Bad wood

[Stegman]

I'm growing a little bit concerned about some of the wood I was planning on burning this season. I went to start moving it into the woodshed today and noticed a lot of the splits have rot under the bark or are a bit spongy. Some even have carpenter ants dwelling inside.

The wood has been sitting out in the open in two rows on pallets for more than a year, with a gap in between rows. Problem is, before that it was sitting under trees and stacked in 3-4 rows that were butted tight up against one another and against a fence with a blue tarp tight over the top of all of it. This was done by the guy we bought the house from a couple years back.

When I restacked this wood out in the open in 2011, I saw there was some issues with the wood - some mildew and fungus on some of the splits. But I figured a year in the sun and wind would take care of all that. Apparently not.

I'm going through and separating the really bad stuff from the rest. I'm hoping it's mostly limited to the top couple of rows. So far the wood deeper down in the stack seems to be in better shape. The question is, are the spongy/rotted splits junk or could they be salvaged by stripping the bark and rot off and restacking for a few more months? I'd hate to think a good face cord or so of wood is going to have to be tossed out.

 

[TimJ]

Take a scraper and scrape the punk off and the split will dry if it has any heart wood at all to it

 

[Maple man]

i would cut the punk/ rot off and restack fore a couple more months it should dry out

 

[andybaker]

I would just stack it as it is where it can dry good. When it's dry just burn it all. Mix it in or use during the day/evening. Myself I hate to put more work other than necessary into something. If I came across this out in the woods or a scrounge I would pass.

 

[red oak]

I would just stack it as it is where it can dry good. When it's dry just burn it all. Mix it in or use during the day/evening. Myself I hate to put more work other than necessary into something. If I came across this out in the woods or a scrounge I would pass.

+1.

I have burned many pieces with some punk on it and have never had any problem. Yes it burns quicker - but then just add more wood!

 

[JOHN BOY]

As others have stated just burn it up. You could use it for shoulder wood to.

 

[bogydave]

If it's punky, it'll keep soaking up water, rain will soak in like it's a sponge.
If you expect rain, cover the top.

I've burned dry punky birch, burns fast & not allot of heat. If it's dry, burn it for shoulder season wood.
Also like said, it could just be the sap wood & the heart wood will be solid & be fine after the bark & punky stuff is knocked off.

 

[woodchip]

I burned plenty of punky wood in my first year as it was pretty well all I had at the time.

If it's dry, let the sun a nd wind through it, if it looks like rain, I go with bogydave, try to cover the top with something solid rather than tarps though.

I'd probably split a split or two to see what the heartwood is like........

 

[zzr7ky]

Keep rain off as best you can and burn away.

 

[onetracker]

i would just mix it in. so its a little wet and punky...the moisture is going to be mainly in the punk which has little density. it'll get pushed out right away.

i've got about 1-1.5 cords of red oak that has at least 1-2" of punk on the outside. its uncovered but i'll cover it next summer when (if) it rains so it'll be dry come fall.

your results may vary

OT

 

[Stegman]

Thanks for all the advice, everyone. Right now I'm segregating the really bad stuff. I think the plan is to go through the pile some afternoon and clean up the splits. Then I'll cross stack them and cover them and use them [if necessary] later in the winter.

The deeper I get into the original stack, the better the wood. The rot seems to be concentrated in the logs at the top - perhaps an argument in favoring of covering.

I fall into the "no need to cover until it's time to burn" camp, and I think the issue here is more about the condition of the wood prior to me stacking it - when it got little air circulation whatsoever.

 

[corey21]

I would just stack it and put a cover over the top.

 

[DanCorcoran]

It doesn't have to be a big deal to cover, it doesn't impede airflow, and it can only help to reduce moisture on the wood...

 

[blades]

If it was tarped with the tarp down over the sides then the moisture collected in the top area resulting in what you have.

 

[My Oslo heats my home]

the ants will live near some kind of moisture to survive in/on the wood, are the stacks getting wet somewhere?

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Thanks for all the advice, everyone. Right now I'm segregating the really bad stuff. I think the plan is to go through the pile some afternoon and clean up the splits. Then I'll cross stack them and cover them and use them [if necessary] later in the winter.

The deeper I get into the original stack, the better the wood. The rot seems to be concentrated in the logs at the top - perhaps an argument in favoring of covering.

I fall into the "no need to cover until it's time to burn" camp, and I think the issue here is more about the condition of the wood prior to me stacking it - when it got little air circulation whatsoever.

I'm with some of the others. Rather than putting more work into this wood, save it and burn it during daytime when you are there by the stove. Weekends work out nicely for this. Just burn it and forget it. As for those with ants, I throw those as far as I can...

 

[andybaker]

I agree with Backwoods. Keep the ones with ants away from the house. You can go get these later in the winter when they are frozen and bring them straight in and throw them on the fire and not leave to lay in the house to warm/thaw.