advise on oak and ash splitting and stacking

[tumm21]

Hi all,

Just a quick question. Me and my old man (who could out work me any day at 67 and me 37)
have been splitting some white oak and white ash today. The ash and oak are splitting pretty good. But the oak has the bark falling right off it as I split it. Does that mean its partially dry? Also I am stacking the oak and ash all together. Three rows deep and five feet high with not much space between. I am not planning on burning it for 2 years. Am I ok doing it like this. This is my best wood supply year ever. I have about 12 cords of wood seasoned and ready to go so this wood is for 2014.

 

[Nixon]

Just guessing here, but I'd say that your in good shape for '014 . I've got some that was done the same way in 2010 and it's good, but it's going to wait another year as I have a couple of stacks ready for this winter.

 

[Jags]

Yes, you are doing OK like that.

 

[ScotO]

I'd say chances are you will be fine by 2014, best thing to do is make a resplit of a piece or two of your oak in the summer of 2014 and check it, either with a moisture meter or just by weight/feel. You'll know when it's ready. If it was dead for a while, it should have a start on drying out, but never really seasons until it is C/S/S. That's when it begins. The ash should be ready by next fall if you made the splits small to medium.

 

[CageMaster]

I agree with what everyone is saying and will only add that i am jealous

 

[etiger2007]

I would still check the oak before you burn it, oak holds its moisture like none other. Good luck.

 

[Jags]

I would still check the oak before you burn it, oak holds its moisture like none other. Good luck.

This is true, but bark falling off is an indicator that the cellular degradation that oak requires to loose its captive moisture has started to happen. Basically a little "kick start".

 

[cptoneleg]

I wouldn't stack the two togther just because the Ash will be ready for 13/14 and the Oak probably wont be ready for 3 yrs maybe 4 stacked 3 deep, even though the bark is falling off.

 

[etiger2007]

This is true, but bark falling off is an indicator that the cellular degradation that oak requires to loose its captive moisture has started to happen. Basically a little "kick start".

True, the oak i checked yesterday had the bark falling off from the wood and it still measured 28%.

 

[tumm21]

Im not sure if either the oak or ash was dead standing. I believe they were both alive. I noticed my oak was getting a little bit of fungus on it from laying on the ground for 3 weeks. My biggest problem is I am running out of room to stack wood. I am hoping everything I get from here on is ash, hickory, or maple. My biggest fear right now is that I have a ton of maple that is seasoned. I just dont know if it was sugar maple or just a soft maple. If its a soft maple I am probably going to go through it quick.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Hi all,

Just a quick question. Me and my old man (who could out work me any day at 67 and me 37)
have been splitting some white oak and white ash today. The ash and oak are splitting pretty good. But the oak has the bark falling right off it as I split it. Does that mean its partially dry? Also I am stacking the oak and ash all together. Three rows deep and five feet high with not much space between. I am not planning on burning it for 2 years. Am I ok doing it like this. This is my best wood supply year ever. I have about 12 cords of wood seasoned and ready to go so this wood is for 2014.

Tumm, I don't know if I should congratulate your father or jump on you to get more active. That is great that he still splits wood at age 67. Of course many of us know of others at much older age who still split wood. As for me, I do but now it is with the assistance of hydraulics.

As for the oak and ash, I almost always keep the oak by itself simply because it takes so darned long to dry....even if it has been cut dead. Bark falling off? I wonder if it is just the normal punk that oak gets. Most oak will get an inch or so of punk around the whole log so it is normal but the interior is what you need to be concerned with.

As for the ash, it is much drier than the oak to begin with and dries much faster too. If you separate it now, you might do yourself a good favor. With the ash, I would not hesitate to stack it 10 rows together. Not so with the oak.

12 cord ready to go already besides this new wood? Congratulations!

 

[rdust]

I never stack oak and ash together, oak takes forever ash is good in a year.

 

[TradEddie]

I wouldn't stack the two togther just because the Ash will be ready for 13/14 and the Oak probably wont be ready for 3 yrs maybe 4 stacked 3 deep, even though the bark is falling off.

I second that advice, I had oak and hickory to split two years ago, so I stacked them together with no intention of needing either for at least two years. Now, due to various unforeseen circumstances, I may need some of that hickory by the end of this season, so now I need to separate them. From now on, all my wood is going to be separated.

TE

 

[blades]

Single stack loosely, the oak,if possible for all the reasons above in the windiest place you have. 3 years on oak to make less than 20%m is not unheard of. keep the splits of oak under 4" and that will help speed things along as well. Ash can be good to go in a year, 2 is still better and as always none of this should be in contact with the ground. Also removing any bark will also speed things up with the added bonus of reducing bugs that like the in-between layer. Debarked splits dry faster.

 

[Woody Stover]

I wouldn't stack the two togther just because the Ash will be ready for 13/14 and the Oak probably wont be ready for 3 yrs maybe 4 stacked 3 deep, even though the bark is falling off.

I second that advice, I had oak and hickory to split two years ago, so I stacked them together with no intention of needing either for at least two years. Now, due to various unforeseen circumstances, I may need some of that hickory by the end of this season, so now I need to separate them. From now on, all my wood is going to be separated.

Yep, the Ash should be primo in two years...the Oak, maybe not. I've been keeping species separate for the most part, but I'll mix woods like White Ash and hard Maple that are similar in drying time and heat value.

removing any bark will also speed things up with the added bonus of reducing bugs that like the in-between layer. Debarked splits dry faster.

As I split, I've been removing the bark that's easy to take off. It makes sense that it will dry faster but I'm curious as to how much faster that may be?

 

[onetracker]

I would still check the oak before you burn it, oak holds its moisture like none other. Good luck.

'specially white oak