Regardless of if it takes 2 years or 3 where you are, it's definitively a species that is best suited to someone with enough room to split it, and forget about it for a few years. If you've got space constraints, other wood will suit you better I've got some beech that I split relatively small, registering around 18% on the MM after less than a year
Dont feel bad for me Dave. im just bitchen over here. Ive got plenty of prime firewood. Im the original Wood Snob. I dont burn a lot of oak because of the other options I have access to. Lots of dry BL around here.
I have about a cord of oak left in my stacks. Just sat thru its fifth summer I don't know why I'm hoarding it. After last winter I found I got along a lot better with ash and soft maple in really cold weather. The gigantic oak splits lasted forever, but the coals were way too unreasonable. I could still get twelve hours of good heat out of 'lesser' wood, without having to screw around for a couple of hours burning coals down. Maybe if I split it smaller... 7-8 splits filling a 4 cu ft box may be on the large side Now, my non-cat stove likes it a lot better. I get higher temps for much longer with it vs ash and cherry. Too bad it's 300 miles away. I will still take it when I can get it, but I don't look for it. I'll keep burning the ash for as long as I can.
This is something I'm not looking forward to this winter. I think it was Highbeam who posted pics of his 30 in the shop with a HUGE pile of coals inside.
gawd, i love oak, i got a whole mess of it on the back porch, been split and stacked, and covered, for 5 years, shoot, been so long i forget, maybe 6 years......just perfect
It's fine for me on the average winter day. If we have another 'un-average' winter, I'll try splitting some in half or thirds. They're pretty big.
Keep an eye out for larger Gambel (white) Oak stands around the foothills like I did. It grows native in our parts. In this climate, standing dead portions were good to go:
Hedge will do the same coal pile.... Not fun, it's either burn it down or pull it out & start another load...
Spring cut off the stump maybe. Maples hickories and oaks cut off the stump when saps high always seem to take longer to season. Rot faster too when in contact with ground .
I have 3 cords of red and white oak that's been seasoned 4 years, looking forward to burning it when the frigid weather comes in my new IS.
I can burn standing dead oak after 2summers and not get water like that. But my wood cutting buddy still calls wood seasoned when we cut a tree that died this summer and just split last week?
