Red Oak?

[mpaul]

Just cut this dead standing tree down on my property. Not the best at tree identification, but I believe this is red oak. Can anyone confirm?

Outer most ring a bit punky but core is in great shape. This will be used for ‘26-‘27 winter.
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[Wildflush]

Looks like Red Oak to me.

 

[Heart Rot]

It definitely looks like Red Oak to me based upon the bark and heartwood color. If there's any moisture left in in the heartwood will have a distinct (stinky) odor.

 

[mpaul]

It definitely looks like Red Oak to me based upon the bark and heartwood color. If there's any moisture left in in the heartwood will have a distinct (stinky) odor.

Not much of a scent when bucking it up. We’ll see once I start splitting it.
Definitely thought it was red oak too. Thanks for the confirmation.

 

[Wildflush]

I worked with a lot of red oak today. Re-split some large pieces from Fall 21 and still had moisture in it. Yes a distinct smell.

 

[patrickk222]

Def red oak

 

[BigJ273]

Without a doubt

 

[johneh]

Shows lots of ray fleck.
Red Oak

 

[mpaul]

Thanks. Seemed like an easy one to me too. Fourth year burning and only second year without buying pre split wood. Slowly learning how to ID my wood supply and separate them based on drying times.

 

[Woody Stover]

Thanks. Seemed like an easy one to me too. Fourth year burning and only second year without buying pre split wood. Slowly learning how to ID my wood supply and separate them based on drying times.

That's the way to do it, separate species. On the Oak, make the splits about 4" on a side, and it might dry in two years, depending on how much wind your stacks get and how dry the summers are. Single rows dry faster than rows stacked together. You could split a little smaller still, but you need good air control and a shorter chimney to reduce draft or a load of smaller stuff will gas faster, possibly overfiring your stove if you can't shut it down enough.
If you can get some Red Maple or other faster-drying stuff split and stacked now, at that 4" split size, it will be pretty dry by fall. The Oak and other more dense woods will need 2-3yrs, even when they are dead-standing like your wood in the pics. Almost no drying has taken place unless it was dead for many years and all the bark fell off. Even then, only the upper branches will have dried appreciably and the trunk wood will still be pretty wet.

 

[Wildflush]

Sellers here deliver mixed hardwood. The cord I received this week is for 3 years out so I don’t separate by species. Would be a pia to have specific stacks. I just date each stack when I received it. I do leave some red oak splits larger. Split length 15-18”. Will check (split) one of these in 2 years to see MC but I’m planning on 3. 2/3 of this cord is two row cross stacked on pallets with plenty of sun and wind. I got oak that I received last year on my driveway wall single stacks that are 4-6” that are gray now with nice cracks on the ends. Lots of sun there.

 

[Woody Stover]

2/3 of this cord is two row cross stacked on pallets with plenty of sun and wind. I got oak that I received last year on my driveway wall single stacks that are 4-6” that are gray now with nice cracks on the ends. Lots of sun there.

Yeah, cross-stacking lets a lot of swirling air move through the stacks. Conversely, I don't hold a lot of stock on the sun helping all that much. I mean, how much wood is it really hitting..one or two sides if it's top-covered, and rays are hitting only the outside end of the splits, and at a steep angle. It would take a long time to heat up the entire length of a split, given how slowly heat moves through wood.
That said, sun is better than no sun, like my stacks in the woods get..

 

[Wildflush]

Yeah, cross-stacking lets a lot of swirling air move through the stacks. Conversely, I don't hold a lot of stock on the sun helping all that much. I mean, how much wood is it really hitting..one or two sides if it's top-covered, and rays are hitting only the outside end of the splits, and at a steep angle. It would take a long time to heat up the entire length of a split, given how slowly heat moves through wood.
That said, sun is better than no sun, like my stacks in the woods get..

Agree. What I do notice is the single stacks facing the sun dry quickly. Did not have the cracking and gray color on the ends last year. Will keep my pallets without cover for awhile since going to be 80 here by end of week. Will cover when rain is expected. Lots of dry wind this week also.

 

[mpaul]

The Oak and other more dense woods will need 2-3yrs, even when they are dead-standing like your wood in the pics. Almost no drying has taken place unless it was dead for many years and all the bark fell off. Even then, only the upper branches will have dried appreciably and the trunk wood will still be pretty wet.

It’s crazy the different moisture contents you’ll see. This was a dead standing tree with either no bark or bark falling off every round. After cutting it down I checked the moisture of a round closer to the top of the tree and saw 27%. Then took the moisture at a round closer to the base and it measured 47%.
I’ll be stacking these all together for 3 years. I have about 8 cords of mixed oak, hickory, and ash to cover me through the ‘24 -‘25 heating season.

 

[Woody Stover]

going to be 80 here by end of week. ...Lots of dry wind this week also.

About the same here but not really "lots of wind," just decent breeze. But warm temps and low humidity are a potent combo. I'm glad to see that since we got a bunch of wood stacked on Saturday.