Freebie seasoned oak

[Fire Breathing Dragon]

I was doing some scrounging for firewood with all trees that Sandy over turned when I came across an ad for fress seasoned rounds. Hmmmm? I inquire about it and the homeowner sends me a pic of the wood available, she said it was 3 oaks that were already cut up which was about 8 minutes from my desk job. The homeowner said it had been down since Jan 2010 or 2011 (I can't remember) so I was shocked there was this much left. I got 3 truck and trailer loads from it (like my avatar pic) and had a buddy come out and fill his truck as well and there was still some of the smaller stuff left. I was running out of room to store the rounds for processing so I had to throw in the towel. The wood was not rotten but did have some mushrooms growing on the wood that made contact with the ground. I plan to get em split up in the next couple of days in the mild weather. Like you guys have said, this wood should burn good next year I guess?

 

[swagler85]

Nice score, I keep seeing scrounges I want to pick up but have too much sitting in my back yard I can't bring anything else home. Currently have oak, pine, mulberry, and locust bucked and waiting to be split and stacked. Been working on it an hour here and there as I have time to get out. Same boat your in now

 

[bogydave]

I'm guessing next year might be a tad early for oak to be ready to burn.
It don't season well in the rounds, 2 + years after split.
Time spent in logs & rounds don't count much for seasoning time. (Unless you are a wood seller )

 

[mo381]

I am going to agree with Dave that it may not be ready yet. Recently tested some I gotten last year, it had spent 2+ years on top of a sandy hill in the sun and wind but still in rounds. I got it home c/s/s last year and it is still in the mid 20's mc. So it will wait until next year if not longer. Nice score though!

 

[Gasifier]

Great score fire breathing! That is the best price for any wood, let alone Oak. That will make some awsome BTUs for the 2014/15 season. Nice work.

 

[Fire Breathing Dragon]

I'm guessing next year might be a tad early for oak to be ready to burn.
It don't season well in the rounds, 2 + years after split.
Time spent in logs & rounds don't count much for seasoning time. (Unless you are a wood seller )

Hey thanks Dave, yeah I'm still a bit green myself in collecting wood for our woodstove we just got in Feb of this year. If it takes another 2 years that is fine since I am collecting for the 14-15 season now anyway although the collection so far was oak/elm trees dropped a few weeks ago. I will put a MM to it later today or tomorrow and then check it this time next year for giggles. We are still not sure how much wood we will burn in a year so it is just a guessing game at this point. We don't quite have the climate of Alaska nor do we have the great mountain views like in your pics but it is good to keep learning from you guys. We had an old heavy smoking type of stove growing up but I am learning now that it might have been from the oak we were burning that was only 12 mos seasoned. Our new EPA stove does not like green wood but I guess most don't. Ok, I am off to shuffle some wood around.

 

[onetracker]

fantastic score.
and
you've got 2 years for it to dry out.
puts you in good shape.

as far as how much you'll burn...
what's your square footage? how old is the house? insulation? southern exposure? what's the BTU rating for your VC Encore? those factors will give us an idea of approx how much wood you'll burn based on how much we burn.

 

[fabsroman]

Definitely some nice wood you have there. Just a tad south of you in Howard County and we didn't see many trees down from Sandy. I am at the Eldersburg Home Depot a lot. Also having the same issue as you. Bought a wood burning furnace last summer and finally found the time and motivation to install it this fall. Thing is, I don't have a clue how much wood we are going to use. Right now, I have only needed to light it around midnight every night before going to bed and the house is 74 degrees when I wake up in the morning. Wondering if it will ever be cold enough in Maryland for 24 hour burns.

