Thanks. A couple of the red oaks I have and still need to get, the bark just falls off in big chunks. I'm seriously considering stopping and asking if I can have the wood I see laying in and around people's yards.
Finding dry wood
- Thread starter NCPT
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Thanks. A couple of the red oaks I have and still need to get, the bark just falls off in big chunks. I'm seriously considering stopping and asking if I can have the wood I see laying in and around people's yards.
Standing dead, can be very good, in an area we were cutting last year, the Forest Circus had fell about 300 standing dead, mostly Hemlock (Tsuga) and I wish that we could have gotten a couple more loads of that, it was Bone dry, and stove ready. Unfortunately a Death in the Family 
, and the woods closing down, due to Extreme Fire Danger prevented us from filling all of our tags.
Although we weren't real close to the Eagle Creek Fire, our area was affected by the same Hot Dry conditions that caused that one to quickly get ugly after some Dumb A$$, thought it would be FUNNY, to throw a lit smoke bomb into a Forest that hadn't seen any measurable RAIN in over 2 months and had Extreme high temps and low humidity
, write off over 50,000 acres of Beautiful Forest, multiple Homes, and close down a Major Interstate Highway for several weeks, not to mention the Economic devastation to some small towns like Cascade Locks, just because someone needs to be reminded to BREATHE several times a day, Fortunately there were no LIVES LOST, but some Hikers were pretty concerned about their safety.
Some People's Kids (Literally)
Doug
, and the woods closing down, due to Extreme Fire Danger prevented us from filling all of our tags.Although we weren't real close to the Eagle Creek Fire, our area was affected by the same Hot Dry conditions that caused that one to quickly get ugly after some Dumb A$$, thought it would be FUNNY, to throw a lit smoke bomb into a Forest that hadn't seen any measurable RAIN in over 2 months and had Extreme high temps and low humidity
, write off over 50,000 acres of Beautiful Forest, multiple Homes, and close down a Major Interstate Highway for several weeks, not to mention the Economic devastation to some small towns like Cascade Locks, just because someone needs to be reminded to BREATHE several times a day, Fortunately there were no LIVES LOST, but some Hikers were pretty concerned about their safety.Some People's Kids (Literally)
Doug
panolo
Seldom right...Always opinionated!
I'm sure NC is humid like MN but here was a standing dead oak that had been in log form for awhile before I split it. It was bark less and I'm guessing when I resplit this fall it will still be 25%. Oak just takes time.
I did find some barkless elm about three weeks ago and bucked it to 16" lengths. Just my luck, the grain has a spiral to it and it's a bearcat to split. Most of the elm I get that's barkless splits rather well. Not this stuff, and it's quite dry inside. It may be destined for the bonfire. Rats!
I split three truckloads of barkless elm and cottonwood before the recent rains and piled up it the same way as NCPT did here except I have pallets underneath. This time I had found round stock that split beautifully. After I bundled a few splits up, one customer said, "Too bad you don't have a tarp big enough to cover it."
To which I replied, "Tarps mean nothing and actually retain moisture and promote fungus. Around here the sun and wind will dry out a random pile in half a day."
April was so dry this year that we had dust storms. It reminded me of the stories people tell about the 1936 dust bowl era.
To which I replied, "Tarps mean nothing and actually retain moisture and promote fungus. Around here the sun and wind will dry out a random pile in half a day."
April was so dry this year that we had dust storms. It reminded me of the stories people tell about the 1936 dust bowl era.
Truly an amazing accomplishment, NCPT. I doubt anyone would disagree with me. It's enough to make me build a house in North Carolina.
Thanks, I'm sure you know the amount of work that goes into this. I'm getting a couple loads of logs delivered Sunday. Red oak and white oak that has just been cut down, I'm going to keep lining the edge of my yard with my stack lol....she said she wanted the backyard fenced in.
I'm bringing in more barkless logs tomorrow after I buck the big rounds to length and noodle cut the really big ones in half. Sometimes I quarter them. These days I try to split barkless logs immediately if I can find them. When barkless, the sun and wind has usually dried even elm and cottonwood so that it can be split without being too stringy. Stacked in a random pile, it's then ready to bundle up for campfires in a less than a month. Anything that I like to save for next fall gets stacked just like your piles.
Does anyone think this is easy work?
Little Al
Addicted to ArboristSite
A moisture meter is your friend & correct stacking & covering you seem to have the stacking worked out covering the top & a foot or so down the sides allowing air /wind to get through the stack works well use down to the lowest 2 layers & restack those higher up in the stack I tend to try to keep the processing /use 2/3 years apart if possible if I come up short I check with the meter under 20%seems to be OK butthe nearer to 16% the better
greenskeeper
ArboristSite Operative
I've got a detached garage so I've got a pile for every other year on each side. Seems to work out well.
As far as cutting and splitting for the same year, it's all about that particular situation.
I'm sure you can get away with only a few months seasoning, but it's better to start getting ahead and letting the wood dry out.
Heck, if you get the fire hot enough, even the green stuff will burn
As far as cutting and splitting for the same year, it's all about that particular situation.
I'm sure you can get away with only a few months seasoning, but it's better to start getting ahead and letting the wood dry out.
Heck, if you get the fire hot enough, even the green stuff will burn
That looks like you have been hard at work! It will pay off, plenty to get through this year and next year and year 3 will be drier and better burning for it. This winter just gone was when my wood going in the stove switched from 12-18 months seasoning but only one summer, to 18-24 months seasoning with 2 summers. The difference was noticeable, I had to burn less or if over fire the stove and I ended up with less than a cup of creosote from 2 flues. Now I'm in 'maintain' the pile not 'grow'....I will need to find another hobby... Or start selling firewood!
