wet wood

[bigben]

A buddy of mine gave me a couple coards of seasoned wood. Some 1 year some 2 years old.
It was already cut to length, I just had to split it.
I know the wood is seasoned, but it feels wet and sizzles when I light it.
I am trying to figure out if now that I have split it and covered it,if it will dry in a week or so..or is this wood off limits till next season.
Any experience withthis sort of thing?

 

[pdboilermaker]

The wood may have started to rot. If you split it and let it dry for a week or two it should burn OK. If it has indeed started to rot, it must be burned this year

 

[derbygreg]

Bigben....How big were the rounds that you split? If the bark was still on, even tho it looks seasoned, likely it is still green and in need of seasoning.

Normally sizzling "snake wood" is still green.

Good luck

 

[pbvermont]

no matter how "seasoned" the wood is, it cannot be considered dry UNTIL it is SPLIT and THEN has time to dry. This wood may dry faster once it IS split.
a summer "trick" for drying wood: fell the tree with foliage on and then let it lie for several weeks. the green leaves as they dry will pull moisture out of the tree.

 

[Jags]

I know the wood is seasoned, but it feels wet and sizzles when I light it.

That, right there my friend, is a contradiction of terms. One side or the other of that comma isn't true. So if you can hear it sizzle.......

My opinion is that the seasoning process doesn't really start till its split. Save it for next year, you will get much better performance out of it.

 

[leaddog]

"My opinion is that the seasoning process doesn't really start till its split. Save it for next year, you will get much better performance out of it."[/quote]

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/11547/ Interesting study that seems to not support the splitting theory. It shows that most moisture is released from the ends.
leaddog

 

[Jags]

Yes, I remember that thread, but I think you will find that each species of tree has different moisture and drying characteristics. Also, after many years of burning wood, I will vouch that if you have a 20" DBH log at 18" long and take an identical log and split into 6 or 8 pieces, that the split log will loose its moisture at a faster rate. Not ALL moisture is wicked from the ends and greater surface area will aid in drying (seasoning). I think this may be (no proof) more noticeable in oaks and hickory than in species like pines. This could be from a greater solar gain from the increased surface area, I don't know, but it is a pretty well accepted theory that split wood will season faster (some wood will rot before becoming properly seasoned if not split).

 

[bigben]

The wood came from a friend of mine's mother. He is my Dentist. 2 years ago in the summer a couple of trees fell in a storm, she had a tree company come and cut them up. The chipped everything but the heavy wood..then the summer after that the same thing happened (16 months ago) so the came back and left the big stuff.
Almost all of it is Oak. I was able to pull a piece of bark off one of them and it was soaking wet.
I am starting to suspect that the wood get real wet with a couple of days of rain and then it turned cold..(30's during the day and teens at night) and now the moisture is having a hard time drying.
I brought in a wheel barrel full of wood and am going to leave it on the hearth for a few days to see if it makes a difference. I have forced hot air and it is very dry in here.