round size

[relax]

ive been cutting live bur oak,and wont be burning it for about 4 or 5 years,im storing it inside a metal building ,cuz i have lots of empty buildings,,just wondering whats the biggest diameter rounds i can season and still burn in 4--5 years and what size splits ..thanks to all that chime in...

 

[SolarAndWood]

If I don't split it, I inevitably get sizzlers no matter what the size round. So, everything gets split. Given the option, I split 8x8s.

 

[zzr7ky]

Oak is slow. I will agree with Solar. On the off chance that one ends up not needing the wood, split wood has value, unsplit doesn't.

In a pinch I'd leave stuff up to 10" unsplit if I knew I wouldn't need it for 5 years.

 

[oldspark]

If I don't split it, I inevitably get sizzlers no matter what the size round. So, everything gets split. Given the option, I split 8x8s.

How long are yur rounds, I have some 6 inch oak rounds that are 17% in the middle when I split them, I think cut the rounds short (16inch) and let the set in single rows in the sun for 2 years and they should be good.

 

[SolarAndWood]

How long are yur rounds

I cut very little of my wood but when I do it is 18 which is ideal NS for my stove. The sizzlers I used to get were few and far between, just irritated me enough to split everything and not worry about it.

 

[Battenkiller]

Firewood loses water 10-15 times faster from the ends than it does from the exposed faces, so the shorter the better. If your stove likes to eat long wood, you have to decide how short is too short. 16" has been a "standard" length for many reasons. Easier to handle, easier to split and faster to dry.

Still, I think that you could just pile the biggest rounds your stove can take into that steel building and the N. Dakota climate will bake that stuff dry as dirt in a couple years. Test them in two years. If they're not below 20%, you can always split them then and still have 2-3 years for them to finish.

 

[Danno77]

How open is your shed for ventilation? I imagine they could be fairly large rounds. I think they'll season outside in about 3 years if split into 6-10" splits, so i'd imagine that leaving them inside a hot and ventilated shed might get rounds of up to a foot done in your timeframe. If your shed is pretty weathertight, then that will slow the process down. If it was me I'd split it all to burning size no matter what and then put it in the shed. it will be the best wood ever when you get to it.

 

[relax]

thanks for the info my main building has a 18' overhead door that i leave open,its on the south side,icut my wood to about 17'' to 19'' my thinking is do i really want to split a 5' to 7'' round in half ,what will that do to my over night burns. ive been keepinga lot whole in that 5' to 7'' and splitting some even bigger for the cold N.D. winter..my mansfield will get filled at 5;30 am and again at 5;30 in the afternoon when its in the -40 , -50 i have about 20 more cords to remove and sure helps to know the best way to process this amount ...thank you all ,i will be burning some ash and elm along with this oak if that makes a difference...thank you all... BURN SAFE ZZZim

 

[ansehnlich1]

I don't know for sure, but my bet is that a 6 inch round will be fine, even an 8 inch round, will be fine to burn if you cut it to length and let it sit in a dry shed for 5 years.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

thanks for the info my main building has a 18' overhead door that i leave open,its on the south side,icut my wood to about 17'' to 19'' my thinking is do i really want to split a 5' to 7'' round in half ,what will that do to my over night burns. ive been keepinga lot whole in that 5' to 7'' and splitting some even bigger for the cold N.D. winter..my mansfield will get filled at 5;30 am and again at 5;30 in the afternoon when its in the -40 , -50 i have about 20 more cords to remove and sure helps to know the best way to process this amount ...thank you all ,i will be burning some ash and elm along with this oak if that makes a difference...thank you all... BURN SAFE ZZZim

Zim, I doubt if you will have a problem with the burr oak after 4-5 years of drying in the shed. 5" to 7" for a round is not normally a big problem with that amount of time. I too like rounds as they tend to hold the fire a bit longer. The ash and elm mixed with the oak should work out great. Good luck to you.

 

[Tony H]

I have alot of burr oak and while I don't season it for 5 years I have found leaving up to 5-6" logs still season in 2 years outside here in IL. I think you could go up a couple/three more inches with 5 years seasoning and be safe.

 

[DBoon]

I seasoned (<18% mc) 8 inch rounds of bitternut hickory in 16 months by stacking in an open field with lots of wind and sun. I cut them to 16" length. I know they are dry as I tested them for moisture content. I look forward to tossing them in my small stove for long overnight burns.

 

[branchburner]

Sounds like you have the space to stack single-row, to get plenty of air flow in between rows - that should help. I have a bad habit of packing in three rows tight as a drum on pallets - not sure what I'm saving that extra couple of feet for. The space is free, and the pallets are free, but I'm still too cheap to use enough of either, I guess.

 

[relax]

yah i kinda tend to get my rows inside the wood shak a little close to one corner has 6 row deep 8' high 10' long lotsa btu's in that stack..i checked a 6'' round i cut last fall ,it was inside the building after resplitting it ,the ends measured 17 mct the inside fresh surface was 28 / 30 its gonna take time....