Ignorance is bliss

[ChrisNJ]

So my first year as a wood burner last fall I happily burned everything dumped in my driveway and I was happy. Last January in an effort to increase my forced exercise regime I had a landscaper drop off a couple loads of fresh cut Oak and Maple rounds that I really enjoyed splitting by hand and squirreling away for the following year.
Now this year I go and start moving some of that Oak which was stacked out in the sun and wind since then and I come to see the ends aren't even slightly cracked, wtf, my Maple is already burning nicely but now I find myself re-stacking for next year what I had hoped to burn this year :-( I did split open a piece and shoved my Meter in a bit and it hit 27% but without even the ends cracked a bit its not ready huh.

Oh well, my old saying was why move a piece of wood 4-6 times when you can move it 6-8, I may need to increase that a bit.

 

[sixminus1]

Chris, I'm in the same boat. I had logs dropped off by my local tree service, and it doesn't look like the oak is ready yet. 2/3 of my stacking area is shaded and blocks most of the wind. Unfortunately, since I'm on 1/10 acre, there are no other places to stack the firewood. I think I may have to mix my seasoned splits with some green ones in order to get through the winter, but, if I clean the chimney every month, things should be OK.

Hang in there!

 

[CTburning]

You will hear it over and over again, Oak takes two years to season in most climates. I'm still working out my routine but I stack Oak with the intention of not touching it for two years. The only time I'll break that rule is some standing dead Red Oak I cut a year ago. I split it real small, 2" or so square with the idea that I could burn it later in the season this year. By then it will be seasoned close to 18 months and should be around 20% mc.

 

[gzecc]

Stay away from oak unless it falls in your lap, if you have limited space for storage. I have had oak drying for 2 summers, and its still not dry enough.

 

[Tfin]

Red oak is my favorite wood to cut/split/and burn. Yes it does take longer to season properly, but in my opinion its worth it.

 

[Tony H]

For anyone near me that has oak they don't want or have room to dry bring it on over and I will dry it for you Aw heck I'll even burn it for you in 2-or so years.

 

[CarbonNeutral]

Just picked up some scrounged oak today - cut almost two years ago, split/stacked last winter. >35% in the middle when checked today...

 

[ansehnlich1]

mmmmmm, I have 5 cord of red oak bucked and split from log over 2 years ago, and 5 cord of chestnut oak bucked and split 1 year ago......

just sittin' there, on pallets, lookin' good.....

 

[Wood Duck]

I am not saying your oak is seasoned properly, but does firewood have to be cracked or checked on the ends to be seasoned? I am under the impression that checking happens due to uneven shrinking resulting from uneven drying. The outside dries faster than the inside, and so it shrinks faster, making it too small to cover the inside, so it cracks. if the wood seasons more evenly, it might not crack much - or am I wrong? I have a stack of firewood that is a year old, and some of it is cracked, while other pieces are not very much. Does this indicate that some is seasoned more than others, or merely indicate that certain pieces or species of wood are more prone to cracking?

 

[LLigetfa]

I believe you're right, that the heavy checking could indicate moisture in the centre. As the centre dries too, the deep checking will close somewhat unless it gets extremely weathered and deteriorates. I would tend to believe the MM though when it says 27%.