Chopping wood help please.....

[sawtooth]

Good morning. I recently purchased a new farm and it has a house with a wood burning fireplace. Fate would have it that a huge red oak was blown down during a storm back in late November. So I purchased a new Stihl 362 CM and have been cutting it up for firewood. So this is all new to me and I have some questions below:

Up to what size can I burn without splitting them?

How long can the tree lay in the woods before I cut it all up? I’m halfway done now.

I have a tractor shed that’s 80ft long and 20ft deep. Is this a good place to store the wood to keep it dry or do I need to be concerned with termites etc being lured to the woodpile maybe later effecting my shed.

Lastly, when do I split the larger logs? Can I wait or does it need to be done when green?


Thank you,

 

[RNeumann]

Ford or Chevy? Mac or PC? Get ready OP- folks on here have stronger feeling about how to process and season firewood then they do about the president!

Split green to help season- no split dry.......
Store covered- no store with air movement......
Etc, etc

It all depends on your climate and wood type. In general it will need to be seasoned a year or two. I split anything over about 5” across. I don’t have to split much though- only a cord or two a year. If you have pallet forks and you machine can lift them some type of pallet to hold and move the split wood will help. Of course a grapple or the same pallet forks will help move the logs too.

 

[sdquick]

I am anxious to hear what the real experts have to say. By the way, I have the same saw and love it. My opinions are:
As big as you can get into your stove. From a practical side it is not always best to only have the huge logs.
Contact with the ground will accelerate / cause the rot. If you can get it in the air (off the ground) it will be fine. This might be a a half round under each end to keep it off the dirt (this could be helpful in cutting it as well).
I want to hear others experience with the bugs and termites. I have a covered spot that I sore a winter's worth of wood in near my house. My long term plan is to have a "splitting area" at the back of the property where I can split wood without worrying about the mess and stack and store on pallets covered with tarps for a couple years to season and then use the tractor to move the pallets to the covered area before the winter.
Last, I understand (could be wrong) that the logs dry / season from the ends so it does not matter much if you split when green or not. It is easier to split after seasoning because the logs are lighter and split easier.
Just my thoughts while waiting for more responses.

 

[AWSubie]

Split while green. The longer you wait the harder the wood gets.

Larger than three inches in diameter is where I usually start splitting.

Termites are opportunistic if they have surrounding area that stays damp they won’t be drawn to the pile but you can always treat the ground near ur pile as a deterrent.

 

[RandyT]

Good morning. I recently purchased a new farm and it has a house with a wood burning fireplace. Fate would have it that a huge red oak was blown down during a storm back in late November. So I purchased a new Stihl 362 CM and have been cutting it up for firewood. So this is all new to me and I have some questions below:

Up to what size can I burn without splitting them? Anything over about 4 inches would benefit from being split

How long can the tree lay in the woods before I cut it all up? I’m halfway done now. Couple of years and it still should be fine

I have a tractor shed that’s 80ft long and 20ft deep. Is this a good place to store the wood to keep it dry or do I need to be concerned with termites etc being lured to the woodpile maybe later effecting my shed. Termites are always a concern, but the wood needs to be dry to burn correctly and not smolder and produce creosote. Storing it outside under a tarp and not directly on the ground could be a solution also, but I would put it in the shed.

Lastly, when do I split the larger logs? Can I wait or does it need to be done when green? Can be split at any time, but will dry down faster if split and then stored in a dry location.


Thank you,

See the bold text above

 

[shooterdon]

I normally season oak two years. I have an insert in my fireplace and do not split wood less than 6-7" in diameter. But you need smaller stuff to get a fire going. The larger pieces burn slower and last longer but are not suitable for a fast hot fire. I doubt you want a hot fire too often in NC.

If you are new to cutting wood, get yourself a set of chaps to protect your legs from a saw accident. Something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Husqvarna-58...id=1548690937&sr=8-4&keywords=chaps+chain+saw

I use a log splitter and do not worry about the wood being green or dry when splitting. Others have strong opinions of the matter.

