Oak and MM

[cptoneleg]

This Chesnut Oak was c/s/s in April of 2011 it was from a live tree, the wood is stacked in single rows, thought I would see how it is doing, after nearly 2 full summers and 16 months. I got readings from 27% to 31%. I checked it when split but MM only reads to 40%

I am going to let it set another yr. to see how it burns. I have plenty of BL, Red Maple, and Cherry that is ready fo this year.

I have never let Oak dry that long but will give it a try.

 

[steeltowninwv]

wow...i got some oak i was planning on burning this year..ill have to check it first...i cut it last year but it was dead standing...

 

[ScotO]

It is amazing how long oak holds onto moisture. Its just the way the cells in the wood are. The longer it sits c/s/s, the better. I love burning oak, esp. for the coals. But I hate waiting for it! I'm like you cptoneleg, I have plenty of other good stuff to burn, so I'm patient with my oak. It'll be ready someday!

 

[ScotO]

wow...i got some oak i was planning on burning this year..ill have to check it first...i cut it last year but it was dead standing...

Your stuff may be close, if it was already dead standing. It would've had a small start to the drying process. But it really doesn't start to season good til its split and stacked.

 

[scroungerjeff]

I feel your pain man. I just checked a northern red oak from my single row stack that I cut and split in March 2011. It read 24 to 28 from a cut that was about four inches by six inches. I do not cover my stacks but they get a ton of sun and wind. I live near the ocean so maybe it will never get under 20. Maybe I need to talk the Mrs into a wood shed to finish wood like this. I keep about 3/4 of a cord on my covered porch before burning so that stuff is very dry by fall.

 

[CageMaster]

I just checked mine about a week ago, it is red oak that has been down since Dec 2009, and c/s/s since April 2011 and it is between 20-22%, that was off a larger split that i re split to test, so i'm sure the smaller splits will be ready to burn this winter. However I'm hoping to require very little oak for this winter as I have a good supply of seasoned ash that will hold us over for the really cold days

 

[cptoneleg]

Like they say 3 yrs to get Oak down to 20% or below, this has only been 16 months.

 

[etiger2007]

now i have to check mine, ill report back in a minute

 

[etiger2007]

now i have to check mine, ill report back in a minute

alright i just split and checked my red oak, it was cut down in winter 2010, split in early spring 2011and just checked today and it was 28%, no wonder i had more creosote in my liner than i thought. i will not burn any oak this winter , ill burn two year old black walnut, year and a half ash, and one year black locust if its under 20%. i thought if you cut a tree down in winter it will have less water in it guess thats not the case with oak.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Winter is indeed the best time to cut the trees but oak is in a separate class when it comes to the moisture content. This is why we leave the oak in the stack 3 years minimum before burning. One exception though is if one is dead and relatively dry; then we might go with 2 years but usually don't need to anyway.

 

[Gark]

We don't have a MM so we judge if wood is dry enough by the other means- weight in your hand, sound and look of it and time in the stack. And countless hours observing it burn. And frequent flue checkups.These and experience lead us to conclude that red oak takes three years C/S/S to be really right. It doesn't pay to rush that stuff.

 

[jjs777_fzr]

When I ran the MM over some red oak I had stored in the basement - it read 12-14%. Yall are crazy to think it takes a long time to season oak properly.
Yahoo!
Then I realized how much time has actually passed and now not so happy - as I'm now 2+ years older.
The oak was cut in 2010 and left outside uncovered for nearly 1yr and then thrown in the basment for later use.
I can't believe that was back in 2010.
Nice to be ahead on the wood stash though - finally.

 

[cptoneleg]

alright i just split and checked my red oak, it was cut down in winter 2010, split in early spring 2011and just checked today and it was 28%, no wonder i had more creosote in my liner than i thought. i will not burn any oak this winter , ill burn two year old black walnut, year and a half ash, and one year black locust if its under 20%. i thought if you cut a tree down in winter it will have less water in it guess thats not the case with oak.

Allways heard cut when the sap is down, all I know for sure is that it's less of a mess with no leaves.

