Need some help on some oak seasoning observations and questions.

[geoffm24]

I was hoping you guys could help me sort out some of the observations I have made on 3 different red oak trees. The first one was standing dead but still had all of its bark. The 2nd tree was also standing dead with no bark and all and cracks forming all the way to the ground. The last tree was cut live and bucked but not split last summer.

When giving the smell test to the 3 different trees both standing dead trees had a pleasant Oak smell, the live cut 14 month old tree smells awful when split. The standing dead trees also weigh considerably less then the live cut tree with the bark free tree being the most dry. The live cut tree is obviously wet even in the small 3-4 inch logs. I will actually be surprised if it is a dry a year from now.

So red oak needs roughly 2 years to season and both standing dead trees have wood that is more dry then the 14 month old oak. Am I safe to assume it will be ready to burn in 8-12 months?

 

[ansehnlich1]

The only way to really tell if wood is ready is to measure the moisture content. Anything else is a wild guess. That being said, I always have the best of luck with nearly all my firewood if I let it sit for two years after being split.

 

[golfandwoodnut]

if you need some quick a moisture meter is worth the money, of course you can always burn some to see. I cut some standing dead Oak this week that was as dry as a bone. It measured 15 on the moisture meter, even at the base (which is usually the wettest part). I tried some on Friday night and it burned like a charm and no smoke out of the chimney(I think that is a good test too). It may already be some of the driest wood I have. Usually fresh Oak will take 2 years some even say 3. I have 15 cords of cherry, oak, beech, maple, ash, hickory and locust and some has been seasoned for well over a year and is under 20 percent, but it is no drier than this Oak. I will try to post some pictures later.

 

[geoffm24]

Thanks for the help. I was just out there trying to do the "sound" test by ringing the wood together. This stuff cracks as load as a baseball bat when I use the limb wood.

Normally I wouldn't be so paranoid about wood but we stepped up to the big leagues of a wood stove this year from being fireplace people last year. I just don't know if I have enough wood so I'm trying to make sure I have as much as possible. I probably have 3-2 cords of dry wood but I'm not sure that will cut it. I have a bunch of pine I dopped 2 years ago that I'm lining up as back up but I just don't know.

The more dry hardwood I have the better.

 

[golfandwoodnut]

Here are some pictures of a standing dead Oak I cut into logs, then into rounds and finally split a few. It was about 50 feet long and as you can see still has a minimal amount of bark on it. Unbelievably dry. Look at the moisture reading of 9. I rarely get a reading that low on any of my wood. It can happen and a cheap moisture meter can give you the facts and the stove can back up the results.

 

[kevinmerchant]

I have the same meter, just picked it up last week at Harbor Fright. Works great. I left it in my pocket and about 5 min ago my wife handed it to me and said our washing machine is definitely not ready to burn for this year. Wow, that really sucks. I'm now short on seasoned appliance's and need another moister meter. You suppose the 90 day limited warranty would cover it or would this little mishap fall under "This warranty does not apply to damage due directly or indirectly, to misuse, abuse, NEGLIGENCE or accidents....." I think it was a perfectly legitimate use. Wanted to make sure my laundry was receiving enough moister to get clean.

Don't worry, I'm not going to try and get a free one. Its time to make a trip back to HF. Anybody need anything while I'm there.

By the way, thanks to the poster who said those cheap rubber coated gloves were good for wood handling. Got those at HF also.

 

[Cluttermagnet]

Thanks for the help. I was just out there trying to do the "sound" test by ringing the wood together. This stuff cracks as load as a baseball bat when I use the limb wood.

Normally I wouldn't be so paranoid about wood but we stepped up to the big leagues of a wood stove this year from being fireplace people last year. I just don't know if I have enough wood so I'm trying to make sure I have as much as possible. I probably have 3-2 cords of dry wood but I'm not sure that will cut it. I have a bunch of pine I dopped 2 years ago that I'm lining up as back up but I just don't know.

The more dry hardwood I have the better.

Congratulations on the new stove. You're going to find that it's a totally different world, and a much more efficient way to extract the BTU's out of that hard- earned firewood. Fireplaces are more for ambiance than for efficient heating.

I harvest mostly Red Oak here. Most of what I get is deadwood. One category of deadwood you didn't mention above is fallen dead. Fallen comes in at least 2 different flavors- ground contact or no ground contact. With Oak, even the stuff with ground contact is usually going to be OK, but at times it can get pretty punky and pretty wet. You will find deadwood Oak anywhere from 'ready to burn now' to 'needs 2 years after splitting'.

I believe that for around 10 dollars, a wood moisture meter is a very smart investment. I have one and do use it. I have found, however, that my hands and ears have both gotten pretty good at guessing moisture pretty soon after I started processing my own wood. That baseball bat clinking noise is a pretty good indicator of seasoned wood. I have also found that my bare hands can now help me guess moisture content fairly accurately. I bet you will develop those senses yourself, pretty soon.

 

[geoffm24]

I'm heading to harbor frieght this morning to get a moisture meter to be sure. I'm very curious to see how the quickly the moisture drops after splitting.

 

[golfandwoodnut]

I agree with clutermagnet, you start learning all the tricks pretty quick. If you can smell the wood after being split, it probably is not ready. Seasoned wood has no smell to me. If you put the fresh split wood to your forearm you can feel if it is wet. You can clink them together. Best bet is when you let them sit a year or so and you see the gray cracked look. You can really tell the difference in the weight of the split, especially Oak. It feels about 50 percent as heavy dry as wet to me. The moisture meter just verifies to me what I think, it is especially useful your first year of burning. But like the Oak I just found, and I have found several dead on the ground too, it is nice to know when you found one that is ready to go since Oak can be a PITA to season.

 

[wvmtneer]

I have red oak that has been split and stacked for 1 year, was on the ground for 1 year prior to splitting and it still reads 25-26%. I burned a cord and a half of it last year. It was very dificult to keep a fire going in my Montecito, I am sure it was 30-32% last year.

I cut down a 16" diameter red oak a couple weeks ago. It read 38%. I agree with the others, moisture meters are very valuable. -Keith

 

[Cluttermagnet]

Welcome, wvmtneer.

Yep, it's good if you can just give all your Oak 2 years to season after you split it. Some deadwood Oak actually is ready to burn 'right now', but most Oak will not be so ready.

Lately I've been processing a batch of rounds I got off a Craig's List ad. It was 'hurricane' wood, and came down in 2004. It got stacked as rounds. Some of it is going to burn OK this year, but about 2/3 of it looks to need another year to season after splitting.

 

[oldspark]

The thing I like about the dead on the ground Oak I cut is I can leave in rounds and have it dry in a year, but this stuff has been on the ground a while, some other oak that was logged 3-5 years ago is green as live so I split that and will let it season for 2 years.

 

[geoffm24]

According to my new meter all the branches are ready to go at about 16% but the bigger trunk pieces still need some time 24-26%