So, I wonder......The wood I'm burning now was split Christmas last year. That's 10 months. It seems to burn fine, with the room getting to 84-88 deg. Secondaries go like hell, stove stars up quick, occasionally, I'll throw in a log and it will sizzle, with some moisture coming out the end. But overall, no prob, there's even some oak in there.....
Burning too much in the shoulder season?
- Thread starter clr8ter
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gyrfalcon
Minister of Fire
clr8ter said:
Seasoning time depends on:
How it's stacked (loose single rows or multiple rows right up against each other)
Where it's stacked (in full sun and wind or in shade with little air movement)
How big the splits are
With small splits stacked criss-cross in single rows in full sun in a windy location, I find it burnable in a year or less. However, stuff that's been out there in those conditions for two years lights off faster, burns hotter and cleaner, no question.
Red Oak, if that's the oak you've got, is funny stuff. Last year, I found small splits stacked as above did very well after only a few winter months, despite some sizzling on the ends. Don't know whether that's because it dries a lot faster than people think or because it's one of those things that burns well even when it's still a little green. I suspect the latter.
Friend of mine with a big VC cat stove buys from the same supplier in late summer, stacks his huge Red Oak splits tightly together in a big square of rows swathed in tarps in a small shady yard for immediate use and looks at me like I'm nuts when I ask how well it burns when it's that green. He did have a small chimney fire, though, last year. Heh.
MrFood said:
As I said last night, I'm back to burning tonight. After digesting all of this info, I'm going to burn much smaller fires and use less wood. If I run out in february, oh well.
I didn't spend all this cash on a stove and wood, expend all this effort to get more wood, just to sit here and not use it. Worst case scenario is that I learn how to burn more efficiently and not be wasteful. That is a good thing. If I run out of wood, ill know to have more on hand next year.
gyrfalcon
Minister of Fire
That's the thing, MOF, I stacked it behind the garage out of the direct sun, OK air circulation, splits on the smaller side, covered on top only, but in a solid 4x4x8 chunk. It seems to burn fine, but after I stacked it, I realized what I had done. This year I'm stacking single row, air in between rows, in more sun.
I suspect the solid stacking is the biggest drawback to what I did, but the super hot dry summer may have saved me...
I suspect the solid stacking is the biggest drawback to what I did, but the super hot dry summer may have saved me...
MrFood said:
Well, I ran through all of my seasoned cherry. I tried buring some ash I split in november and it doesn't work too well. Damn! Ill have to split more for next year.
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