Fuelwood - Firewood
Fuelwood storage
Facts worth knowing about fuelwood storage and fuelwood stacking. What to look out for when storing fuelwood
To allow for optimal fuelwood storage you should choose a dry and well ventilated place. A southward facing house wall is ideal. Basements are not always best suited for the storage of fuelwood. You should only store firewood logs which very little residual moisture, as otherwise it can lead to mould as well as rot and decay of the fuelwood.
Wood storage – please well ventilated.
Ample ventilation when storing fuelwood is imperative. Make sure that you leave a gap of (5-10cm) between the stack and the house wall which will allow for the air to circulate. Furthermore, firewood should not be stored as round logs as this slows down the drying process considerably. Always split the logs in a fashion which creates triangular pieces.
When stacking fuelwood, ensure that there is always air between the logs in order to allow ventilation. Additionally, the stacked wood should be in ready to burn sizes. Hence, do not store meter long chunks of wood as this slows down the dehumidification compared to the ready to burn sized firewood pieces.
Fuelwood storage – the longer, the better
Another crucial factor for fuelwood storage is that the wood should not be covered with airtight tarpaulin or similar materials.This is only detrimental to the ventilation and will result in mildew. Ideal is a 
little roof over the stack to protect the fuelwood from the elements.Usually, fuelwood should season for at least 1 year, ideally for 2 years. Only then the fuelwood is dehumidified enough to ensure ideal fuel efficiency. Please note that humid fuelwood (either due to too short or wrong storage) does not burn well and leads to sooting of the chimney (this may result in expensive refurbishment). Furthermore, burning humid fuelwood is harmful to the environment as it leads to the development of polluting gases.
Sticking to the above rules and tips should always mean ideal results with your fuelwood storage.
Good luck stacking your fuelwood from the kaminholz-wissen.de team!
Source: kaminholz-wissen.de
