"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...

In article ,
"williams" writes:
|
| A cord, in Michigan, is 4'x4'x8', cut and stacked. However, since
stoves
| and grates are always smaller than 4' wide, wood is usually cut to
lengths
| of 16" to 18" or so. We call these "face cords", and they measure
| 4'x8'x16"-18". Here, the term "cord" refers to the "face cord". My
Hardy
| Outdoor Wood Furnace takes a log 16" in diameter, 31" long, much to
large
| and heavy to load into the furnace safely.

Interesting.

| ... I don't even cover my very large wood pile. The sun
| and wind dry it even through rains and snows.

Fine for you - not much good here :-( Our problem isn't that we get
a lot of rain (though some parts do), but that the evaporation is
minimal (about 11" a year in the south, almost all in summer).

Yes, a problem there. I'm fortunate to be on high ground near Lake
Michigan, off which comes a usual breeze in most seasons. For years I
carefully covered my wood piles (on top, but never on the sides), but in my
travels up north I noticed the "old-timers" never did that, so I
experimented. There was no need to work to cover my wood, as it seemed to
dry just as efficiently uncovered. Lucky, I am.

I do envy those with woodsheds, but I've not seen the necessity in my
situation. And, I don't burn wood in the house, but in a furnace 95 feet
away, and that beast will burn anything no matter how green or wet, safely.
If I still had a fireplace and grate, I'd have a supply of very dry wood
under a woodshed roof, you bet.

| Willow is junk. Don't burn any conifer, anything that stays green all
| winter, as they are full of pitch and you'll have a chimney fire.

I agree about willow and conifers! Holly is evergreen, and burns well,
however. So is and does holme oak (but it is the very devil to split,
wet or dry).

Red Oak grows here, and splits at a suggestion. What American Elm that
remains after the Dutch Elm Fungus killed most of them, is difficult to
split. Beech can be knotty. I must have 1,000 White Ash in this woods, and
the Emerald Ash Borer is at my doorstep, with the guarantee that every Ash
in the State will die soon. I expect to see evidence this spring in my
woods. This will mean a slow death for many trees, so I know where my
firewood is coming from for the rest of my life. White Ash is rot
resistent, can be stacked for years and not rot, is moderately-good
firewood, and splits as easily as Red Oak. Bad news, good news, I suppose.

Best,

Tim

Regards,
Nick Maclaren.