Red oak at 20% and still bubbled water out!?

[rdust]

Ok, I was making some kindling today and used some red oak. I measured it first after splitting a piece and it was 20-22% and it wasn't damp when I put it to my cheek. I thought wow that's awesome but double checked my meter by splitting a piece of white ash that was still in a round from a couple months back, it measured around 38% which is what I expected so I'm assuming the meter is ok.

I used the oak kindling tonight to start a fire and noticed it bubbled some water out of the ends at start up. It wasn't pouring out but I didn't expect to see any moisture since it was reading in the 20's.

Has anyone else ever seen this type of behavior with our beloved oaks?? :lol:

 

[Pagey]

I've had oak and hickory do the same thing to me, sir. That stuff just holds on to water no matter what!

 

[DiscoInferno]

Perhaps the ends have been wet recently and soaked some up? That won't affect the reading at the center of the split but can certainly lead to some visible water when burning. Try measuring the moisture at the ends.

 

[JustWood]

MayB U shuldn't yuse yur kintling 4 a wiskey stirrer B4 the fire!

 

[Joey]

That Oak is just some crazy stuff to try and figure out. Seems to have a mind of its own.....

 

[Battenkiller]

Perhaps the ends have been wet recently and soaked some up? That won't affect the reading at the center of the split but can certainly lead to some visible water when burning. Try measuring the moisture at the ends.

End grain will soak up a lot of water, especially in woods like oak, ash, and hickory that have lots of big, open pores (ring-porous). They're like thousands of tiny drinking straws that go from end to end inside the split. Ironically, the drier the wood, the faster water can go back in at the ends, but it doesn't usually go very deep unless the wood has been soaking wet for a period of time. If it's 20% on the inside, a little sizzle on the ends ain't killing the deal. I'm convinced that half the complaints about oak sizzling are caused by end-grain absorption of water after it is seasoned.

After yesterday's flood, I have about 100 boards that were standing on their ends that I have to take out of the bins and let dry so they don't get moldy. I'll try to get a few pics of the damage so you can see how far up the water can travel. This wood has been stored for years in my workshop, and it was very, very dry until yesterday morning.

Also, even with wood that's been dried and then stored in a shed, that remaining 20% water has to get out somehow. In ring-porous woods this water can travel a lot faster, so it will come out of the ends a lot easier. Wood dries much faster from the ends, so I imagine it will boil out faster as well. The fact that you always see water boiling out of the ends of splits rather than the faces is proof of this.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

rdust, you will also find it interesting that my wife started a fire a few days ago and she was shocked to find a soft maple sizzling. It did not last long though but, this particular maple was cut either six or seven years ago! The wood is pretty dark. It burned fine after the initial sizzle.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

I do not own a moisture meter and my wood never bubbles water.

Coincidence?

Maybe. . .

 

[rdust]

rdust, you will also find it interesting that my wife started a fire a few days ago and she was shocked to find a soft maple sizzling. It did not last long though but, this particular maple was cut either six or seven years ago! The wood is pretty dark. It burned fine after the initial sizzle.

:lol: That's a bit of a surprise!

The oak seems to be burning fine and the fire isn't sluggish at all so I'll chalk it up to the nature of the beast or maybe the ends have sucked up a little in all this rain we've had. Next time I'm messing with the stacks I'll check the ends as suggested above. The pieces I pulled where under cover but the rain has been blowing sideways the last couple rains we've had.

 

[rdust]

MayB U shuldn't yuse yur kintling 4 a wiskey stirrer B4 the fire!

Now that's great advice!

 

[rdust]

I do not own a moisture meter and my wood never bubbles water.

Coincidence?

Maybe. . .

Do you have a lot of red oaks in WA?

 

[Bigg_Redd]

I do not own a moisture meter and my wood never bubbles water.

Coincidence?

Maybe. . .

Do you have a lot of red oaks in WA?

Do you believe your moisture meter when it says your red oak is @ 20% ?

 

[rdust]

Do you believe your moisture meter when it says your red oak is @ 20% ?

The meter is obviously just another tool and a good conversation piece on this forum. I believe when the wood is split and stacked for nearly 2 years, shows no dampness on the inside of a freshly split piece, cracks when you bang two splits together it is close to 20%.

You obviously have no dealings with red oak so please don't continue to crap in my thread. Just another post by Bigg_Redd that is no help to anyone except to brag about how he is smarter then everyone else on the internet. Still trying to figure out why you come here since you already know it all.

