Best time for splitting?

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.
Phoenix Hatchling

Phoenix Hatchling

Minister of Fire
Dec 26, 2012
713
New Fairfield, CT
In the next two weeks I will be taking down approximately 7 trees in total. A combination of shagbark hickory and maple trees. They'll be cut to 12 inch lengths and left in rounds. How long should I wait and is there a best time of year to split and stack them? I figure I should be able able to use the maple next winter 2015-16, and the hickory maybe the following year. I know some prefer splitting in the dry cold, but what your suggestions?
 
7 am it is then! Now...do I wait for the rounds to sit a while first, or do I split immediately? Ideally it's best debarked, but does that happen easier when freshly cut or after time?
 
Some trees split better when cold but I prefer to split ASAP. Split everything now and you'll be that much further ahead on drying time.
 
Daytime - unless you have good lighting then nighttime works equally well. ASAP is the general plan so there is no better time than right now!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1kzwoman
Most wood splits easier when it's frozen, but that's rarely when I do my splitting. I like to cut trees in winter, after the birds have left for their winter homes. Plus it's hard to get back in the woods except for on foot, so about the only thing I can do is lay them down. When everything dries up after spring, I start hauling, and I do my splitting as soon as I get it up to the house.
 
I would split it as soon as possible. The shelf-life of firewood increases dramatically once it has been split and stacked off the ground.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 7acres and Snigg
Good to know. I'll split ASAP then!
 
Phoenix Hatchling, why just 12 inches in length? I try to get as much wood in my stove as possible thus cutting the wood length to within a few inches of the overall length of the firebox. Also, I agree with everyone else above....get that wood cut, split, and stacked.
 
Phoenix Hatchling said:
In the next two weeks I will be taking down approximately 7 trees in total. A combination of shagbark hickory and maple trees. They'll be cut to 12 inch lengths and left in rounds. How long should I wait and is there a best time of year to split and stack them? I figure I should be able able to use the maple next winter 2015-16, and the hickory maybe the following year. I know some prefer splitting in the dry cold, but what your suggestions?
Click to expand...

12" rounds? WTF?


The best time to split and stack is today. The second best time is tomorrow. The third best time is "as soon a you can get to it." There is no fourth best. This is true regardless if species or geography.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Got Wood
I always wait until the dead of winter, its a slower process, and rougher in the snow; but it really breaks up my cabin fever, plus frozen wood does split easier in my opinion
 
  • Like
Reactions: 7acres and STIHLY DAN
Yes great holiday stress reliever. Christmas week with all the bla, bla ,blah. Take out the maul and split some heads, I mean rounds.
 
ASAP. I would do the maple first then the hickory. Because you will probably want to burn that first. Both of these woods pick up decay fungus pretty quickly. Hickory petrifies so it doesnt benefit too greatly from sitting in the round. lay them on their sides if the wood is in soil contact, they will dry somewhat better with the ends exposed. If you want to cut now and split later you could always stack the rounds.
 
toddnic said:
Phoenix Hatchling, why just 12 inches in length? I try to get as much wood in my stove as possible thus cutting the wood length to within a few inches of the overall length of the firebox. Also, I agree with everyone else above....get that wood cut, split, and stacked.
Click to expand...
I like to load NS and the depth of the box is very shallow. The total volume is small as well and I find the short packs in nicer. Preference, and I never load my fire box. Even over night, I rather let it burn till early morning, and when I wake up I start it up almost new.
 
Best time to split is when your in trouble with the wife :) I like to split ASAP as we all know it does not REALY start to dry good till you split it.

That being said now that I am way ahead of the game I tend to let the pine sit in rounds for a few months that way the bark falls off while splitting it. All my oak is dead so no or little bark on it.
 
nsfd95 said:
If you don't like your neighbors I would start at 6am. If you like them 8am. I like one neighbor and not the the other so I start at 7am. Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
I never, never fire anything up before 10am, even with a neighbor I don't care for....but then again, there is only 60 feet between the houses
 
Well... Trees are down and rounds are stacked. Got myself an electric splitter to work my way through the piles, and tried a few rounds this evening. Both maple and hickory were quite stringy and didn't "pop" apart cleanly. Do I still crank through these rounds now or wait a few weeks for the rounds to shed a little free flowing moisture?
 
Phoenix Hatchling said:
Well... Trees are down and rounds are stacked. Got myself an electric splitter to work my way through the piles, and tried a few rounds this evening. Both maple and hickory were quite stringy and didn't "pop" apart cleanly. Do I still crank through these rounds now or wait a few weeks for the rounds to shed a little free flowing moisture?
Click to expand...

Get a wedge, an 8 lb maul, and a fiskars x27 (with steel tip boots).
 
  • Like
Reactions: TreePointer
If you don't need them this year wait till they are cold or even lightly freeze. They will pop a little better then. When I was younger we always waited till they got that way when hand splitting. With the hydraulic it really doesn't matter now. As soon as its bucked its split.
 
Split ASAP although I never do.

It's hard work felling, bucking, loading and unloading wood.

I try to get a friend around for a few cold ones and do the 'Two Axe' trick. I always stack myself thou. Iam a stack A-Hole.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

B
Firewood Drying Time as a function of length
Replies
34
Views
4K
The Wood Shed
stoveliker
stoveliker
P
Two Year Old Eastern Hophornbeam
Replies
4
Views
1K
The Wood Shed
snojetter
snojetter
P
Squirting Sugar Maples
Replies
6
Views
497
The Wood Shed
Max W
Max W
M
Black Maple - Lots if it!!!
Replies
17
Views
2K
The Wood Shed
mgodzilla
M
qwee
Sycamore - as a Firewood?
Replies
16
Views
2K
The Wood Shed
shoot-straight
shoot-straight
Top Bottom
Back