Hey all! Still no stove installed yet (still plugging away on the addition) But I have been putting up firewood when the opportunity presents itself. There's quite a few standing-dead oak and cherry on my 20 acres, and I've diced up a few of them.
The other day I cut up a standing dead oak tree. The first two rounds were "Overload" on my harbor freight moisture meter. The rest of the tree was 15-20%. And yes - those measurements were taken from both the ends of the freshly cut rounds and from the faces of fresh splits. The tree next to it only had a few sucker branches alive about 6 feet up - even the top of the tree is still to wet to burn right now.
I also started cutting up a big oak that fell at least 5 years ago. She was a big one - at least 2' at the trunk. Most of the trunk and branches have been held up off the ground. I bucked up the entire top and probably half the trunk before the saw ran out of fuel and I had to go to work. (%$^&*#@ midnights)
I split the smallish rounds from the upper branches, and again got consistent readings in the mid-teens, the spits are light and sound like bowling pins. As I was splitting I was asking myself. "is this really necessary?"
Seriously - if the tree is dead and dry, is there any reason to split a round, as long as it fits in the stove?
Joe
The other day I cut up a standing dead oak tree. The first two rounds were "Overload" on my harbor freight moisture meter. The rest of the tree was 15-20%. And yes - those measurements were taken from both the ends of the freshly cut rounds and from the faces of fresh splits. The tree next to it only had a few sucker branches alive about 6 feet up - even the top of the tree is still to wet to burn right now.
I also started cutting up a big oak that fell at least 5 years ago. She was a big one - at least 2' at the trunk. Most of the trunk and branches have been held up off the ground. I bucked up the entire top and probably half the trunk before the saw ran out of fuel and I had to go to work. (%$^&*#@ midnights)
I split the smallish rounds from the upper branches, and again got consistent readings in the mid-teens, the spits are light and sound like bowling pins. As I was splitting I was asking myself. "is this really necessary?"
Seriously - if the tree is dead and dry, is there any reason to split a round, as long as it fits in the stove?
Joe