Raw Red Oak?

[skyman2002]

First post here. I sure could use some advice. A few weeks ago i took an offer for some
"Full Seasoned" Red Oak form our local news paper. The listing had Green wood for $220 Or "Seasoned" For $280.

I Called the guy up, and he said the seasoned was down for over two years.

I had the "Seasoned" Cord Delivered and the wood was beet red, and had that Red Oak Smell.

I took a sample out of the pile straight away and took a picture.

There was a sprinkle before the wood was delivered, but no profound rain to speak of.

This stuff would not burn on the surface of the sun honnestly! I Called the seller up, and asked him what was done. He said it was in the round for over two years, but split before delivery.

My question here is, how long a wait am i in for before this is burnable? i got this to use in our US Stove 2000, To Give Our pellet stove a break once in a while, and when power is out.

I am kind of disappointed to say the least, paying more for dry stuff to burn.
Any advice or opinion would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Thistle]

Hate to break the news to ya,but as green as that looks it'll be 2 yrs,maybe 3 before that's burnable.In the 'round for over 2 years..' isnt gonna make very much difference in drying.You'll get some darkening & a few cracks on the ends,but the interior will still be full of moisture.Some species and/or smaller rounds up to 8" can dry a bit sooner,but not any of the Red or White Oaks unfortunately.

 

[Pagey]

Welcome to the forums! Most wood simply does not season well in the round, especially oak varieties. Oak's cellular structure just loves to hold on to water. Just the nature of the oak beast. Your best bet, if you want to use it "relatively" soon...split it all again into smaller splits. Stack it off the ground in an area where it will get plenty of sun and wind. Top cover it when you head into the soggy part of late autumn. Unfortunately, many firewood dealers honestly believe that letting wood sit in the round makes it "seasoned". As you can see, this simply does not work out in practice. If you have access to some soft woods that are in fact seasoned, you can also trying mixing in a little oak with the seasoned stuff. But in reality, that wood probably won't be usable this season.

 

[smokinj]

I like chicken at-least!

 

[Thistle]

I like chicken at-least!

Now I'm hungry.

 

[Flatbedford]

I have split Red Oak that was on the ground as a tree for 3 or 4 years and it was still wet inside. Bad news is that this guy sold you unburnable wood. Good news is that it will be great firewood in the fall of 2014. If your gonna continue to buy wood, his $220 green cords will be fine in about the same time. You will find that it is just about impossible to buy truly dry "seasoned" firewood.

 

[weatherguy]

We hear this story every year, I see a lot of ads in CL and learned to ask "when was the wood split?" That will tell you if its truly seasoned, a lot of these guys cut down trees and cut them into rounds or leave the logs stacked for two years then sell it as seasoned and its just as green as the stuff just cut. I had some maple rounds from last year that I didnt split until this spring and the water just gushed out
Next time you see an ad for seasoned just remember to ask when the wood was split.

 

[Woody Stover]

If you split it small and stack it single-row, loosely so that the wind blows though it, maybe it will dry enough to burn OK by next Winter. I don't really know for sure, though. It was only after I started coming here a couple years ago that I got fired up about getting my wood dry.

 

[ScotO]

Welcome to the forums, sadly just a little too late.......you could have avoided this had you joined sooner. We see this same scenario play out for the next several months, the "seasoned wood" myth. First question to ask these firewood vendors is "when was it split?" And reiterate SPLIT, NOT CUT DOWN AND BUCKED. Best advise we can give you is get three or four years ahead on your woodstack, by scrounging or buying or whatever you can. Red oak is the queen mother of all woods as far as moisture holding is concerned! It takes the longest to season.

 

[scotvl]

I think I would call him and tell him that he owes you $60.00 if he wants any of your future business.

 

[basod]

I think I would call him and tell him that he owes you $60.00 if he wants any of your future business.

I haven't seen true cord prices in the NE for probably 15yrs - one of those "damn yankees" here. Is 220/green reasonable? I remember 85-105 - so wood inflation has occured

If it were a true cord measurement I'd ask the guy to deliver some green and see if he'll come down on it after you show him how "seasoned" this red oak is.

 

[Eric Schaefer]

Man, seems like there's a market for truly seasoned wood.. hmmmmm

K, I need a lot of gear and equiptment and a few acres. Who wants to be my silent partner?

 

[remkel]

Man, seems like there's a market for truly seasoned wood.. hmmmmm

K, I need a lot of gear and equiptment and a few acres. Who wants to be my silent partner?

Sshhhhh! Don't tell anyone here but I am in....DOH!

 

[Eric Schaefer]

Sshhhhh! Don't tell anyone here but I am in....DOH!

Touché

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Welcome to the forum skyman.

I feel your pain. That is a terrible situation as you paid some good money and now have to keep looking for more and better fuel. I'll bet you have learned this lesson and it will stick with you forever.

As for suggestions of splitting small and mixing it with some better wood, I am not in favor of that at all. Split is small if you like and the will hasten the drying a little bit but no way will that wood be ready this winter and probably not next. I've always said to not burn oak for 3 years after it has been split and still hold to that.


