Ash..... a miracle wood?

After what I've read here I doubt if wood can ever get too dry in my area,white oak Given to me in 2004 was already 4 years old,just this weeekend I split a few pieces and most of it was still 16 to 18%.Been stored in a shed burned beautiful though.

That wood too dry talk is all bull. Wood won't get too dry. Look at that wood we put in the stoves at Woodstock. It was cut, split and stacked in December of 2002 and we put into the stoves in October 2011. Really got a nice burn with it too.

As for the ash, now for sure, some can be burned much quicker or at least it can around here because all our ash are dead. We still have plenty to cut though. We've burned a lot of ash and have burned it right off the stump, after 6 months, after a year and after more than a year. We have noticed a huge difference. Give it more than a year and it will burn better. Perhaps not for oldspark but maybe he does things different as he likes to tell about burning his wood so soon. For us, we'd much rather burn the wood later and have gotten much better results by doing so.

So in my book it is still the ideal to get 2-3 years ahead with your wood supply. Not only will it guarantee you have good wood to burn but should some disaster hit you and you can not cut one year, you still have good wood. It is better than money in the bank and as someone else pointed out, you don't even get taxed on it.

Backwoods Savage said:

That wood too dry talk is all bull. Wood won't get too dry. Look at that wood we put in the stoves at Woodstock. It was cut, split and stacked in December of 2002 and we put into the stoves in October 2011. Really got a nice burn with it too.

As for the ash, now for sure, some can be burned much quicker or at least it can around here because all our ash are dead. We still have plenty to cut though. We've burned a lot of ash and have burned it right off the stump, after 6 months, after a year and after more than a year. We have noticed a huge difference. Give it more than a year and it will burn better. Perhaps not for oldspark but maybe he does things different as he likes to tell about burning his wood so soon. For us, we'd much rather burn the wood later and have gotten much better results by doing so.

So in my book it is still the ideal to get 2-3 years ahead with your wood supply. Not only will it guarantee you have good wood to burn but should some disaster hit you and you can not cut one year, you still have good wood. It is better than money in the bank and as someone else pointed out, you don't even get taxed on it.

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The wood I had was not normal, wood will only get so dry and then will quit drying, the wood you has that was checked by BK was in the 20's for some reason or another. I did not say too dry of wood is normal but I has some and it was dead when cut, might have been elm and the secondaries went crazy and the wood burnt up rather quickly, not sure why you think it is bull as really low% is going to burn quicker, that is as much a fact as wet wood dont burn well. Like I said too dry of wood is not normal because it will only dry to a point and quit, a good reason not to leave it for many years

Backwoods Savage said:

oldspark said:

I give up, dont know what you guys are doing but it does not take ash (especially Green Ash) a full year to get to 18%, I guess I could take pictures of when I cut it and the reading and show what it is at the end of the summer but you wont believe it any way. I guess wood just drys faster in NW Iowa.

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Oldspark, you live in a different climate out there so maybe have some different results.

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I dont think we are that different, but I do not stack in cubes, all this talk about drying and I know some people stack in double rows or cubes and that aint gonna get it for quick drying.

'So in my book it is still the ideal to get 2-3 years ahead with your wood supply. Not only will it guarantee you have good wood to burn but should some disaster hit you and you can not cut one year, you still have good wood. It is better than money in the bank and as someone else pointed out, you don’t even get taxed on it. "
NEVER did I say that was not a good idea, not once. I have 3 years of wood here now.

parsimonious said:

There is a Shakespeare qoute about burning ash without seasoning. I cant remember the qoute but its something about keeping a Kings feet warm while its still green. Anyone know the qoute? This thread reminded me of it. Seems people have known of ashes relatively low moisture content for along time, although I won't advocate burning any wood green.

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Yep.

Beechwood fires are bright and clear
If the logs are kept a year,
Chestnut's only good they say,
If for logs 'tis laid away.
Make a fire of Elder tree,
Death within your house will be;
But ash new or ash old,
Is fit for a queen with crown of gold.

Birch and fir logs burn too fast
Blaze up bright and do not last,
it is by the Irish said
Hawthorn bakes the sweetest bread.
Elm wood burns like churchyard mould,
E'en the very flames are cold
But Ash green or Ash brown
Is fit for a queen with golden crown.

