Ash firewood

[Itslay90]

I think ash firewood is overrated. I know it's good that it dries fast, but I think it burns too fast.

 

[Wisco Shepherd]

I think ash firewood is overrated. I know it's good that it dries fast, but I think it burns too fast.

Definitely not saying this is what happened in your experience but I have seen folks who think they have ash when they really have silver maple.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Norway maple has a similar bark to ash. Ash wood itself doesn’t look like maple, more like a closed grain oak. But that’s to my eye.

 

[Turbo89]

Need more specifics to help, but I also prefer oak/hard maple/beech to ash. My stoves seems to burn a few hrs longer with those vice ash, which is nice for the long overnight burns. That being said, it’s great wood I would never turn down.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

Ash is medium density hardwoord. Not low or not high. Good middle of the road stuff.
If you’re careful, Ash may get passive aggressive with you and just go extinct.

 

[stovelark]

Don't be a wood snob- ha. Burn what you can/have, just make sure it is dry... that's the key. Warming up a bit here in CT, it is welcome.

 

[fvhowler]

I generally burn what I can find in my area. Lots of Ash available due to EAB in central NC. I will be burning some white ash next winter mixed with white oak and hickory. Ash is very light compared to oak which does indicate it will burn quick. We'll see.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

I generally burn what I can find in my area. Lots of Ash available due to EAB in central NC. I will be burning some white ash next winter mixed with white oak and hickory. Ash is very light compared to oak which does indicate it will burn quick. We'll see.

Probably right. I’ve had ash that was light feeling and more heavy. Probably depends on the particular individual tree cut down.

 

[bigealta]

I think ash firewood is overrated. I know it's good that it dries fast, but I think it burns too fast.

I have to agree, i've not burned that much Ash but when i did i was thinking, i'm not gonna make room for it again if i have oak or locust available.

With limited stacking space i try to stick with only the top dogs when possible.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I really haven’t met a piece of firewood that was better than another. Every split has its place… in the woodstove.

 

[Pinesmoke]

Up in West Central Ohio the bore went through 10 years back and took down a LOT of ash. During that time I burned it almost exclusively and I loved it. I probably ran 25 cords of it. I found , from green, a one year stack was optional. 2 years+ and it was a little too dry and it was a little quick to run overnight on cold nights

One thing I loved about it was the ash it left behind. I would run a rake through the embers and it almost disappeared into talcum powder fine dust. The ember pile it left was really hot. It didn't compare to hedge on a sub zero night but then not a lot of easily available wood does.

 

[stovelark]

I agree with burn what you have- I know ash at one time was the dominant wood for baseball bats, not sure if that still holds. Sometimes I think its a shame to burn such pretty wood as oak or maple knowing what beautiful furniture it could be instead, but when my butt is up next to the warm wood stove, I appreciate the sacrifice of the wood to keep me warm. Stay warm all.

 

[reaperman1]

Around here we have alot of Green Ash, its great firewood. Its hardness rating is just behind red oak. I prefer Ash over Oak.

American Hardwood Janka Scale

• Chamise - 2,420
• Dogwood - 2,150
• Mockernut Hickory - 1,970
• Pecan - 1,820
• Sweet Birch - 1,470
• Hard (Sugar) Maple - 1,450 (Common in cutting boards)
• Coffeetree - 1,390
• White Oak - 1,360 (Common in outdoor furniture)
• Beech - 1,300
• Red Oak - 1,290 (Common in flooring)
• Blue Ash - 1,290 (Endangered due to Ash Borer Beetle)
• Yellow Birch - 1,260 (Common in Plywood, Generic Parts and Wood Trim)
• Green Ash - 1,200 (Endangered due to Ash Borer Beetle)
• American Holly - 1,020
• Black Walnut - 1,010
• Pumpkin Ash - 990 (Endangered due to Ash Borer Beetle)
• Red Maple - 950 (Common in low grade furniture and home improvement stores, Part of the Soft Maple group of wood)
• Cherry - 950
• Paper Birch - 910
• Hackberry - 880
• Black Ash - 850
• Gum - 850
• Big Leaf Maple - 850 (Common in low grade furniture and home improvement stores, Part of the Soft Maple group of wood)
• Elm - 830
• Black Tupelo - 800
• Sycamore - 770
• Ohio Buckeye - 770
• Striped Maple - 770 (Common in low grade furniture and home improvement stores, Part of the Soft Maple group of wood)
• Chinquapin - 730
• Box Elder - 720 (Common in low grade furniture and home improvement stores, Part of the Soft Maple group of wood)
• Silver Maple - 700 (Common in low grade furniture and home improvement stores, Part of the Soft Maple group of wood)
• Cucumbertree - 700
• Sassafras - 630
• Alder - 590
• Catalpa - 550
• Yellow Poplar - 540 (Common wood for trim and more, takes paint well)
• Butternut - 490
• Black Willow - 430
• Eastern Cottonwood - 430
• Basswood - 410 (Common in carvings)
• Black Cottonwood - 350
• Yellow Buckeye - 350
• Aspen - 350
• Balsa - 70 (Common in Modeling)

 

[Rickb]

I think ash firewood is overrated. I know it's good that it dries fast, but I think it burns too fast.

im not sure what your question is......

 

[Dajolu]

Ash splits like a dream though. At least the ash I just split did.

 

[Stelcom66]

Ash splits like a dream though. At least the ash I just split did.

Yes - if all trees were ash, I might not have considered buying a gas wood splitter at some point.

 

[ScottLewis]

I like ash. Easy to split. Not as good as white oak, that's for sure, but lots better than poplar or white pine.

I had 15 ash trees and they are all gone thanks to the emerald ash borer.

 

[brenndatomu]

Ash splits like a dream though. At least the ash I just split did.

Not all do...woods grown trees are fine, but try a gnarly yard tree, those can make you question if you have elm!
Ash is a medium density wood, cut down a live tree and burn it after 1-2 years CSS'd, it's almost as good as red oak, but if you burn eab ash that's been dead standing a couple years, and then you give it a couple more CSS'd, it can burn closer to silver maple. A good wood to have in your inventory either way...but around here it seems we are getting toward the end of it, at least anything of size...once in a while you still find a dead one that is pretty solid. I took a big one down last year that was still trying to shoot some leaves out down low, some of it was still solid, but a lot of it was past prime for sure.

 

[ClintonH]

I've had both good and bad. My general thought is most of our experience with ash over the past 10+ years is a little jaded. Dead-standing from EAB, ash can degrade pretty quickly. I agree it's middle of the road when live/fresh and dense, but it gets worse in a couple of years after dying and getting "fluffy."

 

[NickW]

There's a pretty significant difference between black ash and white ash too. I personally love ash, particularly white.

Some of the BTU charts rank white ash close to Red oak. I don't know that I buy it though. The big difference in my opinion is how quickly the BTU's are released. Oak, locust, beech, ironwood, etc release their BTU's over a longer period of time and coal forever. Ash lights quickly, keeps giving BTU's at a high rate, and peters out much more quickly. I love fires with multiple species to get some of the benefits of all of them. I go out of my way to load this way.

 

[brenndatomu]

I love fires with multiple species to get some of the benefits of all of them. I go out of my way to load this way.

This