I will start off by saying this is a story of a friend of mine who burns exclusively oak. He is a good guy, and am I not here to bash him, and please, no bad comments towards him. This is just a simple story of why oak needs to be put up for more than a year. Sure, it can be cut smaller and split small, but just as regular splits, it needs time.
He burns just over a cord and a half every year. Every spring two cords are delivered and put up in stacks, double rows, butted up no air space. These stacks are covered top and southern side right after stacking, under large maple trees.
I got on the discussion of buying mixed hardwoods like I do, and saving the oak for the coldest days. He said his wood that he is currently burning is dry and proceeded to knock to splits together like bowling pins. We settled the issue by re-splitting random splits and measuring the moisture content. My meter is not digital, but it read 28-30% and my meter only goes to 30%. I explained that I am burning 12-15% MC on maple, cherry, locust and oak and I have zero issues on running a clean burn.
So he is basically burning 30% MC oak. I try to explain that much energy is used boiling the moisture out, and he is not getting anywhere the potential BTU's out of the wood. His cost is actually more than I am paying for seasoned wood. His window glass is usually dark and they have to leave the door ajar to get it to light off well. Many days the fires are smokey and his house on many occassions has a smoke odor in it. His last liner clean had some glazed creosote at the top as his liner is not insulated in a brick chimney, which is another story in itself.
He burns just over a cord and a half every year. Every spring two cords are delivered and put up in stacks, double rows, butted up no air space. These stacks are covered top and southern side right after stacking, under large maple trees.
I got on the discussion of buying mixed hardwoods like I do, and saving the oak for the coldest days. He said his wood that he is currently burning is dry and proceeded to knock to splits together like bowling pins. We settled the issue by re-splitting random splits and measuring the moisture content. My meter is not digital, but it read 28-30% and my meter only goes to 30%. I explained that I am burning 12-15% MC on maple, cherry, locust and oak and I have zero issues on running a clean burn.
So he is basically burning 30% MC oak. I try to explain that much energy is used boiling the moisture out, and he is not getting anywhere the potential BTU's out of the wood. His cost is actually more than I am paying for seasoned wood. His window glass is usually dark and they have to leave the door ajar to get it to light off well. Many days the fires are smokey and his house on many occassions has a smoke odor in it. His last liner clean had some glazed creosote at the top as his liner is not insulated in a brick chimney, which is another story in itself.
That was wood stacked less than a year, that was dead standing when cut. The burning only gets better from here on out. Problem is, I've gone overboard and I'm now stacking wood to the sky! 
