Question about Fallen Ash

[teekal]

Hey guys, I have been lurking around the forums for a while now but this is my first post. Thanks for the wealth of knowledge that is shared around here, it's a great help!

My brother-in-law has a huge amount of fallen ash trees on a section of his farmland and he says it's just begging to be used and is mine for the taking. My question for you guys is - if the trees have been laying for a year or more, can I cut it up and use it immediately, or should it still sit for a period of time after I've cut it and stacked it even though the tree had been down for a while?

I have a bunch of wood ready to go, but it's on pallets in my back yard. My thinking is that if the Ash is ready to go, I can cut it and stack it right in my garage instead of playing musical chairs putting the wood from the backyard in my garage, and replacing it on pallets with the ash.

Any insight would be appreciated, thanks!

 

[gzecc]

Possible but unlikely. A moisture meter would tell you.

 

[teekal]

Possible but unlikely. A moisture meter would tell you.

A moisture meter! What sort of sorcery is this?

I'm new to wood-burning. Just bought a house with a stove and so far I've been using logs left behind by the previous owner that he purchased to burn. I have fallen one dead elm that I have aging on pallets for next winter.

Where can I get a moisture meter and how much do they cost? Sounds really useful.

 

[pen]

I've been happy with this moisture meter http://www.amazon.com/General-Tools...qid=1417189605&sr=8-1&keywords=moisture+meter

pen

 

[1750]

I've been cutting ash that has been dead and down for a number of years. The MC is still in the high 20s. It seems to dry pretty quickly once it's split, but until then, this has been too wet to consider stove-ready. But, as gzecc says, only a moisture meter knows the truth!

Good luck.

 

[teekal]

I've been cutting ash that has been dead and down for a number of years. The MC is still in the high 20s. It seems to dry pretty quickly once it's split, but until then, this has been too wet to consider stove-ready. But, as gzecc says, only a moisture meter knows the truth!

Good luck.

Excellent. Thanks for the info! Very helpful.

How quickly is pretty quickly? (How long have you been waiting to burn it)

Tyler

 

[gzecc]

Excellent. Thanks for the info! Very helpful.

How quickly is pretty quickly? (How long have you been waiting to burn it)

Tyler

Are you burning in an new, old stove or open fireplace?

 

[teekal]

Are you burning in an new, old stove or open fireplace?

It's a newer stove - from 2012.

 

[gzecc]

It's a newer stove - from 2012.

I would suggest getting the moisture meter before tossing in the fresh ash. There is usually a surprise.

 

[1750]

I really let the moisture meter dictate when it's ready. (http://www.lowes.com/pd_78059-56005-MMD4E_0__?productId=3136919 ).

You can also affect the rate of this with the size of your splits. If you need it more quickly (a few months), split it "small" (3-4 inches at the widest point) and it will dry more quickly once stacked.

Using this approach, I cut this wood in the summer, split it small and it was < 20% on the moisture meter by fall.

Also, and this is probably obvious to you (it wasn't for me!), but if it's been laying around too long, it can start to get punky as it gets colonized by fungus and starts to be decomposed. Even wood that isn't in contact with the ground. When I cut some of this last winter it seemed very solid -- but then I realized that it was just frozen; when it got warmer the ice melted and it was obvious I'd spent time hauling wood that would never be fit to go into the stove (it still works in the fire pit, though!)

Good luck!

 

[teekal]

I really let the moisture meter dictate when it's ready. (http://www.lowes.com/pd_78059-56005-MMD4E_0__?productId=3136919 ).

You can also affect the rate of this with the size of your splits. If you need it more quickly (a few months), split it "small" (3-4 inches at the widest point) and it will dry more quickly once stacked.

Using this approach, I cut this wood in the summer, split it small and it was < 20% on the moisture meter by fall.

Also, and this is probably obvious to you (it wasn't for me!), but if it's been laying around too long, it can start to get punky as it gets colonized by fungus and starts to be decomposed. Even wood that isn't in contact with the ground. When I cut some of this last winter it seemed very solid -- but then I realized that it was just frozen; when it got warmer the ice melted and it was obvious I'd spent time hauling wood that would never be fit to go into the stove (it still works in the fire pit, though!)

Good luck!

Awesome, thanks a lot!

