Persimmon?

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Kool_hand_Looke

Kool_hand_Looke

Feeling the Heat
Dec 8, 2013
469
Illinois
So I went out and got a tree ID book and started walking. I came across what appear to be persimmon trees. Some dead on the ground, some standing dead.

Does anyone burn this on this forum? Just wondering how it splits...if needed...and how it cooks off.
 
I don't know about burning it......but, deer love them! They are pretty tasty, almost like an apricot.
 
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Well on a BTU comparison chart persimmon is among the best but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a great burning wood. I have heard people say it's great and I have heard other people say it causes creosote build up. I'd bet that the latter people didn't season their wood properly before burning.

BTU comparison chart
http://www.chimneysweeponline.com/howood.htm
 
That's what I was getting at. If it was real ashy, or anything.

I cut a little off of it to see. But...I can't tell if it's dry or not. It's real dense, and the temp outside is in the low 20s.
 
Kool_hand_Looke said:
That's what I was getting at. If it was real ashy, or anything.

I cut a little off of it to see. But...I can't tell if it's dry or not. It's real dense, and the temp outside is in the low 20s.
Click to expand...

Without a moisture meter(which I don't have either) the best you can do is the "tap test." Cut a firewood length and split it(if there's a piece that size) and let it sit inside for a few days. After two or three days pick it up and give it a tap. If there is a dull clunk it's definitely wet, if there's a percussive knock then it is probably at least mostly dry. This may be something you already know(probably in fact) but it's worth posting. Besides that is the bark off of the trees? Are there still any live suckers on any of them?

Let me know what you find out as I've been considering planting some persimmon trees to attract wildlife and perhaps use as firewood some day.
 
duff0369 said:
Without a moisture meter(which I don't have either) the best you can do is the "tap test." Cut a firewood length and split it(if there's a piece that size) and let it sit inside for a few days. After two or three days pick it up and give it a tap. If there is a dull clunk it's definitely wet, if there's a percussive knock then it is probably at least mostly dry. This may be something you already know(probably in fact) but it's worth posting. Besides that is the bark off of the trees? Are there still any live suckers on any of them?

Let me know what you find out as I've been considering planting some persimmon trees to attract wildlife and perhaps use as firewood some day.
Click to expand...
I've tried to stick with oak...or at least what I thought was oak. I've only started now trying to find other trees that are equally heat effective, BUT, smaller in size so I can just burn rounds.

I threw a couple small pieces in with some elm and it seems to be burning nicely. I'll probably go cut it up tomorrow. The bark is half on half off with mushroom growth on them. They look like theyve been down...and the standing dead...have been dead for a quite some time.
 
Kool_hand_Looke said:
I've tried to stick with oak...or at least what I thought was oak. I've only started now trying to find other trees that are equally heat effective, BUT, smaller in size so I can just burn rounds.

I threw a couple small pieces in with some elm and it seems to be burning nicely. I'll probably go cut it up tomorrow. The bark is half on half off with mushroom growth on them. They look like theyve been down...and the standing dead...have been dead for a quite some time.
Click to expand...

Oak is nice but sugar maple and shagbark hickory are my choice of woods.

Sounds like a good find to me!
 
I've got some shag bark but not near as much as I do oak. Just the lay of the land. Got some Osage orange too I might cut down as well.
 
Kool_hand_Looke said:
I've got some shag bark but not near as much as I do oak. Just the lay of the land. Got some Osage orange too I might cut down as well.
Click to expand...

Well I work as a tree trimmer so I usually have access to choice woods. On my personal property most of what I have and end up burning is oak as well. There are some big shagbarks but I wouldn't cut them cause they look so cool.

Osage orange is another thing I was wondering if it was worth planting. Would they be good for firewood in forty years? As in are they fast growing?
 
duff0369 said:
Osage orange is another thing I was wondering if it was worth planting. Would they be good for firewood in forty years? As in are they fast growing?
Click to expand...

I'd go with black locust. Straighter, neater (bent over osage thickets are hellish). Also less invasive if you are in a forest area.
 
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osagebow said:
I'd go with black locust. Straighter, neater (bent over osage thickets are hellish). Also less invasive if you are in a forest area.
Click to expand...

I was thinking about thornless honey locust for pastures as well. Our animals can eat the pods they drop and I can cut them when they're large enough or snap off or something. Plus in a pasture the seedlings that come up will be eaten by the goats so I don't have to worry about them spreading. I don't like to introduce new tree species to my forest.
 
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Idk if they are fast growing or not. I did split some of a dead OO some time ago. It was easy to split, and was an awesome burn. I just don't have many of them though. And I'm tired of rolling my ankles on the apples.
 
Kool_hand_Looke said:
Idk if they are fast growing or not. I did split some of a dead OO some time ago. It was easy to split, and was an awesome burn. I just don't have many of them though. And I'm tired of rolling my ankles on the apples.
Click to expand...

I also read that livestock can sometimes choke on them and really only the seeds inside are edible. I'm thinking I'll skip the OO and wait till I run across some sometime just to see the burn.
 
I haven't burned a lot of Persimmon, but have several dead ones to get. I burned some a couple years ago, mixed in with other wood and it was top-notch stuff as far as I could tell. Burned long and didn't seem to have any ash problem. Split OK.
 
Process it- Its worth your time. It seasons in one year and is a straight grained wood where the trunks are typically not much more than 12 inches in diameter so it splits on the easier side. The burning qualities are similar to hickory. If you have some live trees the fruit is very tasty when ripe and worth harvesting to process into puree for various recipes.
 
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