Red oak question

Oak will not be ready for the 2014/2015 burning season. 2016/2017/2018 you should be good to go. Oak needs 2-3 years to season properly.

Maybe and maybe not. It is on the way to being dry now. Their are two ways that water is held within a tree, part of it is bound within the cells and part is free water, (essentially the free water is what is in the 'straws' being drawn up into the tree). The free water is easy to get rid of and the bound water takes time. (the three years that people say for oak to dry is the time it takes the bound water to decide to leave). If you are lucky the cells got rid of most of their moisture and what is left will dry quick so you can burn the wood this next winter. Whatever you do don't let the punky wood get wet again. If you keep it dry it will not get worse. Hack the punk off if you have the time. Get it all split and stacked off the ground. Top cover or pole shed. Whatever works easiest, you just need to keep it dry.

I am sort of in the same boat - found a nice downed oak next door but had a good 1 to 2" of punk around it. I gave each split a few whacks with my machete to shear off the looser punky wood, then stacked.

I would not move it again if it was me. I'd consider it if I had kids that I could task it to . At my place it would get covered with a good tarp or rubber roof liner now since that punky part will hold water.

For wood that's not dry yet, top covering outside is probably better than putting it in the pole barn. Air movement is important.

That is alot of wood to move. I guess I would just top cover since it is already punky. You will probably need at least two years drying though so I guarantee the punky will get worse. That is what I "hate" about the red oak, the punky sapwood which in a big tree can be two or more inches. I have even went so far as shave off the punk with a chainsaw out in the woods after I bucked it and before I split it. Lot of work but I surely didn't waste any good wood. Maybe top cover with metal roofing with a foot overhang all around. Button it down though so it doesn't blow off.......

I cut dead oak all the time. You will probably need two years - preferably under cover. The punk re-soaks water very easily. I stack uncovered usually and I move wood like this in my shed when it is surface dry (hasn't rained in a while) in the fall and it works good for me. One wet fall I moved some in my shed wet and it molded and stuck together in a mess. The punky fluff makes a mess all the way to the stove, but it will burn great for you.

Most of the dead oak I cut is bur oak. It tends to loose its bark after a while and sometimes is in the low 20% moisture and no punk; the older standing dead is sometimes better than fresh. It is tough on chains though.

Richie said:

Found 2 huge red oak down on the forest floor that had been down for a couple of years. There is about an inch of punk on the outside. Heartwood is just beautiful and measures 30%-32% on a fresh split.

Question,

Will just top covering be sufficient to keeping it from getting worse? I have a pole barn where I season wood and it was pretty full in the beginning of the season so the oak is stacked outside in November of 13. Now that the season is over I have more room. Should I move it in the pole barn or is it ok? I sure would hate to move 2.5 cord of wood if I did not have to? At 32%, will it be ready late in the season next year.

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I would top cover only. Yes, the outside will have some punk but I would not be concerned about that at all. It will dry. Also 30-32% is not bad at all for oak as it starts a lot higher than that. So, this could surprise you and might possibly be ready next winter.

All my oak that is split and stacked are in covered 4 foot wide type open sheds for 3 + years before they are used. Green or found dead on the road min. 3 years.

The sooner you can get it split and stacked, and yes I would top cover it the better off you will be, especially with the punk on the outside. In my experience, once the punk has dried out in the stacks (top covered) the decay stops.

My limited experience, punky wood is a sponge. If you keep it out of the rain, you'll be fine. If it sees any rain or snow it soaks it up much more readily than "good" wood.

Some folks advocate removing all of the punky wood from the good wood. I can't even imagine...

I have found that most of the punk will fall off during processing.What stays will dry too. I don't cover my wood and my 3+ year Red Oak has been fine so far.

I've become picky, so I remove the punky sections, they either go in the pit or get dumped. I wood not stack punky wood whith really nice red oak splits....my opinion

Last summer I stacked some of the same. 3 years old oak that was staked on the ground. The sap wood was mild punk. I put it in the main pile. It won't get used for 3-5 years, I'm ahead that far. I top cover all the wood all the time. I top cover other punk wood we use in the summer fire pit. It burn well (quick) when it's dry.

I burn the dry punkey stuff in the shoulder season.

Don't move it. Top-cover and let it dry. I agree that it may be ready for next year if it has good air circulation. I would not remove the punky pieces nor worry about them at all. As long as it's kept dry those pieces will be fine.

