Need help on Mountain Ash (Rowan) genus "Sorbus"

[SQWIB]

My brother is having three Mountain Ash Trees removed and he asked the tree guy about using it as firewood.

I figured its about a cord, it would save him a bit on a few seasons worth of gas.

The tree guy said it was no good for firewood as it turns white and spongy after it has been cut and will not burn good.

As I have gotten older, my trust in certain people has been slowly diminishing, I am not a cynic but when it comes to dealing with people that can gain from someones naivety or trust I get fired up. I have seen too much in the way of unscrupulous activities as people are becoming more cut throat to survive.

Here's the Dilemma, I am trying to convince him to save a good portion of the wood for firewood and for my pit, I offered to do all the chainsawing and splitting myself.

I think hes reluctant because of what the tree guy said... and who knows, he may be spot on!

I am not worried about flavor of the wood as I will use this as a two part fuel source if need be.

When I burn unwanted woods I will only use that wood when foiled or if the food is covered.

I went through a good amount of bug infested ash this way, hell why use up my premium wood when I don't need it, this works out great because I get rid of a lot of junk wood this way.

Here's the only info I could find and there's no first hand use experience with this species that I can find.

Rowan: Also called mountain ash (but unrelated to the common ash) this tree produces a decent firewood.

Rowan: A good heat and reasonably slow burn. Also known as Mountain Ash.

Not an ash but related to the Rose family

Mostly deciduous trees. However, Eucalyptus regnans, which is sometimes called Mountain Ash, is an evergreen tree

2) "Mountain Ash is a name used for several unrelated trees. It may refer to:
- Eucalyptus regnans, the tallest of all flowering plants
- Fraxinus texensis, an ash tree species in Texas
- Trees in the genus Sorbus in North America (mainly U.S.A.)
- In Ireland and Britain it is used exclusively for Sorbus aucuparia which is also commonly known as Rowan"

Sorbus subgenus Sorbus (genus Sorbus s.s.), commonly known as the rowan (primarily in the UK) or mountain-ash (in both North America and the UK), with compound leaves usually hairless or thinly hairy below; fruit carpels not fused; type species Sorbus aucuparia (European rowan). Distribution: cool-temperate Northern Hemisphere. (Genus Sorbus s.s.)

I'm calling BS here.

Anyhow.. any advice or first hand experience would be greatly appreciated.

[Bearcarver]

I doubt it turns spongy after it's cut, because I checked how it is for drying for cabinet making, and got the following:

"Needs much care in drying because of proneness to collapse and internal checking, as well as surface checking on the tangential surface."



Woods that check easily don't generally get spongy.
However it is a soft wood, and should be treated as such. IMO


Bear

[zombini]

My brother is having three Mountain Ash Trees removed and he asked the tree guy about using it as firewood.

I figured its about a cord, it would save him a bit on a few seasons worth of gas.

The tree guy said it was no good for firewood as it turns white and spongy after it has been cut and will not burn good.

As I have gotten older, my trust in certain people has been slowly diminishing, I am not a cynic but when it comes to dealing with people that can gain from someones naivety or trust I get fired up. I have seen too much in the way of unscrupulous activities as people are becoming more cut throat to survive.

Here's the Dilemma, I am trying to convince him to save a good portion of the wood for firewood and for my pit, I offered to do all the chainsawing and splitting myself.

I think hes reluctant because of what the tree guy said... and who knows, he may be spot on!

I am not worried about flavor of the wood as I will use this as a two part fuel source if need be.

When I burn unwanted woods I will only use that wood when foiled or if the food is covered.

I went through a good amount of bug infested ash this way, hell why use up my premium wood when I don't need it, this works out great because I get rid of a lot of junk wood this way.

Here's the only info I could find and there's no first hand use experience with this species that I can find.

Rowan: Also called mountain ash (but unrelated to the common ash) this tree produces a decent firewood.

Rowan: A good heat and reasonably slow burn. Also known as Mountain Ash.

Not an ash but related to the Rose family

Mostly deciduous trees. However, Eucalyptus regnans, which is sometimes called Mountain Ash, is an evergreen tree

2) "Mountain Ash is a name used for several unrelated trees. It may refer to:
- Eucalyptus regnans, the tallest of all flowering plants
- Fraxinus texensis, an ash tree species in Texas
- Trees in the genus Sorbus in North America (mainly U.S.A.)
- In Ireland and Britain it is used exclusively for Sorbus aucuparia which is also commonly known as Rowan"

Sorbus subgenus Sorbus (genus Sorbus s.s.), commonly known as the rowan (primarily in the UK) or mountain-ash (in both North America and the UK), with compound leaves usually hairless or thinly hairy below; fruit carpels not fused; type species Sorbus aucuparia (European rowan). Distribution: cool-temperate Northern Hemisphere. (Genus Sorbus s.s.)

