Seasoning time for small rounds vs. splits

[wahoowad]

I have been saving a bunch of 4-6" limbs and logs for when my Chainsaw Buddy arrives. I'd like to stack and burn them next year without splitting them open. Should a 6" round season ok in a year? I know splitting it open will definately get me there but I'd like to have these as rounds.

 

[johnsopi]

I have some oak that I cut inti 4 ' logs summer 05. Cut them and i splitt them last week still seem not as dry as I'd like.

 

[DiscoInferno]

Depends on the species, climate, airflow, etc., but my experience is that if the bark is intact they will season very slowly. With some species (cherry comes to mind) it's amazing how long it stays moist under the bark. If you can partially debark them it will help. One thing you can do is split it once or twice very near the edge, to just peel off the bark and a little wood.

 

[ourhouse]

I would say 4-5"+ would take about 2 years

 

[wg_bent]

I've had apple and maple "rounds" 1" and up to 4" not season in a year. Not even close ends were checked too.

 

[Corey]

I guess it depends a lot on your climate...maybe the wood species, too. I have cut chunks of hedge and oak that were 20" long and 16-24" diameter (basically sections of the trunk of the tree) They sat unsplit for about a year (basically one fall to the next). Then I split and stacked them. A couple months after that, I made some fresh splits and found the moisture at the center was about 22%. This is within a few percent of the lowest I have seen...even in wood that has been on the pile for years.

My basic thought is that trees are designed to move sap up and down through the wood with very little going out the sides and bark. So cutting wood to firewood length (16-20" or so) is much more important than splitting it for the drying process. The moisture really wicks out the ends of the wood as opposed to through the bark. I would throw 4-6" rounds on the fire after one year no problem. As an added benefit, when you start getting rounds that big, I usually reserve those for the overnight fire. A little extra moisture there will make the wood burn a little slower and keep the fire alive a little longer which may not necessarily be a bad thing in that instance.

Corey

 

[Roospike]

I love rounds ,
I give up to 4" rounds 1.5 years minimum( dont have many small rounds )
4"-7" rounds two years minimum
7"-12" rounds three years minimum

If its oak or harder it gets 2-3 years minimum no matter what size it is (3 years on large)

 

[wahoowad]

I've bucked enough trees and logs that have been down 2+ years to know they retain moisture. But I'm thinking (hoping!) 16" to 18" long rounds could wick their moisture in a year....I love to burn rounds but have so few of them cuz I usually go ahead and split them.

 

[Roospike]

I've bucked enough trees and logs that have been down 2+ years to know they retain moisture. But I'm thinking (hoping!) 16" to 18" long rounds could wick their moisture in a year....I love to burn rounds but have so few of them cuz I usually go ahead and split them.

Are you saying the trees were down for for 2+ years then you bucked them or you bucked them and were rounds for 2+ years ?

I bucked 14' Oak logs that were 16 years old and were not set to burn once bucked and split.