As anyone knows who follows this blog, we heat with wood. And for the past few years I have been stacking our firewood in round piles. There are many sites and videos one can find that describe this method in its various forms. And I have to say I agree with some of what is said about round piles and disagree about others. Some of my own building methods may help you also build stable and efficient piles for drying your own firewood.
- I do place on the ground rot resistant black locust poles as the base for the pile as this keeps the actual firewood off the ground as much as possible.
- I do add horizontal poles, at alternating 90 degree angles across the pile, as it is being build, to add stability and strength to the pile.
- I do stack the last layer with the wood turned bark side up where possible. This does help shed water off the stack during summer rains.
- I do not find stacking piles in the round to be faster than line stacking. At least not the way I do it, which is to interlock the wood together for stability. But I do it because it takes up less space, looks nice, while leaving no unsightly end stakes in the ground year round.
- I do not use a center pole to mark off the outer circle of the stack. The poles lying on the ground I mentioned above give an adequate measure for the outer ring circle.
- I do not fill the inner circle with wood as suggested by most sites that discuss this topic. I find leaving the center empty helps dry the wood by increasing air flow and summer heat to directly reach more of the wood surfaces.
- I do not create a little roof for the pile, and I do not cover the pile in any way during the summer. I am of the view that the hot sun directly on the wood will better dry the pile. I do cover the stack in the late fall, just before seasonal rains start, with tile or plastic and keep this cover on over winter.
Happy stacking!
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