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How long to season oak in Texas?


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I've got a 1/4 cord of live oak from tree limbs we cleaned up from a tree last winter. About half of it is split from 6-8 inch diameter logs, and half are full logs in the 4-5inch diameter range.  All stacked in a 1/4 cord stand.

I don't remember the exact date everything was cut and split, but no later than March 1st.

Any rough idea as to how long it should take to season to be used as firewood?  I just ran out of my other rack and am wondering if the wood from last winter is ready.

I live in Driftwood, and the wood has been properly stacked for good airflow and gets plenty of sunshine.  I can't find any good rule of thumb online, but surely after the heat we had this year with very little rain it's dry enough to burn, right?

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I've wondered about this too... if using it inside in a fireplace, just remember that if it is too smoky, it will put off more creosote so you want to make sure you have your chimney checked regularly.  We've got a decent amount too from last year but I'm about to go split a quarter-cord of properly seasoned wood from a nearby firewood supplier for burning inside.

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I spent one miserable late winter/spring in New England burning wood for heat, I have thoughts. There's a difference between burning wood in a fire pit vs. fireplace/stove. Green wood is awful to burn in a firebox: smoky, prone to flameout/smolder, slow to coal, coats the chimney/stovepipe with creosote.  In a firepit, you burn enough scrap lumber to get a fire going, you can burn damn near anything if you don't mind smelling like firepit.

Compared to Eastern White Oak, Southern Live Oak seems to cure faster, especially in Texas heat.  If you want to ensure quickest seasoning, fold a tarp over to a width to cover the top of the wood stack and weigh down with a few logs to keep the bulk of the rain off.  As previously stated: The general rule of thumb with most hardwoods (oak) is about a year, but if you have a good airy, dry, sunny location, you might be able to get away with 9 months. 

Edited by Bateshorn
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I was under the impression that Live Oak was only good for firewood and that regardless of how long you age it that it would give meat a undesirable flavor if used for smoking.

Too much tannin or something in Live Oak/Red Oak.  Need to switch to white oak, pecan or mesquite for smoking meat.

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6 minutes ago, TexasEd said:

I was under the impression that Live Oak was only good for firewood and that regardless of how long you age it that it would give meat a undesirable flavor if used for smoking.

Too much tannin or something in Live Oak/Red Oak.  Need to switch to white oak, pecan or mesquite for smoking meat.

A lot of BBQ places use it, but it's going to be well seasoned, likely 2 years minimum

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Just went and picked up a 1/4 cord out at Kinser ranch off of Fitzhugh for you Austin gents... went with a neighbor and split it since I didn't need a full quarter.  Just wanted wood that would be set aside from Freezemageddon III 

$130 quarter cord seasoned oak (in case anyone cares)

https://firewoodandmulchaustintx.com/product-price-list/

Edited by texasdago
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I split a cords worth of live oak, red oak, and cedar elm from that storm as well (Austin) and it's all burning just fine in the outdoor fire pit this year.  Haven't used them inside but I think they'd be just fine there too. 

Edited by kangsta
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