Knowing how to season
firewood and knowing how to store firewood once you have seasoned it to ensure that it
stays dry, will make your wood burning experience more enjoyable and easier. Using
a log
store correctly can save plenty of money too. Your initial time
and effort in learning this process and finding or making a good log store will be worth
the effort in money saved.
Dry seasoned firewood from a good log store burns cleaner with
less smoke and produces more heat from less wood. If you use your firewood for cooking too, such
as in an outdoor oven or chimenea, then your food will also taste far
better.
One of
the most important factors in drying and keeping your wood dry is air circulation. To ensure
proper drying, it should be stored in a well ventilated log store. There is a huge variety of
log stores available and a little time to select the correct one will pay dividends.
One of the most common
storage errors made is piling firewood logs on
the ground and covering the whole pile with a tarpaulin or plastic sheeting. Covering the whole
pile to the ground seals moisture inside and encourages mould and decay to spread in the logs
fast. This is why it is critical to choose the correct store for the job in hand.
Keeping your firewood away from
direct soil contact will help you to keep it clean and dry. Choose a log store
that has a slightly raised well ventilated floor in it. If you do need
to store it on the ground place something on the ground first such as a tarp or plastic sheeting for
a moisture barrier. Just about anything that will hold it up off the ground away from the soil will
work. Plywood, lumber, poles or even well drained gravel is better than soil as drainage is the
key.
If you cover
your log store with a tarpaulin cover you must ensure that the sides of the store or pile are not
covered. The open sides encourage airflow and keep the wood dry and encourage it to season well, any
moisture can escape this way from the log store too.
If your wood is already wet or green,
covering it with a tarpaulin is usually pointless and will encourage mould. It is best to let it dry
first in the open air or under a roof type of structure. Even if it does rain it is better than
complete coverage where it might sweat. However, green wood can go directly into a quality log
store.
One of the
best ways to ensure air circulation is to stack your wood in a row or rows. When stacking against a
solid surface such as a wall or fence, stack it a few inches away from the surface. Also when
stacking rows next to each other keep the rows a few inches apart. This allows space for air to
circulate on both sides of the log store. Or even better just stack one row by itself in a way where
the whole side of it will be exposed to the sun. Investing in a quality log store will provide you
with these features to maintain the wood.
Even using a shed as a store can cause problems. It is vital that
any log store has good ventilation as air circulation is critical in the seasoning
process.
If you
have green firewood it is usually best to store it outside in a Log Store exposed to the wind and
the sun until it is seasoned. If you store your firewood in a shed it is best to let it season
outside in the sun before putting it in the shed.
When stacking firewood
safety should be a priority. Make sure your stacks are stable so they will not tip over.
Stacking more than 4 feet high is asking for an accident. Keep a space between the stacks for
correct drying, but keep the space small enough to prevent children or pets from crawling between
them. Keep children away from and DO NOT let then climb on firewood log stores or stacks.
See our range of lined wicker traditional log baskets along with a huge range of modern metal fireside log racks
