Split size

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Boom Stick. Question for you. What part of last year have the Oak splits been split and stacked? And what kind of moisture content do you have on one of those splits after it being out there that long? If you get a chance sometime to take a reading.
C/S/S right after the big storm so I would say early september of last year. Haven't put the MM on any of it as I figured why bother. I'll be out there this weekend and will test a piece just to see.
 
C/S/S right after the big storm so I would say early september of last year. Haven't put the MM on any of it as I figured why bother. I'll be out there this weekend and will test a piece just to see.

Thanks. I am very curious how your Oak will be after a full year outside. Let me know if it gets wind, sun, if you have it topped covered, etc. I appreciate it. I have some Oak that I just got this month and am going to keep track how long it takes to get down to 20%. I am going to split that Oak smaller in the spring, or maybe even in the next few weeks, and see where the moisture content is at this time next year. I appreciate it Boom Stick.
 
The stuff I just bucked last weekend was laying on an angle down a hill.....as I cut towards the roots (facing uphill) there was water spraying out of the wood. hit it with the MM on those specific rounds on the ends before splitting and got 50%!!!!!! towards the other end of the tree I was getting 38% on splits. very wet! will check this weekend.
 
Our stove loves 18" long (E-W only). Its N-S is only 9" so I don't mess with that. I use an 18" long stick to measure, then mark with a piece of kid's sidewalk chalk. For split thickness I try to get as many of the thickest that will fit into its door. Enough skinnies to fill the requirements will be leftover. What you need is dictated by your stove size and stove opening. In the pic your splits look too skinny to me - almost like kindling.
 
I try to get it uniform, say 16-17"s but its not all that important top me. It all burns and the shorter can be used to put infront of the NS picies or I can put it somewhere. I just cut what looks right, sometimes I put 2 pieces but to but in the stack to match the longer stuff, but this is stuff that I have cut short due to knots or ends. Sometimes larger stuff is cut to say 14"s to help load, but its not a concern of mine?
 
Thanks. I am very curious how your Oak will be after a full year outside. Let me know if it gets wind, sun, if you have it topped covered, etc. I appreciate it. I have some Oak that I just got this month and am going to keep track how long it takes to get down to 20%. I am going to split that Oak smaller in the spring, or maybe even in the next few weeks, and see where the moisture content is at this time next year. I appreciate it Boom Stick.
So I took a piece off the top of the pile that was of average size compared to the rest, split it and got 21.6 % moisture.....not bad. However, get into the middle of the pile and it will more than likely be higher. I am gonna burn that piece tonight. The oak has been uncovered for over a year and has had a tarp over it for the past month or so. I would say it gets later in the day sunlight. Gets good wind though. Wind is more important than sun (to me). These splits in this older pile are bigger....like overnight burn size. Gonna be some decent wood when it is time to burn. I will not get into it this year.
 
Our stove loves 18" long (E-W only). Its N-S is only 9" so I don't mess with that. I use an 18" long stick to measure, then mark with a piece of kid's sidewalk chalk. For split thickness I try to get as many of the thickest that will fit into its door. Enough skinnies to fill the requirements will be leftover. What you need is dictated by your stove size and stove opening. In the pic your splits look too skinny to me - almost like kindling.
Here is my pile stacked.....measured out at 1 cord...not too small....very manageable....not like kindling though:) photo.jpg
 
I had a measuring tape break, so cut a 16" piece of the end - folds easy to put in back pocket. I walk a log with the tape, making a cut mark with a hatchet every 16" - goes real fast and I end up with nice uniform lengths. I split a lot of my wood to the size in your photo, with some bigger splits for the real cold weather. Cheers!
 
nice stack, it isn't falling over! i find the alternating stack to be useful on the ends, and just throw pieces in between. my first stack looke like yours, alternating the splits throughout.
 
I measure to at 16 inches. It's a common number on the tape measure so you can lay out a tree quickly. I have considered going to 17 inches to get some more BTU's in the box.

I started with big old school pre EPA slits, then went smaller, but now see the utility of large splits for overnight burns. I have a combo of both now.
 
nice stack, it isn't falling over! i find the alternating stack to be useful on the ends, and just throw pieces in between. my first stack looke like yours, alternating the splits throughout.
I do all my stacks like this....I actually take my time and move pieces as I think I need to..Haven't had a stack fail yet. Most fun of all the firewood getting, to me, is making stacks. I felt great today after getting it done standing there having a beer looking at it for 15 minutes until my fiance came over and asked me what the heck I was doing!
 
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yea I go in my wood shed and hangout and look at the wood stacks. Noticed that one was about to fallover a few weeks ago. This was one of my Oak stacks to get used early this winter. I took a t post and a board and braced it back up till it gets used. Hated to see it!! Last year I had a stack fall over on one of my mower and other stuff, had to restack it. anyway
 
A mix is the way to go. Small number of startup split then all big stuff . The biggest the stove will take is what I do Most cut to 18 but the stove will do 26 if I need to
 
That's a fine looking stack you built there, BTW. It looks solid, stable, even and well thought out. Good job!
 
I use a 14 inch stick and spray paint.....put a tick mark every 14".......works good for me too. tape and chalk sounds good too. I really like the uniformity of all my wood cut to one length.

I'm similar. I've got a piece of scrap copper pipe. It's a couple inches shorter than I want. I spray just after the pipe with a dot from an upside down marking paint spray can.

JP
 
In the past when bucking up logs I just eyeballed it. I have always cursed myself afterwards for not taking the time to cut all my wood to a specific length. LAst year was my 1st season burning and the length differences in my wood caused me headaches....so much so that I employed an semi broken circular saw to cut the ends off of splits I deemed too long. Works well but messy and cutting the ends off of split firewood with a circular saw can be dangerous. This year I am not doing that......

I am cutting all my wood to 14 inch lengths and reasonable splits. I just scrounged a nice score of red oak and am splitting relatively small splits...about 1 to 1 1/2 times the size of a carton of smokes. I figure in the three years I'll give it to season, it'll be real nice to handle.

What dimensions are you guys standing fast to as far as what you like your wood to look like.....if you like to eyeball it that is cool too. Any advice on split size?

I usually end up eyeballing quite a bit but on the straight trunks I use a 16" piece of wood and a lumber crayon for marking.

As to size of splits, let the stove determine what size is best for you. I will say it is nice to have some variety in the size of splits especially if your firebox is rather small. I still like a large split or a round in the bottom rear of our stove then fill in with whatever else is there.

The red oak or any oak is nice to split a bit small as they will dry a bit faster.
 
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