Seasoning wood

[learnin to burn]

I split this yesterday. It came from a large red oak that fell in February. It's split mostly in 3-4 inch range. If it sits in the pile for a month or 2 as I slowly transfer it into rows how likely is it to season for use this upcoming winter? The pile is 20' X 12' X 5 1/2'.


Thanks
Jay

 

[daveswoodhauler]

Red oak usually takes a good 18 months to fully season....you can stack in a cross pattern to allow better flow.
You can probably burn next season, but the BTU's might not be as good as if you had seasoned longer.
Good luck, and nice score....I have about 2 cords just from downed trees from the ice storm.

 

[gpcollen1]

That bark looks furrowed - like Chestnut oak - and is a 'white' oak I believe - but not White Oak. I find the drying time on white oaks a bit quicker than red but not convinced you will have great wood come next year.

 

[rdust]

That bark looks furrowed - like Chestnut oak - and is a 'white' oak I believe.

x2 I didn't think it looked like the northern red oak I've split.

That was a big tree! As for the pile, my neighbor piles his wood similar to yours for the fall/spring/summer and moves it inside come winter. Not sure how well it works but it works for him. He says he doesn't like to handle the wood anymore then he needs. It may not be perfect by 09-10 but for 10-11 it should be great.

 

[learnin to burn]

Here are a few more pics. The red in the split is why I was thinking it was red Oak. It does explain why the other red oak I have is completely red and this stuff has a lot of white/cream color to it.

 

[Corey]

They say it takes 18-24 months for oak to season in the east. If you want to bring it out here to Kansas, we can probably get it seasoned this summer and be ready to burn in the fall

 

[WOODBUTCHER]

You got yourself a nice score of White Ash, you'll be just fine burning that stuff next season.
If there's some oak under that pile....... burn it after the ash or mix it.

WB

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Split it thin, box stack it loosely in a sunny/windy place, and it may be ready this year. You can get it burnable, but less than optimal otherwise for this year.

If I was you- I'd go score as much ash, pine, birch, red maple as I could- that stuff can be dried for this year.

 

[learnin to burn]

Ok ya got me confused again. As you can tell I know just about nothing about trees and wood except what I'm told here. So I started believing this tree was White oak, found the red inside and thought red oak. Then the first few posters said chestnut oak, now it's white ash. What is this Stuff? :down:

 

[LLigetfa]

I don't have any Oak growing around my place but I have lots of Balsam Poplar that looks just like that.

 

[savageactor7]

Oh I just love that pile of wood, never did red oak so ...I dunno.

 

[WOODBUTCHER]

Ok ya got me confused again. As you can tell I know just about nothing about trees and wood except what I'm told here. So I started believing this tree was White oak, found the red inside and thought red oak. Then the first few posters said chestnut oak, now it's white ash. What is this Stuff? :down:

I've bucked up alot of redoak, whiteoak and ash here in CT over the years. You'll learn a ton of tree ID knowlege from this site as I still do.
Once you get different species going through your splitter you'll be able to ID just from the grain, some just by the heartwood/sapwood characteristics.
You have a nice bunch of dead BTU's which you'll enjoy next winter reguardless what species it is.
I've posted some pictures of some red/white oak.

WoodButcher

 

[WOODBUTCHER]

Some White Ash

WB

 

[PapaDave]

If it's oak, I hope you give it LOTS of sun and wind. Even then, it'll probably still be a little wet this coming winter. I got this years wood CSS by the end of April '08. Some, still sizzling. Some, pretty dry. Most in the 4-5" range. Had some soft maple last year that was supposed to dry pretty quick. Uh huh, right. I have learned patience..............kinda.

Good luck,
Dave

 

[basswidow]

I like the pictures of the wood. Is that from a web site reference? of just home pictures?

Someone should put together a photo book of wood identification like that - showing bark and splits. It would be very helpful.

 

[firefighterjake]

I like the pictures of the wood. Is that from a web site reference? of just home pictures?

Someone should put together a photo book of wood identification like that - showing bark and splits. It would be very helpful.

I believe those pics Woodbutcher posted are from a collection he put together . . . I also believe he posted a link recently showing his handiwork for others to see.

 

[chad3]

That one on the left is ash. Cut up a big one this fall. Easy to split if it is straight, bear if it is bent at all (my butt was, sucked as I couldn't get it out in one piece). That will be able to burn earlier than oak.
Hope this may help.
Chad

 

[JerseyWreckDiver]

Ok ya got me confused again. As you can tell I know just about nothing about trees and wood except what I'm told here. So I started believing this tree was White oak, found the red inside and thought red oak. Then the first few posters said chestnut oak, now it's white ash. What is this Stuff? :down:

That is most definitely White Ash. As others have said, good news, it will dry very fast compared to Oak. - Lay some plastic on the ground under the pallets you stack it on, keeping the ground moisture away from it will help it dry faster. I usually put my pallets up on blocks for better airflow.

Previous poster is a little confused... The wood of Chestnut Oak is virtually identical to Red Oak, looks nothing like White Oak. The white, in White Oak is a misnomer, it's not white at all, it's actually a bit more brown then Red Oak.

The Red in your White Ash is the heartwood, the light outside is the sapwood. With Red Oak/Chestnut Oak the Light sapwood is only about 3/4 - 1" thick, rest is heartwood.

Helpful tip of the day; For Oak you are going to need to burn in the upcoming season, strip the bark off it as you split it, it will dry quite a bit faster.

 

[EDGE]

Put up a photo of one of the twigs. That will be easier to identify.

 

[JerseyWreckDiver]

Ok ya got me confused again. As you can tell I know just about nothing about trees and wood except what I'm told here. So I started believing this tree was White oak, found the red inside and thought red oak. Then the first few posters said chestnut oak, now it's white ash. What is this Stuff? :down:

That is most definitely White Ash.

 

[learnin to burn]

Thanks everybody for all the reply's. I still haven't got around to starting to stack it yet but did manage to split the rest of what I had. If I get the ok from the land owner I'll be going back to get the rest of the tree soon. The remainder of what is left is close to what I already have.

Thanks for the tips on getting it to dry (season) faster, they will come in handy.

 

[ansehnlich1]

My logger, who has been a sawmill operator his entire life, along with his father, and family, dropped off a load of log length wood a month ago. He said it was red oak and chestnut oak. He would point to a log and tell me what it was. I asked him how he identified the logs and he pointed to what I think is the phloem. It is the narrow band right inside the bark. It is THAT band that is a differing color in cut wood, and it is THAT band that he would glance at to tell what the wood was.....not the bark, and not the heartwood or sapwood.....I found this interesting.

If I were to have that pile o' wood in the picture and wanted it to season the best possible way, if I had the room, I'd stack it in one long row facing south, or facing prevailing winds, definitely in the sunshine, and cover the top only, nothing down the sides.