Recently received a Log Load and most of it was old Ash. Bark was just falling off. A friend from work said that Ash, even if C/S/S doesn't last that long. Not sure what he meant. Anyway, since this load is for 2023/24 should I be concerned about it?? Thanks...
If you can get it cut, split and stacked off the ground and put a cover on it, it should make it to 23/24.
I have had ash out here with out top cover cut split and stacked going on 5 years now. It is still hard as a rock. I do not know where your friend got his info from. Just make sure like any wood that it is up off the ground.
Burn it before any better wood you have. It will last a long time but I wouldn't push 4 years. Top cover for best results.
I think it's pretty resilient. Some five years ago I had a log load delivered, the stringers were ash logs which later had a load of freebie pine dumped on them (well, three dump truck loads actually) since they were frozen to the ground when pine guy arrived. Just exhumed them and css this past summer, and they were fine. Little punky in spots where they were in the mud, but certainly not bad enough to bother splitting the occasional punky spot off. I certainly wouldn't plan to treat the wood that way, but in this case it turned out ok. Ash is pretty forgiving.
They make baseball bats out of ash. I have ash handled tools I inherited from my grandfather. I don’t know what your friend is talking about. The only reason any wood won’t last is that it gets exposed to moisture.
I will also attest to the resilience of ash, we had our property logged on 2011, and I went after the ash first as it was easier to hand split than much of the maple. I lost way more maple to punk than ash. I'd probably still be able to find usable ash in the waste wood, but the maple just collapses if it's stepped on. May not be the highest BTU firewood, but it has kept us warm since 2012.
Ash isn't on the list of go-to woods for natural decay resistance. Nor bug resistance. Of course the list of wood best for outdoor use is rather short. Compared to , say, redwood or cypress, ash is probably not a good choice for leaving out to the elements, but cut, split and stacked off the ground it should be in good shape in 2024.
Good heavens! You don’t want that ash laying around- I’ll be over with a trailer and I’ll remove it straight away!
I find that ash I take while live last as well as other wood. Ash from blow downs or dead has a good percent punked up already. I end up carving around it and try to bring the best solid stuff back to the house. I don’t think I find that stuff gets much worse before it hits the stove.
Ash last here till I burn it but I am not some one who lets wood age since it isn't wine or good sipping whisky. They stand dead in the woods here, first stuff I cut is blow downs usually the roots have rotted and won't support the trunk any longer in the summer winds. These have been standing in the woods for about 15 years it was in a wet area so I had to wait till a good drought dried it up in there to get to it. Al
Get it CSS ASAP. Remove all the loose bark. If well covered it should last. Even better in a shed/lean to etc. IMO i would burn it sooner than 23/24, just my opinion though.
I think it depends on whether it was live or beetle killed when it was cut down. The bottom 20' of a beetle-killed ash is always soft here. Almost punky. But I have one that the power company took down 7 years ago that was alive and it's still very hard.
How long do the studs last in your house? What about the old barns? Many out there over 100 years old. I will say that I know more than one person who has kept ash for well over 10 years with no problems at all. I've never kept it more than 7 or 8 years myself and I've never had a problem with it. That said, with the bark falling off, it is still good wood but not as good as that which was cut when green. It just won't have as many btu but is still great firewood. It will last on this earth longer than you will; it just won't have as many btu in it when cut when it is already dead. Also for those who think ash does not keep well, I've forgotten some firewood that I bucked in the woods (white ash) and found it a couple years later. It had sat in water for about 1/3 to 1/2 the time it laid there on the ground (and we know wood does not last long on the ground). Yet, that wood was just as good as any other firewood; it just had to dry out a bit and after a couple years we burned it and could not tell any difference in it.
This is EAB killed stuff at least 15 years dead maybe more. It is as soild as can be, much better than a up rooded red oak 4 years ago. I am planing on chain saw milling rhe bark less one in the fore ground. But every one knoiws I am a crazy old coot and don't know much about much of any thing. Seems stuff works for me don't work for others like burnung wod cut this winter next winter. Al
