What would be the minimum drying time on Beech? I have a few Beech logs that I am dying to tear into. The logs were cut in 2016 or 2015. I have 2 stacks (about 1 1/2 cords) of red oak mixed with some honey locus that is inside stored and intended for the 2019 or 2018 season if needed. My other stacks are ash and intended for this years burn. Which stack to put the beech on? Never dealt with it before.
Beech does not keep well in log or rounds. If it is still in good shape and you split it now and get it stacked in a sunny windy spot it may be ok for this year but the safest bet would be next year.
We were just at the beach a few weeks ago...it was pretty hot and a good breeze off the ocean so I dried in about 5-10 minutes. Like they said...don't leave it in log form too long...and if you get it CSS here pretty quick, and you have ideal conditions (and a long hot summer) you might make for this coming winter...otherwise next winter is a better bet.
I would say not. It was cut into logs 2016, split and stacked Dec and Jan this year. It is the start of my 3 year plan. I will make a stack with the beech for 2 year or if needed this season. I haven't yet figured out where to stack in the barn that I can get to it for the year intended. I have plenty of barn room so maybe I should stack the different years in separate locations. Just thought of that. Make a section of year 1, 2 and 3. Will have to work on that before each years rows get buried behind another. Not to late.
We've burned it in a year but 2 is much better. I don't have much but there is some in one stack. Not sure if we'll get to that this winter or not but I think it has been in the stack 3 years now.
Ive never burned any beech so I'll defer to others on dry time. But if it was me, I'd keep it in a separate stack if there's enough there to make one. That way you can just burn it whenever it's dry enough. I don't really assign years to any of my stacks. Some of them dry better than others due to location. So each fall I pull out the MM and find the driest 5 cords or so and burn that.
But whenever you get a hankering for burning some beech, you have some dandy beech trees on your place.
Beech is one of my favorites along with ash, elm, locust, oak, cherry, hickory.....heck if it'll burn and throw heat I like it ....
Shawn is spot on regarding drying time and how some species just dry better, faster. Keep it separate, and check it after summer, see where it's at. I burn a lot of beech. I can safely say it dries to under 20% mc by me in a year.
Oh boy do I love me some beech! As backwoods savage said you can burn it in a year 2 is better. I have some that I just checked a few days ago with my MM that is at 18%. This was in a log load I got 2 years ago and it was delivered to me green right off the stump and they are big splits. Beech is excellent firewood, especially for people who may not have the room to sit on years and years of oak waiting for it to dry. If I could burn it exclusively I would in a heartbeat!
If stacking inside its gonna take much longer to dry...sun and wind expedites drying more than anything...maybe I am misunderstanding where the wood is going...
New member so this is my first post. Been burning wood for over 30 years and I prefer Beech over any other firewood around here(oak, maple, birch, etc). I used to cut my own wood but now only buy it cut and split. Beech(American) will dry in one season if split and stacked early spring. If my supplier says he has oak ready to go now but I'd have to wait 3-4 weeks for him to get to his Beech, I'll wait-well worth it IMO.
Beech is my favorite hardwood as well.... not only best burning in my opinion, its the cleanest for storage and bringing inside. 1yr is all it needs for me, but 2yrs def improves its performance a bit. Never had 3yr beech.... but it does rot so...
