how late can you cut a oak tree down and still make good firewood

[hedge hog]

took a 50" oak tree out Tuesday that was fully leaved out ,
super heavy wood (water).
but the sap was up but how much was used up making the leaves ?
will it be good to burn or not
never took a tree out this late for firewood
couldn't pass it up and have some limbs and splits from the trunk drying in the basement for testing

this is not the tree but the black spot went all the way up the trunk and was told it was mold or a fungus?

 

[Knobby57]

2 years or better to get that too burn well. It will burn but you will be disappointed in the heat output and a lot of ash . Red and white oak I usually give 3 years. Can't think of any other hard wood that takes as long as oak to season


Sent from my phone when I should be working

 

[johnny5ny]

Looks like red, no?
Not this season, next. Minimum.

 

[hedge hog]

the picture was white oak
that I cut down this winter and I sell in the fall . my drying time might be faster than you guys up north be cause it get hot here( 84 today) and windy all the time
but the tree was red oak fully leaved out that was cut Tuesday.
I have a customer that drives 50 mile to get oak if I have it .
mainly deal with hedge but could pass it up.
I have enough white to sell this fall
may hold the red back for next year
thanks
johny and knobby

 

[brenndatomu]

The worst case of "hard to dry" firewood was a White Oak cut in the early summer, 3 years CSS, still had sizzlers...

 

[square1]

If you can leave it intact until the leaves turn brown they will draw a loy of moisture out of the wood during the process.

 

[buzz sawyer]

Good responses so far.
The stain is usually caused by some iron or steel in the tree at some point.

 

[Whitespider]

Split it small ASAP (I said split it small), stack it in single rows, out in the open, no cover, plenty of sun and moving air... you live in south Kansas, neither sun nor moving air is a problem, it'll be burnable late this fall/early winter.
(I like to orientate the rows north-south to maximize the east-west sun exposure and our mostly northwest and southeast winds.)
*

 

[hedge hog]

Plan is to get it split ASAP
And started on the trunk Sunday , first day off
Leaving the limb wood for last
The leaves are about all dried up
Thanks for replies

 

[pennsywoodburnr]

Good responses so far.
The stain is usually caused by some iron or steel in the tree at some point.

That's what I was thinking too.

 

[john taliaferro]

Good responses so far.
The stain is usually caused by some iron or steel in the tree at some point.

looks like about 55 years ago some one left you a surprise .

 

[Preston]

For me red oak to really do well in my fire place takes two years. It will burn before that but just hisses to much. White oak I can do well with is a year. That's about all I have except for red maple and sweet and black gum. The gum takes a long while.

 

[ChipMonger]

Not sure of the conditions in Kansas, but here in the NE 2years CSS, i havent had much luck with using it sooner than that too much water still in the wood. If there is a question about the moisture content CSS as you usually do and at the end of the summer take a split, re-split it and test it with a moisture meter. Then there isnt any guessing as to what the MC of it is.

 

[hardpan]

Whitespider has a very good recipe but I am a unsure if it will be ready this winter. Oak is SLOW.

 

[jrider]

Small splits, full sun, wind...it will be ready to burn this season. No stacking near buildings or a place that gets any shade. 16" cuts or shorter.

 

[sledge&wedge]

I don't have any good experience to lean on as far as how late you can knock one down and C/S/S to use it the following winter as I have always been lucky enough to be a little ahead on firewood, but I have not had the same issues drying oak as many others on this site. I have never had to season/dry oak any longer than any other wood in my stacks (which is cherry, oak, locust, ash, poplar, and some various maples). If I C/S/S an oak in the fall or winter, it will be plenty dry by the following heating season. If it makes any difference, I stack my wood in single, long rows about 5' high in full sunlight and never cover it. The red oak I cut last fall is already turning gray and showing plenty of cracks and checking in the ends of the splits.

Anyways, just my 2 cents. Good luck and I hope it works out for you.

 

[brenndatomu]

I stack my wood in single, long rows about 5' high

Re-stack much?!

 

[Ironworker]

I've done it the way Whitespider suggest and had success through one summer, even with bigger splits.

 

[sledge&wedge]

Re-stack much?!

No, not really. Only time I have to re-stack is when I stack extra green wood on pallets. It always shifts around a bunch and ends up getting blown over. I use t-posts periodically throughout the long stacks as braces and they have never really fallen over.

 

[flotek]

Just remember wood doesn't season much till it's cut split and stacked . I've seen it squirt ya in the face wet after sitting in short rounds for several years ...As others mentioned , The smaller the splits and more sun and wind the better and sooner it will be ready