White oak burns up fast -normal?

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

kyrob

ArboristSite Member
Joined
May 2, 2010
Messages
93
Reaction score
21
Location
KY
I just started burning some white oak that I have had c/s/s since March of 2010. I can load the stove and it will be down to coals in about 3 to 4 hours and it doesn't seem to get as hot as other woods I have burned. I can't get an overnight burn with it like I did with hackberry and cherry. Is this normal for white oak? I know it is white oak but I always heard/read that it was a great burning wood but so far I am not to fond of it and I have 3 or more cords of the stuff out the back door. What's your experience with it?
 
I've always found white oak to burn hotter and longer than cherry. Not sure about hackberry.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Should blow cherry out of the water, it is a denser wood so might need more air, how are your stove top temps compared to the other woods you have?
 
By the time the secondary burn tubes kick in, the wood is burned up quite a bit. Not sure what I am doing wrong but something is definately different than the other woods I have burned. Guess I'll keep trying and hopefully get some better burn time. As far as other wood temps, I have had the top at 900 F a few times last year on accident. I would usually let it get to around 600 F and damper it down and let it run. This year, I don't think it has hit 600 F a single time without having to add more wood to get it there as the first load will have already burned up. It's sounds crazy but I'm lucky like that.
 
Like said in earlier posts. White Oak is dense hardwood. Could be in a deteriorated or dotty condition causing rapid burn. Hackberry is a soft wood, that burns fast and leaves lots of ashes. So, something is going on with that White Oak.
 
maybe it is not white oak--are you 100% sure. White Oak is a great wood to burn--hot and long.

But if you are 100% sure it is white oak maybe the pieces are a lot smaller and really dry and burn more like kindling which put out a lot of heat in a short amount of time.
 
Yes, it is definately white oak. The pieces vary in size but are not small by no means. It is solid and not punky or anything like that. I don't have any cherry left but it seems heavier than the cherry did. My moisture meter has dead batteries but I am pretty sure it's dry as it has been stacked for close to 4 years. I have to go to the farm but when I get back I will try and post pics of when I load the stove and what it looks like after a couple hours. Thanks for the replies.
 
By the time the secondary burn tubes kick in, the wood is burned up quite a bit. Not sure what I am doing wrong but something is definately different than the other woods I have burned. Guess I'll keep trying and hopefully get some better burn time. As far as other wood temps, I have had the top at 900 F a few times last year on accident. I would usually let it get to around 600 F and damper it down and let it run. This year, I don't think it has hit 600 F a single time without having to add more wood to get it there as the first load will have already burned up. It's sounds crazy but I'm lucky like that.

Out of curiosity what are the secondary burn tubes? Does it have something to do with catalytic vs non cat stove?
 
4x4, modern "EPA" stoves supply hot air to the top of the combustion chamber through "secondary burn tubes" to burn off unburnt wood gas (smoke) from the primary fire.
It cleans up the exhaust and makes some serious heat, especially the first few hours, 'til the wood chars/coals up.

To the OP, I have been burning some White Oak recently too, I have also been disappointed with heat output/burn times too, VS the Hickory and misc. that I was burning before. Not saying it's bad, just not that much better either...
 
4x4, modern "EPA" stoves supply hot air to the top of the combustion chamber through "secondary burn tubes" to burn off unburnt wood gas (smoke) from the primary fire.
It cleans up the exhaust and makes some serious heat, especially the first few hours, 'til the wood chars/coals up.

To the OP, I have been burning some White Oak recently too, I have also been disappointed with heat output/burn times too, VS the Hickory and misc. that I was burning before. Not saying it's bad, just not that much better either...
Thank you. So in general are the epa stoves better then the older non epa stoves?

Also, I wonder if the epa stoves have something to do with white oak not burning great?
 
+1 on being not as impressed with white oak as I wanted to be. Like you I've found in my basement furnace that its difficult to get all the "useful" heat out of it. I always thought it was because I hadn't seasoned it enough previous years, but what I'm burning now has been cut and stored for 4-5 years. The right amount of air to it seems to be key. It will coal up up and let out medium heat for a long time, but my blowers don't kick on enough. Then if I let a little more air to it, the firebox is roaring up to 700 degrees and I don't want to walk away from it! Makes a man want to swear. I'm a little spoiled because I've been burning ash which is as predictable as they come. I just mix it with others and it works well, but by itself it can be tricky. I'm burning swamp white oak by the way. I'd certainly take it over many other woods, I just expected it to be better!
 
Hmm - I've burned a lot of white oak the last couple of years and have found it to burn very well. I have two stoves with secondary combustion systems though, not a furnace.
 
What little White Oak I've burned was usually mixed. Plenty of Red Oak, Pin Oak, Post Oak, and some Hickory here.
 
White oak burns longer and hotter than any other wood we have here, except Hickory and it's close. I get shorter burn times with red Oak, red Elm, Walnut & Cherry.
 
Thank you. So in general are the epa stoves better then the older non epa stoves?

Also, I wonder if the epa stoves have something to do with white oak not burning great?
Most people think so (ahem, 'cept spydy! ;)) In general they do burn cleaner and for most people will use 1/3 to 1/2 less wood for the same heat output. But it seems that some people (ahem...) maybe people with a higher heat load, find that they (EPA stoves) will leave a large pile of hot coals for hours, putting out medium heat, and then don't have room in the firebox for a fresh load 'til the coals burn down, but in the mean time, medium heat output is not enough, the house is cooling off, so ya either gotta put on s'more clothes or dig those coals out (thereby wasting them) to put in a new load of wood. This is not typical results though. Almost every time people have this issue with a EPA burner, it is from pushing it too hard, usually during a cold snap, or the size of the stove/furnace is just generally too small for the house.

Regarding the Oak, I doubt it, my furnace is not EPA...I think it is just White Oak is just so hyped up, high expectations and all...
 
+1 on being not as impressed with white oak as I wanted to be. Like you I've found in my basement furnace that its difficult to get all the "useful" heat out of it. I always thought it was because I hadn't seasoned it enough previous years, but what I'm burning now has been cut and stored for 4-5 years. The right amount of air to it seems to be key. It will coal up up and let out medium heat for a long time, but my blowers don't kick on enough.
I'd certainly take it over many other woods, I just expected it to be better!
My results exactly! +1!
 
Regarding the Oak, I doubt it, my furnace is not EPA...I think it is just White Oak is just so hyped up, high expectations and all...
Probably. White oak worked great for me but I don't consider it super wood or anything. My favorite is still white ash, but all these higher density woods will do the job. One of the other differences may be that using a stove with a glass door in the living space one is more likely to make adjustments to the air inlet to suit the individual load of wood.
 
With my auto tune furnace you can tell a huge difference from white oak to ash. but I have the computer that makes about 10 adjustments till the secondary is truly strong enough to run on its own. Then makes 20 adjustments as secondary winds down. In the stove I did not like any oak, made to many coals. So yes it's the appliance.
 
Back
Top