punky red oak 150.00 per cord , get more or stay away

[jjmcc323]

hi new to site and burning , first year, local seller has seasoned red oak about 21% mc for 150.00 per cord
split and delivered, i have bought 4 cords and i am burning them now 24/7 . wood is solid for most part but
on 35% of the splits have punky outer inch , then solid heartwood. wood has been standing dead for 10 years
my gut tells me i should buy 4 or 5 more cords, with heating oil going up cannot afford to fill oil tank at 850.00
a pop, seller has 40 cords left, wood burns decent gets to coaling stage quicker than most, please advise have
used oil only until 3 months ago got pleasant hearth 1800 sq ft stove and have switched to wood only .

 

[smokinj]

inch punk on oak at 150.00 a cord 21 percent "SOLD"!

 

[Thistle]

inch punk on oak at 150.00 a cord 21 percent "SOLD"!

+1 Right on. I cut several loads of Red/Black Oak,occasional White or Bur Oak with that same description every year.Dont mind a bit of fuzz or punky sapwood on the outside,in my experience finding various standing dead Oak with fuzzy or rotted sapwood generally means the heart,though maybe with more than a few worm/ant holes - its damn hard & well worth harvesting.Where as if I see the same dead standing Oaks with a lot of bark in places,usually its rotted from within & quite soft,if not like a wet sponge.

Though there's been times both theorys werent dead on,so I always make a test cut or 2,and hit the log a few times with axhead to gauge the sound before deciding.

 

[jjmcc323]

yes the heartwood is solid , no bark left on any of the wood, last order was two cords after he dumped them was left
with about 150 lbs of punky mess, which i can live with, like i said my gut tells me to get 5 more cords before its gone.
i have 7 acres so space is not a problem, just dont have any more space under a roof . i have 4.5 cords stacked on porch.

 

[Kenster]

I don't mind a little punk. (Just to be one myself.) I don't find much punk on my oak around here but just about all of my standing dead hickory has about an inch or so. I buck, split and stack it. When I'm ready to burn it I sometimes take a hatchet and knock off some of the thicker punk but I don't worry about it much. The punk, if dry, acts like a natural fire starter. The heart wood is usually rock hard and burns hot and long.
You want to make sure any punky wood you'll be using within the next few days is covered up. The punk acts like a sponge and can be very wet it left uncovered.

 

[eujamfh]

Have to agree. That would not bother me. Now, I also would try and get a discount even off the $150. So long as it is stacked, the punk will take on water but if you make sure it is able to dry out in between rains...then it will not get much worse in a couple years.

Since you are burning 24/7 as main heat...getting the extra will ensure next year you are good and gives you some wiggle room to scrounge this spring and worse case, buy a little more this summer for 2012/2013. If I was relying on wood I would want to be certain I was at least a year ahead with solid dry wood.

I say go for it.

 

[jjmcc323]

thanks just ordered two more cords, and will get two more next week

 

[ecocavalier02]

oak likes to get a little punky on the outside. i just cut up a tree that had been laying on the ground for a while 1/4 inch or less is a little furry but everything else is nice and clean.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I agree. A little punk on oak is quite normal and nothing to get discouraged with. Order more!

 

[DonNH]

I grab that kind of wood any time I run across some. I have a bunch of old used fiberglass roofing panels, so I stack it with a bit of slope to the pile, place a panel on top, and use pallets or whatever is handy on top of that to keep the panel from blowing off. Keeps the punky stuff from soaking up water.

Don

 

[firefighterjake]

I would say it's a no-brainer . . . for once it sounds like someone is actually selling well seasoned firewood . . . and oak at that . . . I would put up with a bit of punk . . . look on the positive side and view it as firewood wrapped in its own tinder.

 

[ISeeDeadBTUs]