 

[CageMaster]

the ole timers around here where we have LOTS of oak say its best to fall the trees in spring just as they are starting to bud, leave the limbs on for a couple weeks while the tree is down, it will continue to bud and leaf out, drawing moisture from the core, suppose to help with drying time, never actually tested this theory and not sure if there is a reasonable test to do so

 

[cptoneleg]

Come to think of it the oak in this thread did exactly that laying on the ground making leaves, I had never noticed that before, probably because I usually c/s/s ASAP

 

[Woody Stover]

we leave the oak in the stack 3 years minimum before burning. One exception though is if one is dead and relatively dry; then we might go with 2 years

I've got some Black Oak that I'm hoping I can try this year. It was dead standing and the highest MC I found when splitting it was 28% but a lot of it was mid to low 20s. I haven't tested it lately but a lot of it feels and sounds as if it may be OK for this year. We'll see...

the ole timers around here where we have LOTS of oak say its best to fall the trees in spring just as they are starting to bud, leave the limbs on for a couple weeks while the tree is down, it will continue to bud and leaf out, drawing moisture from the core

I cut and stacked a White Oak earlier this year that had blown down in Summer 2011, so it was lying there with the leaves on until they died. When splitting it I found MC mainly in the high 20s, so I think there may be some truth to this.
Like cptoneleg, I've got dry BL, Red Maple and Cherry to use...as well as some White Ash. It's nice to be ahead and have options.

 

[onetracker]

yep.
if i had time and the space i would stack oak in its own spot. wait till it was fully seasoned and then burn it in the dead of winter and reap the benefits. instead, all the stacks sit 2 years and then burned.

 

[scroungerjeff]

If this winter is real cold I may have to burn white and red oak that is only about 20 months seasoned. Don't want to do it but my soft maple, cherry, locust and Norway maple piles may not hold out if we get an extended arctic outbreak. I actually have access to a good deal of oak but I am not sure I want it since my relatively small property can only hold 2 to 3 years worth of wood. I think I should focus on the maples and cherry since the turn around time is a year or less.

 

[etiger2007]

Im really concerned about this years wood for me, I had absolutey nothing to do yesterday so I check a few pieces of wood I intend on burning this year. First black locust been split and stack for one year, cut the split and tested the heart wood 30% moisture, Next White Ash been split for over a year and stacked,, split it and tested the heart wood at 25% moisture, Next black walnut the oldest of my wood supply split n stacked for about 18-20 months I had good readings of 20 to 22% moisture. I figured I would have lower readings on the locust and ash for sure. I am double stacked with about a foot of seperation in between the stacks for air movement, the stacks get a ton of wind and I did get some top cover (steel roofing) this summer.

 

[Woody Stover]

I am double stacked with about a foot of seperation in between the stacks for air movement, the stacks get a ton of wind and I did get some top cover (steel roofing) this summer.

I don't like to hear that! In my on-deck area I've been stacking some stuff that was fairly dry when split. I did not leave much space between some of the rows, figuring that the remaining moisture would be gone fast enough anyway. I also put some Red Maple there which was a little wetter when split but last year it seemed like the Red was drying super-fast. I need to take a couple of readings over there. Maybe stacking rows together slows down drying more than I figured. I still have a bunch of single-row stuff that will be fine for this year, but I'd like to get a better handle on all the nuances of drying this stuff. I stack at some relatives' houses and they have less room to stack, so I'd like to know what I can get away with as far as double-stacking. Most of my other double-row stacks are at least three years from being burned...

 

[etiger2007]

Tonight when i get home Im going to lay down some pallets and stack some of that ash in single rows and give it another month or two and see how it reads.

 

[CageMaster]

checking on my oak and am getting worst case readings of 25% but that is on some of the larger splits, the smaller splits are closer to 20%, with at +/- of 2% for error i should be ok, just be selective on what i bring into the house. If all goes according to plan I won't even have to use much oak this winter.....(knock on wood)

 

[Woody Stover]

Tonight when i get home Im going to lay down some pallets and stack some of that ash in single rows and give it another month or two and see how it reads.

You say you've got a lot of wind, so I would think that Ash will be pretty good with a couple more months in a single-row if the splits aren't too huge...

 

[etiger2007]

So today i got home and stacked a cord and a half of ash in a single row and covered it. What I checked measured in with the moisture meter at 21 to 22 %. I will stack in a single row from now on and I hope by stacking up this ash this way I can get it under 20% before its needed this year in about a month and a half probably not though. I need to find alot of real estate on my property to stack in single rows , that half acre bass/swimming pond im going to put in takes up alot of primo stacking area up.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Tiger, I should have got hold of you because I had to go to Clio yesterday. I'd love to have stopped in.

That seems about right on the ash. Stacking in single rows might make a little difference but I would not expect a lot. It still has some time to continue to dry. We wish you luck.