Think there is any chance...

Sorry, burntime, but I understand misc wood takes at least four years to season. If it's split small. Rick

fossil said:

Sorry, burntime, but I understand misc wood takes at least four years to season. If it's split small. Rick

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Harsh but true.

Unless they are balsa wood.....no they won't. Wood in stick form does not season..much. I've got wood in stick form i'm cutting and splitting now that "may" be ready by december (depending on the rest of the drying season and at this point it's not promissing) and it's been cut for 7-8 years. It's a lot lower moisture than fresh cut wood but it's gunna take a miracle or some inginutiy on my part to get it properly seasoned.

For the best result, you need at least 6- 8 months! Varies by what type of wood! Maybe longer! Thats even if you split it, leaving it round won't dry at all!

If you had 3 cords of red oak. Cut and split since March. Would you burn it in December if you had to?

gibson said:

If you had 3 cords of red oak. Cut and split since March. Would you burn it in December if you had to?

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Not if it's fresh cut. If it was a healthy tree pulling water and you dumped it.....MAYBE<<<<< if you lived in Pheonix AZ. I do know if you lived in southern Michigan, especially this year....not a chance bro.

gibson said:

If you had 3 cords of red oak. Cut and split since March. Would you burn it in December if you had to?

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I'll see how it is come burning time. My father in law has 16 cords sitting in his yard 5 miles away that I can do the pickup truck swap. All that it will cost me is some food and beer for the dude. Lots more lugging and stacking. First year burning so I guess that is the rookie initiation fee. I have no problem paying my dues and will only make the mistake once. Great deal though. Three cords c/s/d of red oak for $450. My father in law looked at it and will gladly take it.

I'll see how it is come burning time. My father in law has 16 cords sitting in his yard 5 miles away that I can do the pickup truck swap. All that it will cost me is some food and beer for the dude. Lots more lugging and stacking. First year burning so I guess that is the rookie initiation fee. I have no problem paying my dues and will only make the mistake once. My father in law looked at it and will gladly take it

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If it's a good deal for you then do it but as far as burning it this year...be careful. It's more than a rookie initiation fee. You can get yoursel in a hell of a mess burning unseasoned wood. One chimney fire if conditions are right can take you, yours and all you have in one fell swoop. If it's not ready don't burn it....but get it for next year.

burntime said:

I have some 14-16 inch logs that have been cut for 3 months that are misc wood. If I split them do you think thre is any chance they will be ready by late fall?

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I dare to disagree with the experts here. If you split it small and stack it in sun and wind fast, you can use it mixed in with more seasoned wood this winter, IMHO. Better to leave it to next year, but it should be usable this winter if you have no other options.

I say this having heated my house last winter with semi-seasoned wood (in a fairly new non-cat EPA stove with a new stainless steel chimney liner.)

I have Red Oak from a big tree that died slowly, then 2 years ago it got cut down in the summer. I didn't have a wood stove at the time. It lay around in my back yard for 2 years. Now I'm cutting it into shorter rounds and splitting and stacking. I notice lots of splits in the ends of old rounds, so this stuff has seasoned some already. Last fall, I split some pretty small and brought it inside. It sat for at least 3-4 months, then I burned it. It burned good and hot. Some small splits I cut later showed an obvious lesser degree of seasoning, however. You could hear it hiss a little in the firebox as the excess moisture boiled off. Needless to say, I stopped burning from that batch and stuck with the drier stuff. So if you have good ears, as I do, they will probably tell you if a batch of wood is seasoned enough. Or get one of those moisture meters.

Burntime...if I were you I'd go for it, just keep it stacked off to the side if it burns it burns. At least you got it split and out of the way. No harm no foul.

I agree with Gryfalcon. I split red oak every spring and burn it by fall/ winter. If it is cut fairly short and thin and is in the wind/sun it will be about 20-25% mc. I leave the bigger splits at the top of the pile and they are Definitely under 20% mc by Oct. Last year was unbelievable with Aug and September not a drop of rain and sunny with 90-100 degree temps. The only way it wouldn't have dried in these conditions is to have it stacked in the shade with the water sprinkler on it every day.

I splitted two cords of Beech,Sugar maple,Larch and some Hemlock that was cut in April and split a little over a month ago. I stacked it in long rows at the end of our driveway(blacktop) and gets plenty of sun and wind because it is on a ledge. The blacktop has seasoned the wood twice as fast as the pile i have alongside my shed which gets as much sun but less wind. I haven't checked the moisture but it looks almost seasoned and all the ends are splitting.

ACL tears must be the Curse of the Hampton. Tore mine and had surgery this April - also caused me to be behind a little on the wood stacks. Oh well, we do what we can. Wood burns - better when seasoned a year but good enough when not. Good luck brother!

Cluttermagnet said:

I have Red Oak from a big tree that died slowly, then 2 years ago it got cut down in the summer.

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That's pretty key when seasoning wood. If it were a healthy oak and you cut it down, bucked it and split it this spring depending on your location<< it's gunna be shakey at best. If it's a dead/dying tree and not pulling water like a healthy tree then you are obviously starting with a lower moistere wood...different ballgame. I've cut some white oak on a local farm that were essentially dead for 3 years (leaved out partially but was dropping brown leaves as I cut it). I cut them down, bucked em' and stacked em' by May (we had a hot dry year that year) and that wood burnt real good in January.

This year, so far, has SUCKED for seasoning wood where I am in Michigan. A few hot days but mostly cool, cloudy and rainy (gobs of rain). HMMPH :grrr:

Splitting smaller really helps to dry the wood out quicker....doesn't much help for overnight burns. Give and take.

burntime said:

Just wait a week and the weather will be hot as heck and musquito infested Then the seasoning really begins!

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100% agreed...usually. But this year has been a pain in the arse. We've got a lot of rain and i've expected the mosquotos.....but it's been cool enough for the most part that the skeeters ain't been that bad. In fact, i'm hoping for the hot dry stuff to roll in but looking at the 10 day forecast...not gunna happen anytime soon.

Just my two cent's-
I think it helps to put a dark tarp over the top (just the top)of the stacks- seems to make the stacks 'Hotter' and force the moisture from the splits quicker.

woodconvert said:

This year, so far, has SUCKED for seasoning wood where I am in Michigan. A few hot days but mostly cool, cloudy and rainy (gobs of rain). HMMPH :grrr:

Splitting smaller really helps to dry the wood out quicker....doesn't much help for overnight burns. Give and take.

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Being new to this game. I still have a lot to learn about long burns, overnight burns, etc. I have tended to run smaller loads and hover over the stove a lot, feeding it often. When I get better experienced, I want to be able to fire it right so it can run a while unattended. I need to get a better feel for how it behaves with bigger loads. I don't want to overfire it. In time, I'll work all this out. I've been going slow and being cautious.

I live on a heavily treed small lot (~1 acre) with mostly shade everywhere. I mean big trees! Many are hundred foot plus. About half Poplar, half White, Red, and other Oak. A few Maples and other assorted types. So the sun isn't going to help me much with seasoning. The summer cooling value of that tree canopy is immense. Only a few smaller ones I would seriously consider thinning. Most of those are 'trash trees' anyway, with lesser BTU's.