# standing dead tree... is this good wood?



## jeffesonm (Oct 24, 2012)

Neighbor has (had) a standing dead tree that we believe to be oak.  Looks like this.  Seems to be still solid and makes that nice hollow sound when you clink two pieces together.  Is this stuff still good?


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## Ashful (Oct 24, 2012)

Beautiful.  By good, you mean ready to burn now?  I'd be surprised, but maybe.  Got a moisture meter?

If not good now, it will be soon enough.  Those are some mighty short rounds, unless the picture makes them look shorter than they are.


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## ScotO (Oct 24, 2012)

That stuff, as good as it looks, will not be ready to burn.  You can try it, but I'll almost guarantee it will smolder.  Oak has the bad habit of holding moisture for a very long time, if not split and stacked.  Its just the structure of the cells in the tree.  I'd say that tree has probably been dead for 10 years or so, I've cut ones that were standing dear for over 25 years and all the bark and sapwood (the punky layer on your wood right under the bark) were totally gone, and even it needed some time split and stacked to be ready.  The best way to tell, if you are uncertain, is to get a moisture meter.  I'd try not to burn anything over 20%, off you don't have to.


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## gzecc (Oct 24, 2012)

Looks like oak. After split and stacked it will only be 2 summers before it will burn nicely (20%mc).


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## jeffesonm (Oct 24, 2012)

Sorry I meant good like not rotten, but will be good to burn one day.  Sounds like the answer is yes, so I will hurry back and get the rest of the trunk!

My stove takes a 16" log loaded N/S so I've been trying to cut them no bigger than that.  I have been eyeballing it and I think some ended up in the 12-14" range.  Maybe I will just measure down the trunk of this big log.

I do not have a moisture meter... all the reviews of ones on Amazon seem to be so-so and I think I'm far enough ahead in my wood collecting where I can just make sure everything is 1-2 years old.  This will be the first year with the stove though so hard to say.


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## bogydave (Oct 24, 2012)

Good looking wood.
The white sap wood will get a little punky, that's normal,
Premium wood there, get all you can


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## TimJ (Oct 24, 2012)

nice red oak rounds.........some of my flavorite


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## Thistle (Oct 24, 2012)

Nice looking Red Oak there.Split/stack for a year or so & you should be OK.


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## jeffesonm (Oct 24, 2012)

Thanks guys. I propose this thread be retitled "great score from neighbor nextdoor"

Truckload #2:


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## Gasifier (Oct 24, 2012)

That sounds like a good title Jeff. Good for you man. Nice work. I picked up a moisture meter at Lowe' for like $25 bucks last year. I don't believe it is the most accurate one you will find, but it gives you a pretty good idea of the range you are in. Here is a link to it at Lowe's for current price and description.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_78059-56005...l=1&currentURL=?Ntt=moisture+meter&facetInfo=

Just for your reference. Do you have all your wood for this season put away or under cover?


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## jeffesonm (Oct 24, 2012)

Maybe I will pick that one up.  The Amazon reviews are mixed and most of the bad ones seem to be about quality vs accuracy.

I do have probably 2-3 cords of well seasoned, 2-3 year old wood stacked and ready to go.  I actually started hoarding firewood before I even had a house or a wood stove... some trees were taken down at the place I was renting and my landlord paid me to split them up so they weren't all over his yard.

Truck load #3:


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## Gasifier (Oct 24, 2012)

Nice. And all this wood you have been getting is free. Good work man. That is the best price.


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## Backwoods Savage (Oct 24, 2012)

Jeff, that is great wood! As for the MM, it sounds as if you have been getting along without one and you probably could save the dollars now. So long as you have the time to dry the wood, the MM is redundant. I've burned wood for several years now and never had one. Never bothered me either and I don't have problems with wood that is not dry.


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## Larry in OK (Oct 25, 2012)

I cut a lot of standing dead oak. Depending on how long it's been dead usually the upper 3rd or a little better  is dry enough to burn (>20%).  either let it sit or get a MM to know though.


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## Standingdead (Oct 25, 2012)

I split and tested some standing dead ash and elm I cut in Feb, and left in rounds. Came in at 16-18%. I generally find that other than oak, 6-9 months time in the round is good enough for debarked standing dead.


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## nate379 (Oct 25, 2012)

Bed floor to rails is normally about 2 ft.  Looks like most of your wood is cut 20-24"



jeffesonm said:


> My stove takes a 16" log loaded N/S so I've been trying to cut them no bigger than that. I have been eyeballing it and I think some ended up in the 12-14" range. Maybe I will just measure down the trunk of this big log.
> .


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## Ashful (Oct 25, 2012)

Nice score!  As to cutting length, there was a thread this summer about different techniques to get consistent length.  I used to just use the bar on my 20" saw as the gauge, but now prefer to just cut a scrap of lumber (lathe or firring strip) to 20" and carry that with me as a guide.


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## tcassavaugh (Oct 25, 2012)

i don't think it looks so good......i should probably come take it off your hands . some of the best firewood i ever got was standing deadwood in an upstate n.y. bog/swamp in the dead of winter. been dead awhile and burned great. wish i could find more. hard to get into the wetlands here in southern maryland.

cass


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## Wood Duck (Oct 25, 2012)

It looks like more than one type of tree in there. I see Red Oak and White Oak.


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## jeffesonm (Oct 25, 2012)

Good catch... it actually came from three different trees.  First pics are tree #1, truck loads 2/3 are tree #2, and the last load below is tree #3.  It was getting dark so I just cut a few of the bigger branches off tree #3 and called it quits for the day.  He's got a standing dead hickory that still needs to be taken down so hoping to go back for round two shortly.


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## Fire Breathing Dragon (Oct 25, 2012)

Nice score!  Ummmm, those are some nice BTU's.  Love me some oak rounds piled up in the truck on the way home.


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## osagebow (Oct 25, 2012)

Nice score !!


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## Ashful (Oct 26, 2012)

My saw is usually my indicator on what is good, and what is not.  On downed oak, it's not uncommon to go thru 2"-3" rotten sapwood, and then hit good, solid heartwood.  Like most species, oak's sapwood rots faster than its heartwood.

Some purposely knock off the rotten stuff when they're splitting, but I usually don't bother.


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## oldspark (Oct 26, 2012)

Joful said:


> My saw is usually my indicator on what is good, and what is not. On downed oak, it's not uncommon to go thru 2"-3" rotten sapwood, and then hit good, solid heartwood. Like most species, oak's sapwood rots faster than its heartwood.
> 
> Some purposely knock off the rotten stuff when they're splitting, but I usually don't bother.


 Me neither, helps the wood get going quicker, only problem is it a sponge when it gets rained on if your wood is outside uncovered, takes longer for the surface moisture to dry off.


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