# Can you really burn unseasoned ash?



## olgreyhair (Aug 10, 2015)

Hi all. I keep hearing that you can burn unseasoned ash. Here in the NE we are losing our ash trees at an alarming rate. To the Emerald ash borer and also a fungus. Very bad.


----------



## Creekside (Aug 10, 2015)

I wouldn't burn any unseasoned wood.  Maybe people are talking about trees that have been standing dead for a few years?


----------



## Grisu (Aug 10, 2015)

Welcome!

Ash is usually drier when freshly cut compared with other woods. Under the right conditions it dries out pretty well over just one summer; many other hardwoods need at least two. Nevertheless, I would not burn it freshly split. You will struggle to keep a good fire going and your flue may attract of lot of creosote.


----------



## Soundchasm (Aug 10, 2015)

Moisture is moisture.  I guarantee a live cut ash will not burn like they say in that poem.  You'll be quite frustrated.  But I have had ash that was too damp to burn in December start to burn satisfactorily in March.  The splits were quite small, though.


----------



## DougA (Aug 10, 2015)

It will partly depend upon how 'dead' the ash is when cut.  I've seen the city crews cutting down perfectly good ash trees, which is both wrong and sad.  I have some ash trees that have only a handful of leaves left on them, so I suspect (no technical data to back this up) that a dead or almost dead ash will have less moisture than one with full leaves.  As others have posted, ash once cut, split, stacked and stored in a dry, breezy area will dry very quickly.
If you have a wood stove, I would want to make sure all wood is dry prior to burning, an outdoor furnace is not as important.  Too much moisture will cause more build-up of creosote on the chimney and that is dangerous.


----------



## Oldman47 (Aug 11, 2015)

When you get right down to it you can burn anything unseasoned. Wood will burn even when soaking wet if you are patient enough to do it. On the other hand, anything but well seasoned wood will give you creosote nightmares and will provide next to no heat for your home.


----------



## JA600L (Aug 11, 2015)

I cut up a big ash tree a year ago in late spring.  I burnt some all winter.  It did almost as well as my 3 year white oak.  It smells great when it burns too. I would definitely give it a few months till you burn it.  There is probably just a little too much moisture in there when first cut.


----------



## PA. Woodsman (Aug 11, 2015)

Grisu said:


> Welcome!
> 
> Ash is usually drier when freshly cut compared with other woods. Under the right conditions it dries out pretty well over just one summer; many other hardwoods need at least two. Nevertheless, I would not burn it freshly split. You will struggle to keep a good fire going and your flue may attract of lot of creosote.



This is true. I had heard the many stories of people "cutting live Ash trees down, splitting it and putting it right into the stove" so I had someone try some semi-wet Ash in their firepit years ago. Bad idea, it didn't burn and smoked like crazy.

Like Grisu said, it is one of if not the driest trees when live, but it still needs time to dry out.


----------



## owingsia (Aug 11, 2015)

I know around here you will usually find that people refer standing dead as "No need to season" or "Dry dead wood" They would say a 5 year dead oak does not need to be seasoned.

The you must also realize that wood that has been cut into rounds in the spring is called seasoned even if you split it the day you burn it.


----------



## bholler (Aug 11, 2015)

owingsia said:


> "No need to season" or "Dry dead wood" They would say a 5 year dead oak does not need to be seasoned.


Some of it may be dry some may not.  After 5 years i am sure many of the higher branches will be dry enough.  The main trunk will probably not be quite dry enough to work well.  But once cut and split it will get there fairly quickly


----------



## nrc (Aug 15, 2015)

I'm in the process of splitting a couple of Ash trees that were cut down in December.  I split some of it when I was short on wood during the winter just to test it and it was between 25% and 30%.  These trees were down to maybe 25% of their canopy, so not quite dead.  After sitting stacked in rounds for eight months it's now down to just under 20% on a fresh split.

On cities cutting "good" Ash trees - it's sad but pretty much every Ash tree in an infested area is doomed.   A large Ash tree costs hundreds of dollars to treat effectively and it has to be done indefinitely.   Most cities don't have the funds and we're probably better off  eliminating the Ash Borer habitat in areas that are impacted.


----------



## Prichan (Aug 22, 2015)

olgreyhair said:


> Hi all. I keep hearing that you can burn unseasoned ash. Here in the NE we are losing our ash trees at an alarming rate. To the Emerald ash borer and also a fungus. Very bad.


I wouldn't. 8 months at least.


----------



## ohlongarm (Aug 23, 2015)

olgreyhair said:


> Hi all. I keep hearing that you can burn unseasoned ash. Here in the NE we are losing our ash trees at an alarming rate. To the Emerald ash borer and also a fungus. Very bad.


My experience with ash is that it will dry in 3 to 6 months in direct sunlight and burn wonderful.I've been inundated with it but won't turn it down.Pictures soon to follow.


----------

