Big Oak split dry time

The best part is when you see & feel the difference between really dry seasoned wood VS what I used to think was dry wood.
Much more heat output & the stove get up to temp allot faster. Other benefits, too.

I was more concerend about what would start and stop the motor when you operate the splitter. Unless the motor runs constanly?

If you simply replace your gas engine with an electric motor, then yes, it runs constantly.

That is what I did. Didn't seem like a big deal to me as the torque is proportional to the current. i.e. always moving at 3400 RPM but not generating much torque or consuming much power unless the cylinder is moving. I have an outlet adjacent to the subpanel in the garage and just use the circuit breaker as the switch for the splitter.

So true. I had a miserable experience until I had dry wood. Really dry wood is that much better again. Really dry big splits in that big firebox is where I want to be when the temps are low and the wind is crankin.

Thanks, this should be a pretty simple project then.

Dropped another 3 pounds in the last month or so. Still appear to be on a pretty steep part of the drying curve. Started around 60 pounds on Labor Day.

That's about 12 pounds of sap dried off in about 14 weeks......

Has it shrunk much yet ?

Doesn't seem to have shrunk much but I didn't mark the exact locations I measured on the split to begin with. Still seems right about a cubic foot.

Thats some serious drying for a big old split

I don't know how true or accurate it is but its my understanding that a cord of oak contains over 5 55gal drums of water.

Just for food for thought i guess.

X

Some of the BTU charts show weight of green and dry and Oak has a difference of about 3000 lbs. So that could be true

Sounds about right. Sweep says this 1 cu ft split should be under 40 when it is dry. That is 20 lbs plus and I didn't weigh the split the first time until a couple weeks after it was dropped and bucked.

Slowing down but still moving along pretty good.

9/19 58 lbs
11/21 51 lbs
12/19 48.2 lbs
1/21 47 lbs

If we assume it is supposed to be about 40 pounds when dry:

first 60 days 39% of moisture on day 1
60-90 days 26% of moisture on day 60
90-120 days 15% of moisture on day 90

Percentages are obviously highly dependent on the actual dry weight and gets much more sensitive to that as the water weight goes down, but give some idea of what the drying curve looks like. From what I have seen so far, the assertion that big splits rot before they dry doesn't look correct. At the rate it is drying, it also seems to support the idea that the majority of drying is done out the ends. Lastly, I no longer buy the idea that wood doesn't dry in the winter. Maybe not as fast but there is still a good reason to get stuff split as early as possible even when cut late Fall.

This is such an excellent thread ......so informative. Never imagined there was so much water in the wood.
Thank you. Will be picking out a large fresh chunk of hardwood & doing the same here.
Thanks. Love this forum.

And I guess that depends on what percentage moisture content you consider "dry." But 3000 lbs would be 375 gallons of water!
And people think that burning green wood is a good idea??

I have big square splits of Oak, and they dried nice. Having all open sides makes a big difference. I will say I stacked mine loosely away from the rest of the stacks.

You know MM's and scales can not be trusted. :cheese:

But if you are using the same scales, you will get a fairly reliable idea of the reduction in weight as inaccuracies would tend to be constant.

MM readings would only be surface readings unless the split was split every time the reading was taken...........

I suppose for accuracy, a couple of dozen huge splits could be used so one could be split for each moisture test.

Which would use up a whole load of nice big splits....... ;-)

Who says wood doesn't dry in the winter? That is another 2+ pounds in the last month.

9/19 58 lbs
11/21 51 lbs
12/19 48.2 lbs
1/21 47 lbs
2/23 44.8 lbs

"Lastly, I no longer buy the idea that wood doesn’t dry in the winter. Maybe not as fast but there is still a good reason to get stuff split as early as possible even when cut late Fall."
Yep I changed my opinion on that also, its well worth stacking and splitting in the fall or early winter, if you have a mild winter all the better.

im thinkin my wood probably is drying more now than in the summer. everyday in 40's breezy and dry out. summer equals humidity for the most part here.

I couldn't imagine why wood wouldn't be drying all winter. The relative humidity is usually lower in the winter than the summer. That is a lot of water that has come out of that split. Nearly two gallons by weight now right?

Pretty close. Probably more if I had weighed it initially sooner. It's kind of interesting that something like 3/4 of the water is out of that big a split in 5 months.

Your thought about winter RH seems right too. Might not be that warm but it is dry and the wind is blowing.

Does it stink any less with all that water out of it?