A good friend to have and also a question

[SawDawg]

A friend who contracts for the local power company trimming trees from lines brought me a trailer load of wood while I was at work yesterday. He even stacked it during the rain. A good friend indeed.

I'm going to wait a couple years before burning because it's mainly oak and some hickory. My friend said it would be ready to burn this year since they were "dead when we cut them". Even if they were dead, they were still in tree form and not split until recently. I have no moisture meter. How can I tell when these are dry enough to burn? Is there a general guideline for dead standing wood?

The wood he brought is under the black plastic. Wahoo!

 

[Wisneaky]

The end will turn darker. There will be cracks. It will be lighter. If you bang two ends together they make a distinct sound when dry.

 

[ElmBurner]

The way I tell if wood is getting close to done is to bang two pieces together. If it sounds like a baseball bat, you're getting close or already there. If it clunks together, it's still wet.

Dead oak takes forever to dry, unless you are talking about the branches. No way it is ready to burn this year. I cut down a oak last winter that was so old it was punky on the outside and it was still wet in the middle.

The general guidance to even consider burning standing dead trees, for me, is : no bark, most of the small branches are already broken off, and you can see checks in it already.

 

[Wood Duck]

If you can wait a couple of years that should be good enough, and you don't need to wonder if it is dry or not.

 

[sportbikerider78]

If it was dead standing it might be good to go right now. I'd check it out before I put off burning it.
I dropped a couple of smaller trees on my property last weekend. They are good to go right now. Very dry.

 

[jatoxico]

FYI the Harbor Freight meters are accurate enough for firewood and I think are still less than $10.

 

[SawDawg]

Yeah I nearly got one, but I hate anything that takes button type batteries over common AA, AAA, etc.
I may still pick one up if nothing else presents itself.