*DRY?* oak

[clr8ter]

Is anybody else familiar with trees that have fallen long ago, suspended of the ground, and all of the bark has fallen off? I've got an oak like that. We have lived here 4+ years, and this thing looks like it had fallen long before that. Now, I know that wood doesn't dry very fast or well until split, but, given enough years, and the fact that it no longer has bark, wouldn't it eventually dry? It's not very heavy compared to just-cut oak, yet the moisture meter says it's just under 20%. I'm wondering if the meter is lying. It's one of those yellow & grey general ones......

 

[Hogwildz]

Is the wood punky? The outer edges of oak tend to rot much quicker then the core.

 

[ScotO]

Hogz is right. Are you checking in the middle of a fresh split or are you just putting the meter in the white, fluffy sapwood?
When an oak tree dies, the bark and sapwood rot off, but usually the hearwood will last for many, many years (on standing deads, it lasts for decades).....usually that heartwood is GREAT for burning after a couple years of seasoning.

 

[Hogwildz]

Yeap, as Scotty said, after a couple years at least. Just cause its down, dead and off the ground, don't mean its dry. Get it split and stacked.

 

[clemsonfor]

Unless its really small diameter even if off ground I doubt that the center is less than 20%!! I have cut plenty of the stuff u talk about. Last year cut some dead standing no bark that was dead for I guess 5 yrs and it still was either 30 or 40%! In the middle of a split. And the outer sap wood was pinky and fluffy white.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

For sure some of it could be very dry but I'd still expect lots of moisture in the interior of those logs. But for sure I'd be cutting it too!

 

[clr8ter]

It seems that the sapwood has long since rotted and fallen off. None of what's left is even slightly punky. I was for some reason under the impression that a log would season like this if given 20 years or so...

 

[Paulywalnut]

Is anybody else familiar with trees that have fallen long ago, suspended of the ground, and all of the bark has fallen off? I've got an oak like that. We have lived here 4+ years, and this thing looks like it had fallen long before that. Now, I know that wood doesn't dry very fast or well until split, but, given enough years, and the fact that it no longer has bark, wouldn't it eventually dry? It's not very heavy compared to just-cut oak, yet the moisture meter says it's just under 20%. I'm wondering if the meter is lying. It's one of those yellow & grey general ones......

I have that meter also. It's very honest! Oak just holds moisture longer than most other wood. Once split and stacked it might season faster than normally.

 

[xman23]

I just got a few oaks, that were cut into rounds and stacked 2 or 3 years ago. Just got them in time. The sap wood was getting soft, but under that 3/4 inch the heart wood was solid. My fear is if the punk gets wet in the stack it never dries. I cover so I mixed it in the stack with new fresh oak that won't get used for 4 years.

So no drying time split, 2-3 year old rounds, a few splits were used to start my first fire this year. They did feel bit heavy for there size. The fire was so hard to start, 2 , 3 fire starters, finally gave up. The drafts not great this time of the year, but it's not that, the woods to wet! I got 2 splits of my 4 year old aged dry splits. They fired right up. So they just don't dry in the center. I never use a moisture meter, just know from the sound and weight.

 

[Mr A]

It must be climate, I read here often that oak is notoriously long to season. I have found logs as you describe. No rot, no punk, and ring like a baseball bat. My HF MM says 15%, in the center. I have some oak rounds I picked up just this past spring. 12"-16" long, 1'-2' across. It has been stacked in rounds all summer, I don't know when it was cut. I remember it was heavy, not so heavy today.

 

[oldspark]

I have had Oak trees like you talk about, suspended, no bark, and it is fairly dry but have not cut any sense I bought the MM, finding it below 20% is something I can see happening, in 35 years of cutting Oak I have ran into a little bit of everthing. Wood from the same tree trunk with bark on it is no where near as dry, the reason it takes so long to dry this way is because unless split it drys from the ends for the most part and its Oak.

 

[PapaDave]

Recently cut a small dead trunk of Oak that was still standing.
I'm curious about the MC. No bark on most of it.
Plenty of that where I'm cutting, as well as stuff that's down and suspended/snagged.
I'll have to pull out the old MM to check, I suppose.

 

[oldspark]

The dryest ones I have found have fell over, still standing might be a little different but yes check it out, not sure I will cut any oak this fall other wise I could do some checking also, I have about 100 acres of Oak timber I can cut in, pretty much find any thing you want in there.

 

[HDRock]

I just picked up on a scrounge, some old dead Red Oak, no bark , punky on the outside ,primo and solid inside.
I don't know how old this stuff is but , I busted a couple of rounds open , one ,19" X 20" long , checked it 20 different places and ,WOW , 17 to 22% MC .
Hard to believe that big of a round is that dry inside, but it is .
The other one I cracked open was 22 to 30%
By the looks of it the smaller stuff 6,8,10 in may be ready to burn , more checking and ,we will see

 

[Mr A]

Here's

I just picked up on a scrounge, some old dead Red Oak, no bark , punky on the outside ,primo and solid inside.
I don't know how old this stuff is but , I busted a couple of rounds open , one ,19" X 20" long , checked it 20 different places and ,WOW , 17 to 22% MC .
Hard to believe that big of a round is that dry inside, but it is .
The other one I cracked open was 22 to 30%
By the looks of it the smaller stuff 6,8,10 in may be ready to burn , more checking and ,we will see

Here is mine. 2ft across, 12 inch long round cut last September, so I was told. Blue oak. This was hard to split with the hydraulic. The whole load was similar in several MM checks throughout, I collected it earlier this year.This was to be a part of 2-3 years down the road wood, it is ready now! I probably don't need as much lead time for seasoning as I thought. Something I will be monitoring from here on out.

