How much does that log weigh?

[Sawyer Rob]

I was wondering how much the logs I was hauling out of the woods were weighing. I searched google, and found this nifty site for an estimate.

Click Here

I figure the biggest one I hauled out was around 800lbs, pretty good for a little Massey GC1715.

Gene Wengert is a really nice guy and very helpful... I've met him and he's very open with his info...

I ALSO agree that you should season that oak longer, as red oak takes a bit longer than most other woods to dry down... It's much better for your stove and chimney to season it properly too...

SR

 

[motownbrowne]

You realize that wood isn稚 green, right? I think of all the things a person needs to worry about, burning wood that hasn稚 been seasoned å±*ust right is closer to the bottom of the list than the top.

And you know that the wood "isn't green" how exactly?? In my book, unless it's been spilt for at least 9 months, it's green. There's many good reasons to season wood before burning it. There are no good reasons for burning it green, except if that's your only option (no other affordable heat source and can't afford to buy a year's worth of dry wood). If you have a new tractor and a chainsaw, getting one year ahead on firewood is not that difficult.

I don't care if you burn green wood, or if you have other things to worry about. I'm just stating the facts, that it contributes to poor air quality and is a waste of wood. If everyone with an OWB burned properly (or even partially) cured wood, there would be a fraction of the amount of air quality complaints, and the government wouldn't have to step in to reduce pollution from boilers. That last part is not "fact," but represents my informed opinion.

 

[KennyG]

This thread is taking an interesting turn. I'm not going to get too excited about what other people do but it does impact us. I'm pretty careful about my firewood and the installation/maintenance of my wood stoves but I'm keeping them a secret from my insurance company because of the potential to be blacklisted because of other peoples negligence. If you buy a high performance car, you are, to some extent, going to pay for the irresponsible driving of others. The guys who march around Wal-Mart with AR-15s slung over their shoulders will ultimately impact people who want to target shoot on their own property.

So I've got no problems with people pointing out possible downsides. And for the original poster, if you are burning recently split wood, no matter how long it was down, I hope you have regular and complete chimney cleaning. I've split logs that were down for 3 or more years and they were wet.

 

[MMagis]

And you know that the wood "isn't green" how exactly?? In my book, unless it's been spilt for at least 9 months, it's green.

I guess I looked at the picture closer than you. That's not green wood.

 

[s219]

Burning green wood is a bit of a waste of time -- you are giving up a lot of heat/efficiency, which means a chunk of the time/effort that goes into processing the wood is also wasted. But it's a funny sort of thing. I've heard people poo-poo the idea of burning softwood (which is all some locations have) but then think it's OK to throw green oak in their OWB. I'd wager the heat/efficiency loss from burning the green wood is worse than burning a low-BTU softwood.

That 800# oak log is probably giving less heating BTUs than seasoned wood from a 400# oak log just because the combustion is so inefficient. Whatever percent water content in the wood is going to be turned into steam, and the energy needed to do that is coming out of the heat that could otherwise be going into your home. It's just a colossal waste. Think about the numbers.

 

[motownbrowne]

I guess I looked at the picture closer than you. That's not green wood.

I guess you're referring to the actual color of the wood. No, it's not green in color, it's red. Is it ready to burn? No, it's green (even though it's red).

 

[MMagis]

I guess you're referring to the actual color of the wood. No, it's not green in color, it's red. Is it ready to burn? No, it's green (even though it's red).

Actually, I’m referring to the bark sloughing off.
Look, I don’t burn wood and don’t care what anyone burns. But you could have made the suggestion without being so condescending about it.

 

[/pine]

... No, it's not green in color, it's red. ... No, it's green (even though it's red).

several good vids here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-ppwtwpj-Q

 

[motownbrowne]

Actually, I’m referring to the bark sloughing off.
Look, I don’t burn wood and don’t care what anyone burns. But you could have made the suggestion without being so condescending about it.

It's very difficult to convey tone in text. I certainly don't want to be condescending. I believe in my post I said twice that I was trying not to be rude.

Again, not trying to be condescending, maybe as a non-wood-burner you don't know this, maybe you do. Just because the bark is falling off doesn't mean that wood is ready to burn. A large diameter red oak log, or any hardwood for that matter will still need at least a year to dry out to a proper moisture content for burning. The wood even 2" in from the bark will be very wet even if it's been dead for years. I suppose "green" isn't the best term since the wood may have been dead standing, but live or dead, freshly split wood (with a few exceptions) isn't ready to be burned.

Again, I'm sorry if I was interpreted as being condescending. Stay warm, everyone!

 

[/pine]

It's very difficult to convey tone in text. I certainly don't want to be condescending. I believe in my post I said twice that I was trying not to be rude.

Again, not trying to be condescending, maybe as a non-wood-burner you don't know this, maybe you do. Just because the bark is falling off doesn't mean that wood is ready to burn. A large diameter red oak log, or any hardwood for that matter will still need at least a year to dry out to a proper moisture content for burning. The wood even 2" in from the bark will be very wet even if it's been dead for years. I suppose "green" isn't the best term since the wood may have been dead standing, but live or dead, freshly split wood (with a few exceptions) isn't ready to be burned.

Again, I'm sorry if I was interpreted as being condescending. Stay warm, everyone!

The elements have a lot to do with how fast wood seasons...the ambient temperature, air movement, humidity etc...and the way split wood is stacked...

If stacked (tic-tac-toe style) so air can circulate around it...I've had freshly split oak go from 47% to 12%-15% in 4-6 weeks...