Lean to looking a little thin so snuck out this AM and got two standing dead ash. OWB will love those rounds. Pictures are before, after and with super watch dog Cooper on duty
I see you own a TW-5 that's one mean splitter to say the least. I have a TW-1 and am impressed by what it is capable of getting done. I see that you like myself believe in buy quality, mine is 8 years old and other than oil changes and changing the spark plug and greasing never had a problem with it.
Yes, that thing is great. Twice as fast at least than 33 ton which I still have Log lift and sorting table and four way wedge are back savers Plus auto forward and return allows you to start cycle and get another piece and return to place it right on and go again Sold firewood for five years to pay for it, now just using for myself and my friends I cut with
By the way, nice hinge on that round to the left behind the pup. Bet that tree came down slow and easy!
If a tree is really straight and well balanced, sometimes you want to "saw some lean" into them to make life easier. Looks like ya might have some green ash in there too with darker colored, thicker bark. It seems to throw a lot of sparks, but i didn't notice that big of a difference otherwise in heat or burn time.
Can't go wrong with dead standing ash, thats 'ready to go' wood for sure. Like the look of cooper in the last pic, nice looking Chocolate.
I cut and split a couple of dead ash this morning also, before the blizzard blew in. That is what I have been burning most of this winter. It is only my second year owning a wood stove and I have yet to get ahead on the wood supply. Thank God for dead ash.
Maybe the Ash in my part of the country is different than yours, but from my experience it still needs a little time to season once split. Even if it's dead standing. I think saying Ash is ready to burn right away is a myth perpetuated by the masses. One person says it, so others repeat it. Before long it become gospel. Admittedly Ash has a lower moisture content and will season faster, but it still needs to dry. Obviously a boiler or a wood stove with a little extra air will eat it up. But in my opinion it won't throw off the BTU's like a good seasoned batch. Obviously if that's all you have, then go for it. But if you worked towards a multi year plan, the boiler/stove/neighbors would be much happier.
Dead standing has to be considered by MC just like any other cut and split firewood, ash gets no special passes. Dead standing does have its benefits, the wood could be fairly dry and useable right away. And , our (wood burners) understanding of ash is that it one of the fastest hardwoods to dry and in most cases can be used in the same heating season that it was C,S,S. Welcome to FHC MarylandGuy
MarylandGuy hits it! One exception though. It depend upon how long the ash has been dead. We started cutting some about 3 years ago where there was basically no moisture in any of it. Cut like butter too. Yet this year I cut a couple that have been dead for several years and typically the first 4-6' of the tree had moisture then we ran out of it. Doesn't matter, it will still be in the stack 3 or more years because we have other wood that's been in the stack longer. Yes, if you cut an ash that is still alive, it is pure baloney that you can burn it right away. Well, actually, you can. But then I can also get cottonwood to burn right away too. Just because you can doesn't mean you should. I think ash is typically around 35% moisture when cut and that is a long ways from 20% or less.
It's funny. I had a half cord of ash in 12" rounds, log length that had been sitting for three years. I finally got around to cutting and splitting it mid October and moved it onto the hearth. I tried to burn it three weeks later and it was dreadful. I had read so many times that it didn't need long to season, so I figured it was ready to go. No dice. I had to add so much air to the firebox, it wasn't worth it. I left the remaining splits stacked on the hearth until early this month when I got around to trying it again. It burned awesome. Thanks "My IS heats my home". This is a very nice community. I am learning a lot!
Some where I saw a chart listing best to worst wood btu's while green and dry. Ash had the same ranking (or just about) in both categories.