to cut or not to cut..........

Oak takes a minimum of 18 mos to season. See if you can buy already seasoned wood somewhere. Put a wanted on craigslist for at least 1 yr seasoned hardwood.

pict said:

I would, but we're barely scraping by with no extra money. three kids, one breadwinnwer.

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I'd cut use the cedar first and keep a good eye on the chimney.... and see what else you can find as well

smokinjay said:

pict said:

I would, but we're barely scraping by with no extra money. three kids, one breadwinnwer.

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I'd cut use the cedar first and keep a good eye on the chimney.... and see what else you can find as well

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+1 burn the cedar first, dead dry cedar burns great, hot and not as fast as pine.

Do you have any Ash you can cut?

pict said:

It's a long story, but-I haven't any seasoned wood for burning this winter.
Is it worth cutting down a couple of post/blackjack oak trees and splitting the wood for burning? Or will it not burn at all?

I have a few dead cedar trees (killed in fire)-would it be fine to burn cedar logs?

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Go ahead and cut down the oak. . . for next year.

The cedar might be OK.

Can you cut the oak and trade it with some one for some seasoned wood? Might not get 1:1, but you have to do whatever you need to keep warm. Cut the others and mix with some pallet wood could be another option. I wish you the best of luck with what ever road you decide to take.

Hmmm . . . not good . . . your best bet would be to burn the cedar. Depending on just how dead (and dry) the cedar is you may be able to get by . . . but around here white cedar (our predominant species) burns well and seasons relatively quickly, but burns wicked quick and doesn't coal up very well.

On the other end of the burning spectrum, most oak species burn fantastically well with long burn times, but it takes a long time for it to season.

Best bets: Cut, split and stack the wood for next year (getting wood now is most definitely not the time to be getting wood as the wood will have almost no time to really season.) If this is not an option, I would say the next best thing would be to use the cedar and hope it's dry enough . . . and cut the oak for possible use next year. If you have access to slab wood from mills this might help . . . again, this will burn fast, but it often seasons quickly due to the size. White ash can be used in a pinch, but honestly even ash needs several months to really season up to burn well in an EPA stove. Burning pallets can help with border-line wood . . . it can bring the temp up enough in the firebox to help drive off the moisture.

That said, I suspect this year could be tough as burning unseasoned wood in the new EPA stoves is rough . . . not as much heat, more creosote produced. Definitely keep a close eye on your chimney and clean it frequently.

Drop, buck and split whatever you can today. Do the oak last as there is no way it'll be good for this year. Split some of it big for overnight burns adn alot of it small to speed the drying time. lay it out heartwood up and make sure it's someplace where it'll get wind and ideally sun on it, without any rain. If you have to, bring it into your basement and put a fan on it.

Burning pallet wood and lumber scraps is a great idea...mix it in and you'll be in better shape. Also check your local lumberyard...you mgiht be able to scare up some free or low cost dry wood scraps that you can use too.

Good luck. You may have lots of luck with another local woodburner who would be willing to help you out, or trade you some of his dry stuff for your not so dry oak. Worth a shot...put an ad on your local craigslist...worst thats gonna happen is you get some SPAN in your mailbox or nothing comes of it.

Take the big oak down. I'm no pro but I'd bet there's burnable lumber there.

You may be surprised with that old oak. I've got red oak on my property that has been down for years and may have a thin layer of rot on the outside but is mostly solid and very dry once you cut into it. I cut some a few months ago and split/stacked it and that outside layer is totaly dry now. There is a bunch more that I may go out and cut if my badly cut finger heals in time to run the saw before the snow starts.

+1 to Rouge and Albert . . . I had a dead sugar maple that I cut down last year . . . bone dry and ready for burning. Unfortunately, being a newbie I wasted a lot of that wood by burning this premium stuff instead of waiting until it turned colder and I wasn't letting the fire cycle . . . just kept tossing wood into the firebox . . . as a result I ended up with a lot of coals and crazily high temps even though it wasn't all that cold outside. Try the oak . . . it might burn.

Cut it and burn it. Just check your chimney often as creosote will build up much faster burning 'wet' wood.

If you can find some Hedge (Osage Orange), cut and burn it. It has a very low moisture content to start with and a very hot burn. Start burning the smaller stuff now and keep the larger pieces for later.
Brad

I'd go with the dead Red Cedar and the dead oak. If the oak tree is standing, it has some good wood still in it, and I bet a lot of good wood. I have lots of red cedar in my wood pile and it seems to season pretty fast. When it is dry red cedar burns nice and hot, but kinda fast. Maybe there are neighbors who also have dead cedars. Seems like you'll be mixing dead cedar, dead, but not really seasoned oak, and what ever lumber scraps or pallets you can find, but it should burn OK. I think fresh cut living oak will burn, but it will be a long way from ready this winter. Once you get a wood supply for this winter, start cutting living oaks for next year.