It doesn't get much better than burning 1 day old, fresh split, red oak...

Some people around this area think that the greener the wood, 1. the longer it burns 2. the more heat you get from it.

I've been told that our firewood will be to dry, ok!

 

They confuse burning with smoldering I guess. I don't get it either. How can you not realize that it is futile to burn unseasoned wood .

 

I've always cut standing dead coniferous trees for firewood, because that's what we mostly have around here, and that's what the forestry permit allows (no cutting of live trees). Of course not all standing dead trees are created equal. Some contain a lot of moisture, some not so much, and some are very dry. My goal when going after firewood is to seek out those trees that are very dry already, it save me extra work, because of my limited space for storing firewood it insures that the wood I will be burning is adequately dry even though I burn whatever I cut in the fall right away, and throughout that winter.
It works for me, however a lot of people around here also cut in the fall, and start burning right away and through that winter, of course they lack one important bit of knowledge, and one, what I consider vital, piece of equipment, and that is the knowledge of what dry firewood is, and a moisture meter. Consequently they often burn wood that is very high in moisture content, thinking that because the tree was standing dead it must be "dry".
This is why I so often advocate the use of a moisture meter, without some way of gauging something, and putting a precise value on it, it's all just conjecture. You can talk until you're blue in the face, but if you can't actually show people where it says (say in the wood stove manual) that firewood should be <20% moisture content, and physically show them what the MC of their wood is by taking a reading on that wood with a meter, then you might as well be pizzing in the wind when you tell people they need to (season???) it. It's like telling people they have to torque their wheel lug nuts to 90 lb. If they don't have a torque wrench then they are just gona hand tighten it up to whatever?, and say "close enough", especially if they are in a hurry to drive somewhere. Same with firewood, they are just gona cut the wood, throw it in a pile for a little while, and say "close enough", especially if they are in a hurry to warm up their house.

 

Try giving him a stove load of dry stuff
&
Let him experience the difference

 

I'd like to see a pic of the house with the creosote dripping down it. Before it burns down. In the Eab areas I feel that the fact that people can burn the dead ash right away with some success has people thinking that is true for all species. I burned fairly fresh dead ash all last year(my first year). I knew it wouldn't be the best, but it worked. Now that I have one year CSS ash it is so much better. I have enough now to get into the 15/16 winter and plenty I've committed to cutting this winter. Only going to get better now.

That reminds me, time to sharpen the chains. Got the cutting itch today. Seems to happen a lot.

 

A relative of mine called me this week and we were talking about gathering firewood. He said "I like Ash because I can cut it and stack it in the basement by the stove and I can burn it in a couple of weeks". He has been burning that way for 25+ years and there is no way to change his mind.