old wood

[johnyburn]

I’ve got a large pile of split wood- mostly ash- that has been sitting in the open for almost two years. Hydometer readings on pieces are all indicating under 15, but it seems like this wood is not burning as hot as does properly seasoned wood. (The wood in question is brown colored but does not seem soft.)

Would stacking and covering it for a year do any good? Or is this wood essentially ruined? Or is the not-so-hot burning in my imagination?

Thanks,
John

 

[Garbanzo62]

Assuming you MC test was on a Fresh Split. Covering always helps to keep the wood dry. Wood is porous and will adsorb some level of moisture. So limiting that will help. If your stack is in a sunny and/or windy location, a month or two might be sufficient. You might want to mix this wood with other wood you have so the entire load is not from this pile.

 

[gzecc]

I’ve got a large pile of split wood- mostly ash- that has been sitting in the open for almost two years. Hydometer readings on pieces are all indicating under 15, but it seems like this wood is not burning as hot as does properly seasoned wood. (The wood in question is brown colored but does not seem soft.)

Would stacking and covering it for a year do any good? Or is this wood essentially ruined? Or is the not-so-hot burning in my imagination?

Thanks,
John

Moisture reading needs to be done on a fresh split.
Wood needs to be split and stacked in the sun and wind, off the ground if you want the full energy from burning it.
Send us a picture of the wet wood if you'd like.

 

[blades]

also needs to be about room temperature when checking.

 

[Garbanzo62]

Right now I am burning Ash that was from a dead standing tree. The pieces have all been CSS and covered for over a year. Some of the pieces have a portion that is like a balsa wood consistency as the tree was decomposing a bit as it stood dead. Those section vary in thickness. I have noticed that any part of this type of wood that has gotten wet (drips off the edge of the cover) holds that moisture. You may want to meter different parts of your wood. When I find these pieces. I stack them near the stove to dry out that section. Since it is very porous, that type of wood dries fast and it burns even faster.

 

[DonTee]

I have about 5 face cords of ash that was stacked too closely and in a shaded area. It turned a dark color from sitting that way for a year. I restacked it out in the open and in individual stacks now. I’m curious to see if it will dry out and be burnable in a year. It tests 15% Mc on the outside but is +30% Mc on the inside still.

I think if you get the wood in a better spot before it starts to rot, that it’s probably still usable in my opinion.

You can tell if it’s too wet if you hear sizzling when you throw it in the fire. Or see water coming out of the ends. Also like mentioned above, make sure to resplit the wood before doing a moisture test on it.

My firewood is almost 100% ash this year. The BK Princess loves it.