Seasoned Unsplit Logs ?

[Jim Ignatowski]

I had some very large stacks of uncut Cherry, Sassafras, and Maple. The logs were large rounds stacked for about 15 months. I split everything about six weeks ago and stacked it but I can't determine whether this stuff is dry enough to burn.

Do large uncut rounds season?

 

[BIGDADDY]

Yes they season but not as fast as if it was split and stacked. You can check the wood with a moisture meter. If the trees were dead when you first cut them maybe they will be 25% or under. If they were live I'd bet they aren't seasoned enough to burn.

 

[Woody Stover]

I agree with 'daddy; If they were dead when cut, maybe. But I'm betting they are gonna need some time split and stacked....

 

[gzecc]

I predict 34% when tested on the interior of a fresh split.

 

[mudr]

I spent some time cutting in my pile of logs yesterday. They were cut down and logged out in March/April this past spring and delivered to me. Been picking away all summer. Anyway, did some cutting yesterday, grabbed the moisture meter today. The fresh cut face (end of log) of sugar maple registered around 38% while the cherry was like 28%.

So your logs are 15 months old, mine are 7ish. Yours will probably be drier, but, likely not dry enough for this season.

 

[Jim Ignatowski]

Thanks Everyone! Can someone recommend a descent moisture meter?

I have this at home, but never thought to use it for firewood: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1630083502&pf_rd_i=507846

Thanks

 

[mudr]

Here's what I have:

http://www.lowes.com/pd_36_0__?productId=3136919

 

[Paulywalnut]

I doubt if three year rounds would be ready to burn. they will season faster than normally when split though.
Get them c/s/s as soon as you can. The gray and yellow moisture meter is great from Lowes.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I had some very large stacks of uncut Cherry, Sassafras, and Maple. The logs were large rounds stacked for about 15 months. I split everything about six weeks ago and stacked it but I can't determine whether this stuff is dry enough to burn.

Do large uncut rounds season?

Jim, typically what you will find are some cracks on the ends of the logs. This shows that the ends have dried some. However, when you split the wood, the interior of those logs normally are still full of too much moisture.

The best thing to do if you need them this winter is to split them small. Still stack them outdoors. Pick the windiest spot you have. Keep the wood off the ground. Don't try to stack really pretty but instead, stack them a bit loose. Keep the piles not too high because of stacking them loose. Cover the top of the stacks. Good luck.

 

[BillLion]

Here's what I have:

http://www.lowes.com/pd_36_0__?productId=3136919

Me too; after having had a different one that broke I'm happy with this one.

 

[JOHN BOY]

How large were the rounds .

 

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

Love your name and avatar.....split them smaller then they are today and get them in the wind just like BS said.....

 

[albert1029]

Me too; after having had a different one that broke I'm happy with this one

Second that...two years and works consistently well....

 

[dafattkidd]

Savage's advice is the thing to do.
Something worth noting: two years ago I scored a cord and a half of oak that was cut to log length and stacked for two years unsplit. I split them and stacked them in April. By fall that wood was bone dry. Fresh cut oak usually needs at least two summers to dry out. In this case it was only 6-8months.

 

[Lumber-Jack]

Thanks Everyone! Can someone recommend a descent moisture meter?

I have this at home, but never thought to use it for firewood: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1630083502&pf_rd_i=507846

Thanks

That Moisture meter looks like the exact one I have, it works great. Just remember you'll only get an accurate reading of the woods moisture content if you test on freshly split face of the wood. By fresh I mean split & test, split & test. The wood you split 6 weeks ago is no longer fresh, the surfaces will have had a chance to dry and you get inaccurately low reading. You want to test the inside of the wood, and the only way to do that is to split it open and test it immediately.

 

[Jim Ignatowski]

That's some really helpful information Lumber-Jack ... I was just testing some of the older split wood this morning and everything was indicating between 10% - 12%. This didn't seem right, so I went to the freshly split wood and it was reading around 20%, which also doesn't make any sense. I'm going to re-split some pieces from both piles tomorrow and test again. I was actually signing on to ask this question when I noticed your response. I appreciate it.