How long to season oak for firewood

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - How long to season oak for firewood

Posted: 11/29/2013 11:17:01 AM EDT

I posted here in outdoor forum because google is for pussies.

Posted: 11/29/2013 11:21:07 AM EDT

[#1]

I have burned it after almost a year, it was good, wait 2 years and it starts easy and burns better, I am going to start splitting some from spring of 2012, store it in rounds then split it when it is drier. The rounds hold up better to the weather. Also when they split you can finish the job easier

Posted: 11/29/2013 11:51:14 AM EDT

[#2]

Down in Texas 1 year.

Posted: 11/29/2013 12:33:31 PM EDT

[#3]

my mom got a small load a few years ago. been under a tarp since then. burns noticeably better this year than last.

Posted: 11/29/2013 12:53:28 PM EDT

[#4]

faster, hotter and brighter, green wood, needs to have the water burned off before it burns, so lower heat output

Posted: 11/29/2013 12:53:33 PM EDT

[#5]

I year minimum

Posted: 11/29/2013 1:00:25 PM EDT

[#6]

I am splitting next years wood (red oak) right now. I store it in open racks, fully exposed to the weather and most importantly Texas sun. 10 months of that and it is fine.

I heat exclusively with wood .

Posted: 11/29/2013 1:35:38 PM EDT

[#7]

The old timers around here always tell me that oak dries 2" per year from outside to in.. So if you have a 8" round, it would take 2 years to fully dry. Not sure how true it is but sounds about right to me. Of course that depends on your climate.

That being said, I have 3 cord of red oak thats been drying for two years that I am going to start digging into this year. Should be nice firewood.

I heat exclusively with wood too.... But I'm in Maine

It's 18F here at the moment. Should be around 5F by morning.

Posted: 11/29/2013 1:41:09 PM EDT

[#8]

One year doesn't quite cut it here in CT but then it spends 2 or 3 months frozen instead of drying.

Leave it in a pile uncovered the first year and most of the bark falls off making it lots cleaner , get it under cover 4 or 5 months before you start burning and

you are good to go .

Can't say I always get that organized but that is what I aim for.

Many folks leave it in a pile on the ground and tarp it but although it drys some but that is never as good as getting it into a shed or a porch

Posted: 11/29/2013 2:16:24 PM EDT

[#9]

Thanks all for the quick answers. Some of these monsters are so big I will be lucky to be able to use them by 2015. I am in Florida so I don't use it for heat exclusively but I did stock enough during 2006 hurricane season with all the oaks that went down that I had enough wood to go camping, heat in winter and stocked my buddy to the gills. I did burn up a poulan in the process. Well keep warm everyone and thanks again.

Posted: 11/29/2013 2:26:55 PM EDT

[#10]

if you mean wide, you can spiral split them, knock off the outside until it gets smaller to split it in half

Posted: 11/30/2013 6:30:11 AM EDT

[#11]

Stihl buy once cry once. Oak get it off the ground and under cover, 2 years is best but 1 will do.

Posted: 12/2/2013 3:49:36 AM EDT

[#12]

Wood left in ground contact will rot to an unusable condition in a year or less.

Split and stacked out, provided it is not in contact with the ground will last indefinitely.

If you have wood from 2009 that has not been split, and has continually been in ground contact you are going to find that even though it looks ok, it will be punky.

Fell a tree, process and stack, move on to the next. Wood simply does not improve once it hits the dirt.

Posted: 12/2/2013 10:37:01 AM EDT

[#13]

I did build a rack back when I first got all the oak. I let it sit for 4 or 5 months . My buddy that I gave a bunch of oak to helped me split it by bringing a splitter over on weekend. Can I split freshly cut oak or would I be better off to let it dry some? Thanks.

Posted: 12/2/2013 3:29:06 PM EDT

[#14]

High efficiency wood stove manufacturers recommend at least 2 years for oak. It's easier to split it when it's dry.

Posted: 12/2/2013 3:55:38 PM EDT

[#15]

Quote History

Quoted:
I did build a rack back when I first got all the oak. I let it sit for 4 or 5 months . My buddy that I gave a bunch of oak to helped me split it by bringing a splitter over on weekend. Can I split freshly cut oak or would I be better off to let it dry some? Thanks.

View Quote

Lived in Florida for a little more than four years so my advice was specific to the location. If you split it wet it will dry faster and if you wait until it seasons to split it will burn longer. Since it rains so frequently in Florida it is best to cover the wood so it does not rot.

Posted: 12/3/2013 7:28:52 AM EDT

[#16]

I burn mostly Aspen, but for longer burning night loads in the stove, I cut a P/U load of oak up the mountain at 8,500 ft in early September and I am burning it now in the woodstove. It is still very slightly green, but it doesn't take long for it to season here as it is very dry. We can only cut the native mountain scrub oak that is under 6" in diameter, so 6" and app. 12-14" long pieces don't take long to season here at 7,000ft.

Posted: 12/3/2013 9:48:07 AM EDT

[#17]

Quote History

Quoted:
I did build a rack back when I first got all the oak. I let it sit for 4 or 5 months . My buddy that I gave a bunch of oak to helped me split it by bringing a splitter over on weekend. Can I split freshly cut oak or would I be better off to let it dry some? Thanks.

View Quote

Fresh oak splits just fine and will cure out quicker than leaving it in the round. The more surface area you expose the faster it will cure out.

Gnarly knotty stuff that will split green, will not split dry as well.

Posted: 12/11/2013 6:46:31 PM EDT

[#18]

Where do you guys store the wood that prevents it from becoming a snake pit? I'd worry about copperheads being in it.

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - How long to season oak for firewood

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