Oak drying test in my basement- I'm a true believer in 2 years to dry oak!

[jdinspector]

After I split some fresh red oak in April, I saved 2 pieces to dry in my house. I remember that this wood was particularly wet when I split it. It must have been a live tree. (I scrounged it at a local tree service's woodlot). I didn't bother to take any moisture readings then, as I knew it was saturated. But I weighed it on a bathroom scale.

I set both pieces in my basement all summer untouched. I have a dry basement and run a dehumidifier on "auto" most of the summer. When I weighed them today, one piece had lost exactly 4 lbs. of moisture! (10.8 lbs down to 6.8 lbs.) The other was too light to make my scale register. I figure it weighed less than 4 lbs. I was surprised at the amount of water weight they lost and took some moisture readings to see how the moisture levels tested out.

After splitting, the larger piece tested at almost 40% moisture still! I'm really surprised at that. I tested it in 4-5 different areas and all were around the same moisture level. I use a very accurate moisture meter that I calibrate weekly (I use it for work daily), so am confident in my readings.

So, I'm left to conclude that oak dries slow (duh!!) and that despite losing a lot of water by weight, it still has a ways to go.

 

[pen]

That is bordering on being downright depressing information for many.

pen

 

[nate379]

Ouch $550 for that meter!

 

[billb3]

I always used the " hey, let's try to burn that damned oak again this year" test.

 

[Battenkiller]

I weighed a piece of sopping wet oak and left it in the desert-like conditions of my basement for almost three weeks a couple years ago. RH was under 20% for much of that time, and temps were near 90ºF. It lost almost 4 pounds in that short time. I was feeling pretty smug, so I split it and checked the MC. Still at almost 40% IIRC.

 

[MasterMech]

That 4lbs is almost 1/2 a gallon of water! In one split nonetheless!

 

[Cluttermagnet]

Thanks- interesting post. I agree, Oak is 2-3 year stuff (3 years for sure if it's White Oak) But OTOH if you are starting with deadwood Oak, you can expect 6-12 months dry storage will be enough to season it pretty good. Processing deadwood shaves a lot of months off of seasoning. Even as a relative newcomer to wood burning (under 5 years) I have already seen what a big difference deadwood makes. Especially from the top of the tree.

I have a big stack of Oak from a Craigslist score that had been cut green. I've had it split and stacked for a year already, but I plan to give that batch one more year before even trying to burn it.

 

[CTYank]

Seems reasonable, when you consider that parts of freshly-cut northern red oak are in excess of 80% MC (dry basis.)
Many times I've stress-tested truck tires/bearings/springs trucking all that dang water in serious loads of said oak.
Can't even drink the water!

 

[quads]

I’m a true believer in 2 years to dry oak!

Yup! Or longer.......

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Another one to agree here. Still, it is one of the best for firewood. If you don't believe me, then ask quads.

 

[Woody Stover]

OTOH if you are starting with deadwood Oak, you can expect 6-12 months dry storage will be enough to season it pretty good. Processing deadwood shaves a lot of months off of seasoning. Even as a relative newcomer to wood burning (under 5 years) I have already seen what a big difference deadwood makes. Especially from the top of the tree.

I've got some dead standing Black Oak that I stacked in May. Anything that was under 20% went in the "this year, for sure" stack. The rest was single-row stacked to dry. Some of it is feeling like it might be dry enough, but the starting MC in the entire stack was anywhere from low-20s to 27%. Some might be ready, some may not. Tossing a few in the stove will tell the tale...

 

[Kenster]

Standing dead does not mean it's ready to burn any time soon. You may knock a few months off the drying process but that does not mean it will be ready to burn in a few months. This is especially true of the trunk, which can have almost the same MC as a live tree, even it's been dead for a year or two. The branches, on the other hand, might be ready to go 'right now.'
I've split up "dead" Water Oak that still needed two years before it was even close to burnable.

 

[ISeeDeadBTUs]

It's best to just not burn it at all. Dump it at the curb.

Wa'd ya say yer address was??