Seasoning wood dead vs live?

[Indiana wood]

Does it take longer to season live trees cut down?
Since im only cutting dead firewood how long to season? Oak? Testing at about 35%mc

 

[Grizzerbear]

If its only at 35% i would say two full summers at least. I dont believe it will be sub 20% by next year anyways without solar kiln. Oak takes a long time to dry. Normally a live tree in my experience takes longest. That being said i have cut a many a standing dead oak that was just as wet as live in the trunk/main branches. If it has been standing dead for some time maybe the limb wood.....say 8 inches and under could b dry enough right now and next year if you are having wood shortage.

 

[showrguy]

I cut a standing dead red oak last Dec. that pegged my meter over 45%, split and stacked under roof in a single row, this fall it checked out at 17%...
that tree was dead 5 years or more, 2018 spring, summer, fall was the wettest we had in history, nothing dried..

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Does it take longer to season live trees cut down?
Since im only cutting dead firewood how long to season? Oak? Testing at about 35%mc

you may be close to being able to burn it if its been cut and stacked already but its NOT going to be sub 20 mc in 9 months.. its still going to be a little wet.. your going to need to do 1 of 2 things.. wait 2 summers or if you cant ...do a kiln this summer and it will be plenty dry

 

[hickoryhoarder]

Dead should be ready sooner than a live tree, but 35% is high. Next winter could be overly optimistic.

 

[Indiana wood]

Dead should be ready sooner than a live tree, but 35% is high. Next winter could be overly optimistic.

How long does it take you to season your hickory?

 

[hickoryhoarder]

How long does it take you to season your hickory?

Despite how dense it is, hickory usually is ready for me in 9 to 15 months. Longer is even better, but hickory can also deteriorate quicker than other stuff (if in the rain), so I try to get through it by the third year it's at my house.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Despite how dense it is, hickory usually is ready for me in 9 to 15 months. Longer is even better, but hickory can also deteriorate quicker than other stuff (if in the rain), so I try to get through it by the third year it's at my house.

i get alot of powder-post beetles

 

[Indiana wood]

i get alot of powder-post beetles

Seems like beetle and carpenter ants really make it punky quick

 

[Grizzerbear]

I get a lot of flatheaded borers when i split hickory.....usually under the bark. But yea hickory seems to season in about a year for me as well. Almost makes it better than oak except its a devil to handsplit.....most times.

 

[Woody Stover]

I cut a standing dead red oak last Dec. that pegged my meter over 45%, split and stacked under roof in a single row, this fall it checked out at 17%...
that tree was dead 5 years or more, 2018 spring, summer, fall was the wettest we had in history, nothing dried..

Wow, how is that possible...are you located in a windy mountain pass?
I've got some dead-standing White Ash that I stacked a few months back. It metered 30% or more when I cut it, but I was hoping it was some kind of 'different, faster-drying' moisture, since the tree stood dead for several years.
I went over there yesterday to put some metal roofing on that three-cord stack, and ended up splitting a few to level the top of the stack. I didn't meter it but it seemed pretty wet still.
I'm kind of kicking myself for splitting it so big, but I saw that recommended for secondary-burn stoves. It's stacked three rows together, on pallets. If it doesn't dry by fall, I'll have to get some other dry wood somewhere..either small, dead stuff out of the woods, or give them some from my stash, which I hate to do.

 

[trail guy Mike]

If you cut a live tree in summer, leave it lying intact until the leaves have all dried up. The green leaves will suck a lot of the moisture out of the wood. Then cut it up.
So I have heard.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Seems like beetle and carpenter ants really make it punky quick

not really.. i get powder post beetle mostly on the hickory.. my wood sits in 3 wood sheds so no water gets on my stacks.. i get snakes and mice.. no ants.. ants are a sign of a wood storage problem

 

[Indiana wood]

not really.. i get powder post beetle mostly on the hickory.. my wood sits in 3 wood sheds so no water gets on my stacks.. i get snakes and mice.. no ants.. ants are a sign of a wood storage problem

Yea, i was talking about it being left in the woods too long. On ground

 

[maple1]

Can't be sure it isn't my imagination, but I seem to notice that wood processed from green trees has more heat in it than wood processed from trees that have been dead a while. All things else being equal and dried the same. Some kind of internal degradation?

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Can't be sure it isn't my imagination, but I seem to notice that wood processed from green trees has more heat in it than wood processed from trees that have been dead a while. All things else being equal and dried the same. Some kind of internal degradation?

i agree.. sometimes wood that sits loses its power

 

[Sawset]

Can't be sure it isn't my imagination, but I seem to notice that wood processed from green trees has more heat in it than wood processed from trees that have been dead a while. All things else being equal and dried the same. Some kind of internal degradation?

Another reason to get wood below 20% as quick as possible. Above that fungus can thrive and promote "dry rot". Maybe not a lot, but other times, like with elm, makes it soft and useless.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Want to make sure I have this right. What is the minimum side clearance? King ultra

best to post this in the woodstove forum