Cut, split, and stacked 10 cords of wood for it last year, with around 4 cords being oak. So, not much room left here either to stack more until I get a garage built. With that said, I am getting ready to go out and cut up some wood and split and stack it someplace over here. It scares me to see the wood stacks going down a little. lol If you ever come across free wood that you don't have room for, shoot me a PM, or if you need some help cutting some stuff up don't hesitate to ask.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I was doing some scrounging for firewood with all trees that Sandy over turned when I came across an ad for fress seasoned rounds. Hmmmm? I inquire about it and the homeowner sends me a pic of the wood available, she said it was 3 oaks that were already cut up which was about 8 minutes from my desk job. The homeowner said it had been down since Jan 2010 or 2011 (I can't remember) so I was shocked there was this much left. I got 3 truck and trailer loads from it (like my avatar pic) and had a buddy come out and fill his truck as well and there was still some of the smaller stuff left. I was running out of room to store the rounds for processing so I had to throw in the towel. The wood was not rotten but did have some mushrooms growing on the wood that made contact with the ground. I plan to get em split up in the next couple of days in the mild weather. Like you guys have said, this wood should burn good next year I guess?

Now that is a really nice find! Even if not split, those should be ready in 2 years but you might also check after a year. Much depends upon the size of the rounds. And don't worry about the mushrooms. It comes with the oak. lol

 

[Fire Breathing Dragon]

Definitely some nice wood you have there. Just a tad south of you in Howard County and we didn't see many trees down from Sandy. I am at the Eldersburg Home Depot a lot. Also having the same issue as you. Bought a wood burning furnace last summer and finally found the time and motivation to install it this fall. Thing is, I don't have a clue how much wood we are going to use. Right now, I have only needed to light it around midnight every night before going to bed and the house is 74 degrees when I wake up in the morning. Wondering if it will ever be cold enough in Maryland for 24 hour burns.

Cut, split, and stacked 10 cords of wood for it last year, with around 4 cords being oak. So, not much room left here either to stack more until I get a garage built. With that said, I am getting ready to go out and cut up some wood and split and stack it someplace over here. It scares me to see the wood stacks going down a little. lol If you ever come across free wood that you don't have room for, shoot me a PM, or if you need some help cutting some stuff up don't hesitate to ask.

Hey neighbor! This last score actually came from your area between Columbia and Ellicott City. I wish I would have posted this pic sooner and got your response because I could of gotten you onto the wood. She would ask each day if I was coming back and I kept saying yes, she asked because others were inquiring about the wood as well naturally.

We have been burning nights and also the wifie has kept it going a little in the day during the days she works from home, we still haven't turned on the heat though. Of course today I was out splitting in a t-shirt, crazy weather but it sure is nice. Sounds like your wood furnace works well.

 

[Fire Breathing Dragon]

fantastic score.
and
you've got 2 years for it to dry out.
puts you in good shape.

as far as how much you'll burn...
what's your square footage? how old is the house? insulation? southern exposure? what's the BTU rating for your VC Encore? those factors will give us an idea of approx how much wood you'll burn based on how much we burn.

Hey thanks! Our colonel house is 2,400 sq ft and we do have southern exposure. The walls and windows are cheap builders grade min to meet code, I think R-13 in walls (but not positive), roof is blown ins and I added more there so we are about R-45-50ish. The max BTU rating per hr is 65,000. Based on a solid guess I have 3.5 cords for this year and 3.5 cords for next year and am starting to build 14-15 year now. Thanks for your help and suggestions.

 

[Fire Breathing Dragon]

I'm guessing next year might be a tad early for oak to be ready to burn.
It don't season well in the rounds, 2 + years after split.
Time spent in logs & rounds don't count much for seasoning time. (Unless you are a wood seller )

You know, you might be on to something..... I reread your comment a few times and even thought about it while I was out splitting this afternoon; what if I sell the wood to myself? Would this trick the wood into being fully seasoned and "ready to burn" like all the ads say? This just might work but first I will criss-cross log cabin style stack it, no wait, I will toss it in a pile in the lawn for a couple weeks which is almost like kiln drying from what I hear. hehehehe

I did put the MM on the splits today and got as low as 19.? and as high as 26.? with most of it that I measured being 21-23%. I could not believe it measured so low considering the bark was damp/falling off and had some good mushrooms forming.

