Just wet or rotten

[Mike G T]

I was just cutting some firewood that was cut down 1 yr ago. I thought it was ash, but may be completely wrong. In the picture the white areas are dry and the other areas are wet. My chainsaw was also binding up due to the wetness. They are about 12-16 inches in diameter. Pieces that I cut that were less than 6 inches were fine.
So, is this wood just wet or is it starting to rot? They have been in a mostly shaded area since being cut down.
Should I get rid of this wood or is there any way I will be able to burn it in a indoor wood fireplace?

 

[kennyp2339]

Looks like you got some sweet gum, split it up and let it dry, will take about a year for the splits to be burnable.

 

[xman23]

It's wood and all the wood I've had burns. I don't know what it is, and hard to tell the condition. First you need to split it. When it's soft it will soak up rain water. Just loose stack where it gets sun and air flow, then top cover.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Yo should split it and.stack it... top cover, it will dry out, then burn it up..

 

[Mike G T]

I was just cutting some firewood that was cut down 1 yr ago. I thought it was ash, but may be completely wrong. In the picture the white areas are dry and the other areas are wet. My chainsaw was also binding up due to the wetness. They are about 12-16 inches in diameter. Pieces that I cut that were less than 6 inches were fine.
So, is this wood just wet or is it starting to rot? They have been in a mostly shaded area since being cut down.
Should I get rid of this wood or is there any way I will be able to burn it in a indoor wood fireplace?

View attachment 247022

Hi, I posted this August 2019 and thought I'd send an update. You seemed most knowledgeable.
After some winter research and splitting some of it, I found out this is not ash, it is basswood. Did some reading and found out I can burn it, but it burns fast and not long. Good for starting fires and stoking to get a fire back on track.
So, should I split the rest or put it out at the curb/take it to the dump?
Any thoughts?

 

[Davesch]

Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua ) doesn't naturally occur in Wisconsin where the OP is located. Althouggh it could have been planted as an ornamental. It's quite common in the southeast US and I've cut and split some. Frankly, it's not worth the effort. It's difficult to split as the grain is interwoven like a basket weave. Also, it doesn't provide much heat when dry as the density is pretty low. I always avoided it.

 

[Woody Stover]

Looks to me like White Ash. If that was a sharp chain, and you are getting more crumbly sawdust instead of big chips, it is going downhill. It might still be worth splitting and stacking, though. Can you split a couple and post some good closeup pics of the split face wood?
The stuff from further down the trunk may be a little more solid than from further up the tree..

 

[Sawset]

I would lean toward Basswood.
The op picture looks real familiar. Wide growth rings, white mold, wet, saw binding very badly, kind of a torn look to the end grain. Compare bark to basswood below.
I split it up to a nice mound of kindling, and use it every time I do a cold start. It lights so easy, I even tried to light it direct with the lighter. Dang if it didn't take off. They make matchsticks out of the stuff in real life. Plus it's straight grain, like yours looks to be. Splits super easy and nice and straight, just like big matches. Mine has the white mold, and some other stuff that discolored the ends until it dried out. If it still has the bark on, then it's probably still solid inside.

 

[Woody Stover]

I would lean toward Basswood.
The op picture looks real familiar. Wide growth rings, white mold,

I didn't look close enough, I thought that mold was sawdust! I haven't seen that on Ash.
OP is solidly in the range for American Basswood..

 

[woodhounder]

I agree with basswood and good for kindling, pretty worthless for anything else.

 

[Sawset]

I agree with basswood and good for kindling, pretty worthless for anything else.

If you have majority hard heavy woods like white oak, and a noncat stove that it goes in, working the system becomes easy with a small supply of lighter wood. Put a few sticks in, along with something high density, the btu's are cut, fire lasts a long time, the place has what it needs.

 

[Woody Stover]

If you have majority hard heavy woods like white oak, and a noncat stove that it goes in, working the system becomes easy with a small supply of lighter wood. Put a few sticks in, along with something high density, the btu's are cut, fire lasts a long time, the place has what it needs.

That's what I've found with my SIL's non-cat so far; Load some light wood in the center/top to kick off the load and get stove temp up, then a "firewall" of high-density wood like White Oak, BL, Hickory etc, and it slows the gassing so the stove top doesn't go high..

 

[ClintonH]

The good news is if it's basswood, you will feel like the Incredible Hulk splitting it. It is so light/easy to split. Good for your street cred (at least to those that don't know it's basswood). Besides the ego boost, not great for burning.

 

[MoDoug]

I have some driftwood that's very soft and light, I posted a picture of it asking for opinions on what kind it is and the responses were a soft maple. It does make great kindling, but I also like to throw some bigger splits in now and then, it burns hot and fast, makes great flames and heat, just not for long. Occasionally I'll get some punky wood and add smaller pieces around it to get it burning and down to coals.