Red Oak - request comments on split size

[chilly460]

Fairly new to wood burning so I've learned a bit recently. I had 5 large red oaks to clean up, yard trees a buddy had cut down, three were 28" DBH. With this much work to do, splitting by hand, I was leaving fairly large splits, easily 6".

I found when I got my woodstove in early November, these large splits just don't burn well. They're still right at 20-21% even having been drying for 18mos.

So, now I spend maybe 30min every other night splitting these large splits into nice 4x4" type sizes and restacking them. They will burn at this size even being somewhat wet, and if I set them by the stove for a night the dry out significantly. I do put some of the large splits in overnight as they burn longer. Just reiterating what others have said, a variety is nice. There are plenty of crotches and knots to keep my supplied in larger 6-8" splits, I split any straight wood.

 

[mr.finn]

I Had some standing dead Oak that I cut split and stacked to regular size splits, not too big, no too small. Let it season for over a year thinking that would be enough. I brought some in to burn and they still sizzled and hissed. From now on any oak I process will get split to smaller pieces to help dry quicker. I am burning in a fireplace.

 

[Jere39]

Back in the first page of this thread someone commented about my pile of splits that showed no bark. I mostly cut standing dead Red Oak after the bark has fallen off. But, today I was working on a nice Red Oak that was snapped off about 12' up the trunk by an early summer storm. So, I have a relatively green tree, with bark on. But, I have:

• A faithful companion
• A naturally dropped Red Oak
• Frozen ground for easy transport
• Mid-20's for low sweat equity
• An x27 still making nice splits
• And no particular deadline

 

[Ronaldo]

The makings for a grand day!

Sent from my SM-S320VL using Tapatalk

 

[jolj]

The largest round I have split was 48" & green.
I never heard of curing wood until I was grown & then I was told it is something they do up north.
The only dry(cured) wood we used was dead before it hit the ground.
I am not saying you are wrong to cure your wood, we heated only with wood on the farm & 90% was green & burned just fine in the 100 year old chummy
of the farm house, which is still standing today.