Will this hickory be worth splitting?

[3dogsrule]

Friend had some bucked hickory he was going to use in his smoker but ended up not using it (long story), so he told me I could have it. It's been bucked for 1 - 1.5 years, standing on its ends, all are about 16" in length. Picked it up today, felt nice and light when I was loading it, split relatively easily with a maul. When I split some pieces, parts of the wood would chip off and not split all the way through. But when I stuck my cheapie moisture meter inside a fresh split, it was OL. Question is, will this wood ever dry out, if so anytime soon, or is the wood too far gone?

Karen

 

[smokinj]

Only one way to find out Split it.

 

[smokinj]

Only one way to find out Split it.

 

[Kenster]

I'm not sure what 'OL' means on your meter. Does it indicate a high moisture content? Hickory will take forever to season unsplit. Since it's been cut for a year or so, I would go ahead and split it now and it 'might' be ready for next winter. Definitely in two years and it will be the best wood you've ever burned. But it's interesting that you say the bucks feel light. How thick are they? The hickory I'm burning this year has been split for two years and each quarter round split still feels very heavy and that's with an 11% MC.

 

[3dogsrule]

Yes. OL is over the limit of the meter, somewhere above 45%. My friend who gave the wood to me had said he couldn't believe how light they were, and he felt they wouldn't be worth using in his smoker (guess he meant he thought they'd burn up too fast). I just didn't want to waste my energy splitting it when I've got good wood I need to be splitting. But if it'll dry out eventually, I'll go ahead and split it. I just have memories though of getting some other hand-me-down wood (probably oak) that ended up never drying out before it just rotted, couldn't hardly get it to burn in a fire pit. And sorry, I'm probably not using the right terminology and I'm a pretty inexperienced burner, but I know how picky my stove can be! I've had wet wood, dry wood and rotten, falling apart, bug eaten wood; I don't know what there is between dry and rotten.

Karen

 

[3dogsrule]

Here's a pic...

 

[smokinj]

Here's a pic...

Not Good!

 

[Battenkiller]

Such a shame to lose nice hickory like that. Fit for neither smoker nor stove. It's reading OL because it is punk supreme, and saturated to boot. Take forever to dry out, and then it will show it's true worth. Nothing.

Hickory is great wood, but it's almost all sapwood, so it goes to punk quick. Same with ash. I asked my wood guy to bring me some un-bucked ash logs so I could turn big salad bowls with them. He stuck five beautiful white ash logs about 16-20" and five feet long in with the load of firewood. They sat on end (same mistake) on my concrete patio for two years, then I cut them up and saw they were now junk. I tried to split some and it did the same thing your hickory did. Put it in the shed until summer and burned it in the fire pit.

 

[3dogsrule]

Ah, so that's the definition of punked, huh? Seen the term on this board plenty of times before, just didn't know exactly what punked wood looked like. And am sorry to know that's what I've got! Bummer. Well, I bucked up a fallen hickory a few weeks ago and have been splitting it as I've had time, and I knew that what I've been splitting looked nothing like this stuff, which is what made me worry.

Well, thanks for the advice fellas, I'll either haul it to deer camp or toss it to the side, and not waste my energy on splitting it. Sigh....

Karen

 

[Wood Duck]

you could call it punk, rot, or fungus, but I'd say that wood has seen better days. It'll burn. I'd save it for the fire pit outdoors or scatter it around my woods to rot.

 

[CTYank]

That wood won't yield any significant heat, but it'll smell nice downwind. Your neighbors will appreciate it.

 

[ansehnlich1]

If it was a half cord or so I'd probably split it, stack it, cover the tops, and maybe burn it in the spring. I sure wouldn't put tooooo much work into it though.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Karen, you still might be able to burn a little bit of it if you want but you won't get the heat that you would have gotten before it turned punky. You have also learned what many have learned; that wood is not a sponge to soak up water....unless it is punky. But if kept out of the rain and in the wind, it might dry out enough to burn some and spring/fall would be the best time to mix it in. If there is not much, then just toss it and move on.

 

[Kenster]

Karen, that picture said it all. Explains why it was so light weight and why you're getting a high moisture reading. I wouldn't put too much effort into this wood. You won't get much heat out of it but it will look fine and smell nice if you burn it out in a fire pit. This is way beyond being a little bit punky. It looks like it's rotted through and through. Don't be afraid of a little punk that you may find on a standing dead or recently downed tree, especially hickory. Sometimes I find about an inch thick ring around very solid good wood. A punky hickory buck will still feel very heavy for its size. If you want to take the trouble, you can knock off the punk with a hatchet OR just don't worry about it. Punky wood WILL soak up water like a sponge so don't let anything you'll burn in the next few days get wet.

Disclaimer: When I say "You can knock off the punk with a hatchet...." I am NOT talking about terminating the kid next door. Just want to be clear on that. ;-)

 

[3dogsrule]

Karen, that picture said it all. Explains why it was so light weight and why you're getting a high moisture reading. I wouldn't put too much effort into this wood. You won't get much heat out of it but it will look fine and smell nice if you burn it out in a fire pit. This is way beyond being a little bit punky. It looks like it's rotted through and through. Don't be afraid of a little punk that you may find on a standing dead or recently downed tree, especially hickory. Sometimes I find about an inch thick ring around very solid good wood. A punky hickory buck will still feel very heavy for its size. If you want to take the trouble, you can knock off the punk with a hatchet OR just don't worry about it. Punky wood WILL soak up water like a sponge so don't let anything you'll burn in the next few days get wet.

Disclaimer: When I say "You can knock off the punk with a hatchet...." I am NOT talking about terminating the kid next door. Just want to be clear on that. ;-)

Glad you said that about a little punk is okay, because the good hickory I'm splitting now is punked about an inch into it, but the "meat" looks good and solid. But I was starting to get concerned as to if the wood would hold up until it's dry enough to burn, or if this was the 'before' picture and the hand-me-down wood I got today would be the 'after'.

Would have preferred you left the disclaimer off because the neighbor's kid gets on my d~*n nerves...

Karen

 

[Kenster]

I've got punky hickory that I split two years ago and last year. The stuff that's two years old is kinda ugly but it sure burns sweet. And it's free heat that I cut produced myself out of my own woods. I kinda like that.

 

[gzecc]

Here's a pic...

Don't waste your time with that decomposed pulp!