Whats wrong with oak in a wood burner

[antipesto]

I tend to find a nice big oak log if I'm going out and want the log burner to stay in for a couple of hours until I get back. You do need a good base of glowing embers first though. I tend to mix all my logs together - oak, ash, sycamore, chestnut, thorn, any softwood, I even burn willow and poplar - anything really, just felled, cut, split straight away and dry stored for a while. I wouldn't fancy burning oak on its own if it's not seasoned for at least a couple of years after winter felling

[posch jon]

Oak will only sit and smoulder if its not dry enough. It needs to be split ASAP after felling and left to dry all summer in vented bags or crates, easily dries down to 20% MC. Never dries if left in the log.

 

It does need to be split fairly small though to dry it sufficently, 12 inch diameter is no good just splitting 4 way needs to be 6 otherwise it just does not dry all the way through.

When dry it does burn very hot:thumbup:

[Hodge]

I felled a large oak in march, split it straight away, left it sat out in the sun all summer and tonight it's on my burner.

[Stereo]

The key is to mix in something else I think. If you think of a sycamore, ash or elm log, as it burns, it eventually breaks up into embers which make a bed. Oak doesn't do this as easily in my stove. It jsut sits there in a lump. So you need something which will a bed of embers and stop the ash drawing all the heat out of the lump. That's my unscientific view.

 

We had a large oak fall over a couple years ago and I'm just burning it now. It's well seasoned and the first attempts were a failure but mixed with a bit of dry fir and a bit of sycamore, I open the Esse door and it's like the fires of hades in there.

 

What I tend to do with oak is either cut it long and split it really thin if it's green or if it's a big tree, ring it up really thin (about 4") and then chop into 'bricks'. This seems to let them sit better in the fire and allow the flames to get around. Also means they dry quicker. I did hear that you need to allow a year an inch for oak to dry out. Probably not quite that but it does take some time.

[Stereo]

Here's a lump of oak and sycamore log in our esse at the mo.

[Boatbuilder]

Im burning 3year old Holm Oak in an open fire

Lasts well and gives off plenty of heat:thumbup1:

Is your problem to do with air flow ?

[Big J]

I think that Stereo is onto a good point regarding Oak and it's reticence to form a bed of embers. Almost anything else will form a better bed - sycamore, cherry or elm to name a few. I do tend to burn one species and then another as I'll firewood one tree, then another. I had a lovely 2 cubic metre lot of Oak last month, but it wouldn't last overnight, even at 19-20% MC. The Elm I'm on at the moment would last 12 hours.

 

Jonathan

[mendiplogs]

I felled a large oak in march, split it straight away, left it sat out in the sun all summer and tonight it's on my burner.

 

HI hodge thats looks a good fire there hodge our stove is going well on oak now but you need a base in the stove and its very dry oak :thumb up:jon snow next week

[Big J]

Quick edit - reticence should read reluctance. Long day!

[mendiplogs]

Here's a lump of oak and sycamore log in our esse at the mo.

 

HI stereo is that a essel range there. i not a ray burn nice fire there mate