Drying Poplar, enough air movement ?

[chainsaw_louie]

Hi,

I am cutting up a bunch of poplar and have nearby the mill the solid foundation of a burned out cabin on which to stack the lumber.  So I made a stack of lumber that is 12'x12' with 1" stickers.  My fear is that in trying to make a strong integrated stack of wood that won't fall over and is efficient, that I am not going to get enough air flow. 

In the picture you can see the stack with about 20" of wood, by the time I am done, it will have 60" of wood on there.

Should I have put space between the stacks rather than running it all together into a 12 x 12' mega stack?

Is it better to keep the cover off or on,  this in NYS and we are going through our rainy season now.  I guess I could remove the cover when its not raining or tuck up the sides so as to let the air flow through the stacks.

[Brad_S.]

12 foot is too wide, air will not get to the middle boards. Several 4' wide stacks with a few feet in between would be better.
Cover the top but not the sides. If the stack cannot breath, it will mold. Sheets of tin weighted with blocks or strapped down and over hanging is much better than a tarp.
Where in NY? I can get you sheets of tin cheap if you are nearby.

[jdonovan]

My fear is that in trying to make a strong integrated stack of wood that won't fall over and is efficient, that I am not going to get enough air flow. 

Should I have put space between the stacks rather than running it all together into a 12 x 12' mega stack?

a 12x12 stack is going to all but ensure that the middle of the stack is going to mold/rot or have any number of moisture related problems.

Even in a small nyle kiln with powered fans nyle does not recommend stacks over 5' wide.

Is it better to keep the cover off or on,  this in NYS and we are going through our rainy season now.  I guess I could remove the cover when its not raining or tuck up the sides so as to let the air flow through the stacks.

Cover is for the tops of the stack to keep water from pooling, and to keep the direct sun off the stack. If you are covering the stacks with a tarp, you're trapping moisture and going to have problems.

The sides of the stack need to be open to airflow, and to keep the sun/rain off the stack make the cover a bit wider than the stack. You would also do better with a rigid cover on a slope so the rain can drain off... say like metal roofing panels. 

[WDH]

I have had trouble with poplar molding and turning black with a 6' wide stack.  At least you can re-stack it and use narrower stacks.  5' max.  Using 1" stickers rather than 3/4" helps too.  A small box fan from WalMart set up between the stacks helps move the air.

[chainsaw_louie]

OK,   I was afraid that it might be the case that the stack is too big to dry evenly, quickly and without molding.

I think that I can reach in and cut out the stickers with the chainsaw bar and remove a few rows of boards and end up with 3 separate stacks without taking the whole thing apart.

Doing things twice or three times until its right is a good teacher.

Thanks!

[Brad_S.]

You also need another row of stickers at the end of your boards. You appear to have a foot or more of board hanging over your last sticker. You should have a row as close to the ends as possible with only a few inches of overhang at the most.