Can Ash pick up moisture?

[gzecc]

I cut down a large ash tree two years ago. Today I harvested some more wood from the 24" trunk.
It has been laying on the ground in northern NJ. The outside is punky although the inside looks great. Should I let it dry or should it be good to burn right now. I know ash can be used immediately after cutting it down, however I don't know if it maybe picked up some moisture while on the ground? I would rather not stack it twice if possible!

 

[zzr7ky]

Hi -

I like ot cut it and split it right away, load by load. It dries very fast, especially since I cut to about 15". Cut in Sept, burned in December last year. No issues in the 6" SS liner this Spring. I preffer 6mo, or a year, but paying the Gas Co. is not an option for me.
ATB,
Mike P

 

[LLigetfa]

I know ash can be used immediately after cutting it down

Where did you hear that? I burn mostly Black Ash but no matter the colour, it does NOT burn fresh cut and it won't dry out tree length laying on the ground either. Bucked up and split right away, you could burn it sometime later in the same year, but still much better the next year.

 

[gzecc]

"Ash"
An old rhyme says: "Ash, mature or green, makes a fire for a Queen."
And yes, it is true: even unseasoned Ash will give a good fire. Ash wood produces excellent heat, a nice flame and it lasts reasonably well. I also like using the branches for kindling.

 

[ikessky]

The moisture content between black ash and white ash is night and day. White ash can virtually be cut, split, and burnt. Black ash needs to season like everything else. Around here, black ash only grows in or near the swamps.

I've been burning smaller splits of white ash this month from a tree that fell over in a wind storm this spring or early this summer. I cut and split it late this fall. I have not gotten any hissing or bubbling from the wood. Ideally, I would have cut, split, and stacked this spring and let it season over the spring through fall months, but we decided early in the fall to do the wood furnace, so I was mostly stuck cutting standing dead wood and some white ash. Lucky for me that I found an old firewood pile that my FIL told me to take from. It's been sitting for a few years so I'm burning it first just in case my other wood needs a little more drying time (currently in the basement with a dehumidifier).

 

[docwiley]

The ash that I have on my land needs to season at least a year before burning. If it lays on the ground it starts to work like a sponge and outside becomes very punky. I had my land logged for oaks about 5 years ago and the ash that fell with the oak is no longer fit to burn.90% of it was punk

 

[smokinj]

Heck ash will burn good green should be ready to fire!