Seasoning question???

[bartlett920]

I have about 50-80 oak trees that the electric company fell on the road side of my hay meadow in march I had them leave em lay because there were alot of good walnut logs that I will sell as well as some oak logs I will sell but I was wondering if I cut my firewood out of some of those trees if it would be seasoned enough to burn this winter or would it still be pretty green? I have enough wood already seasoned for me but I have a friend that I converted into a wood burner that still needs his winter wood! The trees are still whole and I will have him cut the smaller ones and the tops of the larger trees for his firewood in turn he will pile brush. Any answers or input welcome and appreciated!

 

[N/A N/A]

That hard stuff oak I doubt it. I have gotten logs that were dead on the ground in the woods for a long time. The bark was rotten off and just after split with a moisture meter getting readings of 40 to 45%. I got it stacked and will see how much of the moisture is celluler. I am interested to see come fall. With oak being cut green this spring its going to be hard...get it split stacked in the most sunny open area and hope for the best. I got a fresh cut red oak this early spring and I also just bought a moisture meter as well..So I have been wanting to play with the meter. I just took one of my splits of the red oak today and split it again..took a reading and 38% moisture. This weather is not helping at all ether. Split, stack, and hope for sunny, hot, dry weather...thats all you can do.

 

[bartlett920]

Yeah we have been pretty wet here but it starts out like this every summer and then we have 2 1/2 months no rain and 100 degree weather. so I guess hes getting free wood he cant bi*ch. Next year he should be better off now that he's gotta stove and planning more! I had all my wood seasoned and cut before I bought my stove. I think Ill take my log money and buy a couple of new saws and a trailer!! Thanks for the info!

 

[Redox]

It does sound like you are set for the next several years at least. I think oak needs al least a whole year to season and even then, it's not ideal. Maybe you can find something softer for this year? Maple seems to be a good compromise between "fast" and "hard", IMHO.

Chris

 

[Tfin]

Will it be properly seasoned for this fall/winter? No.

Will he still be able to burn it to heat his home? Yes.

Just have him split the rounds into smaller pieces asap and get it stacked loosely in a sunny area. Also be sure he knows how to burn his stove properly and have him check his chimney more often for potential creasote buildup.

 

[Jags]

Set the Oak aside for the following year, it will be nothing but a PIA to try and burn this year. The walnut has a better chance of being usable for this year. When cutting the tops, split EVERYTHING, even the small stuff. It will come in handy to help maintain a proper fire ( a little trick for those using less than desirable wood). And split everything a little smaller than you normally would (at least the stuff that is going to be burned this year). This is not a best case scenario, but you can probably make it work in an EPA stove.

Please, re-enforce in your buddy to keep an eye on his stack for any buildup that may occur.

 

[bartlett920]

I will be the one installing and maintaining his stove since I have the chimney brush so I will definitely look out for him.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Hello hedgeburner. I just came through your area a few weeks ago (RAAM). That's the second time I've went through Fort Scott. Couldn't find a motel though because of some ball games and all were sold out.

As for the oak; oak really needs two years to season. It is so dense that the moisture just has a hard time getting out. We've even split some really small, but it just is not dry enough after one summer to burn properly in the stove. The biggest problem is you have to use so much of the heat to evaporate the moisture when the wood is in the stove that more heat goes up the chimney (along with the moisture) than you get from the stove.

Remember that when that draft is open, more heat goes up instead of heating the steel, cast, or stone that the stove is made of. You start the fire with open draft (burns off moisture in the wood) but then close the draft down. That is when you get the heat. But if you have to leave the draft open a good ways, the heat goes up and out. Best to get some different wood for this coming winter. Cut the oak now for use in the winter of 2009-2010.

 

[Todd]

Just to give you another perspective. I recently cut a couple 20" diameter dead red oaks that blew over in a storm. They both have been laying there since spring. One still had bark but no leaves. After bucking and splitting every piece I tested, whether branch or trunk pegged the moisture meter. It will definitely take a full year or more to dry out.

The other Oak had no bark, after bucking and splitting the moisture meter pegged with the bottom trunk parts, but as I went up it was dryer and the branches were about 25%. So some or maybe all of that tree will be ready to burn this winter.

 

[billb3]

I'd be cutting the oak up into firebox length now just because it's easier to cut green than aged.

 

[JBinKC]

The walnut tops would likely be the fastest to season in your pile

 

[paulie]

Does a HH stack really season any quicker?

 

[bartlett920]

I may end up trading some of my seasoned wood out for some of the green oak he cuts just so he has good wood to burn this year.I have plenty of seasoned and stacked wood. Yeah backwoods I dont know what was going on! Our hotels are always full usually because of railroaders. We could use another hotel being a Historic town and all.

 

[Todd]

Does a HH stack really season any quicker?

No, not in my opinion. Took my HH just as long to dry as my straight rows.