I've got a gooder amount of beech for the wood pile since I've been clearing for pasture. I know it's good BTU's. If I C/S/S it this fall, will it be ready for next winter ('17-'18), or will it take longer like oak?
I'm gonna' watch this. I've got about 2/3 cord of Beech, and wondering the same thing. I've been told it dries much quicker than Oak.
When we first started burning we would give it a year in the stacks but I'm always grabbing the downed dead stuff. Since we've got ahead on the wood inventory, it usually is about three years in the stacks before we burn it.
I don't have any beech right around here, but I know that it is in the central U.P. for sure. I would be the one posting "what kind of wood is this" when it comes to beech!
Even though it's quite plentiful around here, I've never had any to burn. I know some people that do burn it regularly and say it dries as fast as ash.
Possibly will be ready depending on split size and if cut from live trees I've had beech burn excellent in 18month time frame but that usually involved an extra summer instead of fall seasoning
Beech is equivalent to soft maple (also known as red maple) and ash in drying time; about a year. Its a really good wood because it is better than Red Maple and Ash in BTU's, but dries really well. For my firewood customers they get a huge portion of beech for this reason. EVERYONE wants beech. In my opinion, in Maine anyway, beech is the perfect firewood. 1). It has tons of BTU's 2). It splits easily enough 3). It produces a decent sized tree 4). Here anyway, it has a bark diseases that does not kill it, but makes it useless for other purposes 5). Beech logs do not pay much money so other than mat logs, firewood is the next best option for highest dollar 6). Beech is prolific and does well on our soils here 7). Beech grows without a lot of limbs until it gets to the uppermost crown making for easy limbing
Couple Beeches represented here..... Firewood BTU & Drying Chart | Firewood Hoarders Club Get it S/S'd:stacke:
Eric, I can't like that post, because I know that beech has a lot more btu's than that chart. That chart has beech a lot lower than nearly every other btu chart. I throw out the outliers. I know, it's on our site, but it's just plain incorrect. Now drying time, I can't disagree with that because I only cut beech as dead standing, or in the middle of winter, when it appears that the trees don't have as much moisture in them compared to warmer months. I still think that if its split and stacked upon cutting, that it will be well under 20% in a year. The stuff dries quicker than cherry in my experience. So better btu's than any oak, and ready in a year? That's not really able to be beat. Shagbark is better, but takes longer to season.
I agree with the fellas on drying time, a good year will be fine. I also want to add, just from over the years I've noticed that green freshly split Beech is very heavy, but I find it's not all associated with it being green. After Beech has seasoned the weight of the wood is still fairly heavy.
If you get it split and in some good wind it will good for sure. I burn a pretty fair amount of beech and is one of my favorites.
And so it is agreed, but with so many charts differing from one place to another, we might consider such info along the same lines (LOOSELY) as the Moisture Meter (at large)..... Merely reference.
I have a few beech rounds and they have been a pain in the butt to spilt, mind you I do all my splitting by hand. Tough as nails.
It dries in a yr, is incredibly clean and my fav burn is beech mixed with ash...if that's all you had to burn, you'd stay warm just fine, regardless of weather...hoard all you can and thank me later...
Seems if you cut it in the growth season it's got a lot of water.. takes about 2 seasons. If cut in winter it'll be ready by 17 18 winter. Either way yang probably gotta wait. It dries quicker than oak surly
Gotta split it fresh---it's harder than a hoes heart if it seasons in the round...most will split with a hatchet green
I've run into a few beech rounds that were a pita and strained under hydraulics, but most pop right away like red oak and don't need anywhere near a full stroke of the ram.
I agree with cutting in winter definitely cuts drying times down but did not know if that was others exprince in the south.. I haven't proved it yet last winter would have been to warm. but no way can a tree have 30% or more water in it and not freeze and split when we can get temps at 30 to 40 below
Dave, I know the beech got hit hard in the western LP and the UP with many of them dieing. How about up there? And typically if I remember correctly you won't find much beech west of the Escanaba river except down in Menominee County and some in Delta but I don't know of much west of there. Definitely lots of it east and north of Manisitque.
