# Burning red oak.



## ohlongarm (Mar 30, 2012)

I've got about 6 cords of 3 year old split red oak. I've never burned red oak before but have burned plenty white,pin oak,and a little black liked them all.The red oak seems a little lighter than other oak types. What can I expect from it.Testing a couple splits yesterday ,on the inside after splitting them MC was averaging 14%to 17% dependent on size,I split them very large,tops are covered and they are at least 4 inches off the ground,lots of cracks and ,wood is gray and not a bad piece in the bunch.


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## smokinj (Mar 30, 2012)

Going to be a Hot winter this seaon I can feel it!


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## Thistle (Mar 30, 2012)

Roughly 70% of what I cut & burn each year is Red or Black Oak.Great stuff,90% of it splits very easily with the X25. Very little of the White & Bur Oak I have can be split with it though,even the 7"-8" straight grained rounds,its fairly stringy.


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## midwestcoast (Mar 30, 2012)

What can you expect?  Primo firewood. Doubt you'll notice much difference from the other oak species you mention.


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## lukem (Mar 30, 2012)

midwestcoast said:


> What can you expect? Primo firewood. Doubt you'll notice much difference from the other oak species you mention.


+1.  Oak is oak is oak.  The difference isn't that perceptible.


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## Thistle (Mar 30, 2012)

Rarely over 10% difference in density between Red & White Oak group.Not worth noticing really.


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## Woody Stover (Mar 30, 2012)

I'll have some two-year Black and Red Oak this year...can't wait. OK, I can wait a little while; It's getting really nice outside.


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## Backwoods Savage (Mar 30, 2012)

You have burned red oak before. Black and pin are both red oaks. You won't notice much if any difference in the way they burn.


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## ISeeDeadBTUs (Mar 30, 2012)

You DON'T wanna burn that red oak . . . highly acidic and it will eat your boiler alive. It's also poisonous so you don't want that stuff around!

Where you at??


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## Backwoods Savage (Mar 30, 2012)

Nice try but I'll bet he won't buy that line.


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## Hickorynut (Mar 30, 2012)

All species of the red oak are probably close in btu's but I would take the trunk wood over the tops.  With more or all heartwood the trunk wood gives off more heat in my opinion.  One of my peeves with red oak is how the sapwood rots.  After two or three years if it is not covered and gets wet alot the sapwood especially under bark starts to rot and the whole split looses btu.  Course other woods do that too.


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## ScotO (Mar 30, 2012)

I love finding long-dead standing oak in the woods.  After all that bark falls off and the sapwood rots away, you are left with clean, almost-ready-to-burn hardwood that is second in my book only to locust.  I take it whenever I can get it.


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## Locust Post (Mar 30, 2012)

I have never had the opportunity to cut a standing dead oak. The areas I cut in mostly are predominatly cherry,maple,beech and LOCUST. I don't have to mention what is my favorite that doggone locust is good standing,laying or best yet split and in my piles. Just the last few years I have cut much oak to speak of.


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## splions (Mar 31, 2012)

I prefer the red oak over the white...I usually burn red oak every year...this year I burned mostly black birch which is better than the oak...i love the smell of red oak burning...almost a sweet smell that you will share with the neighbors...enjoy!


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## raybonz (Mar 31, 2012)

All oaks are good burning wood.. White oak has thinner bark and is denser but they are all good to burn with long burn times and high BTU's.. Enjoy@!

Ray


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## Gark (Mar 31, 2012)

Red oak dried 3 years has been our main fuel this past winter. It burns steady and hot, then makes awesome coals. No different than white oak that we've noticed. Love the stuff.


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## NH_Wood (Mar 31, 2012)

I also burned about 2 cord of three year red oak this season - really great stuff when it it truly dry. I have at least 3/4 red oak in each of my piles for 2012/2013 through 2015/2016. All will be four year seasoned (minimum). I do agree with the oak sapwood rotting after a couple years if you don't keep it top covered, which is why I've opted to top cover all of my pallets. Cheers!


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## red oak (Apr 27, 2012)

I prefer red oak to white because I have found it splits easier.  I do all my splitting with a maul, and the white oak I've found is real stringy a lot of times.  The red oak practically splits itself.  I think for BTUs they are pretty much the same - when they've dried out they are both awesome wood.


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## Pat53 (Apr 27, 2012)

I prefer red oak to white oak also, mainly because I have no white oak around here to burn...


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## Backwoods Savage (Apr 28, 2012)

Pat, you should have a bunch of beech around you. Are they dead yet?


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## Pat53 (Apr 28, 2012)

Backwoods Savage said:


> Pat, you should have a bunch of beech around you. Are they dead yet?


 
Theres a lot of beech north and east of me, I have a few on my property but they are small. I've been seeing tons of beech on the logging trucks heading for the mills for months now, most likely all stuff thats been killed.  As far as I know, the beech that is closer to me has not been affected yet , but up by Seney and Taquahmenem Falls (sp) it is being wiped out bigtime. It will get here soon enough I suppose. Problem is, the mills are paying over $100/cord for it so thats where its all going.

Pat


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## Backwoods Savage (Apr 28, 2012)

Ya, that hurts. At least there is a market and I know there are a lot of beech in the eastern UP. They tell me it is all dead on the western LP. Around here they are okay yet but we don't have a lot of it. Actually on our place we have only very young beech. We had a huge beech that gave up the ghost several years ago. Sad to see it go but it had been rotting for many years until it finally toppled over.


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## Pat53 (Apr 28, 2012)

Backwoods Savage said:


> Ya, that hurts. At least there is a market and I know there are a lot of beech in the eastern UP. They tell me it is all dead on the western LP. Around here they are okay yet but we don't have a lot of it. Actually on our place we have only very young beech. We had a huge beech that gave up the ghost several years ago. Sad to see it go but it had been rotting for many years until it finally toppled over.


 
I used to own 80 acres just north of Chatham that was loaded with beech. Used to cut a few cords out for firewood every year. Probably the best firewood I ever burned for sure. I see a lot of small beech around here now, but no big trees, I wonder how its seeding itself?


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## Backwoods Savage (Apr 28, 2012)

Pat, how does it look around Blaney Park? Seems there was a ton of beech there, especially the east part of the park.


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## Pat53 (Apr 28, 2012)

Backwoods Savage said:


> Pat, how does it look around Blaney Park? Seems there was a ton of beech there, especially the east part of the park.


 
Not sure Dennis, haven't been over that way lately. I went to Mackinaw City 2 years ago and there is a lot of beech along US 2 along the Lake Michigan shore, it all looked good then. If (when) the bug gets into that area its going to look like a desert. I bet that beech makes up almost 3/4 of the hardwoods in that stretch. Gonna be LOTS of prime firewood there sooner or later.


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## Backwoods Savage (Apr 28, 2012)

You are right about all the beech along that stretch. West of the Escanaba River though, you'll not find much outside of some SW of Escanaba.


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## Pat53 (Apr 28, 2012)

Backwoods Savage said:


> You are right about all the beech along that stretch. West of the Escanaba River though, you'll not find much outside of some SW of Escanaba.


 
Yes, lots of beech down the Stonington and Garden Peninsula's


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## terrimillertx (Oct 18, 2012)

ISeeDeadBTUs said:


> You DON'T wanna burn that red oak . . . highly acidic and it will eat your boiler alive. It's also poisonous so you don't want that stuff around!
> 
> Where you at??


 
I believe you are thinking about CEDAR.  *That is everything you said*.  I live in the Houston area and Cedar trees are everywhere.  I even have one in my yard.  Its great for a number of projects but burning NOT.


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