Drying time for ash

[BrownT10]

Hi all,

I mostly have oak which is seasoned 2 or 3 years. I have come across some ash to mix in and plan on stacking it with the oak and will be 2, possibly 3 years away from being burned. Is 2 years too long for ash to dry? I plan on splitting it onthe bigger size to avoid it getting punky in 2 or 3 years? What are everybody else's experience with ash drying time?

 

[kennyp2339]

As long as the splits can stay dry it wont go punky, I love burning ash and just so happen to have a lot of it, my typical routine is to split large splits and stack it outside, I let it go for a full season, uncovered then I will move the splits into my my wood shed were it will sit for another 2 yrs before burning, never had an issue with splits going soft or punky, if you dont have the luxury of a wood shed then you can use a tarp and top cover your stacks from fall to spring during out wet / snow season.

 

[hickoryhoarder]

I've had no trouble with ash in stacks. It just keeps getting better and better (dryer and dryer). It's pretty good firewood after 18 months, but very good after 3 or 4 years. Easy as pie to split, too, when the grain is straight.

 

[WoodBurnerInWI]

Ash has become my most frequent wood in my stacks because I will get cords of it via the tree services that do log drops for me. It's great stuff and has never been junk for me even if I can tell the tree has been dead for some time. Regarding drying time, check it after one year with a moisture meter. Should be 20% or less, larger pieces of course might need more time. If you have the time and room it certainly wouldn't hurt letting it go for two years.

 

[patrickk222]

for me aeh never really took too long to dry out then again most if were standing dead and i usually have qll my stackin done by apr to early may latest and its usually good to go by mid oct

 

[Simonkenton]

I have tested several standing dead ash trees, after I had cut them down and they were running 28 percent moisture content. Ash is drying in one year for me.

 

[firefighterjake]

There's not too many wood species that can get over-seasoned . . . generally the longer you can season the wood the better burning it will be.

Now you can get punky, rotten wood . . . but only if the wood is not treated right. Keep it stacked off the ground and if you are really concerned you can top cover -- although I find about the only wood I have issues with rot with are a few white birch rounds after I take apart a stack after two or three years. Most other wood species is fine . . . and in my own case, I don't top cover.

Ash is a great wood . . . give it a mean look and it will get scared and practically split itself. Also seems to season reasonably quickly. I know some folks who claim they can season it for only six months, but I would give it a minimum of a year . . . and as mentioned . . . like a fine wine, ash (and other wood) tends to get better with age.

 

[Simonkenton]

I just love ash for firewood. I like to split it. I like the way it smells. I have only been using it for three years. Three years ago, all the ash trees around here died. And this winter I will burn up all my ash and then, there won't be any more. I do have one big ash tree about 24 inch diameter and 96 feet tall, but it is 400 feet away and downhill. I don't love ash enough to haul it by hand 400 feet uphill, gonna have to leave that one alone.

 

[rippinryno]

Ash is good, but man I don't have the best luck splitting it. All the ash I get can be stringy and without straight grains. It's one of my less favorite woods to cut and split.

 

[BrownT10]

Thanks for all of the info guys. I have split all of the ash I have into some larger splits and have stacked it off the ground and top covered it like I typically do. I just wanted to be sure if will be good to burn after 2, possibly 3 years, it seems it will. I was concerned with over seasoning but it doesn't seem like folks have not experienced that.

 

[Simonkenton]

That is interesting, rippinryno. Ash is hard to split. I have only whacked up 6 ash trees but they were all easy to split. Different species I guess.
I just had a discussion last month on here with a guy who was telling me how easy maple is to split. I told him that, I had only gotten one truck load of maple and it was very difficult to split and since then, I leave the maple alone. He reiterated how easy maple was to split. He was implying that I was a sissy, I told him that in fact I am 6-3 and a badass with the Fiskars maul, and the one maple I split was bad news.

Different species.

 

[johneh]

That is interesting, rippinryno. Ash is hard to split. I have only whacked up 6 ash trees but they were all easy to split. Different species I guess.
I just had a discussion last month on here with a guy who was telling me how easy maple is to split. I told him that, I had only gotten one truck load of maple and it was very difficult to split and since then, I leave the maple alone. He reiterated how easy maple was to split. He was implying that I was a sissy, I told him that in fact I am 6-3 and a badass with the Fiskars maul, and the one maple I split was bad news.

Different species.

I have had ash that is hard to split and others very easy
I think it is the growing conditions that dictate.
I same with maple A tree growing in the open
field, fence line I find will have a twisted grain .
Those grown in the forest tend to be straight-grained
and much easier to split. Just my nickles worth.

 

[Doublebogey]

I would concur with the statement about growing conditions affecting ease of splitting. I had an 80 tall ash tree in my front yard, all by itself that succumbed to the borer 10 or so years ago. That thing was a nightmare to split. Of course it was also still in the process of drying so quite green. Not too many live ash trees left around here at this point.

My dad owns a rural property over 100 acres that is covered in standing dead ash poking up through the woods. I have cut down and cut up dozens of them. It tends to split with very little effort.

In my experience everything 12 inches and up on diameter from higher in the tree gets split and stacked deep in our barn completely out of any weather other than late summer ambient heat to be burned that winter even if it is harvested in late summer. It will usually be at 18% or less by late November. The bottom third of the tree tends to have more moisture in it and if I stack that in the southern bay that gets a LOT of wind it will be ready by late winter when things get cold in February... Especially if i split it small.

 

[Wud]

Ash cut Dec mar may July Nov all from the same woods whole trees and split with in a week of cutting split like bowling pins accept July was very stringy hard splitting weather was very dry during that time. Ash cures fast. Burns with little to no smoke after one year or less. Doesn't tend to go punky. Bark beetles like it and will make saw dust. I've stored it up to 7 years in the open uncovered. Split smaller before burning if it's to high of moisture content.