splitting in june for next year

In general yes, that's pretty late. A full year in stacks is best and burning too-wet wood in an EPA stove is the cause of much misery. If it's between burning wood you split & stacked in June or buying "seasoned" wood in the fall from an unknown dealer, your own wood will likely be the drier of the 2.
Some strategies to get burnable wood in 6 months:
Go after faster drying species. Some of the faster drying, high btu species are Ash (fastest), cherry, beech, birch. Lower btu woods generally dry faster too like pine, poplars...
Look for standing dead trees. The limb wood can be ready to burn though the lower trunk can be anywhere from fairly dry to as wet as a live tree.
Split small to help the splits dry faster.
Always stack in as open an area as possible.
Covering the top of the stack is a matter of preference/debate, but covering the sides is a no-no as it will trap the moisture & nearly stop the drying process.
If you can get any really dry stuff like untreated pallets, lumber scraps... mixing that in can help.

Afraid this is what I will be doing! Old timer's rule of thumb was the tree needed to be felled by June 30th. Thats what I will hold on to this year. LOL

FYI though, jay burns in a wood boiler with a way bigger firebox than your insert has, so moisture of the wood not as much of a problem for him.

midwestcoast said:

FYI though, jay burns in a wood boiler with a way bigger firebox than your insert has, so moisture of the wood not as much of a problem for him.

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Your right I can burn brick! lol and do. With a draw that is just unreal. Heavy winds in all directions. You can see the stack is clear of smoke!

chris2879 said:

I am pretty sure I know the answer but, would splitting in the month of June be too late for burning this upcoming winter? Lets assume it is not oak.

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Chris, you probably do know the right answer. However, if you could be more specific on what kind of wood you have perhaps we could give a better answer. Of course no matter what it is, splitting a bit small, stacking it loosely and stacking where both sun and wind will hit will help. Also stacking in single rows. And if you have to choose between sun and wind, choose the wind.

chris2879 said:

I am pretty sure I know the answer but, would splitting in the month of June be too late for burning this upcoming winter? Lets assume it is not oak.

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Could you burn the wood . . . yes.

Could you burn the wood cleanly and efficiently and have little worry about the wood igniting easily and not gunking up your glass and chimney . . . probably not.

As mentioned there are some options . . . and some variables . . . such as the type of wood, size of the splits, exposure to the sun and wind, etc. . . . but generally I suspect most folks here say it's a pretty good idea to try to get your wood put up a year in advance for less headaches . . .

And I am sure if you ask around there are many folks outside of hearth.com that will tell you it's fine to get the wood done by June . . . but these same folks are either running old woodstoves or are the ones who also get a visit from the fire department sometime during the course of the winter.

Thats the way alot of people burn in Northern Michigan . I know several people who burn what they split in the summer. People think I'm crazy for drying wood for two to three years. Don't care what they think I know I am doing it right. Been doing it that way for almost 30 years . Dave.

If you were in California like I am that would probably be OK. It's very hot here in the summer, very low humidity and almost no rain. were you are though, there's too much humidity in the air to properly season it that soon. In most parts of the country a year split, stacked and covered is what's needed.

I will be splitting the last of my Black Locust for next year next week. All of it was cut by mid March and some of it looks like it has been dead for years. I would not try to burn Red Oak that was split in June though!

I am pretty sure if you split ash its the exception. It dries fast!

I am always told that my wood will get "punky". I have found that if wood is stored off the ground well ventilated and only covered on the top it will last many years. I know there are many here who do the same thing. I give up trying to educate some people. "You just can't fix stupid" with some people.

chris2879 said:

I am pretty sure I know the answer but, would splitting in the month of June be too late for burning this upcoming winter? Lets assume it is not oak.

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I graduated from that 3 years ago. That was one nice winter.

davmor said:

I am always told that my wood will get "punky". I have found that if wood is stored off the ground well ventilated and only covered on the top it will last many years. I know there are many here who do the same thing. I give up trying to educate some people. "You just can't fix stupid" with some people.

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Dave, I know what you are talking about. And on the punky wood, there is no need to have punky wood unless you cut it punky to begin with or let it sit where it is wet most all of the time. Up until this year we've been burning wood that was 6-8 years in the stack and I do not recall one piece that was punky. It burned great and in fact burned better than the 1-2 year old stuff we burned this year.

Backwoods Savage said:

davmor said:

I am always told that my wood will get "punky". I have found that if wood is stored off the ground well ventilated and only covered on the top it will last many years. I know there are many here who do the same thing. I give up trying to educate some people. "You just can't fix stupid" with some people.

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Dave, I know what you are talking about. And on the punky wood, there is no need to have punky wood unless you cut it punky to begin with or let it sit where it is wet most all of the time. Up until this year we've been burning wood that was 6-8 years in the stack and I do not recall one piece that was punky. It burned great and in fact burned better than the 1-2 year old stuff we burned this year.

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Dennis, that is a very good point. You just can't convince some people though.

You are not alone. Last fall I wanted to get most of my firewood ready....In July we had our first baby so all spare time was basically gone....next thing I knew, the snow was melting and I still had quite a bit of work to do with the firewood for 2011/2012.

In Feb I was able to buck up some Cherry and various Maple (about 2-3 cord) and I have half of that split and stacked. I hope to have the rest of it S&S within the next few weeks (out of town for work so not much time right now). I also have about 1.5-2 cord of red oak that I bucked up last spring and split last summer....I think most of that will be ready....

I think I am also going to suck it up and buy a cord or two this year (this month) just to keep on hand and try to stay ahead...

Now that I have my own splitter and truck, 2012 - 20xx will be a different story....I want to get into the habit of only burning wood that is 2-3 years old (split and stacked).

SolarAndWood said:

chris2879 said:

I am pretty sure I know the answer but, would splitting in the month of June be too late for burning this upcoming winter? Lets assume it is not oak.

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I graduated from that 3 years ago. That was one nice winter.

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All true, but can be very tough to pull off.

smokinjay said:

All true, but can be very tough to pull off.

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Especially when you burn upward of 10 cord a year ;-)