Cutting some wood this week end, hope it will dry!!!

[MS-310]

I cut down about 55 trees 6 weeks ago, Im going to buck them up today. Saturday Im going to get down about 40 to 50 more trees, so you think if I buck them up and split them they would be dry for this years heating????

This is going to be a good test on how dry and how long to get it dry....

The 55 trees I cut down 6 weeks ago had the leaves still on it so it could "suck" the sap out!

So what u guys think about cutting up live trees now and burning them this year? I dont think I can do it but some old guys say it can be done....

Wood- cherry, maple, sickomore, a little oak.

Thanks alot for your input

 

[PA. Woodsman]

I think it's gonna be tight, seeing how it's already the end of June. Split it ASAP and stack it in the wind and sun for your best chance of getting it seasoned in time. Cherry and Maple-probably dry, Sycamore-maybe, Oak-probably not. Good luck with your experiment!

 

[computeruser]

Ditto what PA said.

Split it small and you might have a chance with the faster-drying species. If you're looking to burn in an OWB then you've got more flexibility, obviously.

 

[Fish4Brains]

I third the cherry and maple. oak probably wont be ready. Last year I split some oak in april and stacked in the hottest spot I have which is a hot dry dust bowl and it was fine but I thnk your pushing it a bit. Now the cherry I cut a month ago is already close I burned some last weekend in a camp fire and it burned well without any hissing. The problem with cherry is it takes a heck of alot to split the stuff.

 

[Mr. Firewood]

I am in the same boat, not even a quarter done here

 

[PA. Woodsman]

In fact, last week I cut up some Red Oak that was dropped off at the local woodstove shop. This wood should've been sopping wet, but something obviously had been wrong with the tree because it was very dry for Oak-not that I'm complaining because fresh Oak is a heavy b@#!buster! I "toyed" with the idea of splitting some up and seeing if it would dry, but the more logical part of me said "no way that it'll be ready for this Winter". My buddy at that shop said "you can burn this wood this Winter"; he said the same thing 2 years ago with Red Oak that was split late in that Summer, and when it came time to burn it I split a piece and you could STILL smell the aroma in it-it wasn't dry! Oak takes quite awhile to dry.

 

[goof008]

I've fallen behind too, but mostly on my splitting. My rounds are all stacked and waiting. The next stuff to cut will be burned this year, but it's all going to be standing dead ash trees. I'm sure they'll be ready by late fall. Getting oak dried out by then might be pushing it. It does sound like you have some good wood coming though!

 

[ciscoguy01]

Go for it dude...

Since I was a kid I always cut and split my wood in the fall, like august-sept range and we've NEVER had a chimney fire, nor any other problems. I know by rights your supposed to season it a year, but my family has always done it this way and never run into a problem. Big thing is to keep it dry and in the sun, out of the rain... If you put it in your basement, get yourself a dehumidifier and you'll be fine. No worries bro... Drawback is you do lose alot of heat burning wood that is wet due to the heat consumption getting rid of the sap in the wood...

 

[logbutcher]

Go for It

Hey, most of us cut in the winter, then pile the bucked rounds for splitting when the bugs and heat are near gone. Beside, you're one of those OWB types that "burn anything" :hmm3grin2orange: .
Not to worry: ditto what Cisco and others say: cut in winter, split later. Besdes, there's too much on our plates to worry about some sizzle ...in the wood.
But Oak, that's another thing: it will take a min of 6 months SPLIT to dry for clean burns. But then you're one of those mean, dirty, polluting OWB people.:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[City Slicker]

Oak?

What is it about oak that takes it longer to dry out? I've crossed-stacked some in full sun and its really checking. Just wondering?

 

[logbutcher]

Oak Drying

What is it about oak that takes it longer to dry out? I've crossed-stacked some in full sun and its really checking. Just wondering?

Oaks are at the top of the rankings for heat/pound= high BTU value. It's a heavy, dense, hard wood with an extra thick bark protecting the inner layer that sucks up water for for growth. We love the beast...when we can find it! . Oaks do well even standing dead, often 3+ feet DBH (diameter of the tree at breast height) for instant seasoned firewood. In New England farmers used oaks for field boundary markers. But it does suck up all kinds of grit that easily dulls chains: careful with these. :bang:
The weight and high density of oaks makes them slow to dry out; those checks you see on the ends are superficial. Split oak needs at least 6 months, longer for butts, longer for trunks even with leaves. If you need to burn barely seasoned oak, just mix it with dry woods soft or hard on a hot fire. Fresh cut oak smells like perfume to some of us
How's this ?
Those of you in the oak/hickory zone: send some Downeast...now.