I never saw this question asked, so here goes. I always stack my wood as soon as I cut it but I have about 10 cords not split that has been drying whole since May. If a given species of wood normally takes 1 year to season in your split / stacked configuration, how much time do you gain on that 1 year if said wood is cut and stacked but not split for 6 months, year etc.? I'm not looking at the normal debate over air flow, air temps etc. I'm assuming you have your drying process mastered and there is no difference between cut and split wood as far as drying parameters.
How much dry time do you save on cut wood not split?
- Thread starter bsa0021
- Start date
-
Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.
We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.
We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil. -
Super Cedar firestarters 30% discount Use code Hearth2024 Click here
- Status
...and you waste time stacking rounds. The curse of wood burning imo is how many times you handle wood before it gets thrown into the stove.
For clarity sake some of you must stack rounds for necessary personal reasons, that blanket statement isn't directed at you or intended as a slight.
For clarity sake some of you must stack rounds for necessary personal reasons, that blanket statement isn't directed at you or intended as a slight.
I'm not sure, but I would not be surprised at all that unsplit wood, especially bigger rounds (10-12"), will show very little drying, even over several years in the woodshed. I have oak rounds that were cut 2 years ago and have been in a completely dry woodshed exposed to air on all sides that when split open still show 35% MC. Right now I'm tossing all of them aside and splitting them to restack in the spring. I'm picking out only my splits for the rest of the winter. And even they are still in the upper 20's for MC.
I'm sure some woods season in the round better than others, but you'll gain much more in the end by splitting bigger rounds. No more big rounds for me !
Pat
I'm sure some woods season in the round better than others, but you'll gain much more in the end by splitting bigger rounds. No more big rounds for me !
Pat
A lot has to do with regional differences, wood species, size of rounds, size of splits, length, bark on or off, etc. so the question is like asking how long is a piece of string. In some cases split wood can dry twice as fast or even faster than wood left in the round. I've seen some wood simply rot if left in the round.
Coming from someone that doesn't even stack their splits, I'm not surprised you said that.savageactor7 said:
I stack my big rounds. Small stuff gets tossed in a pile. I buck in the middle of Winter but I don't split until the snow is gone. I don't care to run the hydraulic splitter in cold weather and I'm not in any rush for the wood to season. It is easier to stack big rounds than toss them on a pile. A tossed pile takes up more space than a stack and I like my wood to be easy to grab when I'm splitting. It's a lot easier to take a big round off a stack than pull them off a pile that threatens to tumble down.
The following picture was from a year ago and I will start burning that wood next Winter. I'm not nearly as far ahead as BWS.
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_nX0X4MOKcKI/Sbz5P3zdAKI/AAAAAAAAAKg/PhaIw_js9Z4/s640/100_0321.JPG
Ok, first when I aquired this wood this past spring, I had no time to split. I was cutting and the property owner was loading my truck. I would run home unload onto my racks (stacked) and return to the site and cut and reload. I didn't want a pile of wood on the ground. I had maybe 30 trips total (all free). Second, I'm assuming that you have mastered your drying techniques and are aware of size to drying time techniques. You already know that oak takes 2 years to dry with 4" splits 3years with 6" splits or whatever wood your working with in your conditions. Or you can look at it as an 8" whole log stacked for 6 months that normally takes 1 year to dry split will it now take 10 months or 20% less split dry time.
I have stacked some rounds cut to 18" and they do seem to dry some but not a whole lot. On the other hand I have stacked some larger pieces that were split into large chunks just because the original was too large to handle and get on the trailer and they seem to dry a bit more being they have more wood exposed to the outside air.
The largest rounds in that pic are on the ground because I moved them with a dolly rather than lift them. When I split them a couple months later, they were squirting me in the face so the 2 months they sat there didn't add up to a hill of beans. The stuff on top was showing signs of checking so some drying was happening through the end grain but being bucked 20 inches, the centres were still quite wet. Ash will dry much faster through the bark than many other species but I still split everything that can be split, rigth down to 2 inch rounds.
LLigetfa said:
LOL, And you would be correct, but that was an act of desperation...that happened to work out very well. Still, we should be mindful about working efficiently.
The way you're writing your sentences... whole log 6 months / 1 year to dry / 10 months split is very confusing. So is it 6 months whole and 10 months split and what is it for a year?bsa0021 said:
That's an example for 1 test piece of wood that would normally take 1 year to dry in split form. If I had an identical piece stacked as a round for 6 months, would the round only require 10 months to dry once split ( 20% less dry time) as split pieces of wood.
Me thinks I should not have asked this question.
Me thinks I should not have asked this question.
My wood sits for about a year in rounds till I can split it. Then it sits split for a year before I use it. I don't see it any time savings, or loss, between splitting it right away or a year later. I would rather split it right away but I can't seem to catch up (I split about 15 cords a year).
Based on what others have said, and considering that there is a lot of variation in how long wood takes to season, I think I'd assume that wood doesn't start to season until it is split. Perhaps a round that sits around for 6 months will season 20% faster than a freshly cut round, but since there seems to be way more than 20% variation in how long it takes to season, I'd just ignore the 20% reduction in seasoning time.
Depends on the size of the rounds.
Here, I let rounds anywhere from 8" and smaller just as they are and stack.
Have not had a problem burning them. I will say with the wetter summer we had last year, all my wood, whether split or small rounds, did not dry as well as the previous few summers.
I imagine folks out west where there is little humidity as compared to the east here, have less problems with drying time etc.
Here, I let rounds anywhere from 8" and smaller just as they are and stack.
Have not had a problem burning them. I will say with the wetter summer we had last year, all my wood, whether split or small rounds, did not dry as well as the previous few summers.
I imagine folks out west where there is little humidity as compared to the east here, have less problems with drying time etc.
I've tried to burn oak that was left in rounds and split so I could burn it.
The ends would light up and burn well but the centers that headn't been exposed and seasoned would actually go out and I've have charred chunks. Big ones. Not coals. Unburned chunks.
The rounds were stacked in the woods for 12-18 months right where the trees had been cut down.
Splitting them always got pushed down to the bottom of my 'to do' list.
That's where I learned to only count oak aging time from when it got split.
Whether I could have left them there for four years and had some firewood, I dunno.
Pine- maybe, Oak - I doubt it. Cherry I've left like that rotted.
I'll stack up rounds in the Summer or hot weather so it is at least seasoning on the ends/exposed surfaces.
No way am I feeding mosquitos in the Summer standing in one spot like a Mosquito Magnet splitting firewood.
The ends would light up and burn well but the centers that headn't been exposed and seasoned would actually go out and I've have charred chunks. Big ones. Not coals. Unburned chunks.
The rounds were stacked in the woods for 12-18 months right where the trees had been cut down.
Splitting them always got pushed down to the bottom of my 'to do' list.
That's where I learned to only count oak aging time from when it got split.
Whether I could have left them there for four years and had some firewood, I dunno.
Pine- maybe, Oak - I doubt it. Cherry I've left like that rotted.
I'll stack up rounds in the Summer or hot weather so it is at least seasoning on the ends/exposed surfaces.
No way am I feeding mosquitos in the Summer standing in one spot like a Mosquito Magnet splitting firewood.
bsa0021 said:
I do the same thing I have 20+ cords to split I will keep hualing more in as long as its there and split in the spring.
Every now and then while burning this season I have come across a "sizzler" and it is always a 1-2" round/stick that came out of the same stack as splits that are well seasoned. I split anything I can now.
Damn LLigetfa, I absolutely love your piles of rounds, hardly anything would make me happier than to see that on my driveway with a few hours available to whack at it with my splitter
- Status
