Wet Oak log

[Applesister]

My theory that wood mostly dries from the ends of the splits comes from viewing what they do when they cook out.
My sister has a North/south stove and I dont see it. My VC is east west. So we get to watch sizzling oak.

 

[bholler]

wow that is really wet. How long and how do you dry your wood?

 

[TheAardvark]

It does not even look dry enough to burn. Not any cracks in the end grain.

 

[D8Chumley]

How long and how do you dry your wood?

Apparently not nearly long enough lol. Sorry Sister, couldn't resist

 

[heavy hammer]

Not the end of the world. Hope you have some other stuff to burn. Plus look you have stuff for next year or the following.

 

[Applesister]

Its not from my woodstacks, I was down at my sisters house. Ive told her to dry Oak 3 seasons but she does things her way. I dont do battle, I just drink her beer and watch the wood sizzle like bacon.
She has a Quadra fire and that thing is an incinerating beast.
My old Vermont castings would spit it out.
It does, in some odd way, confirm my theory that wood dries from the ends of the splits rather than from the sides of the splits. Just from viewing where the water is rapidly escaping from.

 

[PDXpyro]

Other than the wood not being seasoned enough, the main problem I see in that picture is that the coal bed isn't nearly robust enough to plunk those large splits directly onto. Need smaller pieces of preferably dry softwood under that oak, and the coals need to be much deeper and hotter to get those big suckers going. Even if those splits were perfectly dry, it'd be a sluggish start as pictured.

 

[Applesister]

Yes, I agree there is hardly anything there to stimulate a startup but I dont know of any time where she has come back to an unburnt log. Its really odd.
If I tried that in my stove the coals(what little there are) would go out and the logs would just be sitting there as I left them.

 

[Firefighter938]

Its not from my woodstacks, I was down at my sisters house. Ive told her to dry Oak 3 seasons but she does things her way. I dont do battle, I just drink her beer and watch the wood sizzle like bacon.
She has a Quadra fire and that thing is an incinerating beast.
My old Vermont castings would spit it out.
It does, in some odd way, confirm my theory that wood dries from the ends of the splits rather than from the sides of the splits. Just from viewing where the water is rapidly escaping from.

I have to disagree with the water out the ends theory. Take birch rounds for example. If left in the round the bark seals in the moisture and the end exposure isn't adequate enough to dry the wood before it rots.

Also, I find even small limb wood will retain moisture longer than larger split wood will. I have been burning silver maple cut, split, stacked Dec. '14 and the larger splits have been burning great but the smaller limb rounds have sizzled some.

I believe bark holds moisture in but when split the split face allows the water to escape quicker. I do believe the ends move water more efficiently, like a bunch of little straws together but don't think it is the only area the water escapes.

After this debate lets talk bark: stack bark side up or bark down?

 

[claydogg84]

I have to disagree with the water out the ends theory. Take birch rounds for example. If left in the round the bark seals in the moisture and the end exposure isn't adequate enough to dry the wood before it rots.

Also, I find even small limb wood will retain moisture longer than larger split wood will. I have been burning silver maple cut, split, stacked Dec. '14 and the larger splits have been burning great but the smaller limb rounds have sizzled some.

I believe bark holds moisture in but when split the split face allows the water to escape quicker. I do believe the ends move water more efficiently, like a bunch of little straws together but don't think it is the only area the water escapes.

After this debate lets talk bark: stack bark side up or bark down?

The log sizzling with the water on the ends is pretty solid evidence of where it escapes. You're talking about Birch, which is known for rotting. Removing the bark isn't helping the inside of the wood dry, it's helping the outside of it from decaying because of the moisture it contains.

 

[TedyOH]

The log sizzling with the water on the ends is pretty solid evidence of where it escapes. You're talking about Birch, which is known for rotting. Removing the bark isn't helping the inside of the wood dry, it's helping the outside of it from decaying because of the moisture it contains.

But.........maybe that's because the fire and heat is being "absorbed" by the log length wise resulting in the moisture being expelled out of the end grain......I wonder where the water would escape if you aimed to big blow torches on the end grain? My guess would be the face of the split.

 

[claydogg84]

But.........maybe that's because the fire and heat is being "absorbed" by the log length wise resulting in the moisture being expelled out of the end grain......I wonder where the water would escape if you aimed to big blow torches on the end grain? My guess would be the face of the split.

That's simply speculation. Feel free to prove your theory - Grab a blow torch and a wet piece of wood. Pictures/video, or it didn't happen

 

[Firefighter938]

The log sizzling with the water on the ends is pretty solid evidence of where it escapes. You're talking about Birch, which is known for rotting. Removing the bark isn't helping the inside of the wood dry, it's helping the outside of it from decaying because of the moisture it contains.

