Cutting standing dead ash

[Vibes]

I cut up/ down 6 standing dead ash trees yesterday. They were dead for going on 3 years now. They were from 5 to 10 inch diameter at the trunks. I was under the impression that I would be able to cut, split and burn these trees within days.

I was wrong. To my surpise the trunk wood was very wet and on most of them even most of the 1 1/2 inch sized limbs were sizzling were spitting when I burned the sticks in the burn barrel.

Ash must still draw moisture after EAB kills it. But there was no leaves on these trees for 2 years. They were in my yard so I kept an eye on them. Of course the small twigs shattered like glass when they fell making clean-up an all day event. I'll split it later today.

 

[UpOnTheHill]

Some of the ones I cut are ready to burn the same day and some I have to let season like a live tree. I think it all depends on the conditions, although I don't know what those conditions are. I can tell when splitting it which pile it goes into - this year's pile or next year's pile.

 

[Vibes]

Some of the ones I cut are ready to burn the same day and some I have to let season like a live tree. I think it all depends on the conditions, although I don't know what those conditions are. I can tell when splitting it which pile it goes into - this year's pile or next year's pile.

Same here. I've been cutting mostly ash for the last 3 years. Some of it isn't even worth cutting because most of the limbs are rotten. I would've let these trees stand till next year if I knew they weren't ready. Our summer was pretty damp around here but its been real dry for the last couple months.

These trees were at the top of my hill so its not like they were in an overly damp part of the property. You could tell that the roots are still drawing water for sure.

 

[UpOnTheHill]

The best ones I've found have fallen over and are supported by branches or other trees. These almost always seem to be primo depending on how long they've been there.

 

[CRThomas]

I cut up/ down 6 standing dead ash trees yesterday. They were dead for going on 3 years now. They were from 5 to 10 inch diameter at the trunks. I was under the impression that I would be able to cut, split and burn these trees within days.

I was wrong. To my surpise the trunk wood was very wet and on most of them even most of the 1 1/2 inch sized limbs were sizzling were spitting when I burned the sticks in the burn barrel.

Ash must still draw moisture after EAB kills it. But there was no leaves on these trees for 2 years. They were in my yard so I kept an eye on them. Of course the small twigs shattered like glass when they fell making clean-up an all day event. I'll split it later today.

I only do Ash and I have never had Ash that was real wet even cut in the mid summer. If it in the 20's one night in little air heat and sticked and stacked it be 14 to 15 percent next day I do a face cord every day.that's in my kiln

 

[Chris-PA]

Yeah, it varies - I cut a little standing dead one last weekend, maybe 6 -7". I cut it up short for the little stove, and it's stacked on my porch. Some of the smaller pieces are in my stove now, burning great with no trace of hiss.

Other times it's either punky or still wet. Then again ours are dying from ash yellows, which is a slow wasting fungal disease, and some of them are pretty rotten before their fully dead. Others look totally dead but when you drop them you often find little twigs shooting leaves out the trunk way up top - not really dead yet.

 

[CRThomas]

My F

 

[stihlfanboy]

Cut these 3 up in the rain the other day, so dead the only branches were 2 inchs think, rest broke off. The one was so gone it snaped on my face cut. Even after sitting in the rain there dry as a whistles when I brought them up today.

 

[CRThomas]

Lots of time when I cut Ash green I let them lay on the ground and let the leaves pull the water and sap out it don't take long either later

 

[bbxlr8]

Any dead ash I have cut has been good to go. Are you sure it was ash?

 

[CRThomas]

This is CRT I have never had Ash that wouldn't burn straight up. I been fooling with Ash for 40 years.that's not my wood a picture of some body else's. My firewood bundles come in color stretch wrap. I'm going to have to take a picture of mine

 

[taskswap]

I've heard it depends on the kind of Ash, too. I dunno. I've posted about this before - that old poem about ash green and ash dry a king to warm his slippers buy? Never worked for me. I used it in an emergency once and it sizzled like anything else green.

 

[CRThomas]

That doesn't look like our Ash then I see red tint in some of those chunks.

 

[Vibes]

Its ash. No doubt!!! I've been putting up tons of the stuff. Its all dead and been dead in this area. I'm guessing then that the stuff I cut up 3 years earlier may have been killed by the "Yellows".

 

[CRThomas]

The area I live in our Ash is snow white it has to rot before it changes dark our Ash is called white Ash. Our cherry is called Rock Cherry. When I get time I take picture of it as soon as I can

 

[Iska3]

I just took out a half cord of yellow ash yesterday and hope to take out three more cords by the weekend. I’ve never burned much ash because we’ve always had enough oak and elm. Now that I’m retired, I take out all the ash that I can get.

Our ash has been dying for the past 10 to 15 years now. The guy who owns the land next to us just pulled out some 20 cords of standing dead Ash and most of the trunks were still full of moisture until it was split and he soon found out that they dried up fast. Some of these trees were dead or dying for over 8 years but every now and then you might see a few leaves on one of the trees so someplace along the line the sap ring must be doing it’s job and the trunks will be full of moisture and the top have will be dry and hard like a baseball bat. I took these pictures of the dying ash along the road because I want to find the land owner (who lives in the city) in hope of them letting us cut these trees when the low land is dry like it is now.

It’s sad to see these trees go but like many of the other species it can only be used for firewood

 

[CRThomas]

After the sap is down I can cut a Ash chuck it split it down to wrist size put it in my kiln 24 hours later m/c down to below 8 to 10 on ends resplit a stick the middle will be under 15 percent that's our area Ash I got to looking there are about 25 different Ash's in the world.

 

[Vibes]

I know the ash is growing back around these parts but they are all twig size now. I'm wondering what Major League Baseball will do when they can't find ash for ball bats.

 

[CRThomas]

My customers are asking what I'm going to do when the ash is all gone. I tell them I'm 74 and the Ash will out last me. They use plastic or metal.

 

[Iska3]

Our area is mostly Yellow and Black Ash. I did get a few White Ash logs in a load of wood last year; I'd take a load of white Ash before a load of Red Oak. White Ash has to be one of the better woods. Dries fast, very tight rings and easy to split. Seems like it burns hotter also. I saved a few of the longer chunks for hammer handles. We don't see much in the way of White Ash around here; maybe that's why we have the term "Ash Swamps"..

The area I live in our Ash is snow white it has to rot before it changes dark our Ash is called white Ash. Our cherry is called Rock Cherry. When I get time I take picture of it as soon as I can