is the wood rotten?

[beermann]

I started splitting my wood today and some of the cores of the chunks had a sponge like feel and was mushy. Can I just stack it with the rest, let it dry and burn it or should I stack it in a separate pile or just get rid of it?

You can see in the picture. I just poked my finger into it and pushed my axe into it. It's like a sopping wet sponge. Clearly has white mold. Only a couple cores like this.

 

[webby3650]

I'd throw it over the hill. No sense in keeping it with the good wood.

 

[Woody5506]

I'd throw it in the campwood pile

 

[Gotrek]

Rotten or infested with carpenter ants I'd put it in the bonfire pile

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

 

[bcrtops]

Not sure what kind of wood you have there.
If that is nice, clean heart fungus rot (bug free), I'd split it, scrape out the center & dry it in a spot by itself. That outside shell will burn well. Alder sometimes does that here & the fungus can spread in a wood pile -- so I always stack it outside by itself.

 

[beermann]

Not sure what kind of wood you have there.
If that is nice, clean heart fungus rot (bug free), I'd split it, scrape out the center & dry it in a spot by itself. That outside shell will burn well. Alder sometimes does that here & the fungus can spread in a wood pile -- so I always stack it outside by itself.

It's maple. I'll do a combination of everyone's suggestions. Scrape out the softwood fungus wood and pile it beside the firepit outside. Keeping it separate from everything else.

Does not appear to have any holes or bugs. Thinking I just left it piled in between a couple of round chunks and the lack of air rotted/molded the wood. Was very wet when I got it.

 

[claydogg84]

It's junk...

 

[Hasufel]

It's maple. I'll do a combination of everyone's suggestions. Scrape out the softwood fungus wood and pile it beside the firepit outside. Keeping it separate from everything else.

Does not appear to have any holes or bugs. Thinking I just left it piled in between a couple of round chunks and the lack of air rotted/molded the wood. Was very wet when I got it.

That sounds like a good solution. I've had plenty of rounds that had perfectly good wood next to rot. Some of those were rounds I had forgotten for a couple of years under some leaves. I scrape off what I can easily and then stack it to dry. I'm not picky--I throw it in the same stack as everything else and haven't seen any more problems.

 

[bfitz3]

Or... Make a "hugel" bed for your garden.

I buried a stack of ugly wood and now have a hugely productive elevated strawberry mound.

 

[firefighterjake]

If this was my wood I would do one of two things . . .

a) Split off slabs of the good, outer wood and discard the punky, rotten wood in the center. Season and burn the slabs as normal.

b) If the rot/punk is easy enough to remove, scoop it out or bore it out with a chainsaw, leaving a hollowed out round. Save, season and use it for a campfire as a "wooden chimney" for some entertainment value.

 

[beermann]

If this was my wood I would do one of two things . . .

a) Split off slabs of the good, outer wood and discard the punky, rotten wood in the center. Season and burn the slabs as normal.

b) If the rot/punk is easy enough to remove, scoop it out or bore it out with a chainsaw, leaving a hollowed out round. Save, season and use it for a campfire as a "wooden chimney" for some entertainment value.

I've taken to option A for the couple of really crappy rounds.

I assume that some surface mold is not a big deal? Only had 2 bad rounds and a couple more that look like the photo attached. Still hard and dense wood.

Since it is now outside, split and getting a lot of air and sun it should be fine?

 

[maple1]

If this was my wood I would do one of two things . . .

a) Split off slabs of the good, outer wood and discard the punky, rotten wood in the center. Season and burn the slabs as normal.

b) If the rot/punk is easy enough to remove, scoop it out or bore it out with a chainsaw, leaving a hollowed out round. Save, season and use it for a campfire as a "wooden chimney" for some entertainment value.

This.

I just usually split as I otherwise would, then give the splits that have punk attached a couple whacks against the splitter foot. Knocks the crap off - the rest should still make good fire wood.

 

[beermann]

I've notices some bugs and ants accumulating on some pieces that I roll over before splitting. Should I be concerned about the stack I have sitting on a pallet. Maby place some cotton balls with sugar and borax under the pallet to kill ants and bugs?

 

[firefighterjake]

I've notices some bugs and ants accumulating on some pieces that I roll over before splitting. Should I be concerned about the stack I have sitting on a pallet. Maby place some cotton balls with sugar and borax under the pallet to kill ants and bugs?

Nope . . . usually those buggers are just looking for a nice, dark, cool place to hang out at until you grab the round they're under. Once you split the round and stack it on a pallet, they're not where they want to be any more as it isn't a nice, cool and moist environment. Besides, I figure I might as well give the local birds some easy pickings if they're in the area.