Back before I knew better (how many of our posts start out like that?) I took my brother's advice and left some smaller rounds unsplit as over-nighters. Of course, they don't want to burn. Been taking them out any splitting them with the maul, put a moisture meter on a few-- averaging about 33%. I'm mixing them in with the other dryer stuff, doesn't mean I'm happy about it!
The rounds with bark still on them take longer to dry. When they are dry they make great overnight pieces...
I try to give rounds an extra year to dry but that's just not reality. So my trick is to split anything over 6" and the rest dry just fine with the splits.
I split anything 2" or larger. I am not in the firewood business so I can afford the time. Even pieces 2", especially oak, take a couple of years to season properly. I have had 2" pieces with sap boiling out at 2 years in the past. This is why I split smaller rounds.
