Ash firewood small splits.

[Luigi]

Hi all,
I've been learning a lot reading through the forum. Being new to burning wood I scrounged a bunch of wood last March and cut, split, and stacked it. Turns out it was all oak because that's pretty much what most people give away in Northern New Jersey since its so abundant. I never realized how long it takes to season oak until reading through the forum.. Its all about 12-13 inch splits and approximately 3-6 diameter splits. I made them small because of the stove I have. So the last couple of weeks I have been testing some of the splits with a moisture meter I bought at Lowes. Boy was I surprised. Some of the larger sized splits are between 25-30% moisture. Some of the smaller sized splits are between 15-25%. So I pretty much won't have much wood available to burn this coming season. I kept checking craigslist and found a bunch of ash that someone had just cut down about 2 weeks ago. I just finished splitting it and it was about 30% at the thickest parts. Surprisingly some of the small rounds were at 20% already. My question is will the ash be dry enough to burn in about 2-3 months? I don't have a cover on the wood but I have it down to 13-15 inches in length and about 4-6 inches in diameter.

 

[Beer Belly]

IMO...any wood below 25% on a fresh split is good to go....but I'm still somewhat new at this. Also, Ash and Maple are quick to season if stacked right.

 

[Realstone]

Ciao Luigi. Come stai? A belated welcome to the Hearth!

Oak takes longer to cure, about twice as long as most other hardwood given the same conditions. Ash dries quicker, might be worth getting some of that and putting up with the smoke. Or you could do what I did in my first season and check out ads for scrap lumber, skids (pallets) etc as they are already kiln dried. What kind of stove do you have?

 

[Luigi]

Ciao Luigi. Come stai? A belated welcome to the Hearth!

Oak takes longer to cure, about twice as long as most other hardwood given the same conditions. Ash dries quicker, might be worth getting some of that and putting up with the smoke. Or you could do what I did in my first season and check out ads for scrap lumber, skids (pallets) etc as they are already kiln dried. What kind of stove do you have?

The stove is an Englander 17-VL. I would take more of the ash but by the time I got around to go get more it was all gone. I definitely have a good source for pallets at my work so I may look into that to supplement what I have. I can get firewood all day for free where I live but its all oak. I did scrounge up some maple a couple of weeks ago and it was fairly dry already. The guy I got it from told me the tree was sick for a while. Some parts were rotten in the middle. I didnt take those pieces but the smaller limbs were already at 15%. Looked like the tree was cut down for a while. I hand split everything so i did notice that maple was more difficult to split than oak and the ash.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

The ash will be your best bet. It just won't be the best as it still usually takes a year. Don't buy into that old wives tale about ash is ready to burn right after it is cut. The reason folks make silly claims about ash is because it starts out a a lot less moisture than most other woods. It still needs time to dry.

That said, one year we were forced into burning freshly cut ash. We didn't freeze, but didn't stay very warm either except for all the exercise going after more wood sooner than expected and also cleaning the chimney about 6 times that winter. We got by and so can you, but don't expect miracles.

In addition, use this experience as a good learning lesson and never forget it in the future. Also try to get the 3 years ahead most of us use as a rule of thumb. That takes away a lot of problems. It might take a while to get that far ahead but it is well worth the time and effort. Once there, then it is easy coasting as you only have to cut one year's worth at a time and all your wood will be dry. That also means you'll use less wood and get more heat from it.

 

[Realstone]

I hand split everything so i did notice that maple was more difficult to split than oak and the ash.

Might have been what is referred to around here as a 'yard bird'. Lotsa knots and twists in the grain that make splitting tougher.

 

[mikey517]

Luigi,

Welcome. Where in North New Jersey are you? Anywhere near Sussex County?

 

[Luigi]

Luigi,

Welcome. Where in North New Jersey are you? Anywhere near Sussex County?

Hi Mikey,
I am not too far from Sussex county but Sussex is one big county. Im in Morris County on the Butler/Kinnelon border.

 

[mikey517]

Luigi, I'm in Highland Lakes...we're almost neighbors!

 

[Saddle Mander]

I am on the Montville/Boonton border, just bought an Englander stove, don't have a stockpile of seasoned wood, and am learning from other people that all the ash that I recently scrambled to gather isn't really going to help me like I was expecting it to. I should be set for the next two years, but I fear I may be burning a lot of pallets this year...

 

[USMC80]

Rockaway here