So who burns one year seasoned wood with no problems, including oak?

[MarkinNC]

This will be year 2 for me burning. I went from zero years ahead to 4-5 years ahead wood wise. Most of it is oak, red and white and it will be seasoned greater than one year. A lot of the trees were dead or dying that I cut but they were still pretty wet last year. The wood is much lighter feeling now.

Surely I won't have problems catching 1 year seasoned wood on fire like the garbage I bought from a firewood peddler last year. I can see how it would be better after two years, but surely one will be adequate. I am guessing I will have longer burns since I am not wasting energy evaporating water in the wood. I do have a cord of maple and poplar as well.

Opinions?

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Depending on how large the splits are and how much sun and wind you have hitting your stacks you may be ok. There is a good chance the wood is still "wet" though. White oak's water tightness is a prime reason why it is used for water containers.

When it comes down to it, you have to burn what you have and stacked for a year is better than stacked for a week. Mix your maple and poplar in with your oak as it will probably be dryer.

Matt

 

[smokinj]

Not oak but anything else is good to go for me!

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Best I can say is good luck on the oak. When we cut oak, we usually don't even look at it for 3 years after it is split and stacked. However, I cut some dead pin oak last spring that surprised me. I may even try to burn a little bit of it in January just for kicks.

Congratulations on getting 4-5 year ahead too. That is super!

 

[Cascade Failure]

One year oak is better than no wood at all. That's the best I can say. I really hate watching water spit out of wood.

 

[Wood Duck]

Who burns one year seasoned wood? Almost everyone around here burns wood that is not seasoned at all, so you are way ahead of average. I would expect it to burn just fine. You will probably be satisfied unless you know how well better seasoned oak burns.

 

[joefrompa]

I've got pine that'll get ~4-5 months of seasoning before I burn it. And I expect it to do great. Ash, elm, and random other bits get maybe 6-9 months and will be great.

I'm gonna buy some 2-year seasoned pin-oak from a neighbor just for the experience of burning wood that, size for size, holds alot more BTUs than I'm used too

 

[woodsmaster]

1 year oak may be hard to light and not burn the best ,but if you need to throw a piece or two on top of the dry wood.

 

[n3pro]

Very rare for me to get oak, all of mine is one year seasoned, don't have the room for much else.

 

[CTYank]

Lots of folks get hung up on this "seasoned x years" thing, but it's more meaningless than "ricks."

The process you're trying to manage is really "air-drying" and it's well-documented. Including the fact
that oak takes much longer than other hardwoods to air-dry down to a given MC.

Since your intended product is low-moisture-content wood, you can drop all the guesswork and guesstimating
with a moisture-content meter. Some go for $10 at Harbor Freight, and work fine.

For some yardsticks, when the moisture content (MC) inside the wood is
below 20%, it's ready for a desperation-burn,
below 15%, " decent " ,
below 10%, it's pretty good for burning in an EPA stove.

If it's stored inside for a while (weeks+) near the stove, and the MC is well down in the single-digits, it's primo.

Please note also, that in the fall "shoulder" season, there's no need to burn the potentially best stuff. That's
the time to burn the less-desirables, while warming and finishing drying some of the really good stuff indoors.

 

[PapaDave]

In my setup, I can burn Spruce, White Pine, Poplar, within a year. Maple takes a little longer, but burns pretty well in a year (soft maple).
The oak can be burned, but what a pain! Last year was the best yet with almost 2 year dried oak, and some of it still sizzled a little. This year, the oak will have had over 2 years, so I'm thinking it will be better still.
This is oak from a log load I got. I will find out how well this stuff burns very shortly.......well, after I go through the Spruce and uglies.

 

[lukem]

Nothing wrong with burning unseasoned wood, just not as efficient. More heat is wasted converting the water to steam.

You also have the reduced "risk" of creosote. Not a sure thing, but def more likely. You just have to keep an eye on the flue and clean it accordingly.

Depending on your stove, it will prob be more finicky.

Is dry wood better? ABSOLUTELY. Is bury wet wood disaster? Not eeally, just takes more wood and effort.

