firewood stack rebuilt german style

[mr dazzler]

I posted a few pics a while ago of my firewood for next winter. I thought I'd been real clever and dne a great job. But I hadnt. We have had a lot of rain and high humidity just lately and tis has shown up my poor stacking skills. I had not left wide enough air spaces under or betwen the stacked wall's. (there were gaps but some were only 2 inches or so) and a little of the timber had turned into that turqoiusey green verdigris colour mould, really minging it was. I thought I'll have to do better than that, we have plenty enough mould's round here
I read on a forum about holzhaufen (german wood stack's) where they make a round stack with a sort of flue up the centre that draws air through the stack continuously. They reckon you can go from freshcut to 20% MC (ie usable firewood) in 3 monthes. So I had a go and this was the result.

There is a large post in the centre driven into the ground
The base is resting on logs with hazel poles and odds and ands of plywood etc to leave a clear 5 inch minimum air space.
I set out 2 courses of logs arranged like spokes radially. The centre area is packed with logs up on there ends. I just continued ading more and more logs, build up the cocentric rings a bit, then add verticals in the centre, keep on like that. every now and then added horizontals to keep the radial logs level instead of sloping outwards. The roof is just long half and quarter logs laid loosely; the rain is suposed to run off without drenching the insides too badly; although they do tend to slide, I might tie them in pairs to stop that. Its about 8 feet diameter and about 10 feet tall.
It is completely surrounded by fresh moving air (not stagnant and laden with moisture and spores as with my first effort) I trust the german ways they understand forestry things well, hopefully this method will work well here!

 

[hiho]

it looks good anyway

 

[scanker]

Proper job!

 

[mazeman]

Nice wood pile, should go up a treat! Anyone got a fresteel?

PS. Is that your hobo stove, bottom right?

But seriously, I know the kind of work that's involved in a stack like that, so well done mate!

 

[RobertRogers]

Nice method, which i am going to try when the next load of wood comes in, Thanks!

 

[Bernie Garland]

Looks brill but how to you remove the wood from under the roof ?

Bernie

 

[weaver]

I bet that would go up like the Hindenburg!

 

[mr dazzler]

Looks brill but how to you remove the wood from under the roof ?

Bernie

Good question Bernie, I dont know . But I reckon what I'll do is something like this.
Come september time, the logs should be 20% MC hopefully nearer 12 to 15%. I might first take all the roof logs off and crosscut them, then take the first batch into the house; level the pile off to a flat surface instead of with a cone shape as it is now, and probably put 2 full sheets of ply over, by then the logs are dry, just got to keep the rain/snow off them. Take a batch each day, level the stack every now and then. I'll sort something out. The other thought is temporily remove 3 or 4 of the roof logs, remove a batch of the cut logs underneath then replace the roof logs (only would take a minute) then gradually a bit each day work round in a spiral taking off a course or 2 of logs each time until eventually you hit the floor (hopefully not in mid january ).
How would you do it mate?

 

[Bernie Garland]

i think i'd have to ask the jerrys how to do it

Bernie no insult

 

[pothunter]

At first site I just thought WOW, I need one off the bottom, it's like the magnetic pull you feel towards a stack of bean cans in Sainsburys.

Then I thought cover the whole thing in clay, leave a little hole in the top and make charcoal.

Then I thought, must stop drinking late at night and making stupid comments.

However me thinks stacks like this are generally seen in forests, left to dry and then carted home and stacked under the eaves.

Nice job though.

 

[Toddy]

I thought so too. First dry where cut, and then cart home much lighter to stack under some kind of sheltering overhang. Like peats too.

Heck of an amount of work there MrDazzler, looks pretty cool too

cheers,
Toddy

p.s. SInce yours is in situ, could you not just fit a pole from one of those green or terracotta coloured garden parasols through the centre and leave it up to keep the rain off ? and just work through the pile from the top down over the year? That way it ought to keep the air moving through the pile too, making good dry firewood but keeping the worst of the weather off.

 

[mr dazzler]

Toddy your a womble
excellent idea as it happens I DO have a "spare" giant parasol.
It reminds me of those square hay sheds the dutch settlers built in America where it could slide up or down on a post at each corner-as you pulled hay out the roof would settle under its own weight.
It took about 9 hours to do but I didnt have a helper and with it being hot I stopped a lot for tea etc. Most of the time was taken up shifting barrows of logs from the other failed stack to the new one.

Now you mention about them being stacked in the forest for to dry then being led in on a trailer that makes sense. In France they leave the split oak in criss cross square stacks out in the woodland and then lead it in come back end time. I could imagine them putting cut branches on top of the heap (evergreen sort) on the holzhaufen type

 

[demographic]

Seen some of that over on the arborist site but as far as I can work out they use SOLAR KILNS more often as the stacking is simpler to do.

 

[forestwalker]

I've done the Swedish version of this. The difference is that the core is just a random jumble of pieces, and that the sides are built up so that everything slopes outwards, but the walls themselves slope inwards. It works fairly well, but is vulnerable to rain in from the top. When autumn came I carried it all into a spare corner of the barn (all 30 m^3 of it...).

These days I stack my firewood in rows into a sort of cube, and erect a roof over it with poles and tarps. Not as pretty, not as traditional, but works at least as well, and is easier to cover.

 

[caliban]

That's cool though! Looks proper Hansel and Gretel.

 

[gsfgaz]

Great bonfire, awe yi need noo is a guy ... haa haa

 

[Peter_t]

thats awsome

also did you cut all that with a bowsaw? if so, REAL good effort!


pete

 

[addo]

Functional art! Looks great.

Tempted to throw a tarp over once its ready to start taking them to burn, rather than shifting a second time though. I only say that as I know how many times the wood has been shifted from the tree job to cut, split and stacked wood already.

Good work.

 

[mr dazzler]

thats awsome

also did you cut all that with a bowsaw? if so, REAL good effort!


pete

Last year when I did the batch in the pics I did 3 cords. With the first i split the logs lengthwys then crosscut with a very old and very excellent Disston saw. The second 2 I used a chainsaw to crosscut then split the rounds with a french axe. The latter method was easier.....
I have tried tarps etc but they tend to encourage mould.
Anyway updated since this phase, last february I made a purpose built store which I framed up from 4x4 fence posts and recycled 6x2 joists pegged together with oak pegs. It has a 5 inch air space underneath, recycled decking boards for the slatted floor. The roof was polycarbonate panels off the old conservatory. The thing is positioned at the side of the house where we get strong cross winds. I left the ends of the shed uncovered. It holds just over 2 cords. And we had a blackbird make her nest in it in the spring