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Which Dries Fastest?

Discussion in 'The Wood Pile' started by buZZsaw BRAD, Feb 27, 2024.

  1. buZZsaw BRAD

    buZZsaw BRAD

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    Very unusual for me to have three higher btu "one year drying" woods in the same stack. Cut together at a recent score. Left to right: beech, black birch, & sugar maple. IMG_5020.JPG Incomplete stack IMG_5021.JPG In your experience/opinion, which dries fastest FHC?
     
    Last edited: Feb 27, 2024
  2. JimBear

    JimBear

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    No xperience with any of them. The only one that is around in is a rare Sugar Maple yard tree. I did burn some Beech once thanks to Eric Wanderweg

    I speculate the Black Birch to be ready 1st, Beech 2nd & Sugar Maple to take the longest.
     
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  3. Eric Wanderweg

    Eric Wanderweg

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    I'm solidly in the black birch camp. I've checked beech at 9 months and it was over 20%. The sugar maple I was boiling sap with a couple weeks ago was split really small last summer and a lot of pieces sizzled. In 2020 I gave my uncle some smaller ~ 8 month black birch and it was bone dry.
     
  4. Backwoods Savage

    Backwoods Savage Moderator

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    Soft maple. Can burn it in 6 months and burns really good.
     
  5. RCBS

    RCBS

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    Sugar will dry faster here than beech. No experience with the birch. Both like to grow fungi on their ends.
     
  6. jrider

    jrider

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    I don't think I've had any experience with black birch so I can't comment on that. I do know I burned some 8 month old beech this year and it burned great. It was split on the smaller side though.
     
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  7. ThomH123

    ThomH123

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    I have had all three species multiple times. I consider them all two year woods so I never checked them at 1 year.
     
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  8. Horkn

    Horkn

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    Same experience here. Although the sugar maple will dry only slightly faster than the beech. Black birch? We don't have that here but paper birch dries pretty quickly once split. Black birch is a BTU bump up from paper birch though.
     
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  9. mr.finn

    mr.finn

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    That's a tough one. I want to say Beech first. I have some Black Birch CSS for 2 years and still hisses water in the fireplace(normal size splits) but maybe its the location of the stack. How about a little drying experiment with a few pieces of each and check them end of summer?
     
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  10. buZZsaw BRAD

    buZZsaw BRAD

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    Ive sold three solid half cords of BB and positive feedback on all. SS Summer 22 and Nov. 22.

    Just sold two half cords of SM. SS Nov 22 and Jan 23 and no complaints. I ask for feedback.
     
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  11. Dok440

    Dok440

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    I haven't seen any of those. Closest I have seen is white and silver birch, which is dry almost immediately in the summer. I envy your large selection of woods.
     
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