The Forestry Forum

General Forestry => Firewood and Wood Heating => Topic started by: Arctiva on September 10, 2019, 06:53:01 PM

Title: Wood stack question
Post by: Arctiva on September 10, 2019, 06:53:01 PM
Just wondering how far away from your outdoor boiler you guys have your woodshed and or stack? Right now my stack is 10-12 feet away about centered on wood burner. Stack is almost 20x16 by 6-7 feet high I'm gonna go 20x20 so wondering if 6 feet back is too close. I'm gonna make a permanent wood shed with just a roof in the next few months.
Title: Re: Wood stack question
Post by: Pine Ridge on September 10, 2019, 09:51:41 PM
My woodshed is probably 35 to 40 feet from my outside wood furnace. 6 feet would be mighty close, too close for me.
Title: Re: Wood stack question
Post by: thecfarm on September 11, 2019, 05:46:36 AM
I need a building too. Probably with my luck,I will get it done and than something will happen to the OWB. :o 
Mine so called wood pile is about 100 feet away. I burn mostly dead wood,so there is a mess from my wood. Even the the live ones I cut,makes a mess from the sawdust. I cut it up at the same place I so called pile the wood. Even if I had a building,I would only bring enough up for a week or two. Don't want to walk too far for the wood.
Title: Re: Wood stack question
Post by: woody_88 on September 11, 2019, 06:50:28 AM
+1 on what thecfarm says. The closer the better. On those cold blustery days you'll appreciate not walking far.

Last season (my first) I had wood piled up on my driveway, other side of my house from the owb. Would pile up enough for the day or night in my garden cart and pull it over there. Not ideal, but point I'm getting at is once the wood was RIGHT in front of the unit, was great to load quick and easily. Especially when the fire was raging and the coals weren't as low as I would have liked. I had quite a few times the flames were shooting out the top of the door while loading.

Now this season I have my collection piled up as close as I can get it.
Title: Re: Wood stack question
Post by: luap on September 11, 2019, 08:38:15 AM
I have just enough room to drive between the stove and the end of the wood shed which is a lean to on the side of my pole barn. Need to have room to remove snow there.
Title: Re: Wood stack question
Post by: gspren on September 11, 2019, 01:44:52 PM
My wood shed is about 15 ft from the stove but I also keep some wood about 3 ft from the stove. Both shed and stove have a metal roof without sides, chimney pipe goes through the metal roof but not sealed as I don't care about leaking and I can just twist the pipe loose and remove for cleaning. I keep the area in front of the stove door clean as that's where sparks are likely, in my 9 years burning I have never seen a spark exit the stack. 
Title: Re: Wood stack question
Post by: Logging logginglogging on September 13, 2019, 01:13:59 PM
about 5 - 6 feet away stacked in a "shelter logic garage in a box" 12x20'
Title: Re: Wood stack question
Post by: Arctiva on September 14, 2019, 09:27:13 AM
I have some willow stacked right next to burner also. My thought was to do the shed at the 10 feet and stack another row outside the shed. And that'll be used 1st before real cold and snow and Ice comes around. 
Title: Re: Wood stack question
Post by: ButchC on September 14, 2019, 10:00:38 PM
My Woodmaster is half outside the woodshed and half inside. Been that way for now 14th season.  I stack pretty close, 6 foot or so. Locally there has been several OWB  fires  over the years so the hazard is real but I think poor housekeeping played a large role? I keep the slab in front of my OWB swept clean.
Title: Re: Wood stack question
Post by: Gary_C on September 15, 2019, 08:06:42 PM
I did have an old small corn crib with a center drive just straight west of my owb and about 15 feet away until it burned down early one spring. It burned on a day with a heavy wet snow falling. Most likely suspect was there was a strong east wind blowing that day and a spark came out of the stack and hit the dry slats and started the fire. There was very little wood left in the early spring so it went fast.

