Standing Dead

[bigivan]

How long should I let standing dead timber season before using.

 

[branchbuzzer]

Well, that depends.....


Usually a year is the standard, but some trees hold water more than others. Lots of factors can affect how long.

What type of wood is it?

 

[Rob1276]

I've cut oak that has been down and off the ground held up by the limbs that has been down 4 years the first inch is rotted but the center still green as can be

 

[8433jeff]

If its standing, its still wicking water. A better question is how long do you have to let it season after its cut. As with any other wood, thats going to depend on many other factors, but its considerable less time than green.

 

[CrappieKeith]

Think of the trunk which is like a bunch of straws full of water....until it is bucked and split the water will stay right were it is.
There was a thread where a guy had 8 foot lengths and after 3 years he bucked up those logs...oak I believe and hit them with a moisture meter....they measured 35% which is still pretty wet.

Limbs might be dry ,but forget burning the trunk until it has a year to season or more...depending on the species.

 

[flyboy553]

It really depends on how long the wood has been dead. Other than blow downs, I cut exclusively standing dead or down red oak. I have found if the standing dead oak has been dead so long that the bark has come off, a lot of the tree is ready to burn right away. I am talking about moisture contents @20% and less.

That part of the tree not ready to burn, once blocked, split and stacked will be ready to burn in a few months, not years. Trees that are on the ground dead, with bark off will sometimes be wet. Not green, wet. With the bark off, the wood is not water proof, so the tree will wick moisture from the ground. Again, once cut split and stacked it will dry incredibly fast.

You can argue this point til the cows come home, go right ahead. I am just telling you what I have learned over 30 plus years of cutting oak for firewood. Things could be different in different climates, for sure. I am just relating my findings according to the climate we have here in MN.

Ted

 

[Somesawguy]

It still needs to season. We cut exclusively standing dead or blowdowns, and they all have moisture. Just remember, they will rot before they completely dry. Rotten trees are dangerous. Don't forget your hardhat. Those dead branches don't stay with the trunk on the way down.

 

[deerlakejens]

I agree with Flyboy, if the bark is loose on standing dead trees and they haven't become punky, the wood will have a reasonably low moisture content and be ready to burn in a month or two. I got access this fall to some wind tipped doug firs that were in that condition, bucked and split them in late October and the wood lights off with a few twists of newspaper now. Actually, I started burning it in mid December.

 

[jrider]

A couple of years ago I cut down a standing dead red oak - about 24 inches in diameter. Tree was dead approximately 15 years, no bark left and no limbs, just a truck pretty much. I was expecting to cut it and burn it pretty much right away. Once I got about 3 inches into the wood, it was as green and wet as could be.
As you can see by reading these posts so far, results will vary so just cut/split and see what you have.

 

[Whitespider]

I also agree with flyboy553. If it is standing-dead (not a blow-down) and the bark is falling off, most all of the top, or anything except really large main beams will be ready to burn the day it's felled. What is wet will season (dry) relatively quick after splitting... sometimes just a couple weeks or so. There's a big difference between "wet" and "green".

Trees that have been felled live, or blown-down live, can lay for years and still be just as green as the day the hit the ground. I worked a huge oak this fall that had been felled three or four years ago, most of the bark had fallen off and it was just as green-wet as those I felled this year.

Gravity has a lot to do with "pushing" the moisture from a standing-dead, and dry ground will "pull" it from standing-dead. We had really dry, almost drought conditions in late summer and I took down several standing-dead during September that were bone-dry clean to the ground level. In October we received a few inches of rain and the standing-dead became quite wet again in the main trunk up to about 12-15 above ground.

 

[savageactor7]

In the winter I cut and burn standing dead, the top half is good to go...sometimes the top 2/3ds. The bigger the tree the more water gets sucked up by osmosis I'm guessing.


Sometimes after splitting the standing dead wood I'll lay some questionable splits under the stove for a day. Between the hot stove and the dry indoor atmosphere it's amazing how much the wood will dry out. Now that would be standing dead wood only.

With the newer stoves I find it worthwhile now to grab those smaller trees...they're easy takes and burn nice.

 

[stumpy75]

My experiance with standing dead ash (3-4 years old, with bark falling off) is that the upper parts of the tree will be ready to burn, but the main stem will still need 6 months after splitting to be nice and dry.

 

[branchbuzzer]

I guess I assumed it was already cut....too early in the a.m. for me I guess.

 

[Sal C]

Depends on what type of wood it is. If its pine then yeah, its ready to burn as soon as it hits the ground. If its a slimy ass wood like oak then it may need too age a while..

I had white oak split and stacked and came from standing dead trees that were barkless (probly standing 10-15 years) and it still needed to be aged.

Also, it depends on what the tree died from. Ants, Wilt, Ashbore, Dutch Elm, storm damage, etc.

 

[AIM]

I have learned that "ready to burn" is directly related to how much wood I have on hand.

 

[bbxlr8]

I have learned that "ready to burn" is directly related to how much wood I have on hand.

I couldn't agree more! It's a sliding scale...

 

[buildmyown]

To many factors just took down a standing dead pine no limbs or bark. Bucked and split it tried burning a few splits that day and it didnt want to burn to well. Stacked it in the sun and a week latter i can lite it with a match.

 

[Bushmans]

Tough call. Cut 'em open and see how they look, feel and sound. I am cutting Maples that were felled for lumber two years ago and the 12 inch to 14 inch is punky on the outside but green in the middle. Some of the smaller stuff is sounding off nicely once the punk is split off and you get to the middle. The big 'uns down at the end around 20 inches are too big to pick up so I tried mauling them and it just bounces right off. Green and wet! Almost all of it is up off the ground.
I really rely on the weight of the split and the sound it makes when knocked together. I am rookie at this but even I can tell when the sound is right and when it's not. A moisture meter would just be fun to see how right (or wrong) I am!

 

[Rockland Farm]

This is one of those questions with too many variables to be able to give a definitive answer . As you can tell by the posts so far . Where you are , wet year , dry year , species of wood ect. ect. . I have cut standing dead trees that were the same species and standing side by side . They had been dead the same amount of time and were about the same size . And one was a great deal dryer than the other . I have no idea why . I cut a good deal of standing dead and it is never a given that it will be ready to burn .

 

[ken45]

Wow, I am amazed at the variations here. I cut dead standing red oak (bark long gone) and it's been great burning as soon as I got it split.

Ken