How long to season beech

[Garbanzo62]

I just got a load of beech.. can anyone tell me how long it takes to season? I know split size will have a bearing, but just want a general idea.

 

[peakbagger]

Two years (think of it as equivalent to white oak).

BTW, it it does have the blight it needs to be under cover as the cankers are sources of rot. Leave it out uncovered and the rot will continue but once its dry, it usually stabilizes.

 

[brenndatomu]

Beech can dry in as little as 1 year, if everything is right...if it was cut green/alive, large size splits, not top covered (with sides open) and not in a nice windy/sunny spot, then it'll take 2 -3 years. IME it gives up its moisture faster/easier than Oak.
So if it was cut dead standing, split smaller, top covered (sides open) in a sunny/windy spot, then likely will be dry after 1 year. (maybe even after 1 summer)

 

[Garbanzo62]

Yeah it was cut live so it will take a while. I'll try to cut smaller splits (as best I can with a hand maul). Don't have too many sunny spots left but I get a good breeze so at least the wind will help.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Beach will dry in 1 summers time if its split and stacked by april.. it will be ready by November. You will need to stack it in a sunny area and have prevailing winds blowing on it. Split it kinda medium.. like 3x4 inches... 5x5 may be a little big. I have alot of it right now.. some im burning.. some im selling Uour a little farther north.. it will probably be seasoned..

 

[peakbagger]

Interesting, there must be two different varieties of beech, northern and southern. For many years I did not get into 2 year rotation on wood and would cut trees in late winter. I would buck them up on the snow but usually did not get to splitting and stacking them until early spring. The maple (mostly red), White birch and Ash would be fine in the fall but the beech would not be fully dry. I could use if once I had a hot bed of coals and it did burn longer but if I waited a year it was noticeable that it would light off quicker, although it still liked a good bed of coals. This is not with a solar kiln, just stacked on pallets usually 2 rows deep with pallet on top and a flat top cover to shed rain and snow.

I generally wonder if some folks who claim one year drying (without a kiln) just really dont have that much experience burning two year wood?.

 

[brenndatomu]

generally wonder if some folks who claim one year drying (without a kiln) just really dont have that much experience burning two year wood?.

For me, I have 4-5 year CSS stuff, so yeah...

 

[Poindexter]

My experience with beech (live cut in North Carolina ~2007, one tree) is it can probably be marginal to fairly OK in one season of seasoning, but will probably be much much better to burn after two summer's drying time.

The one tree I did handle I was trying to make lumber boards from. I got to the site about 30 minutes after the live tree was dropped. I cut the longest logs I could between knots(4-6 feet mostly), and was slapping latex house paint on freshly exposed end grain every saw cut.

I piled slash branches (with leaves still on) on my short logs while I was bucking to keep the sun off. I ended up with a pile of short logs 4-6 feet long, 6 to 10 inches diameter with latex paint on both ends, and a bunch of future firewood. The short logs I wanted to make boards from got split once, and then stickered and stacked in the quite humid not climate controlled basement under the house I was living in at the time- same day of felling. Within 2 months all my future boards in the humid basement were below FSP and twisted up like yoga instructors.

In my limited experience split small with good sun and good airflow beech might be ready in one year, but probably much better fuel after two summer's of seasoning.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

so.. just for reference.. Im my area its copper beech.. solid BTUs dries quick.. can get ashey

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Fagus grandifolia, American beech is what grows here. I’ve seen 1 European beech, Fagus sylvatica, the only difference I remember was the leaves. I haven’t seen a copper beech, or haven’t had the difference pointed out to me if I have seen them.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Oh, copper beech is the European beech! I’ve seen… 1 of them, lol.

 

[peakbagger]

There are many big ornamental copper beeches down in Mass and CT. I have never seen one in the wild but some of those large specimens are truly impressive.

 

[SeanBB]

For me, beech takes three years to season. But when seasoned it burns wonderfully.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

I’d say 18 months for good firewood. 12 might do it though unless it’s really rainy.

 

[thewoodlands]

I just got a load of beech.. can anyone tell me how long it takes to season? I know split size will have a bearing, but just want a general idea.

We had beech below 20 percent m/c in a year but the majority of the time it will be two or three years. The three year beech is just because I'll only burn so much beech in one heating season, two face cord at the most.

The beech we had below 20 percent m/c in a year wasn't the best.

 

[Garbanzo62]

OK so next Question. I tried splitting on of the rounds (hand maul and wedge) and couldn't get it to split all of the way. Any tricks for hand splitting? The round I tried to split was 24" diameter X 16" thick

 

[Ctwoodtick]

When I would hand split, I would chop into the outer edges. You end up with some smaller pieces bc of that but you cut down the diameter of the round until you can split it down the middle.

 

[peakbagger]

I agree with the prior poster. There is lot of "hoop" strength in the outer diameter of the wood as its living wood. I you can just take off a 1 to 2" wide semicircular slab from the edge, it usually allows the rest of the wood to be split but on occasion I end up turning a round into a square by taking 4 slabs off at 90 degrees intervals. On really stubborn big diameter wood, I may end up splitting off the corners of the redulting rectangular piece of wood and usually by then its small enough. There is also the option of "noodling the log with chainsaw, if its a particularly grainy peice of wood with branch or crotch in it I may need to saw it straight through but usually if its straight grain, just cutting in 2" of so releases the hoop strength.

This is not somewhat academic to me as I have a log splitter but I do still cut an buck rounds in the winter and if they are bit or I need the exercise I just bring the Fiskars splitting maul and split the straight stuff in half to make it easier to throw around. Frozen wood usually splits easier but some wood like Yellow Birch and Beech can be nasty stuff.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

There’s also an art to swinging a sledge or maul.. Most people I’ve seen swing check the downward travel at the last second before impact. This decreases the energy you can hit the wood with. I try to bend my knees a bit at the last second so I’m traveling down with the end of the maul.

Make sure the wood your splitting isn’t too high. If it’s too high you’re not hitting with as much force as possible either.