Almond burners, how long to season?

[OHutton]

I recently cut about 1-1.25 cords of downed almond from a friend's family orchard. The wood is measuring about 15-28% right now according to my cheapo moisture meter. Almond is my preferred overnight wood and I like keeping my splits on the larger side so I can pack the box as densely as possible.

I'm thinking I should have no problem getting it seasoned by next year, but I wanted to get the opinion of others. I know it's dense and high BTU, but I'm not sure if it will season super slow like oak. We have HOT summers in Chico and it'll be stacked with some room to breathe.

Side note: That same family gave me what was left in their woodshed which was only 1/8th a cord or so. They made the switch to pellets not too far back and this wood had been sitting for a couple years. That stuff was measuring around 8-12% and oh my does it put out.

 

[Jags]

I don't have personal experience with almond, but would suspect that it has similar properties to other nut woods like pecan. If that is the case I like two summers on it. It would be burnable in 12 months, but it would be even better at the 18-24 month time frame.

 

[Pellet_Pete]

Oddly enough, almond is in the same genus as cherry, plum & peach trees (Prunus - think peach pit), so they might be a better gauge for fuelwood properties (i.e. medium heat & somewhat quicker drying time)

 

[MrWhoopee]

Almond is my #1 preferred wood, but I no longer live in the Central Valley (now in the mountains of Shasta Co.), so I have to settle for softwoods and black oak. From the current MC, it will be burnable next winter, but 2 years is preferable, especially for the large splits.

 

[OHutton]

Almond is my #1 preferred wood, but I no longer live in the Central Valley (now in the mountains of Shasta Co.), so I have to settle for softwoods and black oak. From the current MC, it will be burnable next winter, but 2 years is preferable, especially for the large splits.

Good to know. Did you find Almond put out the heat in a manner consistent with the 32 BTU rating it gets on some of those wood rating sites? It puts out, but I'm not sure that it's THAT high. Seems on par to the Valley Oak, or Quercus Lobata I've burned around here. While all over the map on the rating sites, I believe the agreed upon range is in the mid 20's if I recall correctly.

 

[MrWhoopee]

Good to know. Did you find Almond put out the heat in a manner consistent with the 32 BTU rating it gets on some of those wood rating sites? It puts out, but I'm not sure that it's THAT high. Seems on par to the Valley Oak, or Quercus Lobata I've burned around here. While all over the map on the rating sites, I believe the agreed upon range is in the mid 20's if I recall correctly.

I can't speak to the actual BTU, but I'm in agreement with the comparison to Valley Oak; long, hot burn, lots of coals for restart in the morning. The biggest advantage (IMHO) over Q. lobata is that they keep planting almond. Nobody is planting oak. A second advantage is minimal splitting required and few rounds big enough to hurt your back.

 

[OHutton]

I can't speak to the actual BTU, but I'm in agreement with the comparison to Valley Oak; long, hot burn, lots of coals for restart in the morning. The biggest advantage (IMHO) over Q. lobata is that they keep planting almond. Nobody is planting oak. A second advantage is minimal splitting required and few rounds big enough to hurt your back.

I hear you on those points. I like big-ish rounds personally, and at least almond are a breeze to split. I wish there were a few more per tree to be honest. The renewing aspect of it is something that's nice if you can get in the good graces of a farmer who needs a few trees cleared.

 

[TreePapa]

Chico is pretty warm and dry in the summer from what I hear. You might want to resplit a few pieces and check the moisture content at the end of this year. If it is seasoning in the sun and wind, it might surprise you. If not, you can always wait another year.