3 year old downed oak logs still not seasoned?

[wahoowad]

Today I picked up a dozen logs from a medium oak downed a little over 2 years ago. The tree was cut into 3' long logs soon after it fell. My friend assured me they would be seasoned and ready to burn. After lugging these logs up her steep backyard hill, I had my doubts that much moisture had left the logs at all! My suspicions were confirmed when I split them. I'm not sure how wet they are, but they seem like they need to sit awhile. Is it possible these logs could be ready to burn this season? Or is it common for 2 year old logs to still need a season once split?

 

[bruce56bb]

wad......thats been my experience with them. the bark just wont let them dry. i cut some oak and coffee bean today thats been down over 2 years. when split, its wet just like a freshly fallen tree.

 

[DavidV]

if you are smelling that Whiskey Barrel smell when you splitte em, you will be burningthem next year. Wood on the ground is like a candle wick. it just pulls the water up out of the ground. You have to get it split and stacked for it to dry. if you were asking this question in November I woulid say that you might be able to burn at the end of the season....but it's January..... You'll be set for next year.

 

[wahoowad]

Too bad for me then. My seasoned wood is a crazy mix and not in the best of shape. I was hoping to have a solid foundation of oak. I guess I will next year!

 

[wahoowad]

While stacking some newly split wood I noticed the 'wet' oak I split last week looked pretty dry. In fact it had started to develop small cracks in the ends. Is it possible this older wood (logs had been down 2 years) will dry faster (this season) given it's age? We've had some warmer, dryer weather lately. Or am I being fooled by just a dry exterior surface?

 

[Runs With Scissors]

I recently split some downed hickory and poplar and Im burning it after two weeks. However Im fortunate enough to have a dry heated basement to stack it in. I simply place a small fan near my stove blowing twords the stack and just feel the wood to consider weather to burn it or let it go for a while.

I dont consider wood thats wet from lying around to be the same as green freshly cut wood.

 

[Eric Johnson]

Wood really needs to be split and stacked for a few months during the summer to really dry out. It should be split, stacked and dried for one year if it's cut green. Just cutting it and letting it lie on the ground ain't gonna do the trick in most cases, because even if it dries out, it re-absorbs water from the ground during wet periods.