 

[Bret Chase]

trees generally don't dry when left intact, on the ground.... In my experience Locust, if dead and standing, will dry out, but not so much laying in the dirt. I thin you'll find that if you get it all css, it'll be ready by spring from sublimation alone.

 

[Fred Wright]

Welcome to the Hearth forums.

Bret's right - standing (or laying) dead logs will not dry enough for fuelwood use. Got to get 'em cut, split and stacked so they can season. For dead ash I'd guesstimate a year on the stacks but your moisture meter will tell you for sure.

The General model is a very popular meter. Remember to use it on a fresh split, not on the outside. Split a piece of wood and test on the fresh split side. Try to get the reading below 25% before burning.

 

[teekal]

Thanks a lot for all of the solid information guys. Quite the community you have going on here. Good show.

 

[D8Chumley]

Good solid advice here. Love these guys, they taught me how to not burn down my house haha! I got the MM from Lowes for around $25 and it is a good tool to have. Ash is great wood, get all you can. CSS and by next year it will be money. Welcome aboard!

 

[claydogg84]

I scored a nice pickup load of down white ash last year around June. I burned it that winter but that was in a pre EPA stove. I didn't notice any moisture coming from the ends either.

 

[midwestcoast]

IMO smaller limbs off the ground could be burnable, but trunks laying on the ground I would treat the same as fresh cut green wood.
For ash I'd be thinking 1 summer to dry. Or 1/2 a summer + fall.

 

[Pennsyltucky Chris]

Honestly, if you buck, split and stack that in the next few months, that stuff will burn hard next year. Get ahead. We were all once beginners.

 

[Diabel]

Last week city crew took down three ash trees, ( dead for about two years) relatively small. They left the trunks by the side walk. I walked by it every day thinking I don't really need any more wood. Finally, yesterday I could not resist (past scrounger's instinct),
I bucked the trunks and split it all (about a third of a cord). I put a moisture reader to one of the fresh splits and it read 25%.

 

[Ralphie Boy]

Hey guys, I have been lurking around the forums for a while now but this is my first post. Thanks for the wealth of knowledge that is shared around here, it's a great help!

My brother-in-law has a huge amount of fallen ash trees on a section of his farmland and he says it's just begging to be used and is mine for the taking. My question for you guys is - if the trees have been laying for a year or more, can I cut it up and use it immediately, or should it still sit for a period of time after I've cut it and stacked it even though the tree had been down for a while?

I have a bunch of wood ready to go, but it's on pallets in my back yard. My thinking is that if the Ash is ready to go, I can cut it and stack it right in my garage instead of playing musical chairs putting the wood from the backyard in my garage, and replacing it on pallets with the ash.

Any insight would be appreciated, thanks!

Welcome to the funny farm! There is a wealth of information to be found here.

Ditto to the comments above. Trees left on the ground, even for years will not season. Neither will rounds stacked in your woodlot. They must be cut split and stacked where they can get lots of wind and sun.

My motto is: "the best device for checking the moisture content of split firewood is a multi-year calendar." That being said, a moisture meter, general tool from Lowes, is just about a must. One example is: I have some honey locust, I split and stacked over 3 years ago, that I planned to burn this year. According to my calendar it was ready. But when I checked it with the meter it was still way over 25% on a fresh split, too wet to burn.

You will find that some of the upper parts of standing dead trees may be burnable at the time you drop the tree; another benefit of a moisture meter. A word of caution here: A standing dead tree does not fell like a live tree and can be dangerously unpredictable. Use extreme caution when attempting to fell standing dead or damaged trees. Seek the advice of experienced or professional cutters before attempting!

Ash will (and soft maple, silver or red maple) dry pretty quickly, so if you cut split and it stack now, you will be safely burning that ash next season. Get all the ash you can because it splits easy, dries fast and will give great heat while you get ahead on woods like oak, hickory and hard maple.

Enjoy your time here!

 

[teekal]

Thanks again guys, for the solid advice.

Next question - for seasoned wood that is sitting on pallets outside (from previous owner), generally how long after bringing into the garage to dry off will it take before it is burnable (taking into consideration some snow on it from standing outside). I know obviously it will be best to read it with the meter that I'll be picking up tomorrow, but anyone know approximately from experience?

 

[Bret Chase]

it's "burnable" with snow on it.... there *is* a difference between unseasoned... and just wet. how long it takes for the snow to melt off... depends entirely how warm the garage is.