Any negative with respect to split quality down the way if you store rounds to split months, years later? Wondering if sapwood goes bad whereas it would not if split right away. Species matters, I would think. Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
I try not to store rounds for too long, especially over the Summer as fungi, bugs are most active and attack them fast. Have maybe five cord of rounds and some lengths to process most 2-3 months old cut green. I used to save them for cold weather when id prefer working on them. Now its a year round obsession!
The only disadvantage is that the wood does not dry as well. Just look at some of the dead standing or some trees that have fallen in the woods, especially those partially off the ground. They can be there for years but still make good firewood. Sometimes there are advantages for splitting if the rounds are kept for a while but sometimes not. Some wood also will split better once it is frozen.
I have rounds stacked up outside that I had cut late summer. I am 3 years ahead so it doesn't make any difference to me to let rounds sit over the winter. It will get split in the spring.
I have two cord of mixed hickory rounds and am waiting for a cold spell to work on them. Havent had much in below freezing temps. Usually we get a couple times where it will be well below freezing for several days, but extended forecast shows nothing. Had a small one in November.
Depending on specie I've had rounds that began rotting from the center out after sitting a couple years.
I've had oak rounds stacked for a couple of years, uncovered. They split just fine when I got to them. Rounds of any kind of birch, or popular, I'd get split as soon as I can.
I find that poplar needs to be split right away, when it's frozen, or completely seasoned. Whenever I try to split rounds that have been sitting and aren't frozen or completely dry, the maul just sticks in them like a dart in a dart board. Good lord it is demoralizing.
Some woods split better after a cure time in the round others not so much. Here in Western WA Fir seems to split better after 6 months of cure where Madrone is next to impossible to split after curing. I am assuming hand split not hydraulics!
Red maple rounds get tougher the drier they get. Oak on the other hand gets easier, I think. I have some one year old black locust that is quite a bit tougher than when it was fresh cut. Wet pine can be tough because the spongy wood just closes up around an axe, but it splits easily when dry. When the temp is below freezing, I think you gain an advantage with any kind of wood, it seems to shatter.
I store rounds/logs all the time. The biggest thing is to not let them get wet, top covered only. Also if the bark can be removed even partially it helps. Don't stack on end and above all get them off the ground. I don't split by hand so no comment on splitability.
I usually use a bark spud. Although better it's not necessary to remove all the bark. Even a strip will help as it breaks the saran wrap like seal. Sometimes it's just not worth It and sometimes it's nice and easy. The dead ash I'm getting now is 90% stripped in the woods.
Rounds don't dry well at all. They hold moisture which, after time, attracts insects, mold and fungus. All these things can cause the wood to rot. That being said, I've cut some oak that's been blown down on the ground for 30 years that the heart wood was still rock solid while the sap wood was long rotted away. Other wood like hackberry will begin to rot it a couple of months when left in rounds on the ground. Every wood type is different. My suggestion would be stack the rounds off the ground to keep them away from excess moisture and bugs and split them as soon as you can.
I like to split ASAP on site. Speeds up drying and reduces chance of rot. Also makes easier to handle and stack. I usually make large splits to save time then split smaller to fit the fireplace when there ready to burn.
If I don't want to split it all right away, I'll usually at least halve 'em and get the drying started, anyway..
What's confusing to me is that in the book, "Norwegian Wood," the author said something like wood dries ten times faster via the ends than the sides, because that is the direction of flow through the wood as wood grows. He even points out you can blow on the end of some wood and feel air come out the other end. I wonder why red maple goes bad so fast if you leave it on the ground. It would be interesting to talk to a wood expert about wood differences, even at the microscopic level.
