BIG rounds and seasoning.

[Jobu75]

I just had a big swamp maple taken down and have processed the logs into large rounds. I already have three good stacks and enough to burn for 2-3 years. My plan is to leave these suckers on the ground till next spring, split 'em and stack to backfill what I use this winter. They should be good on the bare ground til then, right? They're hundreds of pounds each, so getting them off the ground isn't really an option.

 

[begreen]

I suspect that they may be full of water. My inclination would be to split them now and stack the splits on palettes. If not, then I would at least get the rounds on some sleepers so that there is no ground contact.

 

[Jobu75]

They’re really fresh. Just wet from rain. It rained for the past day and the end pieces of the logs were dark already. Maybe I’ll just halve them into half moons and stack them that way for the winter just to get them off the ground. I did have some oak last year that had been on the ground in the woods for years that I cut up last year. Wasn’t wet. Burned great with minimal seasoning.

 

[blades]

they will start to rot pretty quick on the ground also strip a section of bark off located towards the bottom. bark tends to hold moisture in so this gives a bit of an escape route. Rounds do not season very well at all.

 

[Jobu75]

Yeah, I know it would be best to get them off the ground, but I’m just looking to get away with something til spring because I don’t have room for any more stacks currently. The ground will be frozen most of the winter. I want to keep them in big pieces because this is not going to be the final location this wood and I know it needs to be moved. Maybe if I could roll them up on some simple rails…

 

[stoveliker]

I concur with the above; rounds don't season. While that is not necessarily bad (because you'll season it in your stacks when you have space there), the problem is that wood that is not getting dry will start rotting. In particular when it's on the ground.

So, I would split it now. Needs to be done anyway. Get a few cinderblocks and 2x4s and stack it. No need to cover it for this winter. That'll happen in your regular stacks.

The "no room" argument is a bit strange: you can make a stack where the rounds are now, no?

 

[Jobu75]

Yeah I know that sounds weird. Fact is, I have a small backyard that already has 3 big stacks consisting of years of burning. We use our stove for supplemental heat, but I love processing firewood, so I’ve accumulated a lot of wood, especially after having our swamp maple taken down. My plan is to clear the area behind these rounds this fall/winter and plant grass, so maybe I’ll leave them for now and split them when I make room back there soon. Cool.

 

[GrumpyDad]

I just had a big swamp maple taken down and have processed the logs into large rounds. I already have three good stacks and enough to burn for 2-3 years. My plan is to leave these suckers on the ground till next spring, split 'em and stack to backfill what I use this winter. They should be good on the bare ground til then, right? They're hundreds of pounds each, so getting them off the ground isn't really an option.

View attachment 298778

I would split them asap. I learned my lesson when I cut 14 trees down and didnt split them. They started to rot from the outside in (pine) and splitting them resulted in 70% pulp and 30% usable camp fire wood. I wouldnt dare use them in my stove/fireplace.

 

[Riverbanks]

It's your wood and you can do what you want to, Supremes?

 

[hickoryhoarder]

I'd at least get them off the ground.

 

[Stinkpickle]

I would definitely roll them up on pallets.

 

[johneh]

Many years ago before we could afford the equipment
to move wood out of the forest we would buck big logs
and stack them on the ground. They would be there all
winter and part of the following summer. When we
eventually got to them the bark would be loose and fall off.
Not a bad thing but we never had any of the wood rot if
left on the ground for no more than one season. So I
see nothing wrong with your plan to leave it till next summer.

 

[kennyp2339]

They'll be fine for 6-8 months like that, I have tree lengths that have been on the ground (green from cutting) 2 years now and there still good, just dont expect any gainful drying to occur

 

[stoveliker]

My experience (on long island) is different. One year (10 months centered on winter), and I got 3/4 inch of rot under the (then loose) bark of maple rounds. And many bugs in there that kept eating for a year after I split them.

 

[kborndale]

Split them in half and get them off the ground. They will be fine that way while waiting for for you to get around to splitting them the rest of the way.

 

[johneh]

My experience (on long island) is different. One year (10 months centered on winter), and I got 3/4 inch of rot under the (then loose) bark of maple rounds. And many bugs in there that kept eating for a year after I split them.

I guess it depends on your winter. We have long very cold winters with at least 3 ft. of frost in the ground
not much can rot when it is frozen

 

[Butfumbl3]

Maple rots faster than you would think. Just get them off the ground any way you can. Whether you roll them up on 2x4’s or pallets. Just as long as there isn’t direct ground contact. I learned my lesson with maple that was cut in November of 2020, left sitting on the ground for about 6 months, when I got to it, it was all punky and would just split off sides in awkward size pieces that were useless for the stove.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Is get it off the ground and at the minimum quarter them up, maple will tend to rot faster then other woods..

 

[axel207]

I'd say at the least you'd want to put them on pallets. They'll be frozen into the ground come spring, and thats 6 months away...

 

[GrumpyDad]

I've left a few ash trees sitting in a pile of rounds. While extremely moss covered and dirty they split and look okish. Kinda odd dark streaks inside.
Now my 14 white pines that I had to cut down as they were all dead , they could have been used as firewood or camp firewood but now they are all in decay. I will likely need to have a large funeral fire for those.