If all you have is tarps for your outside covering, I would stack it seperate in the pole barn. If you can outside cover it with metal roofing or the rubber, then outside is better.
If your question was whether it would be ready in a year and not wanting to move it twice, I totally understand.
I get white oak deadfall and red that dries well within a one year season. With punky half rotted off sapwood. Its a tough call.
But I think with Oak I would say outside.(if you can keep it dry.)

Yep, most of the Oak I get is dead and has varying degrees of sapwood punk. I've been trimming it until now, but it takes a lot of time so I'm just gonna leave it on and top-cover the stack.
If it's up around 30% it's gonna be two years, around here anyway, unless you split to toothpick size. I might be getting the use of a stacking spot that gets a ton of wind so I may experiment with some under-30 Oak there if I have room, and I won't split big....maybe it'll be good by December. White Ash and other guaranteed 1-year stuff goes in that spot first. I split some dead Ash and live soft Maple bigger last spring, and it was still hazing the glass this year.

chris5150 said:

Oak will not be ready for the 2014/2015 burning season. 2016/2017/2018 you should be good to go. Oak needs 2-3 years to season properly.

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I disagree. If he cut GREEN oak, that may be true. Dead oak that measures low 30's could be ready this coming season (especially if split small).

lindnova said:

The punk re-soaks water very easily.

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I agree. But why not buck it, split it to remove the punk, then stack it.

That gets all that water absorbing punk out from the good wood. It will A LOT quicker that way.

I think you will be fine either way, but whatever you do, don't move it twice

smokedragon said:

I disagree. If he cut GREEN oak, that may be true. Dead oak that measures low 30's could be ready this coming season (especially if split small).

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If it's split small, single-row, and gets a lot of wind, maybe so. Tube stoves might be a little more tolerant if the wood still has a little moisture, I don't know, but with the cat stoves I find that they are slower to light off, don't light off as strong and more apt to stall if you try to cut the air too quick.

why not buck it, split it to remove the punk, then stack it.

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If it's real crumbly, that might work pretty well. The problem is with the sapwood that's not as far gone; It's not gonna just fall off when you split it. Oak is the most common wood here, and great wood to burn but the punk is a pain. I'm sure that all the folks up north, where there is no Oak, aren't feeling too sorry for us.

Woody Stover said:

Tube stoves might be a little more tolerant if the wood still has a little moisture, I don't know, but with the cat stoves I find that they are slower to light off, don't light off as strong and more apt to stall if you try to cut the air too quick.

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Does the 20% or less rule also work for cat stove????

smokedragon said:

Does the 20% or less rule also work for cat stove????

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I've been burning at 22 percent, without much trouble. Well, I had plenty of trouble (as others can ascribe), but it was all due to a poor choice in catalytic combustors. I finished out this season in fine fashion, burning stuff a little over 20%.

Someone here (webbie3650?) made the claim that cat stoves are actually more tolerant of slightly higher MC% wood than non-cat's, based on the fact that you can bake out the moisture in bypass, before engaging the cat. I have no reference point to agree or disagree, but I will say I've burned a lot of wood above 20% (17 cords in the last 3 years) in my cat stoves, and my chimneys stay very clean.

Joful said:

I've been burning at 22 percent, without much trouble. Well, I had plenty of trouble (as others can ascribe), but it was all due to a poor choice in catalytic combustors. I finished out this season in fine fashion, burning stuff a little over 20%.

Someone here (webbie3650?) made the claim that cat stoves are actually more tolerant of slightly higher MC% wood than non-cat's, based on the fact that you can bake out the moisture in bypass, before engaging the cat. I have no reference point to agree or disagree, but I will say I've burned a lot of wood above 20% (17 cords in the last 3 years) in my cat stoves, and my chimneys stay very clean.

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Glad to hear that. We will be ordering the Woodstock Ideal Steal (as soon as the wife decides what side design she wants ). As my first experience with a cat stove, things like this are nice to hear.

I split some of the pine I picked up yesterday, and it read 22 - 27%. The trees were felled and limbed in June 2013. I rolled up to the log pile and cut and stacked until I couldn't fit any more. I imagine that will be within range for a cat stove by heating season

Smokedragon, although it is not recommended, Woodstock did once burn green wood in one of the new Progress stoves. Seemed to do okay but still not recommended. You can occasionally burn some less than ideal wood but if you start getting black glass, it is time to hold off on that wood.

I watched that video......wonder if their ideal steel would do the same. If I have anything that is a little questionable, I usually mix it with other. By this time next year though, I hope to have enough wood stored that there is no doubt about how dry it is.