 

[aansorge]

Here in Minnesota, dead ones lying around can lay there for 20 years and still be sopping wet. The only standing dead I have taken was in an open field and was dry. 18 percent moisture. It had been standing for about 20 to 25 years according to my uncle.

 

[Woody Stover]

wouldn't it eventually dry? It's not very heavy compared to just-cut oak, yet the moisture meter says it's just under 20%. I'm wondering if the meter is lying.

It seems that the sapwood has long since rotted and fallen off. None of what's left is even slightly punky. I was for some reason under the impression that a log would season like this if given 20 years or so...

Burn it.

Unless its really small diameter even if off ground I doubt that the center is less than 20%!! I have cut plenty of the stuff u talk about. Last year cut some dead standing no bark that was dead for I guess 5 yrs

Lotta difference between five and fifteen or twenty years. No bark and no sapwood either, just heartwood. I can go out there now and find an Oak top off the ground, left years ago, that will be well under 20% in a 14"+ round.

WOW , 17 to 22% MC .
Hard to believe that big of a round is that dry inside, but it is

When you buck 'em, and they look like that, you know you are into some pretty dry stuff. No moisture to be seen on the end of the cut, and checked in the middle of the log.

 

[billb3]

+1 on standing dead being dry as a bone, hard as rock too.
horizontal not so much, although once cut up and split they seem to season fairly quick
too often I find the horizontal ones punky and useless, course most of those are on the ground too

 

[gzecc]

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Here is mine. 2ft across, 12 inch long round cut last September, so I was told. Blue oak. This was hard to split with the hydraulic. The whole load was similar in several MM checks throughout, I collected it earlier this year.This was to be a part of 2-3 years down the road wood, it is ready now! I probably don't need as much lead time for seasoning as I thought. Something I will be monitoring from here on out.

91 seems high to me.

 

[clr8ter]

Yeah, my oak looks like the ones in HDrock's photo. Now, my meter says it's around 20+-%, and it beeps fast with 3 drops showing, indicating wet wood. I wonder if the thing lies? Also, please refresh my memory; dry wood is what moisture content? I have 15%- in my mind.

 

[oldspark]

20% and below is considered ideal.

 

[HDRock]

By the looks of it the smaller stuff 6,8,10 in may be ready to burn , more checking and ,we will see

Well, I got about a half a cord of ready to burn oak out of the scrounge, the rest will need to dry some more, some is still 25 to 30%

 

[clr8ter]

UPDATE- that oak seems to burn pretty good. I split it and left it sitting on the driveway in the sun. It's only been a few weeks, but it burns nice. Doesn't even seem to sizzle at all. It was a complete groan to split by hand, though. Tough as nails. So mow I'm thinking that my moisture meter reads high. 20% or so on the meter is actually drier than that.

HDRock, I see you have a HF 7 ton electric splitter. How does that work? Does it do any knotty knarly stuff at all?

 

[ErikR]

Is anybody else familiar with trees that have fallen long ago, suspended of the ground, and all of the bark has fallen off? I've got an oak like that. We have lived here 4+ years, and this thing looks like it had fallen long before that. Now, I know that wood doesn't dry very fast or well until split, but, given enough years, and the fact that it no longer has bark, wouldn't it eventually dry? It's not very heavy compared to just-cut oak, yet the moisture meter says it's just under 20%. I'm wondering if the meter is lying. It's one of those yellow & grey general ones......

I live in an area that was hit many years ago by some Oak tree killing disease. The woods around my house are littered with all the dead, dry Oak I could ever gather. The disease didn't kill them all, but there sure are a lot of 6" to 10" diameter, dead, standing and downed trees. All of it bark-less and dry! My HF meter shows 8 to 18%.


This was a few hours work. most everything there is 48" long. There are a few 16" and 32" in there too.

 

[HDRock]

UPDATE- that oak seems to burn pretty good. I split it and left it sitting on the driveway in the sun. It's only been a few weeks, but it burns nice. Doesn't even seem to sizzle at all. It was a complete groan to split by hand, though. Tough as nails. So mow I'm thinking that my moisture meter reads high. 20% or so on the meter is actually drier than that.

HDRock, I see you have a HF 7 ton electric splitter. How does that work? Does it do any knotty knarly stuff at all?

It does a surprisingly good job with knotty knarly stuff, sometimes you have to reposition it a couple of times , I have sliced through 3" internal knots.
Splits most elm easy