White Ash??

[Superlite]

Earlier I was talking to a guy who has an OWB who scoffed at me when I told him I am burning a lot of White Ash this year in my woodstove (I got about 9 cords from CL 2 years ago). He jokingly asks me "You know why they call it ASH don't you? I have heard people say this before that it makes a lot of ash but this clown really irked me, like I was an idiot. I don't think that I am getting any more ash from burning this wood. I am also burning a lot of Cherry too and notice no difference.

Two questions?

Have any of you heard this same thing about ash?

Do you find it makes more ash when you burn it?

 

[smokinj]

ash is top of the scale, great wood.

 

[chinkapin_oak]

I think they call it ash because it doesn't leave any, hahaha.

To be honest, the guy is either ignorant, or can't identify ash wood. If you remove the bark, you will rarely clean out your stove when burning white ash.

If you want to see ashes, try burning elm or sycamore. I love those 2 woods, but they do leave lots of ashes.

 

[NH_Wood]

I've mainly burned white ash this year and it is most of what I have left of the remainder of the winter. I only need to take a couple shovel fulls of ash per week, and I could go longer. It is very good wood - I get a lot of heat and long burns. Cheers!

 

[smokinj]

Heck they make baseball batts out of it. That should tell you something!

 

[Superlite]

Thanks for the replies. I have had no problems with the ash. Once maybe two times a week cleaning out the ashes. We are enjoying it and so are the dogs, it has been cold here this week but it has been a steady 75+ degrees in the house, i bit too hot for me but if it gets any cooler the wife starts dragging out blankets and pouting...

I was mainly asking if anyone experiences excessive ash buildup when burning ash?

 

[rdust]

I love white ash it's mostly what I'm burning this year and many years to come. Honestly I don't notice any measurable difference between white ash and red oak, well beside for the fact white ash burns great after a year being c/s/s.

 

[oldspark]

Its name has nothing to do with its burning qualities, its english or latin and means spear, time for you to laugh at him.

 

[Flatbedford]

I had a couple guys at a bar tell me that Ash was no good too. I have about 2 cords that I will be getting into in the next week or so. Of course these guys were also talking about their chimney fires and keeping some green wood on hand for longer burn time. I decided to let them talk and finish my drink.

 

[JustWood]

Take a split of ash and a bucket of ash, ash over to his place and ask him " Which ash wood U like to kees, HMMMM?"
And the answer is ,,,NO. No more ash than any other wood.

 

[scottandlorig]

Yes I've heard it and no I find it leaves no more ash then anything I have burned in the past.

In fact, that is all I burn now. I have about 5 years worth of it bucked and ready for spittin!

 

[firefighterjake]

Never heard anything about ash making a greater amount of ash . . . and I have never noticed such a thing.

Personally, I like ash . . . especially white ash . . . and if the bozos in this world think it's a bad wood to burn let them continue to think so . . . and in the meantime scoop up all the white ash you can . . . one of my favorite woods for processing and burning.

 

[Cascade Failure]

My garden doesn't care if it is oak ash, maple ash or ash ash. It takes all the ask it can get.

Keep burning that ash.

 

[Skier76]

Love Ash. If the guy hates it so much...maybe he has some you can take off his hands. :lol:

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Well, we do think that white ash does produce a bit more ash than some other woods but we also think it is one of the very best burning woods there are!

If you don't think ash produces more of that gray ash, just ask my wife and she for sure will argue with you. But then, she likes to argue anyway.

 

[richg]

Ash is called "The firewood of kings" for a reason (actually, several reasons). It splits easily, seasons quickly and burns hot and long. It will be two years until my hickory is seasoned and I don't know how it burns, but as for now, ash rates near the top of my list for favorite woods.

 

[Flatbedford]

I just got to the spot in my wood stack where it changes from Cherry - Soft (Silver?) Maple mix to Ash. My burn time has increased by nearly two hours! Good stuff!! Never burned it before. The longer burn time is great, but now my schedule is all screwed up. I have been reloading before a complete burn cycle so the bed of coals is getting too big. I have a day and a half off from work starting tomorrow, so hopefully, I can get things back in sync. I decided to separate the (crap) Maple and restack it for the spring shoulder season. It just doesn't have the BTUs per volume (BTU density?) to keep up in the colder weather with my smaller Fireview.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Steve, that is a great testament to the good burning qualities of ash!

Beech wood fires are bright and clear,
If the logs are kept a year.
Chestnut’s only good they say,
If for long it’s laid away.

Birch and fir logs burn too fast,
Blaze up bright and do not last.
It is by the Irish said
Hawthorn bakes the sweetest bread.
Elm wood burns like a churchyard mould,
Even the very flames are cold.
But Ash green or Ash brown
Is fit for a queen with golden crown.

Poplar gives a bitter smoke,
Fills your eyes and makes you choke.
Apple wood will scent your room,
Pear wood smells like flowers in bloom
Oak and maple if dry and old,
Keep away the winter cold.
But ash wood wet and ash wood dry,
A king shall warm his slippers by.

There are many other sayings about ash but this is a good one.

 

[oldspark]

Cool backwoods, the version I have has two more lines in the first section
But ash new or ash old
Is fit for queen with crown of gold

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Ya oldspark. I have more than one version and a couple have those lines. They are kind of neat.