burning older wood

Usually oak will get punky in the outer inch or so when it starts to rot but the rest of it is usually pretty solid. Can you split a piece and post a picture? I say cut it, split it, stack it and burn it in a couple years.

XxDarkEuphoriaxX said:

have a question... UNfortunately my grandpa decideded to have the woods logged behind my parents house (i am 20) (this was 2 years ago this summer) and there is a LOT of wood laying around, the tops of oak trees mainly. some of this wood when cut is sort of "grainy" half way in like it sort of crumbles a bit but is not completely rotted...

I am in the process of building a house and would not be able to burn it for about 2-3 years from now... is it ok to use? if dry that is...

will it split even if it is grainy? What is this "grainyness"

thx

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I am cutting exactly the same thing (oak) that was logged 2 or 3 years ago and I have not found any wood that is punky any more than maybe an inch, great stuff as it splits easily because most of it is still very green but I have found some that is about half cured which after one season should be ready to burn, the other stuff I think will be 2 seasons of curing.

XxDarkEuphoriaxX said:

have a question... UNfortunately my grandpa decideded to have the woods logged behind my parents house (i am 20) (this was 2 years ago this summer) and there is a LOT of wood laying around, the tops of oak trees mainly. some of this wood when cut is sort of "grainy" half way in like it sort of crumbles a bit but is not completely rotted...

I am in the process of building a house and would not be able to burn it for about 2-3 years from now... is it ok to use? if dry that is...

will it split even if it is grainy? What is this "grainyness"

thx

Click to expand...

Almost all of the wood I cut is tops and remains from a tornado/loggers in 2004. It's almost all good yet. If the bark is still on it, then it sometimes has a small layer of punk around it but the heartwood is good. If it has been laying in solid contact with the ground, such as the log skidder ran it over, then it's quite often too rotten to use.

My rule of thumb is if it doesn't crumble or break into chunks when I'm splitting it (if it splits normally) then I add it to the woodpile. Otherwise if it's really punky all the way through then I leave it in the woods. If the wood you are cutting is sort of crumbly half way through just by cutting it, then it's probably pretty rotten. Try splitting a few pieces and see what it does.

quads said:

My rule of thumb is if it doesn't crumble or break into chunks when I'm splitting it (if it splits normally) then I add it to the woodpile.

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That's pretty much my rule. i don't care if it feels like balsa, If it split into a decent looking piece of firewood then it's going into the stove.

We call that "punky" around here and it is indeed beginning to rot. Once dry it will burn of course, but it won't burn as long as dry solid wood. There will be a point where it is not worth the time to process it. A little punk in the middle and I'll still process it but if more than about a third is pinky then it goes in the rot pile where it will turn to sawdust or be used for a campfire.

the moderators generally don't like it when you post the same question in multiple forums. That being said, if you didn't get the answers you needed in the "Wood Shed" forum, then go back and say so, make it kinda like a conversation, ya know?

Danno77 said:

the moderators generally don't like it when you post the same question in multiple forums. That being said, if you didn't get the answers you needed in the "Wood Shed" forum, then go back and say so, make it kinda like a conversation, ya know?

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lol....aaaaaaannnnnd..... we are merged...thank you nameless moderator....

XxDarkEuphoriaxX said:

have a question... UNfortunately my grandpa decideded to have the woods logged behind my parents house (i am 20) (this was 2 years ago this summer) and there is a LOT of wood laying around, the tops of oak trees mainly. some of this wood when cut is sort of "grainy" half way in like it sort of crumbles a bit but is not completely rotted...

I am in the process of building a house and would not be able to burn it for about 2-3 years from now... is it ok to use? if dry that is...

will it split even if it is grainy? What is this "grainyness"

thx

Click to expand...

It can be a mess but my first two years worth of wood was very punky but what wasn't was very seasoned and burned great.

XxDarkEuphoriaxX said:

recently, the woods was UN fortunately logged by my grandpa 2 years ago andn there are a bunch of tree crowns left laying around, mostly oak... I am 20 and plan on building a house in these woods in the next 2-3 years.. so the wood would be 4-5 years old before I could burn it..

My question is, when some of the wood is cut, halfway in the logs it appears sort of "grainy" like it sort of crumbles apart. It is not completely rotted though... will this wood still burn? is it ok to burn... the oak doesn't appear to do this as much as other wood species they cut..

thanks

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I am surprised it is half punky, have you checked around to see if there is some better I have found very little punky where I am cutting, and I know it was logged at least 2 years ago.

XxDarkEuphoriaxX said:

anyhow, does it matter if it is un split and stored that way for 2 years instead of splitting then stacking?

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Cut to length, split and stack it now!

XxDarkEuphoriaxX said:

Sorry about the double post i posted in the wrong forum and it got moved, and I thought it got deleted so I re-posted... didn't realize it should be in this forum.

anyhow, does it matter if it is un split and stored that way for 2 years instead of splitting then stacking?

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no worries about the dbl post.

YES, it does matter if it is unsplit, ESPECIALLY if it's starting to get punky. moisture makes wood rot. rounds hold moisture better than splits.

My own view on punky wood . . . and it certainly sounds like this is punky wood.

It will burn . . . provided the punk doesn't get wet as it will often sop up water like a sponge unlike "regular" ol' wood.

It will burn . . . but not in the same way as wood that isn't punky will burn.

My own take . . . if the wood is crumbling and falling apart it stays in the woods or is thrown out back to be tree food so the other trees will grow up healthy . . . before I cut them down.

If the wood is just a bit punky I'll keep the wood . . . and either use it for camp wood for Camp Jakeawana (when my friends come visiting), burning during shoulder season or I'll hack/split the punk off and throw it in with the rest of the wood.

As for the time frame . . . if you're thinking about using this wood in 2-4 years . . . I'm not so sure it will be any good. If you opt to do so, definitely cover the tops . . . but once the punk has started which is perhaps the first step in the wood degrading into rot, it will happen pretty quickly . . . especially if left exposed to the elements.

In my experience oak that is partially rotton does not burn so bad when it is dried out. The nice thing is its easy to split. Now it will not burn as hot or as long as quality oak but it still provides you with heat. Sometimes I have a few fresh trees brought to me from logging buddies, but I prefer to get trees that are dead or damaged anyway, I like to keep the forest looking healthy.

firefighterjake said:

It will burn . . . provided the punk doesn't get wet as it will often sop up water like a sponge unlike "regular" ol' wood.

It will burn . . . but not in the same way as wood that isn't punky will burn.

My own take . . . if the wood is crumbling and falling apart it stays in the woods or is thrown out back to be tree food so the other trees will grow up healthy . . . before I cut them down.

...once the punk has started which is perhaps the first step in the wood degrading into rot, it will happen pretty quickly . . . especially if left exposed to the elements.

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I can't stand punky wood. My suppliers know better than to try to foist off a load of punk on me, so I haven't been stuck with any in years.

I think Jake has a good handle on it, at least according to my experience. Rot requires moisture (over 20% MC) and warmth (over 40ºF). Once it starts, the wood soaks up rain water fast and retains in for a long time. Since rot usually starts on the outside, every time it rains the outside punky layer soaks it right up. That accelerates the rot and in no time at all, you are left with a useless mess. One year uncovered in wind and sun to season it to around 20% MC, after that store it under cover and out of the rain and it will keep for a hundred years.