I'm calling BS here.

Anyhow.. any advice or first hand experience would be greatly appreciated.

as the poem goes" ash green, ash dry, good enough to warm the queens slippers by"..Not sure if mountain ash is different or not. Baseball bats are made from ash too. They don't seem to be pulpy.

[Checkered Past]

"Mostly deciduous trees. However, Eucalyptus regnans, which is sometimes called Mountain Ash, is an evergreen tree"

If it's Eucalyptus it will be a hard twisted grain wood that is NOT good for the BBQ pit, because of the oils released, but works great for warming fires ... Pics would help ... This post may not

[SQWIB]

as the poem goes" ash green, ash dry, good enough to warm the queens slippers by"..Not sure if mountain ash is different or not. Baseball bats are made from ash too. They don't seem to be pulpy.

It's not of the Ash family but of the rose family.

"Mostly deciduous trees. However, Eucalyptus regnans, which is sometimes called Mountain Ash, is an evergreen tree"

If it's Eucalyptus it will be a hard twisted grain wood that is NOT good for the BBQ pit, because of the oils released, but works great for warming fires ... Pics would help ... This post may not

Its not an evergreen such as Eucalyptus it's deciduous.

[SQWIB]

I doubt it turns spongy after it's cut, because I checked how it is for drying for cabinet making, and got the following:

"Needs much care in drying because of proneness to collapse and internal checking, as well as surface checking on the tangential surface."



Woods that check easily don't generally get spongy.
However it is a soft wood, and should be treated as such. IMO


Bear

Are you sure its a softwood.. if so Ill just use it on the firepit not the cooker.

I found this tidbit as well.

The wood is dense and used for carving and turning and for tool handles and walking sticks.[9] Rowan fruit are a traditional source of tannins for mordanting vegetable dyes.[10] In Finland, it has been a traditional wood of choice for horse sled shafts and rake spikes.

I would think that only hardwoods would be acceptable for tool handles.

Anyhow... most of this info is from the internet and we know how reliable that is.

I just wanted a good source to sway my brothers decision on giving away a cord of wood.

Worse case scenario I'm gonna harvest it anyway.

[Bearcarver]

Are you sure its a softwood.. if so Ill just use it on the firepit not the cooker.

I found this tidbit as well.

The wood is dense and used for carving and turning and for tool handles and walking sticks.[9] Rowan fruit are a traditional source of tannins for mordanting vegetable dyes.[10] In Finland, it has been a traditional wood of choice for horse sled shafts and rake spikes.

I would think that only hardwoods would be acceptable for tool handles.

Anyhow... most of this info is from the internet and we know how reliable that is.

I just wanted a good source to sway my brothers decision on giving away a cord of wood.

Worse case scenario I'm gonna harvest it anyway.

Mountain Ash isn't used for Tool handles or Baseball bats.
That would be good old plain "Ash", which is a very hard Hardwood. Very hard to chainsaw carve!!!


Below is Mountain Ash:

Trunk ---------short, slender
Branches----- spreading
Bark ----------thin and smooth.
Bud Scales--- hairless and sticky.
Wood ---------pale brown, soft, and weak.
Roots--------- fibrous


The source:
http://www.rook.org/earl/bwca/nature.../sorbusam.html


Bear

[jwbtulsa]

When in doubt, F-it. Heat tour home or throw it at your neighbors. Don't chance some good food to a shitty smoke. Just sayin'...

[SQWIB]

When in doubt, F-it. Heat tour home or throw it at your neighbors. Don't chance some good food to a shitty smoke. Just sayin'...

Trust me I wouldn't sacrifice any food, and wont use it for direct cooking/smoking if I cant find anyone that has first hand experience with this species.
But I will use it for my firepit and to fuel the stick burner during foiling stages.

I was hoping to find some first hand experience of this wood to sway my brother in keeping all the wood.

I wrote to certified Arborist at Temple University and she wrote back,

It is an edible plant especially for deer and moose. It might be nice to try it as a smoking option for meats, etc. http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/a/ashmo076.html Here is a good web site that you might find interesting. They had many medicinal uses for it and I would think this would lend itself nice for smoking.

I hope this helps

It still leaves me pondering.
Anyhow I'm going to convince him to keep it and Ill use it as if it was an undesirable wood.