Advise on seasoning wood outdoors

[OldTimbercutter]

I am a logger looking to sell up to 100 cords a year of firewood  so  I can be closer to home more often .  Am rigging a conveyor and was wondering if anyone leaves there wood piled as it comes off the conveyor exposed to the weather from now until next winter.

I thought I might put plastic down to keep  the bottom layer from being in the dirt and could get a huge hay tarp to cover it maybe a month before I start selling it. Any ideas from someone with experience at this would be appreciated.

[Firewoodjoe]

Advertise in the spring and it'll never hit the ground. I'm usually 4-5 loads behind. But I sell out before December so I'm going to raise my price and put it on a oil feild pit liner till winter. Try anyways

[thecfarm]

I only drive by one guy that sells firewood. He just keeps moving the conveyor. His piles are exposed and I think 12 feet high??

[Corley5]

If I'm going to let any season I leave it in log length stacked on stringers so it's off the ground.  Wood cut with a harvester when the bark's slipping seasons pretty fast in log form.     

[r.man]

I drive by a fairly large operation a number of times a year and the piles get more numerous and have the look of older wood to them. I assume that he is seasoning them. No tarps that I have ever seen, and I wonder if a tarp would cause mold to form depending on a lot of factors.

[AnthonyW]

We season firewood like we air dry lumber. Top covered only. For firewood we watch craigslist for people taking down above ground pools. The metal sides cut into 6' lengths are great, then we through a half width pallet on top for weight. Poly tarps just don't last long enough for the hassle of dealing with the torn ones plus the expense.

[OntarioAl]

I pile mine on used pallets that are  being given away free for the taking.
One layer for small pile several for a larger pile lets the air circular under and through the pile.
Hope this helps
Al

[clww]

There's a firewood processor on the road headed to our cabin in the mountains. The make 20-50 piles of the processed firewood, via the conveyor dump. They never cover these piles up, and they sell a bunch of wood every year.

[OldTimbercutter]

Thanks for all the great advise.  I will find some pallets to cover the ground and pile it up.

[WI Fire]

I agree with pallets and a top cover. I once tried the plastic tarp, and it and the wood sunk into the ground, and on top of the plastic ice formed with melted snow or water...the pallets are the way to go!

[yellowrosefarm]

I drive by a pretty big firewood operation a couple of times a year. They have a big gravel lot and move the conveyor to make piles 12 or so feet high. Toward the end of summer there are probably 100 or so of those piles there and by November they are all gone even though they are running the processor every day. They don't cover anything and it looks like the big gravel lets the water move on away from the pieces on the bottom of the piles. Plus, there is never any mud for the trucks getting the firewood. I think the gravel is a number 3, it's what my friend calls "railroad rock".

[timberlinetree]

We had problems in the past with piling wood. Sometimes a tropical storm would come through and all that humidity and moisture would cause mold to form inside the pile. Location of pile was a factor. Need lots of Sun and wind. Now we store our wood in log length.

[kevin19343]

I wouldn't cover it. That just traps moisture. The pile needs to breathe in order to dry.