Oak vs. Cherry

[woodburn]

I am begining to compile next season's ammunition. I just got about a half cord of a mix of Red Oak and Cherry from a friend who had trees taken down. Not exactly sure what kind of cherry it is. I split and stacked it all. This season, I burned all red oak, so I am quite familiar with it, but I've never burned cherry.

How does the cherry compare to the oak? Here are some things I am wondering about-

Drying time?

Burn times?

Hot fires?

Good coal bed?- I know when I have burned locust, it just doesn't leave the hot coals like oak.

Creasote?

Thanks.

 

[BotetourtSteve]

Cherry is good wood, at least the wild black cherry that I cut and burn periodically. In most every way you ask it is comparable to oak with one exception and that is length of burn, imo it is shorter than oak, sort of in the ash/maple/walnut timeframe, but not terrible like softwoods. Surprised you're not big on locust - wonder if you had honey locust instead of black locust? BL is my favorite - just pumps the heat and close to length of burn of oak. Hard on saw chains though, and can be a bear to split!

 

[jpl1nh]

I like cherry too but it's about 2/3rds as many BTU's as oak and doesn't coal as well. Black locust is my best long burn wood and for me it gives lots of really long lasting coals. Oak is my favorite, stove smells great after burnig oak, lots of coals, lots of heat, long burning. When people refer to maple, I don't think they recognize how much difference there is between maple species. Sugar maple is very high BTU like red oak, red or soft maple is medium BTU like elm or cherry. Check out this table: (broken link removed)

 

[billb3]

Wild cherry (we call it choke cherry, here) about as much heat as softer maple.
Some like the smell. I'd rather smell oak burning.
Keep it off the ground and out of the rain. The choke cherry here will rot even in a pile if it is not kept dry.

I'm cutting every bit of choke cherry down I can find. There's a fungus in it that also killed all my plum trees.
I'm told all or nothing for several acres, or forget new plums. Also a tent caterpillar infestation. They crawl all over my house when thy are finally stuffed, so another reason to eradicate the cherry.

 

[Henz]

I agree with billb3. I burned quite a bit of black cherry off my property this winter. IT dries relatively quickly and I too compare it to soft maple

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I disagree that cherry compares with soft maple. It definitely has a longer burn time. Soft maple will give a hotter fire but does not last quite as long.

On the cherry rotting, I have never had that problem and we burn some cherry every year. How long do we keep wood? Right now we have a 5-6 year supply....and nothing goes bad in our wood piles.

On the difference between elm/cherry/ash vs. oak, I agree that oak is the best but not by as much as most folks think. Elm, cherry and ash give good fires and the length of time of the burn cycle is not big. The biggest difference is in the coals; the oak just gives more coals.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

Burned a lot of Cherry this season and it burns nice and throws above-average heat. It's good fuelwood, just not as many BTU'S as Oak. But go outside and take a whiff from your stack and you'll smell a very sweet fragrance.

 

[bartlett920]

Yeah dont waste that Cherry in your stove go buy some briskets and beer and invite us all over and we'll have a bbq

 

[BotetourtSteve]

Given the differences of opinion regarding cherry here, and the geographical spread between us, I suspicion we are dealing with different cherry species.

 

[SlyFerret]

When I finally got my hands on some dry wood to burn this season, it was a small pile of walnuts splits but mostly cherry slabs and mill ends.

The cherry seems to burn hot, but not nearly as long as the little bit of oak that I had at first.

Most people would probably call these slabs and mill ends junk, but they seem to work great for making smaller fires.

-SF

 

[bartlett920]

In Kansas we have all kinds of cherry and it is all good for bbq'n but it does not burn near as hot as oak or hickory or sugar maple. so we use it mainly for our smokers plus you could sale a rick of it and buy a cord of oak around here! always a high demand!

 

[Bill]

I burned some black cherry this winter, seems OK, plenty of heat, didn't last as long as I would like. It's fun to split, nice and straight pieces, drys fast, and smells good. Actually it's very pretty wood, kind of a shame to burn it. But then again I burn black walnut also.

 

[bartlett920]

black walnut dont smell near as good as it looks!