Trapper_Pete
ArboristSite Operative
maple will dry quickly split and under cover
a shed with with good air flow is ideal but any shed is better than no shed.
a tarp elevated above the wood to keep it dry and allow good air flow is also good
almost all my wood starts standing dead but one summer in the shed split has been enough to have dry wood that measures about 12% on a fresh split it will be dryer 10% near the top and 15 % in the bottom rows near the ground all dry enough to burn well with very little creosote a cup on a every other year cleaning.
splitting makes a huge difference , I got some wood from a friend it had been in rounds in his shed 2 years and was still 16% in the middle which wasn't a big issue for his OWB but when it failed he didn't replace and how I got that load of wood.
a shed with with good air flow is ideal but any shed is better than no shed.
a tarp elevated above the wood to keep it dry and allow good air flow is also good
almost all my wood starts standing dead but one summer in the shed split has been enough to have dry wood that measures about 12% on a fresh split it will be dryer 10% near the top and 15 % in the bottom rows near the ground all dry enough to burn well with very little creosote a cup on a every other year cleaning.
splitting makes a huge difference , I got some wood from a friend it had been in rounds in his shed 2 years and was still 16% in the middle which wasn't a big issue for his OWB but when it failed he didn't replace and how I got that load of wood.
Been very busy accumulating what I have now. I actually burnt everything in the pics in my first post of this thread.
I shouldn't have any problems burning what I have stacked now. That row closest in the pic, was 2 year old logs when I got them, cut them into rounds last June and got them split and stacked last October.
A wood shed is at the top of the priority list.
Trapper_Pete
ArboristSite Operative
mine is certainly nothing fancy I used 4x4 posts
if building again I would use 2x4 walls 8 inches on center , I ended up building a center wall this way and it works well with the 2x4 8 inches on center each 16 inch split contacts 2 2x4s and no sheathing or siding is needed air flow is great but would be easy to add siding if you wanted to dress it up.
not that you need it in NC but 8 inch on center 2x4 walls also have an incredible snow load
my shed is 8 foot deep 12 foot wide and has a dividing wall down the center that also functions to support the roof that was sagging under the snow load.
perlins 16 in center over an 8 foot span hold decent but on a 12 foot span it wasn't quite enough for my snow load it started sagging after several years.
having it divided into bays that you can fill then use in the order you filled them then start filling again before the rest of the shed is empty. I have a right and a left and use them both in a winter , I have other piles under tarps that I rotate in as I empty a side.
Ideally I would have a 8x24 foot shed in 3 bays but I don't have room for that where it is located .
alleyyooper
Addicted to ArboristSite
I was cutting live trees before the EAB hit the area. Fell them in December January & Febuary, started blocking up in March thru end of April. By May was time to stop fooling around in the woods lawns to mow gardens to plant and maintain.
About thre end of August the dryness would slow the lawn down and the weeds in the garden had given up any chance of getting ahead of me. So I would take the tractor and trailer to the woods filling it up and bring to my pole barn where there was a dirt floor horse stall, ( no I didn't have no stinking hay burners.) to unload that fire wood. By the end of Sept I would have all the wood from the woods in the pole barn.
It gets hot in that pole barn and that fire wood would dry really good. But life time things change, I retired had 4 dogs and the hourse stalls in the barn became dog pens for my buddies.
I still cut the fire wood the same months as when I was working, Still brought it to the house in the same months.
I would just throw it in a pile by the basement walk out.
Wood didn't burn any worse than it did having dried out in the pole barn.
Of course my wood cutting today is Dead standing Ash. Almost all I burn is standing dead Ash since 1999. I start blocking up any that may have fell during the summer before hauling in the fall.
Even though I am retired I really hate finger printing the wood over and over again. I bring it to the house and splitter. split off the trailer and throw in the pile.
It stays there till I bring it in thre house for the furnace. I bring in enough to last about a week and a half or more if it isn't to cold. I had a Southern Aire wood furnace in the house when we bought It was over 35 years old near as i could tell when I replaced it in 2013 with an England 28-3500 firnace. It uses less wood than that southern aire did.
I am on a one year plan and will stay there till I am to old to do fire wood.
Al
About thre end of August the dryness would slow the lawn down and the weeds in the garden had given up any chance of getting ahead of me. So I would take the tractor and trailer to the woods filling it up and bring to my pole barn where there was a dirt floor horse stall, ( no I didn't have no stinking hay burners.) to unload that fire wood. By the end of Sept I would have all the wood from the woods in the pole barn.
It gets hot in that pole barn and that fire wood would dry really good. But life time things change, I retired had 4 dogs and the hourse stalls in the barn became dog pens for my buddies.
I still cut the fire wood the same months as when I was working, Still brought it to the house in the same months.
I would just throw it in a pile by the basement walk out.
Wood didn't burn any worse than it did having dried out in the pole barn.
Of course my wood cutting today is Dead standing Ash. Almost all I burn is standing dead Ash since 1999. I start blocking up any that may have fell during the summer before hauling in the fall.
Even though I am retired I really hate finger printing the wood over and over again. I bring it to the house and splitter. split off the trailer and throw in the pile.
It stays there till I bring it in thre house for the furnace. I bring in enough to last about a week and a half or more if it isn't to cold. I had a Southern Aire wood furnace in the house when we bought It was over 35 years old near as i could tell when I replaced it in 2013 with an England 28-3500 firnace. It uses less wood than that southern aire did.
I am on a one year plan and will stay there till I am to old to do fire wood.
Al
