Next years wood for a Fireview?

I like to get all my wood cutting chores done while it is still cool.

When the leaves are out, so are the bugs.

Standing behind a hot saw on a hot day slathered with insect repellant is so much fun. Not.

Great choice on the stove. You will love it.

Watch out for the Oak, I still get occasional sizzlers with 2 year old splits. I would process the trees as soon as possible. I believe wood doesn't start to dry til it's split and stacked in the sun and wind.

Smith said:

I always thought wood would dry faster cut split after the leaves were out and the sap was up in the crown not in the trunk. An old guy I got wood from years ago told me this. I thought it was true because bark stays on winter cut wood and falls off summer cut wood.

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Smith, I think you have it backwards. It is always best to cut the wood after the leaves fall and before the sap gets back up into the tree. Case in point is red maple. I cut several of those during hard winters like we had this year. During early February I could cut any tree and there would be no sap. However, in late February I started seeing sap in a few. By March, every maple you cut will be oozing sap. So, if you cut after the leaves are out, that means all that sap has gone back up the tree and will be in every log you cut.

Back to your problem. It sounds like you have an ideal place for the wood. Get it cut, split and stacked ASAP. Leave it uncovered until fall (when fall rains begin). For sure the ash and cherry would be ideal wood and there would be no problem seasoning because they have little moisture to start with. However, I'd take special care of maple and others. Make certain they get lots of wind and lots of sun and you can probably get by okay. Best to stack single rows too if seasoning only through the summer. Otherwise you can stack more than one row together. We've got probably 20 rows right next to each other but we also have a 6 year supply on hand.

Good luck in your new home with a new stove! May they both serve you well.

billb3 said:

When the leaves are out, so are the bugs.

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Here in the VA mountains, it's not just the bugs, but we get the slithering creatures that bite back! (copperheads and rattlesnakes) I like to tell people that my saw has an automatic cut-off switch once the temp hits 50, and my golf clubs have a cut-off switch when it goes below 50.

As to the topic at hand (woo-hoo, another Big Sixer - take that PE Army - we're gaining on ya! ;-P ), I doubt you will have much of a problem with wood cut in May or earlier and seasoned until October-ish. Sunlight and wind and you'll be fine. Different people have different opinions and experiences, but I find red oak and chesnut oak to be the longest to cure - I find white cures pretty quickly myself. I would go ahead and break a sweat making sure it is split however. ENJOY THE BIG 6

If you cut a tree down with leaves on and let it lay there til the leaves all dry up it seems that the wood is much dryer than if you cut it in the spring before the leaves come out. The leaves seem to suck all the water out of the tree before the die. Now that is only a comparison if you did it at the same time. If you can cut the tree with no leaves down 2 months prior to the other, well that is a no brainer.

So many variables affect wood use like how big an area you are heating, how much insulation, wind and sun exposure on your home, how many windows and how good they are, how warm you like it, etc. However, I think 4 cords would be a reasonable amount to have on hand. That's about what I'm going to end up using with my Keystone. Agree with everything said so far. Cut fall after leaf drop thru dead of winter and there is not so much moisture in the wood. Cut in full leaf, especially mid summer on and let it sit in the sun until the leaves dry out and there's not so much moisture in the wood though it will be too late for use that winter. Cut in spring and there will be plenty of sap in the wood, same in summer if you don't let leaves suck moisture out. However, cut it when you can and just dry it a couple of years and it's irrelevant what time of year you cut it.