Drying oak rounds (12"-20" diameter)

[rwh63]

had a 60 ft oak fall recently. de-limbed it, cutting into 18" long rounds. diameter ranges from 12" to 20". the general opinion is that oak burns best after 2 years of seasoning. i'm thinking of pyramid stacking the rounds and letting them dry like that until next year, then splitting and finishing dry for that heating season. since most moisture is expelled through the end grain, and there are two large end grains per round, is this an acceptable drying method.
splitting them will take time, and then i have to stack them anyway which will take more time, and then insects will populate the splits, etc.

as full rounds, the bark will keep weather off that side, and insects will not populate the rounds much. so, should i expect a fair amount of drying to occur between now (August) and next spring?

 

[qwee]

That is not a good method. Better, split it now. Stack it. Cover it. Let it dry for 3 years. Check the moisture, and burn it if it is less than 20% moisture content. Oak rounds aren't going to dry as well as splits. Maybe try to get some less dense woods if you want something to burn in the next couple of years.

 

[ericm979]

Wood does not dry nearly as fast in rounds as it does in splits. The additional surface area makes the difference.

Splitting and stacking takes the same amount of time no matter when you do it. At least in my climate and with my wood species, the drier the wood is, the fewer bugs will be in it. Our wood bugs prefer wet wood. Once it's split and stacked they lose interest.

 

[Simonkenton]

I agree, split 'em now and then stack them. They will dry quicker. Plus, an 18 inch piece 20" diameter, green, is heavy. You could hurt your back.

 

[gzecc]

Oak in round will never dry.

 

[rwh63]

ok, thx for your opinions

 

[rwh63]

Pics. Amount estimate?

 

[brenndatomu]

1/4 to 1/3 of a real cord (128 CF)
CSS (cut split stack) is your friend...and then top cover it...top only, leave the sides mostly open for air flow...it will last a very long time that way.

 

[Simonkenton]

That is a good looking score. Got some bad rot on a few pieces, but most are very good. I love oak.
In theory the moisture comes out of the ends, but in fact split pieces dry faster.

 

[ericm979]

About 1/4 cord when split and stacked.

In my climate wood touching the ground will stay wet and rot. Pallets and cheap Harbor Freight tarps will work to get it off the ground and keep the rain off.

 

[Garbanzo62]

In July we had a big oak taken down at my mother in laws. The base was about 36" in diameter. After it was cut and split , we probably got over 3 chords. Hard to say because it was divided amount 3 people so it was never all in one place at one time. Attached is just the wood from the limbs.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

had a 60 ft oak fall recently. de-limbed it, cutting into 18" long rounds. diameter ranges from 12" to 20". the general opinion is that oak burns best after 2 years of seasoning. i'm thinking of pyramid stacking the rounds and letting them dry like that until next year, then splitting and finishing dry for that heating season. since most moisture is expelled through the end grain, and there are two large end grains per round, is this an acceptable drying method.
splitting them will take time, and then i have to stack them anyway which will take more time, and then insects will populate the splits, etc.

as full rounds, the bark will keep weather off that side, and insects will not populate the rounds much. so, should i expect a fair amount of drying to occur between now (August) and next spring?

.I did a thread on this a number of years back. oak will not season in rounds. It will drop a little MC but not much. As you stated the bark will keep the weather off of it but that same bark will keep the moisture in it.. After a but it will start to rot on you. If you do not have the time to split it all.. just quarter it up this will start the drying process and top cover and finish the splitting come early spring or so but definitely split prior to summer as this is when the wood will drop the most MC per month

 

[30WCF]

Pics. Amount estimate?

View attachment 297851 View attachment 297852 View attachment 297853

About an hour to split and stack with a maul if you take breaks.

 

[JRHAWK9]

i'm thinking of pyramid stacking the rounds and letting them dry like that until next year, then splitting and finishing dry for that heating season.

Good luck with that!

 

[rwh63]

updating this thread, i was able to sell the group for $150.

 

[Caw]

Damn that's a good price you got for 1/4 cord not even split. Good job. You could easily take that $150 and turn it into 2+ cords of log length hardwood around here if you are looking to get ahead. Plenty of willing tree companies in MA.

 

[rwh63]

i really don't know how much wood it was. i thought 150 was fair for red oak. i ordered two cords of seasoned for 375 ea. i burn about 2 cords per winter. only once did i come into enough oak to justify renting a splitter and knocking out about 5 cords.

 

[awicherr]

had a 60 ft oak fall recently. de-limbed it, cutting into 18" long rounds. diameter ranges from 12" to 20". the general opinion is that oak burns best after 2 years of seasoning. i'm thinking of pyramid stacking the rounds and letting them dry like that until next year, then splitting and finishing dry for that heating season. since most moisture is expelled through the end grain, and there are two large end grains per round, is this an acceptable drying method.
splitting them will take time, and then i have to stack them anyway which will take more time, and then insects will populate the splits, etc.

as full rounds, the bark will keep weather off that side, and insects will not populate the rounds much. so, should i expect a fair amount of drying to occur between now (August) and next spring?

I have red oak split and stacked at 2 years and it's still 24ish... The 20ish and below burn ok the 21 to 25 burn not so good I am stealing away from oak due to space restrictions/seasoning times

 

[Caw]

If you have a good location to store it and don't live in a very humid climate red oak is seasonable in 2 years. It needs to be split on the smaller side, 3-5" max, stacked in single rows out doubles with air gapping, and get hit with the afternoon sun and prevailing wind.

If you're missing any of that it'll take a solid 3 years. Even though I can do it in 2 years here I still budget the full 3 because it just burns that much better after 3. It's worth the wait if you have the room to store it. Not everyone wants to keep 12+ cords on hand though which is understandable. It took me a bit of work to convince the wife this was the way but now she likes being toasty in the winter so she's all in.