I Hate Oak

[lukem]

I burned some in the firepit the other night. No exaggeration, it was a 1/2" thick scrap, sitting on top of the stack for 9 months, and was still bubbling out the end. Granted it wasn't a lot, but STILL. Does this stuff ever get dry?

 

[CTYank]

Depends on what you do to enable it to dry. Like, first, cover the top.
Do what you can, then all you can do is wait while preventing retrogression.

 

[lukem]

Depends on what you do to enable it to dry. Like, first, cover the top.
Do what you can, then all you can do is wait while preventing retrogression.

It hasn't rained here in forever...even then it wouldn't get to the center of the wood. Covering isn't going to help this cause.

Just have to sit back, curse it, and wait for it to dry.

 

[jimbom]

I burned some in the firepit the other night. No exaggeration, it was a 1/2" thick scrap, sitting on top of the stack for 9 months, and was still bubbling out the end. Granted it wasn't a lot, but STILL. Does this stuff ever get dry?

Ain't it the truth. All I have is oak and hickory. I'm cutting it down as fast as I can use it. Gonna replace them with popular, spruce, fir, and willow. ;-P No more long seasoning for me.

 

[RoseRedHoofbeats]

In about 2 years, yeah. =P

Don't go near mesquite, that stuff takes FOREVER.

~Rose

 

[Thistle]

:lol: @ the title..... Roughly 2/3rds of what I cut is standing dead or deadfall Red/Black Oak,with some dead White/Bur Oak & Shagbark/Mockernut Hickory,Mulberry,Elm etc mixed in. I know what you mean.Some 8"-14" stuff can be either green as a gourd,or dry as a bone if you're very lucky.Most everything under 5" is ready to go,at least all that I've found since April anyway.Most is ready within a year,some of the other stuff will sit for 2.Never had any Hickory,even green that wasnt dry enough within 12 months though.Even higher density than most Oaks,with a lower moisture content.

 

[ValentineHill]

I'm buying 1/2 cord of "seasoned" wood on Wednesday to start off the burning season (since this is my first year trying to do only wood heat), and I started sweating bullets when the guy said it was mostly oak! For one, when was the last time anyone got really seasoned wood from a dealer, and oak on top of that! It's a good price even for green wood, so I'm still getting it, but I doubt it'll be the stuff we start burning in November...

 

[egclassic]

I'm with ya! I scrounged about 1-1/2 cords of oak early this spring. I believe the tree was standing dead for awhile before they cut it down. Anyway, I brought it all home, split and stacked it right away. Last week, I started a fire,outside, to burn up some scraps and limbs and thought, let me see if this oak is ready. I put a small piece of the oak on the fire and out came the water. Guess it'll sit until next year! Sucks but I knew going in that it probably wouldn't be ready this year, hopeful I guess.

 

[btuser]

I think it depends on the species of oak as well. The white oak I try to burn seems to take much longer than the red.

Yep. Red is wetter when you cut it but the white is some mighty tight grained stuff.

 

[Dune]

I love oak.

I season it for years, and it burns great.

This years wood shed; 3-5 year old oak, one year old maple, 1-2 year old cherry, one year plus apple and three cords of 2-4 year old pine for the shoulder season, with about a half a cord reserved for the very COLDEST nights.

 

[cptoneleg]

I Love Oak also, best dang fuel you can burn. Just let it sit stacked for acouple of summers, cover tops if you want to I don't. Rained here for 5 days and nights, it dried out in a day of sunshine and wind. Anyway its good wood after at least 2 yrs.. :zip:

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Yes, oak is great. You just have to give Mother Nature time and it will burn great. So great that you will come to love it. Just think, you can enjoy looking at those beautiful wood stacks for a couple years before you burn it. It is better than money in the bank.

 

[rdust]

I burned a couple stoves worth of 2 year seasoned oak last year and some of it still bubbled a little. This is stacked in single rows(3' a part) top covered from almost day one, the location gets pretty good sun/wind and it's split a lot smaller than I split now. I decided to let it sit for another year and I'll give it another try this season, if it doesn't work again I'll burn some more ash. :lol:

 

[lukem]

All will be forgiven when I burn this in a couple 3 or 4 years I'm sure. Just hard to believe how it holds the moisture.

 

[SolarAndWood]

Just when I was feelin good about the 4 cord I scored a few weeks ago :coolsmirk:

 

[Dune]

Just when I was feelin good about the 4 cord I scored a few weeks ago :coolsmirk:

You should feel good about it. That is a great score. Some year in the future's wood is all set now.

 

[Dune]

All will be forgiven when I burn this in a couple 3 or 4 years I'm sure. Just hard to believe how it holds the moisture.

Give it three full years and you will love it.

 

[CodyWayne718]

Lukem, I hate it too. Your not alone. I got about 3/4 cord that's been c/s/s for 2 years that I'm gonna try to burn this winter. After its gone something other than oak will be in it's spot. It does burn nice but that's not why I hate it

 

[madrone]

Does this stuff ever get dry?

No.

 

[SolarAndWood]

Just when I was feelin good about the 4 cord I scored a few weeks ago :coolsmirk:

You should feel good about it. That is a great score. Some year in the future's wood is all set now.

Without a doubt, I am ecstatic about that score. Time is on my side, yes it is. It'll be 2014+ January wood.

 

[Woody Stover]

Thistle's post is the only one giving me any hope in this thread; I'm also cutting dead standing Black and Red. I'd like to see 16%, though...

 

[Stegman]

Agreed. I inherited a bunch of oak when we bought our new house last year. Can't wait to burn it next year and be done with it.

This year I'm going with mostly ash, and I can't wait. Should be a joy. I think I'm going to be primarily an ash man going forward.

 

[basswidow]

I love the HEAT it gives when it's seasoned right. Nothing beats it IMO.

I hate the wait, but I still consider oak the BEST Score!

 

[pen]

If your profile pic shows that wood stacked having the wood stacked deep can slow drying. Things will dry the fastest in single rows.

pen

 

[cptoneleg]

If your profile pic shows that wood stacked having the wood stacked deep can slow drying. Things will dry the fastest in single rows.

pen

I agree, if thats stacking it may take foreever, this takes 2-3 yrs