and prevailing winds.