Black Lines??

CodyWayne718 said:

alright i tried searchin this and couldnt find anything, my buddy has abunch of wood jus piled up not covered or anything i brought some home and started splitin it and its got black lines in it, almost looks like water has gotten into it all or something, never done this before and jus tryin to learn so take it easy on me, i'll try an get a pic on here. thanks to all

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sliver maple

CodyWayne718 said:

so the black lines are normal? it does seem sorta wet, see the biggest one in the 2nd pic how it didnt split all the way, jus kinda tore off...didnt know if this is bad wood or what, it'll be goin in an insert sooner or later

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it looks a little punky I burn a lot of this stuff.

Black lines are from punk. Tree was probably diseased.

LLigetfa said:

Black lines are from punk. Tree was probably diseased.

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I see it a lot in the old ones. In a good one you can see lines like that from light brown to almost red streaks. (in the heart wood)

I have a whole mess of THAT! Never knew what it was till now. Burns like poop. Get it dry now, mine is dry, checked the mm 20% but still burns poorly. It seemed to absorb any moisture around too like rain or even fog. Let me guess it feels lite and kinda soft too. If I can avoid it this will be my last winter with wood that looks like that. But if it's free and I'm there I'll take it. Just won't go out of my way to get it.

smokinjay: Since you burn it, whats the best method, mix it in with better wood? or does it burn good for you?

ckarotka said:

I have a whole mess of THAT! Never knew what it was till now. Burns like poop. Get it dry now, mine is dry, checked the mm 20% but still burns poorly. It seemed to absorb any moisture around too like rain or even fog. Let me guess it feels lite and kinda soft too. If I can avoid it this will be my last winter with wood that looks like that. But if it's free and I'm there I'll take it. Just won't go out of my way to get it.

smokinjay: Since you burn it, whats the best method, mix it in with better wood? or does it burn good for you?

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most of what I have is in much better shape its 20 million btu per cord wich is very good for a softwood,but when its very cold out I will run ash,beech, and 20 percent silver maple. The heart wood is usally really good wood.Still running at least 60 percent right now but its not punky.

The black lines are called spalt lines, they are the first indication of rotting wood. Believe it or not, this stuff is highly prized by wood carvers and wood turners. See attached photos

Werm said:

The black lines are called spalt lines, they are the first indication of rotting wood. Believe it or not, this stuff is highly prized by wood carvers and wood turners. See attached photos

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Beat me to it!

ckarotka said:

I have a whole mess of THAT! Never knew what it was till now. Burns like poop. Get it dry now, mine is dry, checked the mm 20% but still burns poorly. It seemed to absorb any moisture around too like rain or even fog. Let me guess it feels lite and kinda soft too. If I can avoid it this will be my last winter with wood that looks like that. But if it's free and I'm there I'll take it. Just won't go out of my way to get it.

smokinjay: Since you burn it, whats the best method, mix it in with better wood? or does it burn good for you?

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Yes it does sponge up moisture pretty good. Not good fuel if you leave your supply out doors. We keep our supply out of the elements, so it's a non-issue.

I have no idea why yours burns like poo. The spalted, punky wood we use burns real fast. Good for getting up to temp and for quick heat.

Of course, there are places in the world where they burn dried dung. Wonder if it puts out the btu's like spalted wood.

Yeah you beat me to it too. I had to go into a meeting. I saw the OP without the pictures, and wanted to wait for confirmation before I said "Spalted"!

Guess woodcarvers like spalted sycamore too

CodyWayne718 said:

thank ya thank ya, read about punk wood, think i know what to do, this forum and the ppl here are great....since im already here in the wood shed, would a basement work to dry out wood? its jus a concrete basement, no ventalation or anything or should i make a new thread lol

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I would not dry wood in a basement. First, the basement will be cool and damp with no air movement, whereas drying wood needs dry air, sunshine is great, and air movement of some kind is almost essential. So, in other words, the wood won't dry well. Second, the wood gives off a lot of moisture as it seasons, which would make the basement even damper than it already is.

I would stack the wood outside in a windy, sunny spot. If you have something rigid to cover it, such as corrugated metal, then cover the tops. From the pics I can't tell how punky the wood is. If it seems sort of spongy then I would definitely cover it since it will soak up rain pretty easily. If it is more or less solid and just shows a few black lines, then it won't absorb rain very much and covering isn't necessary. Keep it off the ground since it surely will absorb moisture from the ground.

derecskey said:

Yeah you beat me to it too. I had to go into a meeting. I saw the OP without the pictures, and wanted to wait for confirmation before I said "Spalted"!

Guess woodcarvers like spalted sycamore too

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Spalted Maple, Sycamore, Tamarind, Hackberry, you name it I'll turn it!

You must fall into this category as well?

Just my experiance, punky Maple - even hard maple - will suck up every bit of water within a mile of it. And will burn so well you will get up to like 140 deg. Another wood best left in the woods

Werm said:

derecskey said:

Yeah you beat me to it too. I had to go into a meeting. I saw the OP without the pictures, and wanted to wait for confirmation before I said "Spalted"!

Guess woodcarvers like spalted sycamore too

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Spalted Maple, Sycamore, Tamarind, Hackberry, you name it I'll turn it!

You must fall into this category as well?

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Nope. Just like my trees and the different characteristics and wood grain they have. I have ONE sycamore on my property and it's a prized tree to me. I cleared the junk away from around it so I could see it out my back window. Strange thing is it doesn't even grow in a crickbottom like most of the sycamores around here.

Good luck with the search and the stove, I would stay away from burning that wood this year.

I'm burning some wood that looks just like that right now. I split and stacked it last Feb. Seems to be burning just fine for me

ISeeDeadBTUs said:

Just my experiance, punky Maple - even hard maple - will suck up every bit of water within a mile of it. And will burn so well you will get up to like 140 deg. Another wood best left in the woods

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I agree. First thought when I saw the picture was why did he even keep it. We just throw that stuff away or leave it to rot in the woods. Even if it is dry there is not much heat to be found there.

Yeah, punky wood . . . the start of the wood becoming rotten.

Wood like that will either be burned if it is good and dry (recognizing of course that it will most likely burn up really fast if dry) . . . or tossed in the woods if it is either so dry that it is too punky or too wet from sucking up moisture.

Drying in the basement . . . probably not the best place. If I had a choice of stacking wood outside and tarping it or sticking it in the basement quite honestly I would go with Option C and build a woodshed . . . the next best thing for seasoning the wood and getting it to dry out however is generally outside where it is exposed to the wind and sun rather than a cellar without any ventilation.