Venting on oak drying time....

[Slow1]

Last year about this time I bought a pile of oak - some was 3+ years old and just over a cord of it was fresh cut. All of it was cut/split very large so given my time constraints I re-cut ends off the dry wood and resplit as necessary and that wood has been excellent burning.

Now the green stuff I stacked up and left to deal with this year. I knew it wouldn't be ready to burn now, but as I started to dig into it and re-split some pieces, sort the longer pieces for re-cutting I knew right away I was in trouble. These splits were simply too heavy. I split a few and got some moisture meter readings. Sure enough - seems to be around 30%mc on average - best was 28% and a few around 34%. I didn't have a MM when I stacked these so I don't know what they would have measured out at then, but obviously being fresh cut it would have been higher.

So... we had a damp summer last summer, and I had left them large. My original plan was to get them re-split and cut to fit this spring (now) and get them in the pile to burn this winter, but I'm now wondering if they will even fit 'marginal' status by them.

So frustrating. I MIGHT have enough other wood to get by next winter - but it isn't all good hardwood - much of it is poplar and pine that was split to size last year so it will have 12-18months on it - haven't measured MC on any of these other piles but I am concerned that if we don't have a very dry summer I'm going to have a rough burning season next year. The only consolation (if there is any in this) is that likely this is better than anything I could buy as "seasoned"...

Time to watch CL like a hawk for some old wood piles and hope someone is moving or getting rid of their stove...

 

[oldspark]

Last year about this time I bought a pile of oak - some was 3+ years old and just over a cord of it was fresh cut. All of it was cut/split very large so given my time constraints I re-cut ends off the dry wood and resplit as necessary and that wood has been excellent burning.

Now the green stuff I stacked up and left to deal with this year. I knew it wouldn't be ready to burn now, but as I started to dig into it and re-split some pieces, sort the longer pieces for re-cutting I knew right away I was in trouble. These splits were simply too heavy. I split a few and got some moisture meter readings. Sure enough - seems to be around 30%mc on average - best was 28% and a few around 34%. I didn't have a MM when I stacked these so I don't know what they would have measured out at then, but obviously being fresh cut it would have been higher.

So... we had a damp summer last summer, and I had left them large. My original plan was to get them re-split and cut to fit this spring (now) and get them in the pile to burn this winter, but I'm now wondering if they will even fit 'marginal' status by them.

So frustrating. I MIGHT have enough other wood to get by next winter - but it isn't all good hardwood - much of it is poplar and pine that was split to size last year so it will have 12-18months on it - haven't measured MC on any of these other piles but I am concerned that if we don't have a very dry summer I'm going to have a rough burning season next year. The only consolation (if there is any in this) is that likely this is better than anything I could buy as "seasoned"...

Time to watch CL like a hawk for some old wood piles and hope someone is moving or getting rid of their stove...

Should be dry enough after one more summer, stack it so wind can flow through it and the sun hits it and It should be fine, my wood I have had stacked and split for two to four weeks already shows signs of a considerable amount of drying (Bur Oak).

 

[Slow1]

Should be dry enough after one more summer, stack it so wind can flow through it and the sun hits it and It should be fine, my wood I have had stacked and split for two to four weeks already shows signs of a considerable amount of drying (Bur Oak).

That is the general plan - I'll get it all cut down to size and re-split as necessary. Then I will be stacking it back up again. Pretty much were it was but "one pile over" as it is since I'll be processing it from pile to pile as I work. The area doesn't get a lot of sun (small yard, sun is at a premium) but it does get a lot of wind in that area so it is pretty good. I'll be stacking more cross stacks this time to try and help with the airflow (and stack stability too). Somehow I don't think I'll find them in the 15-20% range by this fall though - maybe I can avoid burning them for another full year...

I just would have been happier if I'd found them to be in the 25% range not so darn heavy. I know - everyone already warned me Perhaps it was the contrast that hit me - I just finished re-stacking/straightening up the leftovers from last year which is all 3 or 4 years dried and those splits are so much lighter that when I went to grab these they felt like bricks. Not quite a bad as the fresh splits I did later in the weekend, but still - far from where I had hoped/expected them to be.