 

[4570Man]

Contrary to what plenty believe a tree will never season in log form laying on the ground. If the log was off the ground that’s a little better but you’d still need to live in the desert to season wood like that. You’ll be better off to cut it and split as soon as reasonably possible. Splitting the rounds while green is a lot better. I don’t like round pieces of wood and usually split all of it unless it’s too small to practically split. I find that an oak tree is good for a year on the ground and by the second year it’s getting quite a bit of rot around the edges. Whatever method you go for stacking you need airflow throw the wood.

 

[CobyRupert]

I split anything bigger than 3-4 inches, nothing says you have to be consistent. Sometimes I don't split them in two (that's just twice as many pieces to handle), but give them a partial split just so air can get into core. It's amazing how a split piece of wood 8" in diameter will be drier than a unsplit 3" stick even though they came from the same tree. The little rounder will hiss and spit and bubble sap out its ends in the fire. I'd rather use the heat in wood to heat my house than use it to boil sap out of wet wood. Less creosote too.

Will dry wood be a attraction to bugs and termites? I thought they want moisture? If your wood is good (not wet/ punky), hasn't sat in dirt for a year or two, and on its way to drying, I wouldn't think bugs want it. (Then again I don't know about southern bugs.)

Any wood left in contact with the ground will just suck moisture and rot. Oak may be more resistant, but it's just downhill..

Logs, can be left, just don't leave them in contact with ground. If possible, put a couple poles (cut branches, etc..) perpendicular under them to get them an inch or two off ground.

 

[CMV]

Not an expert by any means and don't heat my home with wood. But in general 16" sections, split in quarters - more than quarters for the fatter parts. That's just a nice size to deal with all around.

In addition to the bugs, lizards & snakes like wood piles around us (probably everywhere lizards & snakes live I'd guess). Lizards no big deal, but don't like running across random snakes. I have lots of spiders, mostly harmless wolf, but anywhere I have wood, I have black widows too & that's only place I ever see those. But due to those 2 critters, I keep my split wood away from anything else and if I want a pile to burn late into the evening, I move it all during daylight.

There's a lot you can do to discourage snakes from an area, but I've found nothing for spiders. Since they don't groom at all and their bodies don't make surface contact, typical sprays aren't effective vs spiders - unless you spray them directly - residuals they just walk right trough it with no harm.

BTW I'm not "scared" of spiders, but don't necessarily want a black widow bite so I am cautious....

 

[TnAndy]

Size ? Whatever makes it easy for your wife to handle so she will feed the stove.

No, not kidding.

My house stove handles 16" lengths, so I shoot for that in lengths. Shop stove will take 28" or so, but my splitter maxes out at 24, so nothing over that do I work with.

Diameter, again, wife wife moans if I get it too big, so I try to get most in the 4-5" range with enough smaller stuff to make building a fire easy.

I don't think green or drier makes a lot of difference....but I leave mine in log form, and cut just before splitting most of the time....the logs may have been down a year, but moisture content isn't much lower than green.....as 4570 said, wood doesn't dry unless you get it split.

 

[Diggin It]

I've split some stuff under 4" just to help it dry better. Whole pieces with the bark on don't dry (season) sell. I've also found the bark will help harbor insects and give them a place to work from undetected. Keep it off the ground if you can, moisture and dirt will also invite insects and rot.

Length will depend on the size of your stove. Longer pieces will be heavier to carry of course and Red Oak is very heavy, even in 16-20" pieces

If you plan on doing this in future years, invest in a splitter. Stand alone or 3 point for the tractor is another point of contention here. I prefer stand alone so I can leave it at the wood pile without the tractor.

 

[Deere Dude]

I find that if I cut in logs one year and then cut into rounds the next year or two the bark falls right off. As long as you have a new tough saw already and the first tree I would cut into rounds right now and store in your shed. Logs after a year or two are easier to split with a hydraulic splitter. They don't seem as stringy. I spray BIFEN IT which is a termicide to keep all bugs off my wood pile.