 

[hookspacken]

I burnt mostly Cherry this winter, with some Oak and Locust thrown in here and there. Cherry burned well, not as long as the Oak or Locust, and didnt coal as well either. But all in all, it is better than the Silver Maple I had last year. I have a bunch more Cherry on deck for next year. Smells great when you split it.....

 

[fullbore]

I also burned some cherry mixed in with the oak. It seems to burn well but not quite as hot as the oak. I agree too that it is "nice looking" and straight wood.

 

[Ken45]

The choke cherry here will rot even in a pile if it is not kept dry.

I’m cutting every bit of choke cherry down I can find. There’s a fungus in it that also killed all my plum trees.

Are you splitting it? Some woods hold moisture if not split. Your rotting problem also might be related to it being fungus infected.

As for maple, as someone else commented, the various maple species are VERY different. Sugar maple, very good. Red maple (and most of the related variants) are further down on the list.

I need to get out there and start cutting more wood....but this month has been a mixture of snow/sleet and mud....

Ken

 

[gpcollen1]

Wild cherry (we call it choke cherry, here) about as much heat as softer maple.
Some like the smell. I'd rather smell oak burning.
Keep it off the ground and out of the rain. The choke cherry here will rot even in a pile if it is not kept dry.

Choke cherry is different than Black Cherry, which is the more common species for most of us. Choke is more of a large shrub/understory tree and Black cherry gets a decent size. Choke cherry bark looks more like black birch and black cherry, when mature, has a rough bark that looks like it is covered with dark corn flakes.

That said, cherry burns rather well - mix it in with the oak or burn it in your shoulder seasons.

 

[Bill]

After loading my stove up for a overnight burn, I use the thin, straight, black cherry splits to slip them in the small openings at the top of the stove. Makes a nice tight load for a good fire.

 

[billb3]

Yes, after my earlier post I wikipedia'd choke cherry.
What evryone calls choke cherry around here is most likely wild black cherry. It grows a good 10 to 15 meters tall.
Part of first growth forest species.

Also we have two basic maples. Small leafed maple that grows in the swamp and a big green leaf that gets planted in front of houses. The green leaf is "soft" in the sense it's wicked easy to cut.
Comparing it to maple is probably not a good idea. Too many types.

I do have trouble with cherry rotting, though.
When it is wet there is a white 'growth' like a fungus on the ends. When the sun comes out it dries up and disappears. As soon as it rains and the driven rain hits my stack it all pops up nice and white plain as day agin.

I've been told I should save any straight pieces to run through a sawmill.
My stihl is greedy.

I have given some bigger rounds away, supposedly carved into things by artists. I've only seen a lamp.

Of the 30 / 40 year old trees I'm cutting down the bottom branches that have died are quite rotten and pungy, useless.
Thrown on the ground the branches rot and disapear about as fast as birch. The birch here is valueless.

 

[woodburn]

Sounds like cherry is pretty good stuff. Looking forward to burning it next year. I will definitely toss some in the outdoor firepit this spring to enjoy the smell. I belive the locust I had was Black Locust. It burned great, but just didn't leave the coals like oak. It sounds like some other people hear had different experience with it. I will hopefully get to try it again!

 

[woodzilla]

I had the luck of finding a freshly cut chokecherry on the roadside last year. After 2 trips it made it home, but was last in line to be split. Cut, split, stacked in november. Put a face cord in the barn for emergency use. Anything outside got punky. Stuff indoors looks beautiful. I have since removed all bark from outdoor stuff and moved indoors. It is recovering and beginning to burn much better, trying on weekend am's. I have TONS of these on the property and look forward to treating one better this year to try again. On a sidenote, the whole street smells fantastic when they flower in the spring. Ah spring....

 

[Ken45]

Sounds like cherry is pretty good stuff. Looking forward to burning it next year. I will definitely toss some in the outdoor firepit this spring to enjoy the smell. I belive the locust I had was Black Locust. It burned great, but just didn't leave the coals like oak. It sounds like some other people hear had different experience with it. I will hopefully get to try it again!

I have heard that honeylocust (the one with the BIG thorns) pops and throws off a lot of sparks as it burns. I'll find out next winter, I cut one big one (60-70ft) down this past fall. I also have smaller black locust and yes, that burns wonderfully!

Ken