Poplar gives a bitter smoke,
Fills your eyes and makes you choke,
Apple wood will scent your room
Pear wood smells like flowers in bloom
Oaken logs, if dry and old
keep away the winter's cold
But Ash wet or Ash dry
a king shall warm his slippers by.

ASH wet sucks. 35%, they did not have EPA stoves when that poem was written. :lol:

oldspark said:

ASH wet sucks. 35%, they did not have EPA stoves when that poem was written. :lol:

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Didn't have the EPA either, just Kings :snake:

tfdchief said:

oldspark said:

ASH wet sucks. 35%, they did not have EPA stoves when that poem was written. :lol:

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Didn't have the EPA either, just Kings :snake:

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Well then burn on brother! :coolsmile:

oldspark said:

I know some people stack in double rows or cubes and that aint gonna get it for quick drying.

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Ja, I stack in double rows and Dennis stacks in triple rows but then we aren't in any real hurry to burn the stuff.

woodmiser said:

...I'm lazy.

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Ja, well... 4 years ago I was just tossing them in heaps to dry before laying them up in the shed cuz I didn't want to stack twice. I still have some of that wood left over in my shed cuz the 3 year old stuff got stacked in front of it.

I dont know too many lazy people who burn wood, well I know one and I split and cut wood for him last week.

oldspark said:

I give up, dont know what you guys are doing but it does not take ash (especially Green Ash) a full year to get to 18%, I guess I could take pictures of when I cut it and the reading and show what it is at the end of the summer but you wont believe it any way. I guess wood just drys faster in NW Iowa.

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I agree. Lots of white ash here in upstate NY although it's under attack from the ash borers. I'm burning some ash right now that I cut this fall. Burns great. As for those suggesting that seasoning for 2 years is desirable?? Well, must be a difference in species, or climate but virtually any hardwood around here cut in the early spring and stacked in a sunny area is fine for the following heating season.

Of course there's always a distinction between what's ideal and what's practical. Having been born & raised on a farm where at one point wood was our only heat, there aren't many farmers that have the luxury of being able to store wood for anywhere near 2 years-- but we managed to keep warm in the winter in any event.

tymbee said:

Of course there's always a distinction between what's ideal and what's practical. Having been born & raised on a farm where at one point wood was our only heat, there aren't many farmers that have the luxury of being able to store wood for anywhere near 2 years-- but we managed to keep warm in the winter in any event.

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Ja, I grew up on a farm too... burned same year wood. My father never knew the value of dry wood but my mother sure did. I remember many a tongue lashing she'd give the old man when the supper was delayed cuz the cookstove wasn't putting out the heat. She'd take the food out of the oven and put some splits in the oven to dry some.

He never did learn and a chimney fire burned the house to the ground.

oldspark said:

I dont know too many lazy people who burn wood, well I know one and I split and cut wood for him last week.

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What ya doing next week? :lol:

Yikes! That's learning a lesson the hard way for sure. Hand in hand with the necessity to burn unseasoned wood should be the expectation that one must clean the chimney and stove pipe much more often.

We didn't cook with wood but I had nearby family that did. I can vividly remember walking into their country kitchen in the dead of winter just as fresh baked loaves of bread were coming out of the oven. Great memory-- but offset somewhat by the less pleasurable bread making experience in mid-July when it was 90 degrees outside...

LLigetfa said:

tymbee said:

Of course there's always a distinction between what's ideal and what's practical. Having been born & raised on a farm where at one point wood was our only heat, there aren't many farmers that have the luxury of being able to store wood for anywhere near 2 years-- but we managed to keep warm in the winter in any event.

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Ja, I grew up on a farm too... burned same year wood. My father never knew the value of dry wood but my mother sure did. I remember many a tongue lashing she'd give the old man when the supper was delayed cuz the cookstove wasn't putting out the heat. She'd take the food out of the oven and put some splits in the oven to dry some.

He never did learn and a chimney fire burned the house to the ground.

