Oak logs not burning

[trigger_andy]

10 hours ago, neiln said:

Oak is piss easy to split with an axe it really is.  It's definitely wet wood though if the birch burns fine.

Even after he's measured the MC at 17%?

[neiln]

I reckon so. 

[openspaceman]

On 11/11/2022 at 21:31, neiln said:

Oak is piss easy to split with an axe it really is.  It's definitely wet wood though if the birch burns fine.

I'm using some logs from  old standing dead oak. There are beetle holes right through the heartwood because the bulk prevented it drying enough to dissuade them. Now after a summer in the shed it is 17% in the middle, using my mc meter, and 18-20% on the outside where i think a bit of rain was blown in recently.It burns well with a purple flame but  needs the fire to be very hot and it is slow to start, hence I use some softwood kindling and other logs to get up to temperature. I think the reason is all the "lighter" volatiles have been respired away long ago. Even fresh, dried oak doesn't give a particularly vigorous fire. Birch seems well endowed with these volatiles, especially the oily bark, so freshly felled, split and dried birch is easy to light and has a lively yellow flame in comparison.

[Stere]

Very good point have noticed similar.

 

There  was a  word to describe  firewood in the book norwegian wood that was like that - i.e  past its best but not visibly rotton etc.

 

 

Might be the same  of  alot of firewood  & cordwood  thats stacked outside for to long.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[openspaceman]

2 hours ago, Stere said:

Might be the same  of  alot of firewood  & cordwood  thats stacked outside for to long.

Yes I suspect it is the volatile solids, basically the stuff that becomes vapours as wood is heated up to 440C, that get respired first all the time the wood is moist enough to support microbes. Which is why I think it is best to cut and split wood early in the spring so it can dry fast, especially perishable wood like birch and sycamore.

[neiln]

I get that and agree, oak is the extreme case of hardwoods, really low sappy volatile content, it's dense cellulose.  It burns hot and long in the right conditions, but does need the hot fire AND to be very dry.  The energy in the volatiles in softwood is high and they also burn easily.  They do burn quicker but they dry quicker.  I am not complaining that I get so much oak but the Scott's pine I've had, the silver birch, holly, yew, these are stunning wood.  The much maligned Leyland cypress is pretty good too.