So now the question is what will you do for wood this winter? You can look around at different suppliers but sadly, you probably won't do much better with most. If you can possibly find some white ash, that would probably be your best bet. But as soon as it is delivered, you still might want to re-split it or ask that it be re-split before the delivery. That, of course, means a visit to the supplier and that is a good idea. Don't get taken twice.

Good luck.

 

[cptoneleg]

The good news is, that Chicken will take care of any Bugs that come home with the wood

The bad news is, he can keep the Bugs of that wood for 3 more yrs.

 

[My Oslo heats my home]

you can definitely tell by the color that piece of oak is sopping wet...

 

[Woody Stover]

As for suggestions of splitting small and mixing it with some better wood, I am not in favor of that at all.

It can be done...but you're probably right. Better to split bigger and end up with some nice all-nighter chunks when it's finally dry in a couple or three years...

skyman, maybe you've had some experience cutting wood if you're familiar with "that Red Oak smell." Maybe you can tell dry wood by its weight, sound and feel. If not, you might invest in a cheap moisture meter, then you could be more sure of what you're getting. When you go to check out the wood, take a split and re-split it to expose fresh inside wood, then take your reading. Some guys might be offended...in so many words, you are saying either "You don't know what seasoned wood is" or "I don't believe you." But hey, you're the guy with the money; You're in the driver's seat. There's a guy here that has some decent wood, so they are out there.
If all else fails at least you have the pellet stove to fall back on...

 

[skyman2002]

Thank you for all the replies here! With the amount of moisture In the wood, three years sounds about right for drying time. This stuff is 99% red oak and can be smelled for miles. I have it stacked loosely on pallets, in a sunny windy spot.

I still need some wood to burn this Winter, so next place i like, i am taking a trip over there with my maul, cracking a few in half and really inspecting them.

Thank you all for your help!

49 Hardwick, MA.

 

[red oak]

Thank you for all the replies here! With the amount of moisture In the wood, three years sounds about right for drying time. This stuff is 99% red oak and can be smelled for miles. I have it stacked loosely on pallets, in a sunny windy spot.

I still need some wood to burn this Winter, so next place i like, i am taking a trip over there with my maul, cracking a few in half and really inspecting them.

Thank you all for your help!

49 Hardwick, MA.

Welcome to the forum, and sorry about your experience with the red oak. Backwoods Savage is correct in my opinion, that wood will be great in 3 years but that doesn't help you now. Ash is the quickest drying wood that I know of so maybe you have some of that accessible? Softwoods will dry pretty quick too but many burn very hot and fast. OR you can rely on the pellet stove for this year while you find some drier wood.

I believe Scotty said to get 3 years ahead and this indeed is the best advice. Then you don't have to worry about how wet it is as it will have plenty of time to dry out. Just today I cut a truck load of red oak. Someone had cut it down and left the trunk in the National Forest. I wasn't sure how long it was there, but once I started cutting the smell (and the weight!) told me it had recently been cut. I will split this tomorrow but I am not planning on burning it until 2014 at the earliest.

One last thing: Is 220 the average price for a cord where you are? Here in Virginia I could buy a cord for half that. And if I call the right guy it would be really seasoned. You may want to shop around a bit more, but I know these prices vary WIDELY around the country.

 

[rdust]

I still need some wood to burn this Winter, so next place i like, i am taking a trip over there with my maul, cracking a few in half and really inspecting them.

If you don't have a moisture meter after splitting a piece touch it to your cheek. If it feels damp it's probably not ready yet.

 

[Thistle]

Your eyes,nose,ears & hands are a better moisture meter than you could buy.

Does it look wet? Is it darker on end grain or other exposed surfaces? Is there lots of cracks on end grain?

How does it smell?

Does it feel 'cold & wet' in your hands?

Sound - does 2 pieces hit together make a dull thud or a sharp sound like the crack of a baseball hitting a bat?

 

[skyman2002]

In Rural areas, they charge way more. $220 Is hard to come by, but it can be found, then they charge $40-50 to deliver because you are so far out. I Think Im going to get some mixed, Red oak, maple and ash if i can find it.

 

[bogydave]

Welcome
The seasoned wood that's not seasoned is typical.
I learned that the hard way & from this site.
Don't let it get you down, you have some great wood but not ready to burn for 2 years.
Maple & ash will season faster.

$225 average here for a cord of birch, they say seasoned but it's split & delivered like you just got.
Birch takes 2 years to burn well in my stove.
I used to get a log length load delivered about now & cut & split it & burn it starting next month.

Now I get it CSS & am trying to get 2 or 3 years ahead.

Good luck. Buying seasoned wood, ready to burn is very difficult.

But "You burn what you got, seasoned or not"
Clean & inspect the chimney frequently though.

 

[nola mike]

Doubt you'll be able to find seasoned wood for this year--burnable at best. I'd look for some of the compressed wood bricks (Eco Bricks at TS for example,r this closer to home). If the prices are $220/cd up there, it will be price competitive. I've found them to burn hot and long. We have a supplier down here that charges the equivalent of $150/cd. I wouldn't think of burning anything else if I had to pay for wood...