bad news..........

[iceman]

About 2 cords of mostly red oak that has been sitting for 2 + years doesn't look like its gonna be "well- seasoned"....I resplit some of the larger splits and they were not good! If this stuff is suspect then i know the rounds I have won't be ready either......... bummer! I wasn't gonna move my wood up till thanksgiving week but now looks like I will have to resplit a lot of wood so better start now and move wood up as I go!....hopefully the back row will be dry as it gets more sun than the front.....
I have wood for 2-3 years out but I am gonna start splitting small as this is just way to much for the wood not to be ready!

 

[ISeeDeadBTUs]

That is an awful lot of kindling . . . yer gonna go through all that in 2-3 years? You must start a fire three times a day or sumpin'

 

[oldspark]

Why is it not ready, you checked it with a MM and it was how much?

 

[iceman]

That is an awful lot of kindling . . . yer gonna go through all that in 2-3 years? You must start a fire three times a day or sumpin'

Lol that's the 2 cords that isn't ready for this year! I burn 4 cord yearly.... I have over 12 in the yard. But its not ready to go....lol

 

[iceman]

Why is it not ready, you checked it with a MM and it was how much?

Didn't use mm but when I resplit them , well it was line green red oak inside , and had the strong smell....
Not all of it is bad / not ready... there is some maple mixed in and the smaller splits are fine... I am sure if I resplit the big ones they will be better by Dec/jan .... I just gotta resplit it .... but the small rounds I have stacked that I was planning on using as overnighters...... well. We shall see! It can't be as bad as the first year and will be the longest wood I have seasoned yet.... but for now on smaller splits... I don't have enough space to really get 3+ years out.......
Right now I am splitting for 3 years but can't stack it until I move wood up to the house ...... I would really like to stay 2yrs and get some space back

 

[BrotherBart]

I bet that wood will be fine. You aren't ever gonna get all of the smell out of red oak. But dang it cover the tops of those stacks in an area that gets fifty inches of rain a year.

 

[blowell]

I've been splitting as small as practicable. I have mostly red oak. It splits like a dream with a maul. I split a round this afternoon - it was about 30" in diameter. I split it 83 ways. I'm always afraid that the oak I split will never dry, so I go as small as I can.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Good luck Iceman. We get some of that hard to season oak around here too and your climate is a bit damp for sure.

 

[iceman]

I bet that wood will be fine. You aren't ever gonna get all of the smell out of red oak. But dang it cover the tops of those stacks in an area that gets fifty inches of rain a year.

Lol BB. Were under drought conditions this year and the wood won't dry! Lol!

 

[savageactor7]

Hi Ice as small as those splits are i can't believe they aren't seasoned after 2 years. The MM is only an aid and may be a little off. Go with you intuition you what what seasoned wood is then bring an armful in and burn it for a good look/see.

 

[oldspark]

I guess size is realitive but the splits looked fairly big to me, if I have oak I want to dry quickly the splits are smaller than that.

 

[gpcollen1]

I bet that wood will be fine. You aren't ever gonna get all of the smell out of red oak. But dang it cover the tops of those stacks in an area that gets fifty inches of rain a year.

Yep, much of the northeast averages around 4 inches per month. 50 inches per year - big deal. There is no way on earth I would consider this a wet climate...

 

[golfandwoodnut]

I am learning the white oak is alot better than the red oak. Someone pointed out the white oak does not let water back in the ends and is used on ships because of its ability to hold out water. I still love the red oak. Good luck and give it a burn test. It would be interesting to hear a MM reading.

 

[iceman]

Well pulled out the mm and split some of the big ones and to my surprise they were around 22% ... none were higher than 24% but most were 20-22%! But they were closer to the top and sides of the stack so u am sure the bottoms will be higher ... but I know if I resplit some they will dry between now and Dec .... but the rounds I am sure are not ready and that stinks cause I was hoping to make those my overnighters in Jan ... so will work with what I got... its ironic, some of my smaller splits for next year are already 20% or less! And that's after I resplit some of them... so I can start pulling from there if need be... good thing I got some beech and locust cause if I split it now it should be ready by this time next year!

 

[Dune]

I am learning the white oak is alot better than the red oak. Someone pointed out the white oak does not let water back in the ends and is used on ships because of its ability to hold out water. I still love the red oak. Good luck and give it a burn test. It would be interesting to hear a MM reading.

It is used on ships because it doesn't rot. Red oak rots fast, but is still great firewood, and much easier to split, IMHO.

 

[blowell]

So much easier to split. I had two big oaks felled this early summer. The bigger one was red. I am now splitting the rounds. When I get to a white round, I start swearing.