Do you season logs or splits?

I've seen lots of people stack rounds (cut to length) and others go ahead and split and stack. Is there an advantage to storing rounds over splitting them? I ask as I now think I have enough split wood seasoning for next year. I am trying to get myhands on some logs left laying around from a tree that fell on a powerline and the power company had it taken down. Not sure if I should split it or stack it as is.

The bark will hold the moisture in longer if it's not split. Don't let rounds sit til next season or it may not be dry. I would split and stack it up by spring, and it will be good and dry for next season.

I split mine about as fast as I get it, since ya never know what the future holds!

As long as its covered and off the ground, I see no problem either way. In my experience, dead rounds still need to dry for a couple of months after they are split.

You're always ahead to split firewood asap.

I usually do a little of both, just depending on how available time and how my back feels...although now with the hydro splitter, I may tend to get the wood into splits a little earlier. In my local climate, it seems that even unsplit logs season quick enough for me. Had a pile of hedge logs laying under a tree for about a year and they still got down to about 15% moisture by heating season.

I suspect that it may have to do with the main function of the tree being to move water/sap up and down - which means out the ends of the log once it's cut. Very little seems to move transversely - out the bark, or even out of the split surface. Of course, if you are in a wet, humid and/or cool climate every little bit will help.

Corey

I let rounds sit for a year, then I split them. I would love to split everything as I get it, but I don't have the time to get ahead. Every spring I vow to split everything I have (which is at over 10 cord and growing), and all new wood right away, but I never do.

Rick

I do both here as well. In the fall, I tend to spend a day or even two felling, bucking and transporting the wood, then I simply have no time to do much more than get them home and on racks. Come spring I split with a maul when I've got time...it's easier to lift/split and restack when it's had a winter to dry out some. Of course that means stacking 2x, but again it comes down to my time and how tired I am.

O.k., I'll put up a new twist. Depends on the type of wood.

Elm, splits much easier dry and also frozen, so that gets split in winter and dry.

All others split ASAP, since they dry about 5 times faster split. Lots more surface area, and no bark. Like a Bull Mastiff vs a Toy Poodle.

splitting seems to cut down on the rot/bug problem as well