How long will fire wood last.

There are trees that were taken down by a logging company before I purchased the land. They are oak , maple, hickory and walnut. The loggers only took the main trunk. I have about forty full cords of wood by estimate and have cut and stacked three full cords.

I am wondering if it would be better to sell some of this wood as it will not last long enough for me to burn it. Is there a rule of thumb as to how long you can store wood and not have it rot? Also how do you store the wood to really make it last?

Given that you have good hardwood, I would think 3-4 years would be very reasonable, perhaps longer if you can keep the supply under cover and well ventalated. I used to live up the road from you (Lockport area), and the availability of hardwood is one of things I miss of Western NY.

If you keep a tarp on it it will last for 10 years or more. Even left untarped that hardwood will last for seven years or more. Pine and other softwoods won't last as long but those hardwoods like oak and walnut will last for many years.

It will last forever if it is kept dry. Problem is to keep it dry. I have wood stacked under cover on gravel that has been there over 10 years. I normally do not burn firewood less than 3 years old (split and stacked under cover). Until that time the wood is not really dry (air dry is considered about 15% dry weight basis). Any moisture in the wood has to be 'burned off' which takes some of the potential energy the wood has. Burning moisture is where creosote comes from, so to speak.

The wood in the walls of your house are no different. Keep them dry and they will last forever - or at least one day less than forever. But let the roof leak, and the wood in the walls can decay in a very short period of time.

There are wooden structures and furniture pieces that are several hundred years old and all are still burnable. I'm also pretty sure that wooden objects have been found in Egyptian tombs, and I would imagine that the wood is still burnable. So, to make it last a really, really long time, do what the Egyptians did. First get ten thousand guys, some ropes and some really big blocks of stone... [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img]

Sorry, I had to do it. I think your question really has more to do with how long it can be kept and still maintain usefullness as firewood (BTU's). As the others have said, if you keep it out of the elements it will last as long as you want it to.

SHF