4 year old rounds...seasoned?

[jj3500]

i just split some 3-4 year old rounds. Clearly sun baked and checked. Now split...can i burn them, effectively, for real heat or so so.
I figure, at the very least i can mix up one or two splits everytime i load up the firebox.
thoughts?

 

[rottiman]

What kind of wood and how round (") how long (")?

 

[LLigetfa]

i just split some 3-4 year old rounds.

What took you so long? Some wood doesn't dry worth sh!t in the round. I've seen Birch simply rot in the round.

 

[jj3500]

mixed...maple, ash, oak. they are about 16-18". took me so long...i took a remote project for a year. just left everything in limbo.

 

[doogiegh]

Were the rounds stacked (as rounds) or were they just in a big ole pile of mush on the ground? I ask only cause I believe if just in a big ole sloppy pile, the rounds that were in the middle of the pile will still be wet. When it rains, water gets into the pile.. and it takes FOREVER for air/wind/ etc to get down in there and dry things out..

If the rounds were stacked, then at least it's getting air flow on 2 cut (exposed grain) sides of each round and will indeed slowly start to dry out.

 

[Hass]

I'm going to vote no, not seasoned.

about 2 months ago I went to go pick up 2/3 of a cord of Ash... He said it's been cut split and stacked for about 5 years. It wsa $80 for the whole 2/3 cord, so I figured why not? I can use some wood.
So I take my moisture meter, axe (to split a split of course) and some gloves.
I get there, and everything was still in rounds!! I ask him, THIS IS SPLIT? He says... Well yeah, i cut up that's what you meant right?

So I figure I'd kick myself if I drove 25 minutes and didn't even bother to see if the inside was ready yet... so I grab the fiskars and find out it's about 38% on the inside. The ends were dry as can be, totally colorless and measured 15% It was dried about 1-2" in from each end. But the rest of it was absolute garbage.
Needless to say I passed, and he said oh well someone else will get a great deal.

 

[Thistle]

Depends on wood species,the diameter/length of the rounds & how/where its located etc.

I've cut standing dead & deadfall Red & White Oak & had everything up to 10" be ready to burn well immediately.And smaller wood from a different dead tree or log a few feet away need up to 2 yrs after splitting/stacking.

So many variables here,every situation is different.

 

[oldspark]

You silly people its 4 years old of course its seasoned, it may not be dry though.

 

[iod0816]

Maple and ash should be good to go... Personally I would split and single stack for about a week or so out of rain completely. But you should be good. Oak, no way. Even four in rounds with oak being so dense alone would not work. A mix with two splits of the oak you might get away with...

 

[LLigetfa]

You silly people its 4 years old of course its seasoned, it may not be dry though.

Ja, silly me... "seasoned" is a just a sellers term that means it wasn't felled yesterday. Since there are 4 seasons in a year, at 4 years, it's now 8X seasoned.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

mixed...maple, ash, oak. they are about 16-18". took me so long...i took a remote project for a year. just left everything in limbo.

Maple: hard or soft? Soft, yes, it will be ready to burn. Hard, maybe.

Ash: burn it.

Oak: stack it and enjoy looking at it for another year.

 

[bogydave]

Do a test burn, you'll know if it's dry enough, but if it's all you got, probably better than any you could buy this time of the year. Burn it.
Just check the chimney monthly.
Save the bigger splits for later, it'll dry some if stacked off the ground & good air circulation.
You burn what you got.

 

[gzecc]

According to most firewood purveryors, it is surely seasoned, to a rightful 30%!

 

[wkpoor]

I'm in exactly the same boat right now. I have a pretty big pile of logs and big cookies. They are 3-4yrs old. I've been working through the pile of late. For me its been an experimentation. When I'm splitting I can kinda tell whats not good for sure and what might be ok. I then take a couple samples into the stove to see how it burns. More times than not the wood is still wet.
I'm really pissed at myself because I've found a couple rotted logs, even ones that were off the ground, and I put alot of work into getting them and then to let them lay and rot sucks.

 

[pen]

give it a try and see what happens.

Now I just split up some maple yesterday that could probably go into the stove w/out much fuss. It's a guessing game. Doesn't hurt to try.

pen

 

[woodchip]

You silly people its 4 years old of course its seasoned, it may not be dry though.

Ja, silly me... "seasoned" is a just a sellers term that means it wasn't felled yesterday. Since there are 4 seasons in a year, at 4 years, it's now 8X seasoned.

4 seasons in a year x 4 years = 16 times seasoned over here

But still probably wet............ ;-)

 

[LLigetfa]

You silly people its 4 years old of course its seasoned, it may not be dry though.

Ja, silly me... "seasoned" is a just a sellers term that means it wasn't felled yesterday. Since there are 4 seasons in a year, at 4 years, it's now 8X seasoned.

4 seasons in a year x 4 years = 16 times seasoned over here

But still probably wet............ ;-)

Around here it takes 2 seasons to season wood (i.e. wood cut in Spring seasons all Summer and Fall to burn that Winter) so still 8X.

 

[Dune]

You silly people its 4 years old of course its seasoned, it may not be dry though.

Ja, silly me... "seasoned" is a just a sellers term that means it wasn't felled yesterday. Since there are 4 seasons in a year, at 4 years, it's now 8X seasoned.

That would be 16...4x4

 

[Dune]

Maple and ash should be good to go... Personally I would split and single stack for about a week or so out of rain completely. But you should be good. Oak, no way. Even four in rounds with oak being so dense alone would not work. A mix with two splits of the oak you might get away with...

So the oak rounds I burn after 3 years are still not seasoned? Whatever am I to do now?

The big issues are, diameter of the rounds? Big rounds of oak may not have seasoned yet, and
Stacked off the ground or in a heap on the dirt? Heaped on the dirt, I would split stack, wait a year and try it.

 

[firefighterjake]

Depends . . . as others have said . . . size matters . . . well and species.

Try some and see how it burns.

 

[jj3500]

Seems to burn without any issues. No hissing snake sound either. LOL.

 

[bogydave]

There you go
Best test is; how it burns.
Burning well, then after a few weeks check the chimney, if reasonable clean.
You are good to go.