My understanding is that birch bark is waterproof, not allowing moisture in or out. The birch rounds rot because the bark keeps all of the moisture that was inside the wood in, restricting its evaporation only through the cut ends. That is why people who burn a lot of birch run zippers on both sides of birch rounds. If wood only evaporated water out the cut ends it wouldn't matter if birch bark was totally waterproof and if you split it or not.

In my experience, smaller limb wood retains moisture longer than larger split wood of all species. I am experiencing this now with silver maple I cut and split late last year. The large splits are good, the small rounds have water in them. All of it was c/s/s at the same time. All was stacked in the same location. I have even started stacking all the unsplit limb wood to the side to use next year because it isn't ready yet.

 

[Fred Wright]

Sad, really. All that heat being wasted. If she'd leave the oak splits to dry well she'd get a lot more heat from them.

 

[TedyOH]

That's simply speculation. Feel free to prove your theory - Grab a blow torch and a wet piece of wood. Pictures/video, or it didn't happen [emoji14]

Nah....I really don't care either way.

 

[Applesister]

That is a good argument, but I believe bound water travels thru the wood across the grain (thru the rays)
And travels as free water up and down thru the bigger capillary cells of the zylem and phloem. In the live sapwood.
But in the case of the Oak in the pictures, the bark is gone and the sapwood is rotted. The main capillaries are gone, bark is gone...
Tree dead. Death before chainsaw. Lol.
And bark is dead cork cells designed to hold water in a tree but allow the tree to breath off oxygen and other respiratory gasses. But protecting the living tree from freezing and forest fires and idiot people riding snowmobiles and quads and tractors.
I think if you torched the ends of a log or split that still contained water as like the one viewed it would simply take longer to burn with perhaps maybe water vapor in the off gasses. Simply just because the "blood vessels" traveling crosswise are considerably smaller.

 

[Applesister]

Nah....I really don't care either way.

I know, its not really a heated argument as much as just simple speculation. With a couple beers to just help you relax about the wasted heat.

 

[Applesister]

My woodstove wouldnt burn that wood at all. Its interesting for me the difference in stove designs. So its really an educated decision which type you buy.

 

[bholler]

If it dried from the ends maily it would not matter at all if it was split. But as we all know wood does not dry well when left in the round

 

[Oldman47]

I have been reading here and am not sure where I fall on the idea of seasoning. When I am dealing with small branches at maybe 2 inch diameter I always "split" the wood. I do not insist on an even split but believe that by splitting off a few fractions of an inch from one side I expose enough of the rest of the wood that it will dry well. I will toss both onto the wood pile but that sliver from one side is likely going to become tinder.

 

[Jay106n]

OH THE HORROR! ! IT HURTS TO LOOK! !

 

[CentralVAWoodHeat]

My woodstove wouldnt burn that wood at all. Its interesting for me the difference in stove designs. So its really an educated decision which type you buy.

The blessings and curses of new EPA stoves...

This picture reminds me of an old Riteway 37 I had. It was an old wood or coal burning stove and you could burn anything in it. This wood looks dry compared to some of the stuff we fed it! It would definitely take a good bit of air and not give you a bunch of heat but it would burn literally green wood.

I'm sitting in front of my new EPA stove currently. I had a several inch thick bed of coals going, stove at 400 and put a big load of dry hardwood in. Still waiting for it to all start burning over 15 minutes later. Yeah I will have lower emissions during the burn cycle once it gets going but that's the trick isn't it.

I say +1 for that Quadra fire.

 

[firefighterjake]

That is a good argument, but I believe bound water travels thru the wood across the grain (thru the rays)
And travels as free water up and down thru the bigger capillary cells of the zylem and phloem. In the live sapwood.
But in the case of the Oak in the pictures, the bark is gone and the sapwood is rotted. The main capillaries are gone, bark is gone...
Tree dead. Death before chainsaw. Lol.
And bark is dead cork cells designed to hold water in a tree but allow the tree to breath off oxygen and other respiratory gasses. But protecting the living tree from freezing and forest fires and idiot people riding snowmobiles and quads and tractors.
I think if you torched the ends of a log or split that still contained water as like the one viewed it would simply take longer to burn with perhaps maybe water vapor in the off gasses. Simply just because the "blood vessels" traveling crosswise are considerably smaller.

Couldn't quite figure out where you were going with this thought . . . or maybe I'm just tired and my reading comprehension fu is not strong this evening.

 

[Applesister]

Couldn't quite figure out where you were going with this thought . . . or maybe I'm just tired and my reading comprehension fu is not strong this evening.

If you torch both ends of the log (apply heat to ends) water will not significantly boil out the sides of the split.
A theory, and speculation, not a fact.
Just guessing. Based on what I know about plants.

 

[firefighterjake]

If you torch both ends of the log (apply heat to ends) water will not significantly boil out the sides of the split.
A theory, and speculation, not a fact.
Just guessing. Based on what I know about plants.

So what does this have to do with folks on ATVs, snowmobiles and tractors . . . still not following you . . . but again . . . I'm getting quite sleepy since I am usually in bed by this hour.