 

[JasperFrank]

I've started making fire wood in a different manner than most. Instead of chainsaw cutting the normal 10-14 inch rounds and then splitting, I cut much smaller 4 to 6 inch thick "Poker Chips." It was something of an experiment. For me the experiment payed off. Splitting is a breeze if the poker chip will not fit the stove, and normally the round will split, with one hit center with the maul, in to three or more pie slices. If the chip will fit with out splitting, I just use the whole chip and stack them in the stove. This seems to slow down the burn rate so I'm good all night with one load. I haven't studied this method in a formal way, but it feels like way less work. Chain sawing this way makes more saw dust, but we use that dust anyway for grounds keeping.

 

[oosik]

The only wood around here is Ponderosa pine. We burned wood the first ten years we were here. I tried my damest to split this stuff with a splitting maul - no joy. Went to a 30 ton hydraulic splitter. The wood stove would handle 16" length.

I would fell a tree - cut to length - split - transport to woodshed and stack. All in a continuous motion. Five full chords a year. I had a two bay wood shed. Burn the wood split last year.

It all worked great. However, it did bring a lot of bugs, bark & ash( Mt St Helens ) into the house. After ten years we converted to pellets. The price of pellets went out of sight. We are now electric heat.

 

[LouNY]

Grew up on wood, cut split and stacked this winter for next year.
Now I burn coal, pick up apallet of 40# bags bring it up to the house,
pour a bag into a 5 gallon bucket.
Shake the ash down once a day, pour in most of a bucket carry the ash pan out to the steel trash can and dump it,
done no creosote, no chimney fires to worry about, usually 24 hours or longer heat from one load.
Heck of a lot less fuss and work then wood.
Lou

 

[turnkey4099]

A few comments.

On covering your stacks. Tops only. The air has to get to the sides of the splits or it won't dry.

Split green or dry? Depends on the species, some (black locust) splits easier the dryier it gets. Some it doesn't matter. Some it splits easier green.

Splitting: If splitting manually Fiskars or not. By all means invest in a "Fiskars Splitting Ax" Be sure it is that one and not the "Fiskars Chopping Ax" Available at Wal Mart currently for $53 IIANM. You will also need a splitting maul and probably a sledgehammer, 10 or 8lb, and a couple steel splitting wedges. No one tool will do everything.

 

[kuschneider]

"Diameter, again, wife wife moans if I get it too big"

Amen brother

 

[Larry Caldwell]

If you are splitting by hand with a maul, split oak while green. If you are using a splitter, it probably doesn't matter.

Split anything too big to fit in the firebox. My wood stove will accept a 24" long by 10" round log, which saves me a lot of work. My wife can't handle that, so just uses little 4" splits, then forgets and the fire goes out.

The bigger the piece the longer it takes to dry and the longer it will hold a coal. If you are faced with a 3' round try splitting shakes off the outside.

I save the little branches for a quick fire. Get up in the morning, toss half a dozen 1.5" rounds in the firebox, open the draft, and by the time I'm out of the shower the stove is hot. By the time I'm dressed for work it has burned to coals, so damp it down. When the sun comes up it warms the house all day, and heats the tile floor. By the time I get home from work the house is still warm, so I dump the ashes and build a new fire.

A fireplace is decorative, not practical. You won't use it much. Glass doors will help keep the heat from going up the chimney.

 

[fishheadbob]

Never make wood your wife cannot handle.
I heated with wood 40 years, my preference was to split before loading onto a wagon as close to the downed log as possible as it only weighed half as much after splitting. I'm also of the opinion that the greater the surface area exposed to air, the better the dry down. Some thinner pieces are nice for starting a fire, some thicker ones keep you from having to load the appliance too often.
Since you have the large equipment shed, use it. I could usually scrounge some pallets to stack on, keeping the wood from ground contact.

 

[LD48750]

As far as splitting size, I quit splitting when I can pick it up with one hand.
I cut dead & down into rounds then split & stack under cover (in barn) and burn that year.
Some of the stuff I drag out of the woods or swamp has been down for 5 or more years.
I really like standing dead 2 or more years old.
Mostly oak around me.