Becoming an Ash burner

[Wood Duck]

A friend who works for the power company called the other day to say he had a lead on some firewood. An electric line is being moved and several trees had to be dropped. Friend wanted the branches of a Shagbark Hickory and I got the rest. The rest turned out to be a lot of White Ash. The owner of the house gave me permission to cut any other dead wood on the property, which is at least 20 large dead White Ash. It is a shame the trees died but several years worth of firewood for me. I'll be burning Ash for the next few years.

 

[Snigg]

Nice score. Time to get splitting and stacking!

 

[Wood Duck]

I moved about two cords this weekend. and there are at least two or three cords already on the ground waiting for me to move them. For scale, the Holz Hausen in the background is about 7 feet tall. It seems that the White Ash around here are starting to die in big numbers. EAB has been here a few years, but the trees are only starting to die recently.

 

[Andy S.]

Great score - congrats! Dries fast and burns hot. I've been burning mostly Ash and will run out in a couple of weeks. I will miss it.

 

[firefighterjake]

I love ash . . . then again . . . who doesn't.

 

[basswidow]

Get it all before someone else does. It's great wood to burn!

 

[Wood Duck]

The power company crew dropped a few more trees out there, so now there are probably five or six cords of wood on the ground. That bridge in the background is going to be replaced by PennDOT, which will require a powerline to be moved and that required my firewood supply for the next couple of years to be cut down.

 

[Wood Duck]

In addition to the ash, a big black cherry, and some sugar maple, this pile of ironwood is waiting for me. I haven't burned ironwood before

 

[D8Chumley]

I don't know from personal experience but I heard ironwood is a bear to split. Nice score!

 

[1750]

I love ash. And it splits like a dream!

That's good fortune smiling at you. Time to smile back and get to work!

 

[kennyp2339]

nice score, that's money in the bank right there

 

[Wood Duck]

I spent of today moving wood to my house before the 6 inch snow we are expecting tomorrow, but friend stopped by so we split some. Actually he split while I stacked. This is about half a cord of Ash stacked on top of a cord of cherry that I cut in my yard last month.

 

[1750]

A friend that splits wood with you is a friend, indeed.

 

[bboulier]

Nice score. I would be happy to collect that one.

 

[cleary524]

Ash is some of the most enjoyable wood to split, stacks very neatly, dries quick and burns hot. I'll pick up Ash every chance I can. I get wood free all the time and if I see Ash, I always go for it first, then Oak.

 

[2PistolPacker]

Great score Wood Duck, are you not worried about the beetle larvae from the ash spreading to your other wood? This last score of mine had a large ash log that had larvae about 6 inches deep into the rounds. I split it separately in the street in front of my house, cleaned up all debris into buckets and threw the wood in my truck bed. I have been burning this infected ash for the last week just to get it out of my truck.

 

[jeff_t]

Great score Wood Duck, are you not worried about the beetle larvae from the ash spreading to your other wood? This last score of mine had a large ash log that had larvae about 6 inches deep into the rounds. I split it separately in the street in front of my house, cleaned up all debris into buckets and threw the wood in my truck bed. I have been burning this infected ash for the last week just to get it out of my truck.

If it was 6" deep into the wood, it isn't emerald ash borer. EAB adults lay eggs in the bark crevices, and the larvae eventually work their way into the sapwood. They destroy the tree's ability to move nutrients and the tree dies. In a nutshell.

They don't want dead trees, so already dead trees likely won't have any EAB left. And if the trees are in your immediate vicinity, it's too late anyway.

Of all the dead ash I've cut, I've seen exactly one adult. I've seen more dead adults floating in Lake Huron(???)

 

[Wood Duck]

I am not worried that the larvae from the Ash will infect my firewood or other trees. The Ash I am cutting have two types (at least) of beetle damage. One of them, the Emerald Ash Borer damage is what killed the tree. I haven't seen any Emerald Ash Borer larvae, and even if they are there I am not worried about moving them. The EAB is already all over my township, so moving some a few miles won't change anything. EAB larvae don't eat anything besides the inner bark of live Ash trees, so they aren't a concern for the rest of my firewood or any other tree except Ash (which are all infected already in my yard).

The second type of larvae are giant grubs I found in the rotten center of one tree. Those beasts also won't infect my firewood because they live in rotten wood, and can't really move themselves very far anyway. Plus, whatever large beetle laid the eggs that grew into the giant grubs has 24/7 access to my wood stacks already. If the firewood were a suitable food for the larvae, I'd already have larvae.

 

[jeff_t]

Enjoy it while you can. A lot of the ash here is starting to rot and fall over. Still some good firewood, but it's getting to be more work.

I guess I'm sorta near the epicenter.

 

[Pennsyltucky Chris]

Ash is the perfect wood. Not too heavy. Easy to process. Seasons in a year. High enough in BTU to burn all winter.

 

[jatoxico]

View attachment 151630
In addition to the ash, a big black cherry, and some sugar maple, this pile of ironwood is waiting for me. I haven't burned ironwood before

I got a very little of what I believe was iron wood and it was a PITA to split. I kept one round as a kindling block and had to swing pretty hard (relatively speaking) when I wanted to set the Fiskars in it. Nice score BTW, I'm jealous. Only had ash once.

 

[JrCRXHF]

Ash and Maple is all i have been burning mostly ash. I have 14 large trees on my lot that died and need to come down i think i will be burning ash for the next year or two. In michigan the ash is all dead and getting cut so there is lots to be had cheap or free.

 

[Ralphie Boy]

A friend who works for the power company called the other day to say he had a lead on some firewood. An electric line is being moved and several trees had to be dropped. Friend wanted the branches of a Shagbark Hickory and I got the rest. The rest turned out to be a lot of White Ash. The owner of the house gave me permission to cut any other dead wood on the property, which is at least 20 large dead White Ash. It is a shame the trees died but several years worth of firewood for me. I'll be burning Ash for the next few years.

At 61 years old, I'll be burning as the rest of my life, courtesy of the Emerald As Borer.

 

[Wood Duck]

I am getting

spoiled splitting Ash. It is almost too easy. Here are a few of the stacks I moved last weekend.

 

[nrc]

I finally made the move to get a wood burning insert this winter because the power company let me know they would be taking down six large Ash trees along my electric lines. I figured that I would buy this winter and have plenty seasoned for next year. Three of these trees are pretty much standing dead - nothing but suckers still green. The others are down to about 30% of their normal canopy.

So naturally being a newbie I ran out of wood and now I'm waiting for delivery. As it happens the power company took down the first two Ash trees just before this cold snap hit. Out of curiosity I split some small rounds and see how they measure on moisture. To my surprise a small 3" branch at room temperature with a fresh split measured 15%. So I tried a 5" round and got 19.5% and an 8" round at 22.5%.

This seems too good to be true, but it makes some sense because these smaller pieces come from further up the tree where they've been cut off from nutrients by the EAB for longer. I figure I'll build a fire out of some grocery store wood and use the 3" and 5" pieces to augment and see whether I get any sizzle or popping.

Of course it will all go on the stack to season when good wood arrives but I'm hoping this might get us through until then.