Red Oak 2 years drying - still some bubbles?

[formula_pilot]

I have about 1.5 cords of red oak that has been split and stacked for two full springs/summer /falls, stacked in double rows out in the open. It gets rained on, but plenty of wind. We burned a few splits this week and was suprised to see some bubbles (hissing) at the ends of some of the splits- not too much, but it was there. A cheap moisture meter reads 18-20% on freshly split surfaces. I guess the question I have is, is this typical for oak that gets rained on (soaking in the end grain), or should I leave this stack until next year? I was hoping to use the oak this year for overnight burns, as it burns slower than the sugar maple we have that actually is "ready". The sugar burn really hot, but I have found tha oak seems to work better for us for the overnights.

Thanks
Bill

 

[wkpoor]

I'm thinking oak needs to be under roof at least in the final 10yrs of drying down. I've had the same results. No amount of time seems to dry oak outdoors.

 

[Constrictor]

Sizzling oak at only two years is about right. Three years needed.

 

[ruserious2008]

I know some peeps say less but I bought some confirmed down and split wood (about 4 cords) of mixed hardwoods at 2 years aged and it all burned ok but the the oak still hissed! Cuts were about 18-22 inch so guessing smaller ones may dry out sooner but this size I'm saying 3 years for that oak. I have some oak I cut up this year and plan to cut and split them this winter/next spring and will cut them into 16" pieces in the hopes of getting them to dry out enough for my 2013/2014 season. I'm far enough ahead of the curve that I can so that Didn't catch crap for fishing this summer but I got my wood pile in nice shape heading out a few years

 

[bogydave]

If I had red oak, I'd cover the top of the stack, It's has porous wood grain & rain soaks in deeper than other wood. I notice that with boards.
A week of rain may take several months of drying to get it dry again.
But since I don't have oak, I'll defer to the oak gurus, most say 2 years + at best & 3 is normal. Sounds like if it gets rained on heavy, add a year.

 

[oldspark]

double rows of oak are not good, single all the way.

 

[PapaDave]

I get the same thing. Just a few, but it's there.
Burn it, it's not the end of the world. The hissing doesn't last more than a couple minutes......the wood catches fire and burns well very well.
Would another summer in the sun and wind be gooder? Sure would, but if it's what 'ya got, burn it.
I leave mine out in an open field with plenty of wind and sun in rows that are 96' long and 5' apart, with the southern end exposed to catch the sun.
No cover until it goes in the shed the end of the summer in the year it'll be burned.
You're doing well.
Just my .02

 

[ecocavalier02]

i leave my stacks uncovered. but my wood goes into a wood shed at least 2 months before i burn it and i dont really burn any oak until december or january so its under cover for 4 or 5 months before i burn it plus having 2 years of seasoning time on it. and it burns great now. but i only took a little over a cord of oak this year and put it into the shed so that all oak i burn now will be split for 3 to 4 years before i burn it. i agree with dave it is kind of like a sponge on the first inch of the wood and will hold moisture there.

 

[red oak]

I get the same thing. Just a few, but it's there.
Burn it, it's not the end of the world. The hissing doesn't last more than a couple minutes......the wood catches fire and burns well very well.
Would another summer in the sun and wind be gooder? Sure would, but if it's what 'ya got, burn it.
I leave mine out in an open field with plenty of wind and sun in rows that are 96' long and 5' apart, with the southern end exposed to catch the sun.
No cover until it goes in the shed the end of the summer in the year it'll be burned.
You're doing well.
Just my .02

Agreed - I burn mostly red oak (see user name) and two years outside seems to do fine. I do try to cover it about a month before I burn it. It does seem to hiss a little if it has been rained on in the last week or so, but as papadave said it only lasts a few minutes and burns great. Now I am in Va, which is probably a bit warmer than the OP in New England, and I only cut dead wood, so that may make a difference. But two years for me seems to work well.

 

[ecocavalier02]

im also thinking in the spring i may reload my woodshed up with the wood im going to burn for that next year right away. so it will be under cover for the summer. so its 3rd summer will be under the shed for a solid 6 7 months.

 

[cptoneleg]

2 summers works for me single rows, uncovered, move to shed in late sept. burns good, if it's truely 18 to 20% then its good to go.

