So after a discussion with the wife (always leads to trouble I know), we discussed how we may be burning more since the family is home more because of Covid. I figured we might be a cord or 2 short for the season, so I bought a cord of "seasoned" red oak. Today I split a couple of pieces and stuck it and the meter reads anywhere between 24-26%. It's been raining/snowing for about 48 hours straight, and I picked it up yesterday, so I'm not sure if the moisture content is high because it's green or the weather. How long roughly would it take to hit closer to 20%? TIA
Was it already split when you bought it? Stack and top cover it and it might dry down enough to burn early spring 2021 if you run out.
It was split. I couldn't get a straight answer from the guy on when it was cut, but I it was probably split recently since no color discoloration.
I agree with farmer Steve . If there’s absolutely no discoloration you may want to just let it season for another year. Good luck.
Split a bigger split and take your MM reading. That will give you an accurate reading as to what the internal moisture is. Oak needs 2-3 years to dry to under 20%. As Steve said stack it in a sunny and or windy area and maybe you can burn some some late Winter early Spring. You can also stack some near the stove crib style and dry it that way.
2.5 years and I have dry red oak. It was very dry this year until the last month. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Split it smaller if you can, top cover and set aside. You may not need it this year after all. Or maybe come February mix in a couple pieces of that oak with some of your drier stuff.
That won't work as well in a catalytic stove. Secondary burn tubes are more forgiving than a catalyst.
Sounds more like it was dropped wt this year and just recently split. I agree with the others that maybe you can use it at the tail end of the season.
I burn a cat stove. From what I read, the cat is much more efficient with wet wood than a non cat, it's just hard on the cat.
I know a lot of guys on here claim oak needs to be seasoned 3 years but the oak I split n stacked in the summer of 2019 is now all 12-16% MC. 2 dry summers up here in Maine prob did help more than normal.
Sounds like green Oak to me as well. If you think you'll need it I would do as suggested & bring it in near the stove & mix it in with your dry wood. A week inside at low RH will really help. You're better off using it to stretch your dry wood supply than trying to burn it wet in the spring when you have nothing else. Splitting it smaller will really help too.
Welcome to the FHC scarps68 Always room for another Nutmegger! Im in North Haven. What part of CT you call home? I neglected to see that in my first response.
Make sure you learn from this! First lesson is that 99% of wood sellers either do not understand or else the are liars. Especially when it comes to oak, they just do not understand. Many still claim they do fine with oak burning in the same year as it has been cut. Well, as I've stated before, you can get most wood to burn. The difference is how well it burns and how many btus it takes to boil the moisture out so it will burn. We have some neighbors who every year cut oak in fall and burn it that winter. They are still alive... House is cold and stinks of creosote, but they do keep the water from freezing...
No way in hell I’d cut and burn oak in the same year haha. It needs a good year, year and a half in an open sunny area at a minimum to be ready to burn.
I typically don't buy wood because of the crap they sell/try to pull (one guy said he cut wood 8 months ago and "people are burning with no complaints" . But again, my other half got me to panic buy wood. I know now just to make more room and store more wood.
