White Oak Seasoning Comparison

[ValleyCottageSplitter]

A lot of people are saying oak takes 2-3 years to season. I just checked my white&chesnut oak stash and two random splits measured at 20%. CSS May 2017. It was cross stacked, two layers deep, top covered, on pallets, in the woods. Measuring at 31% in Aug 2017. Very surprised.

Are people normally aiming for 14-16% or have very large splits? These are on the smaller side, 2x3" avg. The ones I split were ~4x4 triangle. Curious what was the success factor...

 

[Sodbuster]

Bump

 

[Dantheman300z]

I see you did this outside, what was the temperature?

 

[BIGChrisNH]

My stacks have a lot of red oak in them. I've found that the smaller splits at the ends and outside edges of the stacks will all season down to about 20% within a year, as they are exposed to a lot of sun and wind where they are. However, the splits on the interior of the pile do not get below about 25% within a year or less, so overall, red oak for me for the entire large stack (4-5 cords) will take 2 years.

 

[ValleyCottageSplitter]

I see you did this outside, what was the temperature?

It was about 45°F. What temp does the MC start to get affected?

BigChris, how is yours stacked? How many rows deep, etc? and what split size?

I'm curious how some of these conditions affect the drying time (e.g. split size, number of rows, cross vs conv stacking)

This is only about 1 cord of oak, so it's easier to arrange most efficiently. I recently restacked it conventionally to fit 1c of hickory sharing the same pallet bed...

Thanks,
Ian

 

[BIGChrisNH]

Mine is stacked mostly in a 4'D x 5'H x 32'L stack, give or take. Splits are mostly smaller, maybe 5" thick by 20" long? I stack criss-cross, 1 layer north south, next layer east west, etc., as I'm stacking on somewhat uneven ground and I like the extra stability. This is most likely not necessary but my piles have never collapsed so don't mess with success. I do think stacking mostly n/s with stabilizing towers at each end might speed up drying allowing more air to get through the entire stack. I would do that if I had more level ground.

 

[BIGChrisNH]

Oh, and I stack 3 rows deep, forgot to mention that in my post. So, the stack is probably a bit fatter than 4 feet, as 3 18" long splits is 54" not 48".

All this being said, the wood from the center of the stacks (at least the red oak) still produces a sizzler here and there. Not so with my maple, pine, white birch or black birch.

I could go on and on about this topic, but small things like having a really rainy spring and an unseen hole in your tarp can let in a ton of water that takes a long time to evaporate so when you disassemble the stack in the fall you find a wet patch in the middle. Not a perfect process by any means but just do the best you can.

You said above you got 20% readings after approximately 1 year but you're only going 2 rows deep. To me that's not surprising, but that's just my own experience talking, others will probably see different results as it's definitely not an exact science.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

I fined that i am seasoning faster than others. Maybe its my setup, or how i do things. My splits range from 2 to3in to 5to6in and there at 20% in a year. If i split and stack on January or February there ready to burn on the late fall like November. All of my wood is in a woodshed. Mine are 4.5x 7x20 and are off the ground and the wood sits on rails the floor is not solid, the sides and back are vented to let the air through and has a solid roof.. i can remove the back panels if i want to let the sun hit the back stack.. i stack 3 rows and 18in long splits. I have stood behind my shed when it was totally full and i could feel the wind going through it...

 

[Dantheman300z]

It was about 45°F. What temp does the MC start to get affected?

BigChris, how is yours stacked? How many rows deep, etc? and what split size?

I'm curious how some of these conditions affect the drying time (e.g. split size, number of rows, cross vs conv stacking)

This is only about 1 cord of oak, so it's easier to arrange most efficiently. I recently restacked it conventionally to fit 1c of hickory sharing the same pallet bed...

Thanks,
Ian

I would say you could see a difference of up to 8% difference with it not being at room temperature. Which would make the season time less quickly than thought. If one of those splits would be brought inside to warm, you would get a more true test.

 

[mountain man 2]

You need to have a split up to room temperature n split that split n check for a TRUE reading.....

 

[Poindexter]

Most of the consumer grade (under $100 retail) moisture meters are calibrated for Douglas Fir at +70dF.

With soft woods like pines and spruces at +55dF you can add "1" to whatever % you see with the meter and be close enough to run your stove safely.

There is probably a correction factor for hardwoods like oak to consider as well. I dunno the temp correction factor for +45dF.

Overall it sounds like you are dong great, unless the correction factor ends up being "plus 15". Something like "plus 7" would put you mid-pack-ish, but still you get kudos for working at it and checking with a moisture meter.

Welcome to the "1% of all woodburners" club at hearth dot com.

 

[ValleyCottageSplitter]

I'll try bringing one inside too. From prior posts, I heard the Dr Meter without wood setting is set to #3, which is for general hardwood, I guess something like soft maple or doug fir. Some people didn't see a difference between setting #3 and #4 on their new model.

So I bet the two row setup makes a large difference, at least according to one other data point. Chris still cross stacked and did not see the inner row as seasoned. I figured having at least one exposed side would increase drying.

FYI I switched this oak from full cross stack to two cross stacks on the ends from Nov-March (you can see the conv stack in the pic). I thought that would be worse though.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

I think that the small size of your splits also matters. A lot of the two to three year insistence comes from larger pieces of wood, I would think. @bholler gets his oak seasoned in one year by splitting small, covering the top, and having lots of air flow, if I recall correctly. Having more limited space motivates a person to see what can be done to season wood faster.

We used to split a lot of oak and stack it in good sun near our brick house where it baked out the moisture. We made our splits rather small, too, in order to speed drying. I’ll be interested to hear your numbers on a room temperature split.

 

[hickoryhoarder]

I think that the small size of your splits also matters. A lot of the two to three year insistence comes from larger pieces of wood, I would think. @bholler gets his oak seasoned in one year by splitting small, covering the top, and having lots of air flow, if I recall correctly. Having more limited space motivates a person to see what can be done to season wood faster.

We used to split a lot of oak and stack it in good sun near our brick house where it baked out the moisture. We made our splits rather small, too, in order to speed drying. I’ll be interested to hear your numbers on a room temperature split.

For me, small oak splits usually season in a year, even nine months. They are even better if I wait 15-16 months, but they work.

 

[ValleyCottageSplitter]

Well a little update. I split another piece, a bit smaller, and it was at 27%! More what I was expecting. So 2yr it is!
I brought it inside for 3hr and measured 27-28% max, 24% at the ends. It was 35°F outside.
This was a Quercus Alba white oak, so either there is large seasoning difference between chestnut and white oak or this one is underneath a stream on the tarp...