 

[Duetech]

+1 if it’s truly 18 to 20% then its good to go. If all the wood is sizzling then I think you have a problem and need to modify your moisture readings. An odd piece here and there is averaged with the MC of all other pieces of the same age and drying process. Obviously two or three pieces at 85% would skew things so if the bottom of the pile is in water... :lol:

 

[oldspark]

Another problem with double rows is that if you do not cover the top it takes a lot longer for the moisture from the rain to dry out, I think covering multiple rows is much more important than single rows.

 

[weatherguy]

I had some 3 year seasoned oak still bubble on me last year, it was 15% on the mc on the splits I checked but there were still some sizzlers. Thats oak for ya.

 

[oldspark]

Oak is strange stuff I guess, I burnt some 24% Burr Oak for a test a month ago and it did not sizzle at all and burnt well.

 

[cptoneleg]

Oak Haters are back= People Who hate Oak


About the third post this year I don't know why they don't leave it for The Oak Lovers

 

[oldspark]

Who is a Oak hater, say Oak Hater real fast three times.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I have about 1.5 cords of red oak that has been split and stacked for two full springs/summer /falls, stacked in double rows out in the open. It gets rained on, but plenty of wind. We burned a few splits this week and was suprised to see some bubbles (hissing) at the ends of some of the splits- not too much, but it was there. A cheap moisture meter reads 18-20% on freshly split surfaces. I guess the question I have is, is this typical for oak that gets rained on (soaking in the end grain), or should I leave this stack until next year? I was hoping to use the oak this year for overnight burns, as it burns slower than the sugar maple we have that actually is "ready". The sugar burn really hot, but I have found tha oak seems to work better for us for the overnights.

Thanks
Bill

Bill, I am not an oak hater and never have been. However, I will not burn oak before its time and to me, that means 3 years in the stack most of the time.

Do not be concerned with the rain hitting the ends of the logs as that wood will not soak it up. Wood is not a sponge unless it is punky already. Stacking in double rows can impede the drying somewhat so stacking oak in single rows is almost a must. If it were me, I'd leave that oak another year and yes, save the oak for burning at night during the peak of the winter.

 

[oldspark]

18 to 20% (if true) good to go even if it was fresh cut!

 

[bogydave]

I don't have a MM, but if it read 19% & it sizzled ( bubbles (hissing) at the ends) when burned, I'd call it wet wood & not want to burn it unless it was the only choice.
If it reads 24% & burns well, looks, feels & sounds dry, I'd call it dry wood.
Old school works for me; How well does it burn, does it feel , look & sound dry. From what I've been reading, a MM accuracy is not very good or made more for boards than fire wood.
Hissing & bubbling on the ends, regardless of what a MM reading is or was on various splits, is wet wood, IMO

 

[oldspark]

Maybe I have the only MM in the world that works right, If you read enough posts about them you will find that almost all the people that have them think they work well. I was surprised how well my cheapie works, BK confirmed this with his oven drying tests, not sure why some think they are total crap.

 

[Battenkiller]

Here's some cherry, dried in the Battenkiln last year for 5 months. At the end of the season, I split it smaller (wrist size) for the Chiminea and re-stacked it uncovered outside in early April. It all looks like this.

I brought 5-6 armfuls inside several days ago to burn in the stove. It felt dry, and sounded dry when I clunked two pieces together. I stacked it near the stove for a couple days.

The other day I thought I'd start a fire to take the chill off the basement. I decided to leave the doors open and sip my morning coffee by the fire so I could get a whiff of that good cherry every now and then. Started right up with a tiny bed of coals. Then a few minutes later I heard a odd but vaguely familiar sound.

I filled the stove with the stove with the stuff, closed the doors and it took off like a rocket ship. It's just a bit of rain water soaked into the end grain. Ain't hurtin' nuttin' IMHO.


:coolsmirk:

 

[oldspark]

BK you are going to burn your house down with that crap! :cheese:

 

[CTYank]

Around here, any wood that's in the queue for burning this year is covered, so as to keep liquid water from hitting the wood. Period.
Like what folks in the lumber industry do, who air-dry lumber for their living. (Yes, wood is lumber, and vice-versa.)
Samples from a given presumed-ready batch are tested irregularly; failure means batch will have to wait.
Wetting dried wood is purely foolish, IMO. Water is lousy fuel.

Wood from any processed batch will spend weeks indoors near the stove before becoming really ready. Tested too, of course.
For time short enough to not involve "distance to flammables." Wood temps staying below 180 deg F- pretty cool.

 

[oldspark]

"Weeks" indoors, not in a hundred years!