daveswoodhauler said:Funny, I usually never get oak...so when 2 oaks came down in December of 2008 at my grandparents I jumped on top of it.
So, the trees were cut in Spring of 2009, split and stacked single rows in October 2009. (In the sun)
OK, just grabbed a split out and resplit..checked with my moisture meter and it was reading 34%.....lol
Checked some maple and ash I have, and they were reading 18-20% when resplit.
I'm done with this oak stuff....it might keep a fire going a long time, but I don't have 4 years to sit and wait to let it get below 25% lol
Maybe its just this northeast climate...telling my wood guy next time that he can keep all the oak for someone else.
Burn on folks
Burn that oak. Sure, dry seasoned wood is much better and will put out more heat, but you gotta burn what ya got. IMO, to many people worry over wood not being in the *recommended* dryness percentage. I cut and split my wood when I get the chance and generally stay 1 year ahead. If my wood is not 15-20% on the dryness scale so be it, it gets thrown in the stove anyway. If anything, save the wetter wood for overnight burns. We shut our stoves down anyway to have a bed of coals in the morning for an easy restart. Slightly wetter wood may aid in a bit longer burn for those coals in the morning. Just sweep your chimney a bit more if your worried about creosote. I can be a worry wart over the simplest things, but wet wood is not one of them.