When to split Oak

[blucoondawg]

I too love the smell of oak.

But I got to wonder blucoondawg?? are you possibly mistaken that fowl smelling stuff for elm??

Cause it DOES smell. And rarely do I see an oak standing without bark. But it is extremely common with elm.

No, I am not mistaking red oak for elm, I don't know of anyone who deals with firewood on a regular basis could do that. I have never noticed a whole lot of smell from elm probably because I don't see much of it, there aren't too many elm in my area anymore, they had disease years ago and killed most off. Dead standing red oak is very common, it lasts a long time, even when laying on the ground it is slow to rot away, my in laws have a large dead red oak laying in the back of their property and it has been down for going on 10 years now and still very solid. They and others in the area also have many dead standing red oak, they said a few years before I met them there was a bad year of some sort of caterpillar which killed many of them off, many of them have been dead long enough that the bark is coming off yet the tree underneath is still solid. As for the smell, red oak has a strong odor, it isn't totally unpleasant but it is strong and very noticeable when you first fill your basement, after a day or 2 of living with it I don't notice it anymore.

 

[dstig1]

Big difference between the vomit-like smell of red oak and the sweet nutty-toasted smell of white oak.

Plus a lot depends on local variations. Different soils and growing conditions will easily change something like the smell. This probably explains a lot of the different opinions you see on this thread...

 

[Looking4new]

The only wood that is better IMHO than oak is beech, especially a knarly piece or two for 'all nighters'.

 

[s219]

The only wood that is better IMHO than oak is beech, especially a knarly piece or two for 'all nighters'.

Yep, I really like beech. I thought oak and locust were hard but beech is definitely harder to saw and split. The rounds are insanely heavy too. The wood definitely packs some BTUs.

 

[mikehaugen]

As far as BTU's per volume hickory is supposed to be the best IIRC.

 

[LD1]

As far as BTU's per volume hickory is supposed to be the best IIRC.

The best that is "common" in this area.

But osage orange is the "best". And locust is right there with hickory. But just depends on what type of hickory and what type of locust.:confused2:

 

[studor]

The best that is "common" in this area.

How true! -- around here it would be hop hornbeam (ironwood) while others would argue maple. People in the city would pay you more for a load of white birch than mixed hardwood -- and around here locust is a PITA tree with small leaves that are hard to pick up

 

[Natureboy]

Red oak is great when its seasoned long enough. I save it for the middle of winter when I want a long burn overnight.

 

[almost13ranch]

We burn as much oak as we can, and then we try to cut other hardwoods, because they burn longer, produce more BTU's at around 36.6 million BTU's per cord, compared to Pine, that burns at around 19.6 million BTU's per cord. When it is dry, it weighs in at about 1800lbs heavier than Pine per cord. It really is a great hardwood to burn, if it is well seasoned, but it does have that sour smell, like others have said here.

Do you have much of an issue with creosote burning pine, and firs? We use to live in Idaho, and Washington, and I know what you mean when you say that you have all fir trees. It was pretty rare to find good hardwoods in the mountains..

You might be interested to know that Pinion Pine (we have a lot of it around here) is 33.50 Million BTU's per cord, Osage Orange 32.90 and red or white oak 26.36, according to my third edition Pocket Reference. I was suprised.

 

[bikerdib]

I just split about 1 & 3/4 cord of red oak today that has been seasoning since last spring. It must be true about local soils affecting the smell because mine had a nice "oaky" smell to it. This wood will be for next winter, I have enough wood that has been seasoning since spring of 2011 for this winter's heating needs.

 

[bikerdib]

I'm sure that is correct but pine will put out heat for a short time while Osage and Oak (especially Live Oak) will put out the heat for a longer period.

You might be interested to know that Pinion Pine (we have a lot of it around here) is 33.50 Million BTU's per cord, Osage Orange 32.90 and red or white oak 26.36, according to my third edition Pocket Reference. I was suprised.

 

[Johnp33]

In my area the wood of choice is Larch/tamarack it is a softwood that looses its needles, this time of year they are yellow. The best ones are standing dead, right now I am burning fir, not as good but it was close and easy to get.

 

[arrow]

Got some newly cut oak from a friend. Living in PNW one rarely cuts or burns anything but pine or fir so this oak is a novelty to me. I've been bucking it up and it seems to cut ok while green but im wondering about when it is drier. There are a bunch of smaller pieces i wont need to split but some of the larger pieces are between 24-30 ish across so they will need to be split. Does this stuff split easier after dry or when still green?

You can split this at any time. Oak rounds will harden up if ends are exposed after awhile but cutting off a half inch to an inch or so will give you a fresh surface with more moisture making it easier to split. Oak splits easier with a higher moisture content on its splitting surface. Capillaries on end wood close up and compress when they lose moisture giving the "rock hard" impression. That is why shearing off this layer makes it easier to split if you need it to sit around for awhile but the advantage of oak doing this is why dried red and white oak make such durable flooring.

