Burning Ask Wood -- Heavy Soot

[DrRod]

Greetings,

I had a dozen dead ash trees brought down in July. They had been standing dead at least two years and after cutting into firewood lengths they showed cracks within a month. So I figure they are seasoned enough to burn. So after a few fires this month I notice that the firebox is covered in black soot. We have burned big logs of all types of hardwood for years and could still see the white of the brick lining but suddenly its all fuzzy black. Does this mean the wood is still green or is it a characteristic of ash wood. Don't want to make an ash of myself.

 

[DrRod]

Ehhhh -- The thread should read "Ash" not "Ask" -- sorry for any confusion.

 

[Garycw]

Not sure about the soot. From what i understand ash will burn green? I use primarily locust & elm.

 

[mbohuntr]

Some wood will leave soot on a surface until it burns hot enough. I would cover it with just a roof to finish drying it out.

 

[rswyan]

Green (unseasoned), ash has a very low moisture content as compared to many other woods - and it will burn readily even unseasoned ... but it's better if it's been seasoned.

 

[murphy1244]

Are they split at all? They will dry faster being split. I think your burning wet wood.

 

[4570Man]

Wood regardless of species burns better seasoned and split. I find one year drying time minimum, two years or longer is best. I still have some wood that was cut and split in 2006 that burns like dry newspaper. My stove gets a lot of soot if the damper is set low. If I am burning wide open with dry wood there is very minimal buildup.

 

[CobyRupert]

It didn't burn hot enough could either be because it's too wet or not enough/bad draft. Did you have stove draft turned down?
And like Murphy asked: is it split?

 

[Coyote machine]

Greetings,

I had a dozen dead ash trees brought down in July. They had been standing dead at least two years and after cutting into firewood lengths they showed cracks within a month. So I figure they are seasoned enough to burn. So after a few fires this month I notice that the firebox is covered in black soot. We have burned big logs of all types of hardwood for years and could still see the white of the brick lining but suddenly its all fuzzy black. Does this mean the wood is still green or is it a characteristic of ash wood. Don't want to make an ash of myself.

The wood is still wet. Either mix it with properly seasoned wood or burn other wood until it's seasoned. Get a moisture meter from a box store and test it. And it's still too warm outside to burn your fires hot enough to get the fullest BTU output from the ash wood.
Put a stack thermometer on your wood stove too, to be able to know when your stove is burning at closest to ideal temps.
Most people burn wood at way to low temps, creating creosote and loosing valuable BTUs. Then the creosote catches fire and the real issues start.

 

[/pine]

FWIW...there is a significant difference between "white" and "black" ash trees when it comes to firewood quality...
here is a BTU/chord chart with density data...there are plenty of other charts available that offer more info. like ash (residue), cracking/popping etc...
Firewood BTU Ratings Chart Best Firewood Heat Energy Content

 

[fishheadbob]

"A few fires" in October sounds like low heat, smoldering types. I've burned an awful lot of wood for many years including dry ash, green ash, and about everything else. I'd guess that when it gets colder than early October and you start cranking the BTUs faster out of your ash wood the burn patterns would change as you would have hotter fires.
I also would not be overly concerned that the inside of my firebox is dirty; a hotter fire will take care of that. When I clean my chimneys I re-burn the creosote I collect from them.

 

[brown40]

I have a lot of ash on the property and end up burning more of that than birch or maple, and you can get away with burning it a bit wet. It helps to split it a little thinner and make an open cradle instead of a tighter pile to increase the exposed surface area and get it going. Unfortunately you lose some of the btu's for heat to boil off what extra moisture remains, before it can get up in temperature. If I'm stuck with wet wood, I'll start the fire dry, then try and mix green and seasoned once there's some coals to ignite everything quickly. I think you encountered a lot of smoldering while you cooked off water. Get it hotter and the soot should disappear--did you clean the chimney at the start of the year, or could you have some creosote thats fallen through the off season and disrupted your air flow? I have a little magnetic thermometer that lets me know the stack temperature, and it translates well to the fire's character--in "the zone" goes well... under that and its a smoldering PITA.

 

[Egon]

Has the chimney been checked for soot??

 

[DrRod]

They aren't split and most are about a foot in diameter so they burn long and slow. But they have been standing dead for at least two years and are cracked at the ends of the cuts so I would assume they are sufficiently seasoned. They do get wet just sitting on the pile but they also appear dry after a day of sunny weather.

 

[DrRod]

We haven't had much soot in the chimney over the years because we burn dry wood and have hot fires. There is no damper so its always wide open so to speak. I think it must be caused by the long slow fires these big logs create.

 

[Coyote machine]

It's not seasoned just because it's dead and standing for 2 years. Split it, stack it, keep it covered on top and allow air to get to it. Mix it in with actual seasoned wood and use a stack thermometer, as already suggested, to get the hottest burn. Otherwise you're drying it in the stove, and the soot is the water burning off ineffectively and inefficiently. You can't wish it dry.:confused3:

 

[4570Man]

I have had 2 year or longer standing dead wood ooze out water when the splitting wedge hits it. I burn most of the already dead wood on the brush pile because it is so hard on chainsaw chains.

 

[LD1]

Wet wood isnt what directly causes creosote.

Creosote is caused when gasses and smoke cool off and condense on the inside of the stove and chimney.

Burning wet wood can cause this as the moisture cools things off. But so does a cool smoldering fire when you choke the fire down. You need a good hot fire to prevent creosote.

A fire stoked for overnight and choked down will form a bit of creosote, but then in the morning when you open it up and get a good hot fire rolling, you are burning it off. This time of year when you may not need a good hot fire, you simply may not be burning hot enough to prevent creosote.

 

[LD1]

Wet wood isnt what directly causes creosote.

Creosote is caused when gasses and smoke cool off and condense on the inside of the stove and chimney.

Burning wet wood can cause this as the moisture cools things off. But so does a cool smoldering fire when you choke the fire down. You need a good hot fire to prevent creosote.

A fire stoked for overnight and choked down will form a bit of creosote, but then in the morning when you open it up and get a good hot fire rolling, you are burning it off. This time of year when you may not need a good hot fire, you simply may not be burning hot enough to prevent creosote.