 

[burntime]

Not rippin on him but his avatar kinda looks like he is on "who wants to be a millionaire" and he is hitting the button for final answer! :lol: Sorry, that just popped in my head. I have a cheapie harbor freight meter just for kicks. Seems to be accurate. That can probably change in a minute with a cheapie chinese tool. It is still working after 3 plus years though.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Naw. Big Redd is okay. Just like most of us though; he is a bit odd. Certainly no more so than I.

 

[cptoneleg]

Naw you ain't odd Savage sittin there with a big pile of splits behind you holding hands with your baby.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Hey, you have to be odd sometimes just to get along!

 

[Todd]

I've noticed the same thing this year. I have a bunch of old oversized Oak I had for my old fireplace that doesn't fit in either stove so I cut them in half. These shorties are 2-4 year old dead Oak with little bark if any. You would think splitting the driest looking ones up for kindling would be the way to go but I'm getting sizzlers too. Whatever, I'm burning it, you can't wait forever.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

Do you believe your moisture meter when it says your red oak is @ 20% ?

The meter is obviously just another tool and a good conversation piece on this forum. I believe when the wood is split and stacked for nearly 2 years, shows no dampness on the inside of a freshly split piece, cracks when you bang two splits together it is close to 20%.

You obviously have no dealings with red oak so please don't continue to crap in my thread. Just another post by Bigg_Redd that is no help to anyone except to brag about how he is smarter then everyone else on the internet. Still trying to figure out why you come here since you already know it all.

*yawn*

You're the one with the toys and the hissing wood.

Just sayin'

 

[gzecc]

Oak is a PITA. Unless its loosely,single stacked, split small, and in the sun and wind it takes 2+ yrs to get to 20%.

 

[burntime]

Man, do you guys soak it in a creek bed or what? If I split it the middle of summer it is good to go in a little over a year. I do split it about 4 to 6 inchs or so. You can always get a hisser a year or two out. I think where most guys are used to softwood or ash the oak takes a long time... Believe me if dried properly its worth it... That being said I am becoming a big fan of fast drying ash myself!

 

[NH_Wood]

Funny. I have about a cord of 1" to 2" oak and maple rounds from cleaning up tops. I use them for getting fires hot after start up, and for the firepit outside. These have been stacked on pallets, top covered, in direct sun/wind, etc. for just under 2 years. I threw about 10 of them in the firepit about a week ago - burned hot with NO water bubbling or hissing. Cool here in NH last night, but not cold enough for a fire in the stove. So, figured I'd have a fire in the fireplace. Filled a wheelbarrow with a bunch of these rounds and started the fire. After the kindling was burning well, threw about 5 rounds on the fire. Within about 3 minutes, had loud hissing and visible water bubbling from the ends of the rounds. Lasted for about 5 minutes, and same story for all the rest of the rounds I used last night. Otherwise burned great. The initial fire I had in the firepit was after a bunch or warm, dry days. Yesterday's burn in the fireplace was after a 2 day soaker in NH, with strong winds. I think the rounds did absorb water from the rain. I'm giving the them a few days to dry out and will try again - hoping to find NO hissing/bubbling, because I was going to use about a 1/2 cord of this wood for my early season fires. Cheers!

 

[iceman]

Man, do you guys soak it in a creek bed or what? If I split it the middle of summer it is good to go in a little over a year. I do split it about 4 to 6 inchs or so. You can always get a hisser a year or two out. I think where most guys are used to softwood or ash the oak takes a long time... Believe me if dried properly its worth it... That being said I am becoming a big fan of fast drying ash myself!

I am some been sitting 2+ years and has never been covered.... but after reading this am getting nervous! Guess I will suspend splitting and get to moving that wood up so I can resplit it if need be.. really nervous now ...
I was going to split bigger as the wood won't be needed till at least 2012-13 and on so I figured rectangular 6x6 or even 8x8 would be ready by then....

 

[Battenkiller]

Hey, you have to be odd sometimes just to get along!

I always have a hard time fitting in. Maybe I'm the only normal one.

 

[Needshave]

It's funny how opinions on wood drying vary a wide range. I have a co-worker telling me the wood I'm cutting and splitting now and plan on burning in the next couple seasons is going to be rotted by then. Others on this board say oak takes 3 years to season. It's exposed outside stacked between trees single row. Most of the wood I'm cutting is red or black oak and black birch. I plan to weed out the oak next year and burn the birch and any white pine we keep.