How small to split oak

[openspaceman]

 

13 hours ago, dig-dug-dan said:

But in answer to your question, I think you will struggle whatever to get to that figure unless you leave it at least 4 years.

I did a moisture test on a piece I had stored which came from an old barn structure. Been kept inside for 40 years at least, it registered 22%!

I think something is lost from timber as it gets very old, I have burned stag headed oak (remaining heartwood only) and it is very coal like to burn with no liveliness despite being around 20%, as you say even recently felled and seasoned oak is not as lively as something like birch, or holly as I am finding this year.

 

I attach a picture of a drying experiment I have posted before, as you will see oak dries similarly to other species with birch being the quickest in my samples. The pine and elm I added later as I came across them and by then drying conditions were better.

 

Bear in mind these are individual logs on a shelf rather than in a stack and cut to ~10" and split with initially a weight around 1kg.

 

So I think logs cut and split ready for the fire, under cover, with reasonable air circulation will be below 20% wwb by the end of a summer season . Then they will be in equilibrium and in my case will pick up a small amount of moisture as winter progresses.

 

Logs dry by moisture leaving the surface, as this dries moisture migrates from the inner parts to get back to an equilibrium, so there is a gradient of moisture from inside to out until it reaches equilibrium with the ambient air, in my case rising to about 17% wwb by late winter. The time it takes is dependent on the length and cross section of the log and as moisture moves more readily out of the ends a shorter log will dry quicker than a long log of the same size.

Edited December 21, 2020 by openspaceman
clarification of how summer dry moisture content rises during the winter

[neiln]

turkey oak, a bit mleh.  english oak, trunk wood, fab, but I can find small diameter limbwood aa bit mleh.  I cut to 12 ish inches and split to 3 to 4 inches and it can burn well when dried a year, but I try to dry it 2 summers as i think it does better and most people sem to say oak retains its moisture longer than most woods.  if you must dry it in one summer, split to 2-3 inches and stack in a good spot and it will dry.  or solar kiln it.

 

it doesn't burn super super hot, it burns well and it burns long.  Mix it with a bit of holly or yew for perfection.

[Silverhooker]

I get quite a lot of oak branches and they won't dry in 2 seasons unless they are split, the bark just seals the water in, its good firewood if you mix it with other stuff. I mix it with mostly soft and sycamore and that works well in my stoves. It keeps the fire lit for a long time.

[neiln]

I've thought perhaps that is it.  It's dry.... Or dry enough, burns with no popping and no creosote on the glass, but I could believe it's still a few% higher MC than the split stuff.  The result is I split more of it, and tbh I've learnt bigger rings are quicker to process and pick up less small limb wood anyway.

I've been burning some today and yesterday by chance, iirc it was cut and stacked about 20-21 months ago, about march or April 2019.  It's burning fine, flue thermometer shows about 170-180C.  I just know a couple of splits of the same size would burn hotter.  

It could also be that the circular shape has less surface area and slows the burn, compared to a triangular or square split.

[DocMustard]

Good timing, this week I've cut up an oak tree that had been felled as it was going rotten in the middle, right at the bottom of the trunk and had been condemned. The trunk rings are up to 22 inches diameter, and I have about a tonne of 10 inch diameter branch wood. My plan was to simply split the whole lot into halves and leave it for two seasons in a covered log store outside, however having read this post I will split the trunk sections into quarters to aid seasoning. I do intend to stack the oak wood loosely to get plenty of airflow through and around it. I've got sycamore and beech too, which I can use to mix in with the oak when the time comes, I plan to season these for at least a year again in covered storage outdoors with lots of airflow space. I'll be checking the mc with my Stihl moisture meter fairly frequently. Some interesting points about oak in the posts above, Vincent Thurkettle's book describes oak as an excellent firewood. 

[neiln]

Split it to stove size now. Oak is a joy to split when green!  It only gets tougher as it seasons, so I'd recommend you split it to stove size.

[DocMustard]

I split some rounds yesterday and discovered that it splits lovely when green. The reason for me wanting to pre-season it in bigger chunks is merely the security factor, as I am seasoning it in a log store in the garden I want the pieces to be big and difficult to move, to stop them going missing. I've done this with beech before, although it makes final splitting hard work, it means the wood is secure. I'm a bit paranoid about it being stolen especially given the prices of processed seasoned logs these days. 

[trigger_andy]

50 minutes ago, DocMustard said:

I split some rounds yesterday and discovered that it splits lovely when green. The reason for me wanting to pre-season it in bigger chunks is merely the security factor, as I am seasoning it in a log store in the garden I want the pieces to be big and difficult to move, to stop them going missing. I've done this with beech before, although it makes final splitting hard work, it means the wood is secure. I'm a bit paranoid about it being stolen especially given the prices of processed seasoned logs these days. 

Do you live in an area where folk will steal a few chunks of wood? 

[DocMustard]

Well, to be honest, I'm not sure, but given the state of the nation these days I would not be surprised what people may steal.

Edited December 30, 2020 by DocMustard
Correction

[neiln]

I've got 4-5+ m³ in my front garden, most stacked against the South facing house wall to season.  I've done this for 3 years now and not seen any stolen.  I've had a few people knock and ask to buy some but none had been taken.  This is a South London suburban street though, and several neighbours would see a thief I suspect.  

 

Tbh, I feel more worried it will walk when it's still in rounds or halves, it takes ga lot longer to pick up and load splits.  If I were you, I'd split and stack it all now.

Edited December 30, 2020 by neiln