# best way to season Apple Wood?



## Riggs (Mar 11, 2013)

so a neighbor of my parents has some apple trees that he wants removed...and asked if i was willing to cut for him..and that i could take all the wood i wanted...so of course my answer was YES  
i've never seasoned apple before...should i split right away or wait?  don't want to screw this up as he's got 60 trees and that's A LOT of apple wood to dry out correctly...i'd hate myself if i ruined it in any way.

thanks,

riggs


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## BobUrban (Mar 11, 2013)

CSS as usual and get it off the ground.  Single rows will season faster but give it a year or more for best results.


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## Riggs (Mar 11, 2013)

thanks again Bob...i was thinking i'd season this 2 years minimum before i burned it....things like this don't come along here very often so i'm excited to say the least.  plus...it's free which is the icing on the cake!


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## ScotO (Mar 11, 2013)

Welcome to the club Riggs! (your name reminds me of Lethal Weapon)....
Apple takes a long time (like oak) but it's a great wood for burning.  Split it ASAP, stack it off the ground as any other wood.  Just plan on it taking 2 to 3 years to be really primo....
I have over a half cord of apple left, I keep it for cooking on the pit.  It's been C/S/S for 4 years come April and it STILL has moisture in it (it's stacked behind the main stacks, out of the wind).  I like it to smolder when cooking on it anyway...


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## gzecc (Mar 11, 2013)

I just posted a thread about apple never seems to season. I would split it small and expect to stack it in single rows for 3 yrs in the sun and wind.


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## Riggs (Mar 11, 2013)

thanks for the advice Scotty, it's appreciated. 

yes...i get the "lethal weapon" stuff all the time...people always ask me "where's Murtaugh?" they also like to ask me if i can really run that fast or if it's just the cameras


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## firefighterjake (Mar 12, 2013)

I like apple wood . . . sometimes it is a bit tough to split . .. sometimes a bit curvy . . . but it smells so good while processing, burns well, coals nicely and you can use it to smoke the meat. You might get by with a year of seasoning . . . two years will often be better.


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## jdp1152 (Mar 12, 2013)

I cut and split a partially dead apple tree last year.  It was all twisted up and a royal pain to process, even with hydraulics.  Most of it doesn't even resemble logs.  I cut most of the branches into fist sized chunks and will save for the Big Green Egg.


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## lukem (Mar 12, 2013)

You're probably going to end up with a lot of rounds...seems like there's always more branch than trunk on an apple tree. Couple years and you'll have some good firewood.

Outdoor fire-pit....throw on some apple...couple cold barley pops...heaven right there.


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## Bret Chase (Mar 12, 2013)

With any fruitwoods I end up with (I've got a bunch on the 3 year rehab plan)... I use them to cook with..... burgers cooked over apple.... OMFG!


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## Dix (Mar 12, 2013)

I have 2 that are coming down this year.

Can't wait to get it CSS, and try it.


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## Bret Chase (Mar 12, 2013)

Doing The Dixie Eyed Hustle said:


> I have 2 that are coming down this year.
> 
> Can't wait to get it CSS, and try it.


 
for heat... apple puts any oak... and locust to shame...


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## Lharth (Oct 27, 2015)

Hey ScotO, 
Do I need to split all apple rounds regardless of size? In your opinion, what's the smallest diameter of apple round you would think needs spitting in order to properly season in a couple years. (I live in the dry climate of the southern interior or BC, Canada.)
Thanks 
Luke


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## begreen (Oct 27, 2015)

I split everything down to about 2-3" diameter. Resplit some of the larger wood pieces after a year and check for moisture. If you get the steady winds like eastern WA, in your dry climate the wood could be ready in a year if in the sun and top-covered only so that plenty of air can blow through the stacks.


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## jatoxico (Oct 27, 2015)

For small branches that are big enough to burn but too small to split it really helps to peel a strip of bark. Doesn't take too long once you get a rhythm and makes a big difference.


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## Longstreet (Oct 27, 2015)

Why would you want to have 60 apples trees removed from your property???

Also, don't tell Applesister, she would probably faint if she saw this thread.


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## begreen (Oct 27, 2015)

This happens all the time in orchard country. Market demand change is one big reason. When we first moved out west Red Delicious was the primary apple crop. Now I don't think anyone is growing them in large commercial volumes. Also, if the tree gets too big to pick easily it can get removed and replaced with a more dwarf variety.


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## sportbikerider78 (Oct 27, 2015)

Bret Chase said:


> With any fruitwoods I end up with (I've got a bunch on the 3 year rehab plan)... I use them to cook with..... burgers cooked over apple.... OMFG!



I have a bunch of apple I just split.  Instead of throwing out my old gas grill, I'm now using it to cook with wood.  Works great!   Just don't do it on a windy day.  Ash will blow all over the food.


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## Mr. Jones (Oct 27, 2015)

That's all we used to burn the last 15 plus years is apple. It was super cheap. Like 50 a truck load or 100 a cord since this area is expanding so fast, and they were yanking out hundreds of orchards back then. China started growing most of their apples, so what used to be huge around here no longer is, and property for new housing developments is worth a lot more now than farming apples. The price is now starting to go back up since most orchards have been leveled now.


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## BCC_Burner (Oct 27, 2015)

For at least 2 summers, ideally 3.  I have about 2.5 cords of apple I split in late September of 2014 and I will be burning some of it this winter, but mixed with my drier wood for sure.  It is a dense, tightly grained wood that is reluctant to give up it's moisture.  I was planning to burn more of it this winter, but after testing it in September, ended up buying a cord of lodgepole pine to limit how much of it I will have to burn this winter.  It would burn acceptably I'm sure, but it's a premium firewood, I want to give it time to live up to it's full potential.


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## HisTreeNut (Oct 27, 2015)

Riggs said:


> so a neighbor of my parents has some apple trees that he wants removed...and asked if i was willing to cut for him..and that i could take all the wood i wanted...so of course my answer was YES
> i've never seasoned apple before...should i split right away or wait?  don't want to screw this up as he's got 60 trees and that's A LOT of apple wood to dry out correctly...i'd hate myself if i ruined it in any way.
> 
> thanks,
> ...



The best way to season applewood is quite easy.  Cut & split it into your desired length.  I would recommend 18" lengths.  Then, stack it on pallets in my back yard...


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## Applesister (Oct 28, 2015)

I sell mine to a pizza place.


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## Paulywalnut (Oct 29, 2015)

I try and give all the fruit woods three years,unless it's split thin for smoking.they have a lot of moisture.  I don't include cherry in that, I think two years is good for cherry.  I'm on a three year rotation with my stacks now, so everything I split this year no matter what species waits three seasons.


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