 

[ChrisNJ]

Yea I have seen the same thing recently, resplit some pieces from last year and it looks like fresh cut wood, I really hesitate to gather oak anymore, unless its free

On the bright side there appears to be an abundance of free wood out there so my cup is filling anyway. Although my stacks are nowhere near as pretty as most that post here due to all the different stuff gathered as a scrounger ;-P

 

[NH_Wood]

I've just finished resplitting/restacking 3 cord of red oak over the past 2 weeks, and have 3 more to go. I split/stacked the wood last May, and resplitting shows super wet inside. I had split large as well, and now know not to, unless the splits will sit for a long time. I have 5 cord of white ash (with a little cherry and white birch) set for next burn season, so I resplit the oak to make sure it has a chance to season well before the 2011/2012 burn season. that will give the splits and rounds about 11 months of drying time when large, and an additional ~ 18 months drying split smaller - I hope that ~ 2.5 years will do it. I also had the oak stacked on 14 pallets, in one large double pallet row (7 pallets long). I should have left a lot more air space - the inner wood was not getting any air - so.....as I've resplit the big stuff, I'm restacking after moving the pallets and giving each pallets about 2 feet space around them. The stacks are in a high sun/wind area, so I think I'll be in good shape now for drying. When oak is seasoned, it's spectacular, it's just getting there! If I weren't 4 years ahead at this point, I think I'd avoid oak - especially if buying it for the next burn season. Who wants to fidgit with underseasoned oak in the stove? Not me! I hope you have good luck drying out the wood! Cheers!

 

[velvetfoot]

I've found the same thing with year old oak just recently. Luckily I have other wood, but moving this stuff around is tedious.

 

[oldspark]

I leave 3 to 5 ft between rows and I think it makes a noticeable difference, I am lucky as I have on the ground dead oak that is well on its way to being dry.

 

[Slow1]

I also had the oak stacked on 14 pallets, in one large double pallet row (7 pallets long). I should have left a lot more air space - the inner wood was not getting any air - so.....as I've resplit the big stuff, I'm restacking after moving the pallets and giving each pallets about 2 feet space around them.

Did you really notice much of a difference in the wood that was on the outside of the stack and the splits in the middle of that pile there? I realize that it seems to make sense that the middle would dry slower when stacked like that, but I wonder just how much you could tell as you were re-splitting it all?

 

[rdust]

I'd think the stuff in the upper 20's will be pretty good if we have a decent summer. Now the stuff in the mid 30's will be a crap shoot. I think if it gets in the lower 20's it will work pretty well.

 

[NH_Wood]

I also had the oak stacked on 14 pallets, in one large double pallet row (7 pallets long). I should have left a lot more air space - the inner wood was not getting any air - so.....as I've resplit the big stuff, I'm restacking after moving the pallets and giving each pallets about 2 feet space around them.

Did you really notice much of a difference in the wood that was on the outside of the stack and the splits in the middle of that pile there? I realize that it seems to make sense that the middle would dry slower when stacked like that, but I wonder just how much you could tell as you were re-splitting it all?

I didn't notice a big difference in the dryness of the center once resplit, but a big differnce in terms of dampness of the outside of the splits, wetness under the bark, and fungi growning on the ends of the splits. So.....I figure the center splits are sitting in a much more humid environment, and therefore must be drying slower - I'm guessing quite a bit slower. But.....the stacks I have on propert are my first stacks I've ever had - next year will be my first full year burning - so, perhaps the oak would have been fine regardless of resplitting/restacking - I just didn't want to take the chance! Cheers!

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Have patience Slow! It will dry and hopefully will dry enough so you can burn in January-February when the real cold is here.

I have to tell you about yesterday when I went to the wood pile to get some for the stove. I thought that row was all a mix of maple, cherry and elm. Suddenly I grabbed a split and WOW! That thing was heavy compared to the rest of the wood. Sure enough, it was a red oak I had put in there. It has been there about 6 years at least. It might be interesting to see what the moisture is on that but I don't have a meter. I'm sure it will be nice next winter though. lol