How long until beech rots

[NH_Wood]

Hi all!

So.....read a post here a while back where someone mentioned that beech will rot quick in a stack. I have next year's wood (ash and cherry), 2011\12 red oak, 2012/2013 red oak, sugar maple, and just been getting 2013/14 stacked. This last year's wood is mainly sugar maple, red oak, and beech. Will the beech be okay after 3-4 years in a stack (good sun and wind and on pallets)? If not, I guess I'll have to sift through and get the beech out of the stack. I always assumed it would age like red oak, since beech is in the oak family, but perahps not. Thanks! Cheers!

 

[smokinj]

I cant see beech rotting in a stack off the ground. 3-4 yeasr should not cause any issues.

 

[JustWood]

It will be fine as long as it is split and stacked off the ground. I've seen tops turn to punk in 2-3 years in the woods where they don't get much sun.
Put a cover on it and it will last forever.

 

[Wood Duck]

I think almost any wood will last a long time if split and stacked in a nice spot. I'd expect the beech to be in fine shape long after 3 or 4 years in your stacks. I don't think beech is particularly quick to rot. Around here it often grows in damp, shady woods where any wood will rot pretty fast, so maybe that is where it gets the reputation for quick rotting.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Yes. Get them up off the ground and beech will last a long, long time.

Whenever you read that some wood will rot in a stack, someone probably has seen an old stack that maybe has been there 20 years or so and left in a wet area uncovered and nothing holding the stack up off the ground.

Indeed beech can and will rot fast if left on the ground. We had some one year that we left and forgot. Two years later I was walking through the woods deer hunting and found the beech we forgot. It was pure punk.

 

[Danno77]

if you get tightly stacked with wet leaves in there it will really accelerate rotting. stack it loose and keep it covered and it should last a long time.

 

[Danno77]

also, people forget that stacking off the ground doesn't mean that you can have a sacrificial row. very quickly that sacrificial row BECOMES the ground, or at least becomes a good conduit of moisture from the ground.

 

[NH_Wood]

Great - thanks everyone - that's what I thought. All wood is on pallets, in good sun and wind - so I should be in good shape. Looking forward to burning the beech - heard it is excellent wood - long, hot burns. Cheers!

 

[smokinj]

Great - thanks everyone - that's what I thought. All wood is on pallets, in good sun and wind - so I should be in good shape. Looking forward to burning the beech - heard it is excellent wood - long, hot burns. Cheers!

I would love to have more of it!