 

[cptoneleg]

My first year with EPA stove I burned about 3 cords of 6 and 7 month oak with about 1 1/2 cord of 14 month oak , stayed warm furnace never kicked on and cleaned chimney 3 times and cleaned the glass alot. Not to say its the ideal thing to do but yes you can. I split everything real small.


And the 25 yrs before that I burned wood seasoned 1 day sometimes. You heard me cut live tree split and right to the fire same day, it had no glass to clean, and back then I only cleaned chimney once a year.

 

[oldspark]

Lots of folks get hung up on this "seasoned x years" thing, but it's more meaningless than "ricks."

The process you're trying to manage is really "air-drying" and it's well-documented. Including the fact
that oak takes much longer than other hardwoods to air-dry down to a given MC.

Since your intended product is low-moisture-content wood, you can drop all the guesswork and guesstimating
with a moisture-content meter. Some go for $10 at Harbor Freight, and work fine.

For some yardsticks, when the moisture content (MC) inside the wood is
below 20%, it's ready for a desperation-burn,
below 15%, " decent " ,
below 10%, it's pretty good for burning in an EPA stove.

If it's stored inside for a while (weeks+) near the stove, and the MC is well down in the single-digits, it's primo.

Please note also, that in the fall "shoulder" season, there's no need to burn the potentially best stuff. That's
the time to burn the less-desirables, while warming and finishing drying some of the really good stuff indoors.

HUH? below 20% desperation-burn, on what planet?

 

[dafattkidd]

Lots of folks get hung up on this "seasoned x years" thing, but it's more meaningless than "ricks."

The process you're trying to manage is really "air-drying" and it's well-documented. Including the fact
that oak takes much longer than other hardwoods to air-dry down to a given MC.

Since your intended product is low-moisture-content wood, you can drop all the guesswork and guesstimating
with a moisture-content meter. Some go for $10 at Harbor Freight, and work fine.

For some yardsticks, when the moisture content (MC) inside the wood is
below 20%, it's ready for a desperation-burn,
below 15%, " decent " ,
below 10%, it's pretty good for burning in an EPA stove.

If it's stored inside for a while (weeks+) near the stove, and the MC is well down in the single-digits, it's primo.

Please note also, that in the fall "shoulder" season, there's no need to burn the potentially best stuff. That's
the time to burn the less-desirables, while warming and finishing drying some of the really good stuff indoors.

HUH? below 20% desperation-burn, on what planet?

That's what I'm thinking. Those numbers seem a bit wacky. Are you splitting those suckers in and taking a reading from the middle? I can't get a 10% reading on kiln dried hardwood flooring.

 

[pants on fire]

I think wood stored outdoors here reaches equilibrium in the mid to upper teens. You'd have to use artificial means to get it below that. I have read (might be a controversial point) that, at a moisture content below 15%, fuel in an EPA stove doesn't give off an adequate amount of gases for secondary combustion.

From enerysavers.gov (regarding wood for EPA stoves)

"It should have a moisture content of just over 20%–25% by weight. Some well-seasoned wood can in fact be too dry for today's airtight modern stoves. If you place wood that is too dry on a bed of coals, it will instantly give up its gases as smoke, wasting unburned smoke and producing creosote buildup."

 

[cptoneleg]

I told you before the Woodpecker is nuts he said that in several posts furniture isn't that dry

 

[woodsmaster]

Lots of folks get hung up on this "seasoned x years" thing, but it's more meaningless than "ricks."

The process you're trying to manage is really "air-drying" and it's well-documented. Including the fact
that oak takes much longer than other hardwoods to air-dry down to a given MC.

Since your intended product is low-moisture-content wood, you can drop all the guesswork and guesstimating
with a moisture-content meter. Some go for $10 at Harbor Freight, and work fine.

For some yardsticks, when the moisture content (MC) inside the wood is
below 20%, it's ready for a desperation-burn,
below 15%, " decent " ,
below 10%, it's pretty good for burning in an EPA stove.

If it's stored inside for a while (weeks+) near the stove, and the MC is well down in the single-digits, it's primo.

