Split oak still not dry after two years

[Bigg_Redd]

i think moisture meters are over-rated.

In comparison to what?

A moister meter should only tell you what you already know. 1) wood ain't ready 2) wood almost ready 3) wood ready.

If one doesn't know if one's wood is ready to burn then maybe one should switch to pellets.

 

[smokinj]

i think moisture meters are over-rated.

In comparison to what?

A moister meter should only tell you what you already know. 1) wood ain't ready 2) wood almost ready 3) wood ready.

If one doesn't know if one's wood is ready to burn then maybe one should switch to pellets.

no rocket to shoot here!

 

[DiscoInferno]

I think a lot of the problem with red oak is the bark. It's thick, initially well-attached, and quite waterproof. If oak not covered than most likely it's wet under the bark. My last batch sat uncovered for a year, then I moved it to the "burn this year pile", removing all the loose wet bark in the process. Once the bark is off it will finish drying much faster.

 

[quads]

No firewood is getting a 2+ year stay of execution in MY woodshed.

Then your choice was a wise one, a lighter and ready-to-burn-sooner type of firewood. There is absolutely nothing wrong with pine and the other softwoods, if they are better suited to your style.

Oak isn't an impatient wood. It's not cut in a hurry, not split in a hurry, doesn't stack fast, won't be ready to burn anytime soon,....... What makes oak a desirable type of firewood, and why many people feel it's worth the wait, is because of another thing that oak does slowly; it's not in a hurry to turn into ash once loaded in the stove. It's a compromise. Some people aren't willing to put up with the extra work and waiting of oak. And there is nothing wrong with that. Oak isn't for everybody.

 

[BrotherBart]

i think moisture meters are over-rated.

In comparison to what?

A moister meter should only tell you what you already know. 1) wood ain't ready 2) wood almost ready 3) wood ready.

If one doesn't know if one's wood is ready to burn then maybe one should switch to pellets.

Yeah I know. I am still trying to get the hang of this wood burning stuff. I will figure it out someday. Throw a beer can at the stacks and know if it is dry. Spit on the stove and know what the temp is without one of those silly thermometers. All that pro wood burner stuff.

Gotta go now and find some woolly worms to see what the weather is gonna be. I don't believe that guy on TV.

 

[f3cbboy]

I didn't say they werent useful, just over-rated. I would believe what i THINK i know over moisture meter every time. I have never used one before and haven't even contemplated buying one. I do used a thermometer on my stove though. Maybe my ways are a little screwed up and i'll admit my thinking is a little goofybut you split the wood - let it sit in a pile outside and then burn it. Can one be called a pro wood burner? i jsut don't think that you need all this extra stuff to start a fire in a stove, fireplace ect...

what i do agree with is a woolly worm as the perfect bait for fishing. i used to use them for trout in Northern va when i lived in great falls (renting) some years back. there was a brook that ran under route 7 by colvin run road that i used to catch trout in.
PS i don't believe the weather guy either why can they be wrong 90% of the time???????

 

[quads]

I do use a thermometer on my stove though.

I have a stovepipe thermometer. Santa put one in Granny's stocking some years ago and she never opened the package. After she croaked, the unopened thermometer fell into my hands. I thought "what the heck I'll see what it does" and stuck it on my stovepipe. Needle go up and needle go down, yup. :cheese:

 

[Lumber-Jack]

I don’t know if moisture meters are over rated or not, but there is one undeniable fact, and that is there are a lot of people (majority) out there buying and selling (and burning) wood that is much wetter than it should be. I’ll bet if everyone had a moisture meter, and used it, that wouldn’t be so much the case..
Imagine if when the wood guy came to deliver some “seasoned” wood to the customer and the customer tells him, hold on a minute, let me test that wood. Then the customer chops a couple splits in half and takes a reading with his trusty meter and finds it’s over 30%. He then tells the wood guy to take it away and bring some properly seasoned wood. If everyone started doing that it wouldn’t be long before they either stopped claiming wet wood as seasoned, or they took the time to season it properly.
Of course , if that happen it would eliminate nearly 50% of the threads in this forum. LOL

Perhaps Moisture meters are not rated high enough.

 

[ISeeDeadBTUs]

Buying a splitter to split oak is over-rated, and ridiculous!

To relieve you of the expense of buying a splitter and the hassle of trying to burn that old oak, I'll trade you dry Aspen straight up for all the oak you have. :coolsmirk:

 

[bsa0021]

Wow, this thread went a lot farther than I expected. I went through the oak that was in question and I found that the larger splits that had bark on one side were >35 and the smaller splits or splits w/o bark were between 15-22%. In total about 1/2 cord re-split. I was expecting too much with those large splits even after 2yrs. even in my optimal drying area. Funny thing, I remember splitting this stuff ,with my ax, 2 years ago thinking to myself "aw those might be a little big but I'm tired of splitting this stuff and I'm not going to use it for a long while". I guess I should have taken the extra hits to get it to a proper size.
No matter, oak is definitely worth the extra trouble. It's great for overnight burns.

 

[3fordasho]

Last summer (june 2008) I happened upon some white oak blown down in a storm, healthy green, not standing dead. I split and stacked it right away. I just split a 2 1/2 x 5" piece and measured 16-20% in the center . On the other hand, I have some red oak, split and stacked for at least 3-4 years, it will still bubble out the ends a little when thrown on the fire.

 

[Jeb1heat]

I think the oak species is key here as threefortheshow says. I don't have any red, but the oak I have is c/s 15 months and seems ready to rock. It happens to be getting rained on by the inch right now, though.

 

[Tony H]

Just drop off any of that wet oak at my place and I'll dry it for you ! To answer the other question Locust dries much faster than oak and produces a good bit of heat as well . I have two big oaks taken this year and I expect they will be good to go for next season but I do split them a little smaller than say the maple that dries faster.