 

[onetracker]

Hey thanks! Our colonel house is 2,400 sq ft and we do have southern exposure. The walls and windows are cheap builders grade min to meet code, I think R-13 in walls (but not positive), roof is blown ins and I added more there so we are about R-45-50ish. The max BTU rating per hr is 65,000. Based on a solid guess I have 3.5 cords for this year and 3.5 cords for next year and am starting to build 14-15 year now. Thanks for your help and suggestions.

3.5 cords for a house that size in mayland seems about right....maybe shy about .5 to 1 cord. anyway, after this winter you'll know for sure! unless we have another mild one...then you'll have wood to carry over till next year.

i've got some 3 year seasoned shagbark, honey locust and white oak. i'm only breaking that stuff out on the coldest nights

 

[fabsroman]

Hey neighbor! This last score actually came from your area between Columbia and Ellicott City. I wish I would have posted this pic sooner and got your response because I could of gotten you onto the wood. She would ask each day if I was coming back and I kept saying yes, she asked because others were inquiring about the wood as well naturally.

We have been burning nights and also the wifie has kept it going a little in the day during the days she works from home, we still haven't turned on the heat though. Of course today I was out splitting in a t-shirt, crazy weather but it sure is nice. Sounds like your wood furnace works well.

Yeah, I am about the same distance from Ellicott City and Columbia. Right at the intersection of 32 and 144. Been in this house for almost 2 years now. Have always wanted to heat with wood. Got a furnace that will put out 151,000 btu, so we should be alright with it. Have a rancher with 2,100 sf upstairs and 2,400 sf downstairs. I work from home like your wife and have not had to put the furnace on during the day but maybe once or twice. The first time I ran it a couple weeks ago, I put an entire load in the furnace and had the house at 82 degrees. I was sweating in the house at the end of October. lol

The furnace has natural gas as a backup should the temp fall to 68 degrees in the house, but I am trying to avoid using any natural gas this year. We were on heating oil before this, and that was extremely expensive with a 25 year old furnace.

Been sick for two weeks, or I would be out there getting some wood myself. No idea where I am going to put it, but a pile will suffice I guess until the spring. Maybe just stack it in the racks as I use the other wood. I really hope 3.5 cords gets you and me through the winter. My house seems to be pretty well insulated, so keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[Fire Breathing Dragon]

3.5 cords for a house that size in mayland seems about right....maybe shy about .5 to 1 cord. anyway, after this winter you'll know for sure! unless we have another mild one...then you'll have wood to carry over till next year.

i've got some 3 year seasoned shagbark, honey locust and white oak. i'm only breaking that stuff out on the coldest nights

Hey thanks for the estimate! I am beginning to think I might need to double the wood supply as my wiffie likes to burn when it is still in the upper 40's and low 50's outside. Oh well, she can have her upper 70's house temps and I will go outside and cut some more.

Wow, sounds like you have some good fuel on tap for this year. We have a little bit of honey locust to burn this year but I haven't tried it yet, I have heard good things though.

We also keep 2 of the upstairs bedroom doors closed during the winter so there is a few less sq ft to heat, maybe that might make up for the .5 - 1 cord difference? Hahahaha

 

[thewoodlands]

I was doing some scrounging for firewood with all trees that Sandy over turned when I came across an ad for fress seasoned rounds. Hmmmm? I inquire about it and the homeowner sends me a pic of the wood available, she said it was 3 oaks that were already cut up which was about 8 minutes from my desk job. The homeowner said it had been down since Jan 2010 or 2011 (I can't remember) so I was shocked there was this much left. I got 3 truck and trailer loads from it (like my avatar pic) and had a buddy come out and fill his truck as well and there was still some of the smaller stuff left. I was running out of room to store the rounds for processing so I had to throw in the towel. The wood was not rotten but did have some mushrooms growing on the wood that made contact with the ground. I plan to get em split up in the next couple of days in the mild weather. Like you guys have said, this wood should burn good next year I guess?

Nice score FBD, get it s & s up in the wind so it starts to season. I'm with the guys who say it will take 2-3 years on the Oak.
zap