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I cut up several downed White Ash trees in early november. I don't know how long they were down, but I was pleasantly surprised when I split them, and found the moisture content to be 18 - 20%. I put it right into the woodshed to be burned this winter.

Seems like a good time to bring out this . . .

Firefighterjake�s Poem about Wood

Wood Is Good

Here's a poem about wood, a little ditty,
Before I forget, welcome to hearth.com tickbitty.

All wood is good if it is given time to season,
Here's my thinking, here's the reason.

Just like the song "Turn Turn Turn" by the Byrds,
Every species of wood has it's place, at least according to this Nerd.

Poplar, silver maple, spruce and fir,
In the shoulder seasons will make the woodstove purr.

You will not burn down your home with pine,
Good for kindling or quick, fast fires, to this wood species I raise my stein.

Beech, sugar maple, hickory, locust and oak,
Good for those really cold days, the fire will not die out or soon croak.

And what about the aromatic cedar?
Good for kindling or shoulder seasons -- throw it in your heater.

Some folks do not like burning birch -- yellow, gray, black or white,
They say it burns up too fast, I say the fire is still hot and burns bright.

Elm they say is too wet and hard to split when fresh cut as it is stringy and burns poorly, I say it gets a bad rap,
Wait a year, when seasoned and elm is burning, in front of the warm stove you'll soon be taking a nap.

Ash, oh ash, I love this wood the best of all, my favorite wood of all is ash,
But it really should season and then this wood is better than cash.

So to all new burners who wonder and worry about the species of wood,
I say to you, all species of wood is very good.

But heed these words well -- you really need to give most wood a year to dry,
If you do not season the wood, the fire will sputter and you will no doubt swear and may cry.

Cut, split and stack your wood for a year,
And then come next Winter in front of the warm fire you will sip your ice-cold beer.


---

And on a serious side . . .

Burned ash that was cut, split and stacked 4-6 months previously . . . thought it burned pretty well.
The next year I burned ash that was cut, split and stacked for oever a year . . . and I saw the light as it was a whole new experience with more heat and easier ignition.
Two year old ash . . . pretty close to the first year . . . only sometimes it can almost seem like someone has set off a firebomb in the woodstove.

tymbee said:

oldspark said:

I give up, dont know what you guys are doing but it does not take ash (especially Green Ash) a full year to get to 18%, I guess I could take pictures of when I cut it and the reading and show what it is at the end of the summer but you wont believe it any way. I guess wood just drys faster in NW Iowa.

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I agree. Lots of white ash here in upstate NY although it's under attack from the ash borers. I'm burning some ash right now that I cut this fall. Burns great. As for those suggesting that seasoning for 2 years is desirable?? Well, must be a difference in species, or climate but virtually any hardwood around here cut in the early spring and stacked in a sunny area is fine for the following heating season.

Of course there's always a distinction between what's ideal and what's practical. Having been born & raised on a farm where at one point wood was our only heat, there aren't many farmers that have the luxury of being able to store wood for anywhere near 2 years-- but we managed to keep warm in the winter in any event.

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And having been born and raised on a farm, we always cut our wood well ahead of time. Not so for the neighbors, but they were the ones with cold houses and had chimney fires.

As for the ash one year vs. two, there is a difference; very noticeable. No, I would not hesitate to burn ash in a year and we've even burned it green, but that is not the ideal for sure.

And yes, NW Iowa is a different climate than most places further east.

In the past and probably today, wood burning was not a hobby for farmers but a necessity. With all else they had to do, getting a year ahead on firewood may not have happened every year.

I've heard ash referred to as " Farmers coal".

BTW . I've got plenty on my woodlot in upstateNY, a few targeted for the '13/'14 season. Got to get them before the borers do.

gerry100 said:

In the past and probably today, wood burning was not a hobby for farmers but a necessity. With all else they had to do, getting a year ahead on firewood may not have happened every year.

I've heard ash referred to as " Farmers coal".

BTW . I've got plenty on my woodlot in upstateNY, a few targeted for the '13/'14 season. Got to get them before the borers do.

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First, I am not being sarcastic, just really curious as to the reason. Why do you have to get those ash before the wood borers do? They are just getting here, adjacent county to the North.