Wood longevity

[ReggieT]

I'm burning dry but punky Hackberry and Maple right now. It had spent a couple years outside in the elements, and another year in a woodshed. It's dry and I have no trouble lighting it up, but it's burning very fast and not putting out as much heat as I like. It all depends on the species. S0me types of wood cannot be left out in the elements or it gets punky real fast.

I'm assuming that fungus is the culprit here that gets into the wood and starts sucking out the btu's. What about spraying a woodpile that's exposed to the weather with a bleach solution to stop fungus? Could that cause any other problems? Bleach is cheap, you just need a sprayer equipped with rubber seals designed to handle the stuff. I've sprayed roof areas with bleach solution and successfully killed moss that was causing trouble. Why not a woodpile?

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

How long will the studs in your walls last? If you keep the splits dry the answer is the same.

Been splitting wood for some 35 years, now. I always think that is the work, then... omg, it has to be put up!! I do not know if this statement by Oldman47 is true because I have never had any stix' splits as long as I have have had the studs in my house's walls... lol, but I would certainly think Oldman47 has a very valid point. I have recently burned some oak stix that are at least 20 years old, have been kept stacked, dry and covered and they light right up nicely. I also have a lot of wood that gets split but I don't fuss too much over it once stacked as its most normally used in outdoors fireplace. 3 -4 years or so and it starts to show decay around the edges. depends upon overall condition and size when i first cut and split it. I still burn it. what ever is on the ground... usually wet and dark brown goes into my compost piles.