Please note also, that in the fall "shoulder" season, there's no need to burn the potentially best stuff. That's
the time to burn the less-desirables, while warming and finishing drying some of the really good stuff indoors.

Where did you get that info. ? Not on hearth.

 

[Dix]

Posted on wrong thread.

 

[cptoneleg]

Lots of folks get hung up on this "seasoned x years" thing, but it's more meaningless than "ricks."

The process you're trying to manage is really "air-drying" and it's well-documented. Including the fact
that oak takes much longer than other hardwoods to air-dry down to a given MC.

Since your intended product is low-moisture-content wood, you can drop all the guesswork and guesstimating
with a moisture-content meter. Some go for $10 at Harbor Freight, and work fine.

For some yardsticks, when the moisture content (MC) inside the wood is
below 20%, it's ready for a desperation-burn,
below 15%, " decent " ,
below 10%, it's pretty good for burning in an EPA stove.

If it's stored inside for a while (weeks+) near the stove, and the MC is well down in the single-digits, it's primo.

Please note also, that in the fall "shoulder" season, there's no need to burn the potentially best stuff. That's
the time to burn the less-desirables, while warming and finishing drying some of the really good stuff indoors.

Where did you get that info. ? Not on hearth.

My wife just bought an antique rocking chair should be about 150 yrs old, probably the only thing we have in that ( pretty good for burning ) range. :lol:

 

[oldspark]

I told you before the Woodpecker is nuts he said that in several posts furniture isn't that dry

:lol:

 

[Woody Stover]

Since your intended product is low-moisture-content wood, you can drop all the guesswork and guesstimating
with a moisture-content meter.
For some yardsticks, when the moisture content (MC) inside the wood is
below 20%, it's ready for a desperation-burn,
below 15%, " decent " ,
below 10%, it's pretty good for burning in an EPA stove.

If it's stored inside for a while (weeks+) near the stove, and the MC is well down in the single-digits, it's primo.

Where did you get that info. ? Not on hearth.

Dennis has said that wood dried for many years burns the best for him. If I'm not mistaken, he's mentioned that a time of two. :smirk:
Wood that old has got to be in the low double digits MC, I'd think. As I've said before, wood that's at 18% hisses in our stove so I'm shooting for 15% max.

 

[mayhem]

The longer your wood has seasoned and dried out, the better off you are. It'll burn hotter and, your emissions will be lower and your chimney will stay cleaner.

That said, I seem to be unable to break out of the split in the summer/fall to burn that winter cycle. Last winter I burned about a quarter cord of oak that I cut from trunks during the summer and didn't split until about a month before I burned it. It sizzled a fair bit but it burned and was great overnight wood.

Put a fan on your wood if you can and let it run for a few weeks...the constant airflow will wick away a surprising amount of moisture and speed the initial seasoning.

 

[oldspark]

Since your intended product is low-moisture-content wood, you can drop all the guesswork and guesstimating
with a moisture-content meter.
For some yardsticks, when the moisture content (MC) inside the wood is
below 20%, it's ready for a desperation-burn,
below 15%, " decent " ,
below 10%, it's pretty good for burning in an EPA stove.

If it's stored inside for a while (weeks+) near the stove, and the MC is well down in the single-digits, it's primo.

Where did you get that info. ? Not on hearth.

Dennis has said that wood dried for many years burns the best for him. If I'm not mistaken, he's mentioned that a time of two. :smirk:
Wood that old has got to be in the low double digits MC, I'd think. As I've said before, wood that's at 18% hisses in our stove so I'm shooting for 15% max.

No way in hell 18% wood should hiss, normaly wood that has moisture comeing out the ends is in the high 20's.

 

[albertj03]

In my neck of the woods, where red oak is the most abundant hardwood, most people consider 1 year to be perfectly seasoned. Of course most people still use pre-EPA stoves and let the wood sit tree length and cut it in the fall.

Personally I've had good luck burning year old oak in my EPA stove. The key is to split it small and stack it in the most windy and sunny spot you can find. If you can, only cover the stacks when it rains and leave them uncovered when it's not raining. I prefer to split it a little larger and give it 18+ months before it hits the stove.