flushcut
TreeHouser
Much easier to dump at wood boiler guys and let them do the work.
Firewood
- Thread starter Ed L
- Start date
- Replies 745
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How do you all find cherry to split? I was reading Maryland's page on firewood, and it had some basic facts and charts. They listed cherry as easy to split. My experience says it's kind of a bastard. Getting a split going isn't too bad, but it always has strings that hang on. I spend a fair amount of time on it rotating wedges through to get it apart, then cut the strings with an axe, or beat it apart with a maul. It's still my favorite firewood, but it's fairly hard won.
Nutball
TreeHouser
Black cherry is like oak, but even easier unless you get a corkscrew cherry. Some other cherries can be a little stringy, but still easy enough. Just like you can get easy splitting straight grained Elm, but most is super stringy, and among the hardest to split.
I've probably split 2 cord of it over the last two years, and 90% of it's been a PITA. Splitting inside a round is fairly easy, but it isn't a circumstance that frequently comes up. Radial splitting is pretty much always a hassle aside from the smallest pieces. I maybe need to rethink my strategy for getting it apart.
flushcut
TreeHouser
Most cherry is easy to split but it makes poor firewood. Mostly all show but not a lot of heat.
Nutball
TreeHouser
Probably need to try splitting 45deg from the rings
Interesting flush. I've found it competitive with oak. Not quite as good on purely heating terms, but it coals up nice, and what I really like about it is the smell. If I were offered my choice choice of oak or cherry for the same price, I'd take the the cherry.
treebilly
Student of the Jedi. OH-7106A
There are many people like you on that John. One day when I want to piss off my father in law I’m gonna show him his precious cherry next to maple on the btu chart. He turns down free maple for firewood all the time. Next I’ll really upset him by telling him that one can burn spruce and pine in an indoor burner
treebilly
Student of the Jedi. OH-7106A
I vowed that my firewood at the house would be all cut, split, and stacked by the end of July. I put a small dent in the pile tonight after cutting 20 more tote cages for easy access. I should have two years supply for my parents and my house when it’s all done. The. I’ll start hoarding wood all over again. Pretty sure I have some sort of mental illness.
Burnham
Woods walker
The most common native cherry here in western Oregon, Bitter Cherry, Prunus emarginata, is a fine fuel. It seldom gets very large. A diameter of 16 inches would be a pretty big one.
It can be a hard wood to split, for both the stringiness that sometimes is present, but mostly because the bark is very strong and somewhat elastic around the circumference of a round. I have found that scoring the bark with a sharp blade, into quarters, greatly eases the hand splitting.
It does smell good, as John reports.
Not at all, Rich. That's just being smart
.
It can be a hard wood to split, for both the stringiness that sometimes is present, but mostly because the bark is very strong and somewhat elastic around the circumference of a round. I have found that scoring the bark with a sharp blade, into quarters, greatly eases the hand splitting.
It does smell good, as John reports.
Not at all, Rich. That's just being smart
.
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Never burned maple aside from one-off pieces. I have access to it, but I just pick other stuff. The maple I can easily get is usually Norway. That doesn't seem to showup on the charts. Searching, some guy on AS says it's not as good as sugar, but better than red :shrugs: I'll burn anything that fits in the stove, but my preferences are cherry-oak-locust, then ash as my "holy shit, I'm out of wood, but it's still cold out!" wood :^D
Burnham
Woods walker
I like big leaf maple, for around here.
We all burn what we have access to, choosing the best from that lot, as conditions dictate.
We all burn what we have access to, choosing the best from that lot, as conditions dictate
.
flushcut
TreeHouser
Two year old sugar maple throws some heat!
flushcut
TreeHouser
The smell is nice, for pure heat oak is by far better. Locust is even better than oak.
SeanKroll
Treehouser
I fully agree about cherry bark and stringiness.
I just finished splitting some for friends.
The lever did just fine...hydraulic valve lever, that is.
I just finished splitting some for friends.
The lever did just fine...hydraulic valve lever, that is.
SeanKroll
Treehouser
Maple leave ash, doug- fir sends comparable for heat, and magically burns to nothing. Seems maple leaves clinkers, too, but less compared to madrona.
Gotta be careful not to over-fire with madrona.
Gotta be careful not to over-fire with madrona.
Cobleskill
Treehouser
I remember getting some cherry way back when I first started heating with wood. I was let down but I think it was pin cherry. Black Cherry seems much better. Not really that common for firewood here.
Don't know why face cord is frowned on for a measure. 4 x 8 by whatever length. Standard around here.
A friend told me the 200 pieces to a face cord. He had a place that sold wood out of a big pile and told him just throw on 200 and we will call it a face cord. I have tested the theory and if you have a mix of average sizes it does work. I don't sell much, by the time I feed 2 stoves all winter that is about enough fun for me. When I do sell I mix up the sizes so there is some small, med, and large. Nice to have the right size piece to throw in.
Don't know why face cord is frowned on for a measure. 4 x 8 by whatever length. Standard around here.
A friend told me the 200 pieces to a face cord. He had a place that sold wood out of a big pile and told him just throw on 200 and we will call it a face cord. I have tested the theory and if you have a mix of average sizes it does work. I don't sell much, by the time I feed 2 stoves all winter that is about enough fun for me. When I do sell I mix up the sizes so there is some small, med, and large. Nice to have the right size piece to throw in.
Cobleskill
Treehouser
Johnny you probably know the company that he bought wood from. S&S.
Al Smith
Mac Daddy
I've got around 2 cords of black cherry ,all wind blown .Otherwise I would not bother with it but like all wood it does produce heat .The oak I'm working on is tear offs of big limbs of white oak and it is not only gnarly stuff but heavy as lead .I'll likely have one and a half-two cords of it which will take two years to dry out . The oak tree itself will need to come down else eventually the wind will get it .It's a 100 footer .I've got a couple years I think .Dang shame ,the rot and ants got it at the junction where the canopy branches out .Damage like that will not self heal plus it's likely 200 years old .I hope to get some lumber out of it which should be veneer grade .
Nutball
TreeHouser
Eastern cottonwood put out some serious heat... for about 15min, but it's still a lot of heat if that's what matters.
flushcut
TreeHouser
Oak, hickory, and sugar maple is all I have been bringing home. Just the good stuff!
Al Smith
Mac Daddy
Some of that soft hardwood it just takes more volume to get the same amount of heat . Fact I've got a couple of wind blown basswoods I just have not had time to block up ,split and stack .That's the stuff you burn during the day then load up the good stuff to make it through the night .You about need to figure out how to use what you have .I have no idea what is used in the left coast but around here the best stuff is oak and hickory because the ash is all dead .I might have two years left of the ash before I'm out .