 

[cqaigy2]

You can split this at any time. Oak rounds will harden up if ends are exposed after awhile but cutting off a half inch to an inch or so will give you a fresh surface with more moisture making it easier to split. Oak splits easier with a higher moisture content on its splitting surface. Capillaries on end wood close up and compress when they lose moisture giving the "rock hard" impression. That is why shearing off this layer makes it easier to split if you need it to sit around for awhile but the advantage of oak doing this is why dried red and white oak make such durable flooring.

Thanks too for the heads up!

 

[forgeblast]

Sweep's Library - Firewood BTU Comparison Charts has the btus of most wood species.

Common Name Species Name Pounds
/Cord MBTU
/Cord
Osage Orange (Hedge) Maclura pomifera 4,845 30.0
Hop Hornbeam (Ironwood) Ostrya virginiana 4,250 26.4
Persimmon, American Diospyros virginiana 4,165 25.8
Hickory, Shagbark Carya ovata 4,080 25.3
Dogwood, Pacific Cornus nuttallii 3,995 24.8
Holly, American Ilex Opaca 3,995 24.8
Birch, Black Betula lenta 3,910 24.2
Oak, White Quercus alba 3,910 24.2
Madrone, Pacific (Arbutus) Arbutus menziesii 3,825 23.7
Oak, Post Quercus stellata 3,825 23.7
are the top ten

 

[dave1949]

Sweep's Library - Firewood BTU Comparison Charts has the btus of most wood species.

Common Name Species Name Pounds
/Cord MBTU
/Cord
Osage Orange (Hedge) Maclura pomifera 4,845 30.0
Hop Hornbeam (Ironwood) Ostrya virginiana 4,250 26.4
Persimmon, American Diospyros virginiana 4,165 25.8
Hickory, Shagbark Carya ovata 4,080 25.3
Dogwood, Pacific Cornus nuttallii 3,995 24.8
Holly, American Ilex Opaca 3,995 24.8
Birch, Black Betula lenta 3,910 24.2
Oak, White Quercus alba 3,910 24.2
Madrone, Pacific (Arbutus) Arbutus menziesii 3,825 23.7
Oak, Post Quercus stellata 3,825 23.7
are the top ten

Another way of looking at it, generally, all species of wood have about the same btu's per pound when dry. The heavier the wood when dry, the more btu's it has.

Red oak will stay sound and split-able for at least three years if stored in logs off the ground. It doesn't really begin to dry out and season until it is split.

 

[arrow]

Thanks too for the heads up!

C
Splitting large rounds as you describe always goes easier if you chainsaw your split line first. My rounds are about 18 to 21 " high. If over 20" or more across as you describe yours are, I chainsaw about half way down my split line into the round, take my 12 lb mall and split it in one shot.(maybe two or three if I keep missing the chainsaw cut line). I then cut the halves the same way and split these. Makes a 30" rouund much more manageable if you do not have a gas powered spitter and even if you do, you can lift the quarter pieces to the beam on a horizontal splitter way more easily. Of course if you have a vertical splitter, you wouldn't be doing any of this.

 

[turnkey4099]

C
Splitting large rounds as you describe always goes easier if you chainsaw your split line first. My rounds are about 18 to 21 " high. If over 20" or more across as you describe yours are, I chainsaw about half way down my split line into the round, take my 12 lb mall and split it in one shot.(maybe two or three if I keep missing the chainsaw cut line). I then cut the halves the same way and split these. Makes a 30" rouund much more manageable if you do not have a gas powered spitter and even if you do, you can lift the quarter pieces to the beam on a horizontal splitter way more easily. Of course if you have a vertical splitter, you wouldn't be doing any of this.

I split my rounds down to iftable sizes with steel wedges and 10lb sledgehammer. I only saw apart knots and crotches. Much fast to wedge a round apart than to saw it half way. Been heating with wood since 76 burning 6 cord/yr and selling up to 6 or 8.

Got somewhee north of 50 cords Black Locust in the stacks (includes about 10 cords still to split/stactk). That is my "retirement" wood - the Locust Borer killed B. Locust all over the county the past several years and I harvested every tree I could get permission to.

Harry K

 

[cqaigy2]

I've started splitting the oak in between cutting up a bunch of fir limbs from last winters ice storm. I found, as mentioned in previous posts, that i can work from the edge of the rounds, essentially working around the the peripheral at about a 1/3 of the way in and get it split. The first split takes about 4 or more strikes with my splitting axe, but after that first piece is split out, 1 to 2 hits seems to work. I have to swing much harder then usual for fir or pine, i can really feel it in the palms of my hands.

 

[dave1949]

I've started splitting the oak in between cutting up a bunch of fir limbs from last winters ice storm. I found, as mentioned in previous posts, that i can work from the edge of the rounds, essentially working around the the peripheral at about a 1/3 of the way in and get it split. The first split takes about 4 or more strikes with my splitting axe, but after that first piece is split out, 1 to 2 hits seems to work. I have to swing much harder then usual for fir or pine, i can really feel it in the palms of my hands.

Have you tried a splitting maul rather than an axe? I have a 8 lb maul with a plastic handle that works pretty good. Also, you can make your splitting easier by cutting short pieces where there are knots, etc. some like their wood all the same length, I like to save the splitting work. Anything really ugly goes on the outdoor fire pit pile, life is too short.