"arkland" wrote in message
...
I was going to prune the top of a 30-foot oak, but on advice of this
forum, I simply chain sawed it down.

I cut up the logs into 20 inch lengths of from 1.5 feet in diameter down
to about six to ten inches in diameter.

I stacked the logs up, unsplit, and then began to wonder how long it
takes to 'dry' out for campfire use.

What's the rule of thumb (if any) for how long unsplit wood takes to dry
outside before being usable in a campfire setting? (The California
climate is such that it won't rain from now until December.)

I'm guessing the bigger oak logs might take all summer to dry out?

Wood may season at an uneven rate in bigger pieces. It dries from the
inside out, and the outside may be dry, but the inside still wet. I would
split it, and then allow it to dry for one season. If you split it too
small, it will burn too quickly. If you split it too large, or don't split
it, it will take a long time to dry. I try to make different sizes of
finished split wood, as once your fire is going, a large dry piece will burn
for a very long time versus feeding many smaller pieces in the same time
span.

I would say that 16 square inches would be a good size, 4" on a side, and
then 36 square inches for larger long burning pieces, 6" on a side.

Species of woods all have their btu ratings, and desirability for different
reasons. But, the basics apply to all woods, and that includes drying time.
Splitting reduces drying time.

HTH

Steve