Hi,

I'm trying to determine if hardwoods such as oak, pecan...etc. should be
split when green or seasoned for a period of time?

I have been splitting some nice oak and have noticed that the core was still
moist. How long should this split wood set before being sacrificed in the
smoker?

Kurt

On Wed, 21 Dec 2005 04:03:39 GMT, "kurtk" > wrote:

>Hi,
>
>I'm trying to determine if hardwoods such as oak, pecan...etc. should be
>split when green or seasoned for a period of time?

Think about this a minute. Which do you think splits more easily? Dry,
seasoned wood or moist, green wood?

Kevin S. Wilson wrote:

> On Wed, 21 Dec 2005 04:03:39 GMT, "kurtk" > wrote:
>
>
>>Hi,
>>
>>I'm trying to determine if hardwoods such as oak, pecan...etc. should be
>>split when green or seasoned for a period of time?
>
>
> Think about this a minute. Which do you think splits more easily? Dry,
> seasoned wood or moist, green wood?
>

Was that the question? No, I read it again to be sure but I got it the
first time. OK, Kevin, try really hard to understand that the question
was "when", not "more easily? <sic>".

Dan Krueger wrote:
> Kevin S. Wilson wrote:
>
>> On Wed, 21 Dec 2005 04:03:39 GMT, "kurtk" > wrote:
>>
>>
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>> I'm trying to determine if hardwoods such as oak, pecan...etc. should
>>> be split when green or seasoned for a period of time?
>>
>>
>>
>> Think about this a minute. Which do you think splits more easily? Dry,
>> seasoned wood or moist, green wood?
>>
>
> Was that the question? No, I read it again to be sure but I got it the
> first time. OK, Kevin, try really hard to understand that the question
> was "when", not "more easily? <sic>".


It don't make a ****'s worth of difference when you split wood you dumb
shit.

What matters is when you burn it.

Judging from your question it won't make any difference to you anyway.

--
TFM®

"kurtk" > wrote in message
et...
> Hi,
>
> I'm trying to determine if hardwoods such as oak, pecan...etc. should be
> split when green or seasoned for a period of time?
>
> I have been splitting some nice oak and have noticed that the core was
> still moist. How long should this split wood set before being sacrificed
> in the smoker?
>
> Kurt

Spilt when you want to. The easiest is when the logs are frozen. Dries
faster when split smaller. How long is should dry is a mater of preference
and the fire making abilities of the cook. Dry burns easier and is less
likely to produce creosote though.

well...let me tell you how my granddaddy did it.

Come about spring, he would go walking in the woods. While there, he
would choose a coupla nice trees, as well as look for any deadfalls.
Once he picked out the trees and marked them, he and my uncles would go
back and cut the trees down. Where they were cut, they would lie. Come
fall, he and my uncles would go back, trim off the small branches, and
use the tractor to haul the trunks down by the barn. There, the wood
would be cut into logs, then split and stacked. (my granddaddy and
uncles would do the cuttin and splittin, and us younguns would be in
charge of the stackin) This gave enough wood to get everyone in the
family who used wood heat thru the winter. Come spring, any leftovers
would be moved inside the barn, and come fall they would be split up
for kindling.

Reminiscing aside, hardwoods split better when allowed to season for a
little while. However, you must remember that hardwoods are dense, so
some of the heart wood, espically in red oak, tends to retain a little
moisture. If left for about a fortnight in dry, airy conditions, the
oak will fully dry, allowing for a nice smoke with a little less
retained ash than some other hardwoods. (no, we don't have a fallen oak
tree that I'm cutting up and using for heat this winter :P )