# Anyone know how far pin oak will season in 6-7 months?



## joefrompa (May 23, 2011)

Just found out I've got a good amount of wood split and intermingled in my stacks that is oak. It's split probably about 1/2 the thickness of what most here call an "oak split". 

It'll be seasoned in PA from April-November, so a solid 7 months of mostly 60-70+ degree weather (and of course probably 2-3 months of 80+ degrees), sunshine, and circulation.

It'll be a real pain to remove from my wood stacks, so I'm wondering this: Any idea where this wood will be moisture wise in these conditions?

If it's really going to be "wet", I'll simply have to remove each piece as I go through the stacks in the winter and re-stack them for next year.


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## TreePointer (May 23, 2011)

Pin oak is just another red oak.  Two years for that.

I did, however, burn some dead-on-the-tree pin oak limbs after 8 months of seasoning c/s/s (including summer), and it burned great. Limbs were 8-10" in diameter.


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## joefrompa (May 23, 2011)

Hmm, these were ~10" thick limbs trimmed from a neighborhood tree that is doing well, but these branches needed to be removed. They could've been dead, but they were moist to the touch when split.


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## RAY_PA (May 23, 2011)

I have not had good luck with the one year seasoned pin oak that I tried. I know it will be a PITA, but you'd be better off to re stack it as you pull it out of the stack this year. IMO


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## lukem (May 23, 2011)

[quote author="TreePointer" date="1306181273"]Pin oak is just another red oak.  Two years for that.]

+1

I don't think read oak ever dries.  I've had some c/s/s for about 7 months now.  I spit a piece over the weekend and it was still visibly very wet on the inside.  Good thing I won't need to burn it until 2013/2014 season.


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## Backwoods Savage (May 23, 2011)

Red oak indeed is about the slowest drying wood and Pin oak is right at the top. The last time I burned pin oak it had been in the stack for 4 years....and it still sizzled. If it were me, I'd simply sort them as you are getting wood from the stack and wait a couple years to burn it.


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## joefrompa (May 23, 2011)

Holy crapola. Ok, I'll give it extra time. I don't want to deal with unseasoned wood again - everytime I threw it on a glorious fire I just got sizzlin and crap performance.


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## CTYank (May 23, 2011)

Red oaks, especially, I'll cover the stacks on top to drain the rain off.
The stuff is slow enough to dry, that I don't want setbacks, like when we get one of our weeklong soaking sessions.


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## oldspark (May 23, 2011)

CTYank said:
			
		

> Red oaks, especially, I'll cover the stacks on top to drain the rain off.
> The stuff is slow enough to dry, that I don't want setbacks, like when we get one of our weeklong soaking sessions.


 This quote is from woodheat.org and it works for me (30 years) I believe that time, wind, sun, and single rows  are the most important things in drying wood.
"Some people like to cover the drying wood pile. I do not. Iâ€™m basically a lazy guy and putting old steel roofing, plastic sheets or tarps over the pile means that I would have to chase them when the wind blew them off.

The theory behind covering the wood is that it will dry faster because rain will not soak the pieces as they dry. My experience is that the wood is dry enough by the time I want to bring it to my wood shed. Of course I may have to delay my wood shed filling if my dry wood gets rained on. I may have to wait for a few days of sun after a rain to continue stocking my shed, but itâ€™s a great excuse to put off a chore!

If it makes you feel better to cover your wood, do it. If not, just make sure you pile it in the shed after a few days of sun.

The most important rules for preparing good firewood are:

Cut, split and stack the wood in the early spring and let it stand in the sun and wind until it is seasoned. For many people seasoning will take about six months. for others, it will be a full year, depending on climate and wood species"

I do cover my wood in the fall after it is seasoned if used that winter.


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## fredarm (May 24, 2011)

I find dead red oak will dry pretty well over the summer, particularly the branches.  The trunks can take a year or more.  I had a red oak get blown down in the woods during the winter--the outer couple of inches of the trunk were punky, but the inside was still wet!  Even when it's wet, the standing dead seems to dry faster than live cut.


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## weatherguy (May 24, 2011)

I had about a cord and a half of red oak mixed in with 4 cords I got from my brother in law a couple years ago. I just tossed them aside every time I went to the wood pile, yes its a PITA but it burned so nice the next year.


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## PapaDave (May 24, 2011)

Joe, if you can afford to put those to the side until next year, do it. You'll be much happier with the way they burn.
They will burn this winter if you can't do that. Not well, but they will burn. Had to do that the first 2 years here, since I wasn't able to get the wood until late Aug., middle Sept. those years. As you know, keep a close eye on the flue if you burn that way.
Well, I guess I didn't HAVE to, but I did anyway.....it was all I had.


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## joefrompa (May 24, 2011)

I'll save them to last and only use them if I have to. I probably have 4-5 cords of pine that will be well seasoned, as well as maybe .5 cords of elm and .5 cords of maple. 

I've never burned oak in a wood burning stove, so I can't wait to see what all the hype is about.


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## weatherguy (May 24, 2011)

joefrompa said:
			
		

> I'll save them to last and only use them if I have to. I probably have 4-5 cords of pine that will be well seasoned, as well as maybe .5 cords of elm and .5 cords of maple.
> 
> I've never burned oak in a wood burning stove, so I can't wait to see what all the hype is about.



You'll notice a huge difference after burning pine, not that pine wont get the job done but oak coals nicely and lasts much longer. I got some scrap pine firewood last winter and threw a load in my stove. Burned hot but quick and nothing but ashes when I was done.
I have very little oak for this upcoming winter, mostly maple and ash. Im currently splitting  3 cords of red oak and 1 cord of white for 2012-13.
Once you burn that oak you'll be searching high and low for it.


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## schortie (May 24, 2011)

If you have to burn it this winter, I wouldn't save it for last.  Letting it dry out a little more makes sense initially, but my experience has been that even two-year oak doesn't burn that great in the shoulder season. I'd burn it during the coldest part of the winter and be sure to mix it with the driest wood you have.


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