So pay attention to the direction of the prevailing winds and have steel siding and you should be OK.
Title: Re: Wood stack question
Post by: Gearbox on September 15, 2019, 08:27:43 PM
Mine is 30 ft away and steel siding on the boiler side . Wheeling a wheel barrow of wood or 2 twice a day is a small price to pay for safety . My brothers woodshed caught fire one day from a wheel barrow of ashes left in the wind .
Title: Re: Wood stack question
Post by: Pine Ridge on September 15, 2019, 08:44:46 PM
Quote from: Gary_C on September 15, 2019, 08:06:42 PM
I did have an old small corn crib with a center drive just straight west of my owb and about 15 feet away until it burned down early one spring. It burned on a day with a heavy wet snow falling. Most likely suspect was there was a strong east wind blowing that day and a spark came out of the stack and hit the dry slats and started the fire. There was very little wood left in the early spring so it went fast.

So pay attention to the direction of the prevailing winds and have steel siding and you should be OK.
Thats the reason in my earlier post i said that 6 feet is too close for me, I get mine stoked up and burning hot at night i will see occasional sparks , 8 feet of selkirk double wall pipe with a topcap. I plan on burning 6 to 7 cord of wood this winter, i just don't want to take a chance of burning it all at once with all the time and sweat i've got invested in it.

Title: Re: Wood stack question
Post by: Logging logginglogging on September 16, 2019, 10:12:58 AM
Never had a problem all these years at 6ft away in my shed. We get a LOT of snow here though so that helps, everything is quite wet out there all spring as well. we get so much snow here you would have to shovel and snow blow every day to use a wheelbarrow , lat winter we had snow chest deep in the back yard, couldn't carry wood through that every day.
Title: Re: Wood stack question
Post by: Pine Ridge on September 16, 2019, 10:41:21 AM
Quote from: Logging logginglogging on September 16, 2019, 10:12:58 AM
Never had a problem all these years at 6ft away in my shed. We get a LOT of snow here though so that helps, everything is quite wet out there all spring as well. we get so much snow here you would have to shovel and snow blow every day to use a wheelbarrow , lat winter we had snow chest deep in the back yard, couldn't carry wood through that every day.
I can understand stacking it that close under the circumstances where you live. Here where i live we don't get near that much snow. For me having my woodshed back from the furnace is peace of mind, and one less thing to worry about.

Title: Re: Wood stack question
Post by: trapper on September 16, 2019, 10:45:47 AM
(https://forestryforum.com/board/Themes/default/images/useron.gif) (http://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=pm;sa=send;u=18940) Logging logginglogging (http://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=18940) when the snow gets deep I use an otter sled. Depending on which size you get holds as much or more than a wheelbarrow.
Title: Re: Wood stack question
Post by: jmur1 on September 16, 2019, 09:09:55 PM
I was reading through another forum looking for insight on how to build a gasification boiler when I started reading a gentleman's post.
This gentleman had carefully designed and constructed his own gasification boiler that appeared to have all the appropriate safeties on it.


google search:

homemade-and-engineered-gasification-boiler.149958/

It is quite a story

Very relevant to this discussion since alot of work went into this design and construction (and tweaking) and then catastrophe!

I would definitely error on the side of caution when it comes to layouts and storage so that you don't have to look at the last photo in that thread at your own place.  Very Sad! Pic Below.

I think I will still design/build my own boiler.  I will keep you posted.

jmur1


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/44322/a050b0563663d6482a19181b8f9e2b46.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1568727017)
 
Title: Re: Wood stack question
Post by: Al_Smith on September 22, 2019, 05:24:10 AM
I have a little two wheel trailer that holds a tad bit over a face cord which is about weeks worth in cold weather .I just fill it ,tarp it, leave it attached to the tractor .The wood box in the house holds a days' worth for the insert stove .It's maybe a 20 minute job once a day to keep it filled .
It's hard to control the heat until it gets in the 20's and it might be as late as first of December before I fire the stove and could be mid March before the fire goes out .About 4-4.5 cords a year .