Really wet Ash

[mrfjsf]

So my farmer buddy showed me a downed Ash (or what looked like as to me) that he wanted gone today that was quite possibly the largest ash tree ive ever seen in person. The tree split in half at the bottom, two very large leaders started 5 ft up from the stump. The base of the leader was 24-26", I started cutting up the downed part. He claims it has been down for quite a few years, I believe him but all of the wood was sitting in contact with the damp soil. After cutting off a few larger rounds, I noticed the moisture started to leech up through the wood. (looking at the grain nd of the round, half the round was dark with moisture and the other half was much lighter in color. If I peeled back the bark on that side (literally just fell off) there was noticable amounts of moisture under the bark.

The wood was still VERY hard, but my question is now that the wood is pratically water-logged, will it start rotting and if I split it, how long would it take to dry out?

 

[gzecc]

If its ash, about 6 mos. if its not ash at least a year. Are you sure its ash? Attach a picture.

 

[andybaker]

Sounds like Siberian Elm to me. The only wood I've ever come across that some of the rounds I couldn't split anywhick way I tried.

 

[mrfjsf]

havent tried to split any of it yet. Im pretty certain it is ash. I wish I could take a picture but my camera is broke right now. The grain and bark has ash written all over it. The color does not look like the white ash ive been cutting. Are there different species of ash?

 

[gzecc]

havent tried to split any of it yet. Im pretty certain it is ash. I wish I could take a picture but my camera is broke right now. The grain and bark has ash written all over it. The color does not look like the white ash ive been cutting. Are there different species of ash?

Yep,
http://www.treehelp.com/trees/ash/ash-types.asp

 

[Backwoods Savage]

It sounds typical of ash with the split. It takes a long time for ash to rot so I doubt there would be a problem drying the wet stuff. I found some in our woods that I had forgotten about. At one time I had cut it to length and probably had a full load so left some and then forgot about it. The wood was pretty dark but the bark was still fastened well. I split it and the wood inside was also quite dark. After a year it was good to go. So what I'd recommend is to get it cut and split and then forget it for a year before burning.

 

[midwestcoast]

I've seen different woods that stay wet on the ground side & dry on the other. As others say if it's split & stacked in the open it will dry, not rot. Probably dry much faster than green will too.

 

[smokinj]

Sounds like Siberian Elm to me. The only wood I've ever come across that some of the rounds I couldn't split anywhick way I tried.

Yes I thought the same thing some kind of elm.

 

[mrfjsf]

havent tried to split any of it yet. Im pretty certain it is ash. I wish I could take a picture but my camera is broke right now. The grain and bark has ash written all over it. The color does not look like the white ash ive been cutting. Are there different species of ash?

Yep,
http://www.treehelp.com/trees/ash/ash-types.asp

Me now thinks it is green ash. White ash is NOTICEABLY whiter inside the round. I know that green ash is also popular in this area. Anyway, I will split it and forget it, at least til next season.