Northern Michigan Red Oak

[boisblancboy]

So in my area I have access to as much red oak as I can get my hands on. Well just about 2 weeks ago I found, cut down and split a dead standing red oak tree. Didn’t hardly have any bark on it. Well today for Christmas I got a wood moisture meter. Right away I couldn’t help myself and tested some of that oak. Just about every piece I tested was at 18%, that pretty decent to burn?

 

[motocrash]

Spot on man!

 

[boisblancboy]

Spot on man!

Great! Thank you.

I filled a large tub of it also and place it in my basement. I beat with wood and the humidity in the house is ultra low through the heating season. Figured it couldn’t hurt to get all the moisture I could out of it.

 

[motocrash]

It'll dry more but getting it to about 10-12 % is normal without a kiln or living in the southwest.But it's good to go now.

 

[boisblancboy]

Well I used this new wood I split one time and could tell it wasn’t as dry as I tested. So I split a few pieces and tested in the core. 24-25%. So I resplit a lot of the pieces that were a little big, stacked some under the smoker and filled 2 mills crates of them and placed them behind my wood stove. The pieces now are roughly 1.5”x1.5”x12”. Figured even with the smaller size I may feed the smoker a little more but that’s ok. I like playing with Fire.

 

[motocrash]

Wouldn't that be bois Chene rouge where you live ? ;)

 

[forkin pork]

With out a doubt, god to go. I burn about 4 cores in the winter, and that's a good percentage.
Wish I had that much oak to get my hands on.

 

[boisblancboy]

Wouldn't that be bois Chene rouge where you live ? ;)

I’m not sure! Lol. I know Bois Blanc is French and I know it stands for something like White pine or white wood.

 

[boisblancboy]

With out a doubt, god to go. I burn about 4 cores in the winter, and that's a good percentage.
Wish I had that much oak to get my hands on.

I’d definintly burned but wanted to make a lot of white smoke and sizzled for awhile. So I figured it wouldnt hurt to dry it out more and with smaller splits it will happen faster.

 

[motocrash]

I’m not sure! Lol. I know Bois Blanc is French and I know it stands for something like White pine or white wood.

Oui !... it means Red Oak Wood in frog

 

[boisblancboy]

Oui !... it means Red Oak Wood in frog

Learn something everyday!

 

[motocrash]

Learn something everyday!

What I said means that..where you live means white wood because of all the birch trees.

 

[forkin pork]

I’d definintly burned but wanted to make a lot of white smoke and sizzled for awhile. So I figured it wouldnt hurt to dry it out more and with smaller splits it will happen faster.

Yup your right, you can dry it out a little more, and smaller splits will make it happen, with that being said, 20% is acceptable, 18% is good, anything below that is better.
You know what your doing.

 

[BBQSoCal]

By the way, is red oak, red oak? What I mean is, in So Cal we have lots of oak and I believe it is red oak because I buy oak from wood yards and it's always red oak. So is red oak in Michigan the same as red oak in So Cal and other places? I know different oaks have their own characteristics such as white oak, red oak, and post oak. Post oak you can find a lot in Texas.

Congrats on your red oak you have. I am all for finding free wood. I think I can find free red oak here in So Cal. See my posting and thread on getting free wood and how I got some free maple wood. Not sure if I can find free mesquite and hickory here in So Cal. Not sure how common if at all it is here. Just not sure but I can do a Google search on that.

 

[boisblancboy]

By the way, is red oak, red oak? What I mean is, in So Cal we have lots of oak and I believe it is red oak because I buy oak from wood yards and it's always red oak. So is red oak in Michigan the same as red oak in So Cal and other places? I know different oaks have their own characteristics such as white oak, red oak, and post oak. Post oak you can find a lot in Texas.

Congrats on your red oak you have. I am all for finding free wood. I think I can find free red oak here in So Cal. See my posting and thread on getting free wood and how I got some free maple wood. Not sure if I can find free mesquite and hickory here in So Cal. Not sure how common if at all it is here. Just not sure but I can do a Google search on that.

I'm no tree expert but I'd say from region to region all trees have change with different characteristics. If you able to get your hands on it, go for it. In my area red oak is the best and easiest wood to get my hands on. While I have other species I can get here also, the amounts that I can stock up can be hard, which include fruit trees.

 

[Rings Я Us]

Learn something everyday!

Your right by my parents place in Cheboygan.
They live on Black River near Black Lake.

 

[boisblancboy]

Your right by my parents place in Cheboygan.
They live on Black River near Black Lake.

No kidding! I have lots of family in Cheboygan. Some used to live near Black Lake.