Firewood rack question

[Killa J]

Last year I got 1/2 cord of oak delivered. It ended up being subpar for smoking with, but good enough for fireplace and firepit use. I built a somewhat janky, but still functional firewood rack out of cedar 2x4s. The guy I got the oak from had it stored outside with just a cover over the top. So I put a little “roof” on top made out of sheet metal. This past year has been incredibly rainy. The roof did basically nothing, the firewood is pretty much worthless now. Covered in mildew and other fungi, the logs in the center appear to be partially rotting, lots of insects living in the stack. At least the logs were cheap. I’ll end up using it in my firepit, so it’s not a total waste.

On to my question. I’m going to buy a metal rack, but a lot of the ones I’m seeing for sale have a cover that just covers the top 12” of logs. Is just covering the top enough or should I buy a separate cover that covers the entire thing? I’m also going to put this rack in a sunny spot. Any other tips for keeping firewood in a really rainy climate?

 

[mike243]

Covered from top to bottom with some air flow the sun will help also

 

[browneyesvictim]

The reason a lot of the woodpile covers just over the top is to allow airflow, otherwise- fully covered- the wood will not season correctly and will rot, grow mold, mildew and fungus. In a perfect world you let the sun to it in the summer, but then keep it out of the rain in the winter but also allow airflow all around it. A fully covered (tarped) woodpile traps moisture.

 

[yankee2bbq]

I want to add to browneyesvictim statement: I use 4 MIL heavy duty clear plastic sheeting and cover the top of my firewood. It works great. I keep my firewood covered all year. Think of it as a green house effect!

 

[Killa J]

Will a full cover that’s vented work but not hold too much moisture? The top of my pile was pretty protected but everything still got soaked.

 

[browneyesvictim]

Here in the Willamette Valley of Oregon I cant get away with just tarping in the winter. Mine is protected under the eve of the shop so that it is out of the direct rain. I also keep it loosely tarped in the rainy seasons which is 8-1/2 or 9 months out of the year.

 

[Chasdev]

I had one of the ones made from metal tubes with a full coverage zippered cover.
Kept the rain out and fit loose enough to prevent mold and wood rot BUT what it did not prevent was rats, mice, giant roaches, deadly spiders and other sundry insects from moving in.
I gave the whole rig including all the oak splits to a friend after we killed about 40 rats in our backyard.
My wife really really does not like rats.

 

[Killa J]

Fortunately we don’t have any wild rat or mice issues where I live. There’s 3 or 4 feral cats that my neighbor feeds, so I think they keep it taken care of. Someone else suggested I put something like Sevin insect granules on the ground just around and under the wood rack, so I think I’ll give that a shot too.