Green ash.

[delabodge]

You're not alone Mark in thinking ash is overrated.

 

It's good firewood but not as good as beech when equally dry. When testing our seasoning logs I have noticed that after a year the beech is drier than the ash. One thing I will say in it's favour is it holds up well left in the round for a few years. Beech and birch will start to rot ASAP and the sap on oak rots out very fast but the ash will hold up really well.

 

Can only think the Delabodge and Huck don't know how to dry logs properly or the ash of a bygone era was different

 

:lol::lol: made me laugh this one,,,,

[teepeeat]

going to agree with woodguy -

 

the best wood is any dry wood

[Mark Bolam]

Depends how wet they are

 

Classic!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Arbtalk

[silky fox]

Good answer Huck:D

[Hodge]

A good way to see that Ash has a low sap content is to cut it in summer and see how little sap runs out unlike Birch or Sycamore which floods out.

I have customers who buy ash off me when I get it in so that they always have a stock of dry seasoned wood. when Ash is seasoned it is brilliant wood to burn, but then again and dry wood burns well, I have mixed kiln dried stuff that I got dried and you don't even need a fire lighter to get it going. Dry and seasoned is the key.

[Andy Collins]

I have a different theory about Ash. Yes it burns well in most conditions, I've never had a problem with greener ash, (cut/split say a month previously). But my theory about the firewood poem is for a different reason. Way back in time, woodlands were traditionally planted on waste land, unsuited to arable crops, wetland etc. Now even back then, people knew a little about marketing, after all they still needed a return from a crop even if it was on wasteland. Why not write a poem about the virtues of your product, something simple folk would easily remember. Of course since then, other timbers with different uses came to the fore ie bat willows as new markets opened up with the advent of sports, vehicles needing boards (poplar) and so on. Just a thought. Ash grows well on rotation, renewable energy, more bites of the same cherry, and has many uses other than just timber, so a clever promotion makes sense (to me).

[Woodworks]

Loading up some logs this morning and what do know the shed is full of beech and ash from the same hedge. They have been in there since winter 2013.

 

Moisture content on outside of both reads 20% and inside 22% (very high RH here for last few weeks) Cut out two identical sized samples pictures below. As I understand it the calorific value of dried woods is pretty similar per KG so the beech simply has more energy in it when it burns.

 

Fortunately our customers don't seem to have read that poem and just want dry logs

 

Never burn any wet wood whatever the species as turning water into to steam is simply a waste of precious resource not to mention the damage it will do to your flue.

[Peter]

To be a fair comparison you need to determine the volume of both samples, and calculate the density rather than the weight.

 

Otherwise a massive chunk of willow at 22% would win out over both of your samples.

[Amelanchier]

Found it and not exactly as I remembered but useful background.

Its from my regular bed time reading - Carbohydrate Reserves in plants- synthesis and regulation.

 

"According to the predominant carbohydrate storage compounds, starch or fat, trees are classified as "starch trees" like most ring-porous angiosperms, and some conifers like species of abies and picea, and "fat trees" like most diffuse-porous angiosperms and species of pinus."

 

Sad but I find this quite interesting!

 

You're entirely on the right track. Fraxinus is within the same family as the Olives (Oleaceae) and stores much of its energy as oleic acid - the same fatty acid that is a major component of plant oils and animal fat.

[woodyguy]

Skyhuck, don't really wish to fan the flames (pun intended) but I think you've got a problem with your arithmetic. Yes you can do wet or dry weight % moisture. Your 150% translates as 3 parts water for every 2 parts wood, ie 60% moisture by the method we normally use. I've personally never cut any wood that tested that high but bow to your extra experience. What it doesn't mean is that it has "3x as much water as wood". It has 1.5x more water than wood. Hope this isn't taken as insulting, just trying to understand.