Some cherry love

[Rory]

I've been burning wood for a long time, mostly starting around 1969 when my parents purchased an old farm and decided to heat it with a woodstove. Although I've been in a couple of situations where I purchased wood, most has come from "out back" where the primary hardwood is beech and lots of soft maple. Occasionally we're lucky enough to get a rock maple or yellow birch, and we've burnt a fair amount of grey and white birch, ash and poplar as well.

I used to love the occasional cherry in the mix, the wood has a beautiful salmon color, and it always seemed to make extra nice coal beds in the stove. We got away from wood about 20 years ago when my wife was struggling with the occasional puff of smoke, and we used strictly oil for a number of years. After the price of oil spiked about 5 years ago, I got her to let me install a Tarm gasifier in the cellar, and we've used it for year 'round heat and hot water since. We had a Vermont Castings gas stove for ambience in the living room, but the price of gas and the smell of burning dust that inevitably accompanied the occasional use finally led us to sell it and we purchased a used Jotul 602 CB, which has a slight nostalgia value for us since our first woodstove as a couple was a Scandia copy of the 602.

The Tarm has been fantastic in its role, but the choice of wood is far less important than in a stove, other than that it must be dry and split fairly small. Since I usually kindle a fire and burn it completely, coal beds aren't much of an issue. I happened to have a decent sized cherry in my pile this year, and I've diverted most of it to the Jotul. Though they're fairly rare out back, I'm going to have to find more, as it burns as well as I remember. Strangely, most of the "wood guides" give it a fairly low rating, but what do they know?

I'm not sure if it's pin or black, I suspect pin.

 

[Woody Stover]

I just moved some Black Cherry into the on-deck circle, along with some White Oak, Red Elm and Red Maple. I like a couple pieces in there to kick off a re-load. I put 'em up front, leaning against the andirons. They catch quickly, have pretty flame, and clean anything that's on the glass. And when it's burning, smells great outside. If I'm there to tend the fire, I'll often burn the medium-output woods.

 

[bogydave]

How much area is wooded "out back" ?

Sounds like you have access to a good variety of woods.
Get a few years ahead processing wood.

Save the cherry for the "ambience in the living room" fires.

Stay warm

 

[Rory]

I used to cut on my father's 40 acres or so of woods, but I acquired 23 acres next to it a long time ago that mainly has beech and red (soft) maple in the hardwood stands. This year a good part of my pile for the Tarm was actually the tops of a couple of pines that we cut down off the lawn and a fair amount of poplar I cut on the advice of a forester. Next year should see a return to more quality wood, and I'm definitely putting up some nice beech for the Jotul, along with a cherry or two if I can scrounge one up.

 

[Locust Post]

I always have a fair amount of cherry and like the heat really well just don't get quite the length of burn as some other species but that's just fine.

 

[Gasifier]

Hey Rory. How do you like burning the Ash in your Tarm? I find it works great in my Gassifier. I burn it straight, mixed with a little White Pine, and once and a while have some Cherry, Maple, or Oak to mix with it. Now I am thirsty.

 

[Rory]

Hey Rory. How do you like burning the Ash in your Tarm? I find it works great in my Gassifier. I burn it straight, mixed with a little White Pine, and once and a while have some Cherry, Maple, or Oak to mix with it. Now I am thirsty.

Actually, I've burned very little ash in the Tarm. Although my woodlot abuts my father's, our tree species vary quite a bit. Most of my ash burning was done in the days when I cut on his land, as he's got a pretty abundant supply of them. I have very few, and many of those are brown ash, which are much better for basket weaving than firewood, though, as my father will say about virtually any species, "it burns better than snowballs".

I am buying some wood tomorrow to finish the year out with, and I wouldn't be surprised if there's a fair amount of ash in it.
I'm sure ash would do just fine in virtually any gasser, as long as you split it small and dry it out enough.

Of course, lots of folks with wood stoves burn ash when it's green because they can, but it's still a bit too moist for a gasser.

 

[Gasifier]

Actually, I've burned very little ash in the Tarm. Although my woodlot abuts my father's, our tree species vary quite a bit. Most of my ash burning was done in the days when I cut on his land, as he's got a pretty abundant supply of them. I have very few, and many of those are brown ash, which are much better for basket weaving than firewood, though, as my father will say about virtually any species, "it burns better than snowballs".

I am buying some wood tomorrow to finish the year out with, and I wouldn't be surprised if there's a fair amount of ash in it.
I'm sure ash would do just fine in virtually any gasser, as long as you split it small and dry it out enough.

Of course, lots of folks with wood stoves burn ash when it's green because they can, but it's still a bit too moist for a gasser.

The Ash I burn is White Ash. That has grown in wild around the family property. I have burned Ash before when it was green, because I had no better. But have always tried to have it cut, split, and then stacked outside for at least six months. Now I am getting to the point of at least 12 months stacked outside in the wind and sun. For the most part, White Ash will give you a good moisture content for burning after being stacked outside for 6 months. Some folks up here consider White Ash to be seasoned after three months. Of course, lots of folks up here burn their wood they just cut in October that same year. Every year. And probably always will. It has worked for them. So why change?

 

[firefighterjake]

Cherry lover myself . . . I enjoy burning it as much as I do processing it . . . only my processing time slows up considerably as I keep stopping to sniff the splits.

 

[Ralphie Boy]

I haven't had a stick of cherry to burn in almost 3 years Would one of you kind folks mail me a few splits to burn before the season ends

 

[PA. Woodsman]

Yes Cherry is good stuff; smells so nice when working with it and when burning, ignites easily, burns nice and throws nice heat-not as much as Hickory or others but very nice wood. Good stuff!

 

[ohlongarm]

Yes Cherry is good stuff; smells so nice when working with it and when burning, ignites easily, burns nice and throws nice heat-not as much as Hickory or others but very nice wood. Good stuff!

In my stove cherry throws tremendous heat,as much as hickory any day,and even as much as oak,is it a stove thing possibly. Not a fecetious question just my observation with my particular stove.

 

[TimJ]

In my stove cherry throws tremendous heat,as much as hickory any day,and even as much as oak,is it a stove thing possibly. Not a fecetious question just my observation with my particular stove.

your were use to burning cottonwood for so long that the cherry seems sooo good

 

[PA. Woodsman]

In my stove cherry throws tremendous heat,as much as hickory any day,and even as much as oak,is it a stove thing possibly. Not a fecetious question just my observation with my particular stove.

Very interesting, perhaps it is something to do with your stove like you said?

 

[PA. Woodsman]

I haven't had a stick of cherry to burn in almost 3 years Would one of you kind folks mail me a few splits to burn before the season ends

Ralphie, I can ship you a few splits of seasoned Cherry if you'd like. Would you perhaps have any PECAN that you could send me? I don't ever get any around me here, at least that I know of, and would love to try it or any other kind of wood that I don't have here! I do shipping at my job, so I can UPS ship you a few 18" or so Cherry splits, and if you have something to send me I'll put a return label in with it; all you have to do is put some 18" splits seasoned or unseasoned preferably Pecan or other wood we agree on, put the label over the old one and give it to a UPS driver-it won't cost you a penny!

And if you don't have any Pecan or wood that I would like to try don't worry about it, I'll send the Cherry anyway just to make a fellow woodburner happy....

Send me a private message and we'll see if we can hookup!

 

[westkywood]

I haven't had a stick of cherry to burn in almost 3 years Would one of you kind folks mail me a few splits to burn before the season ends

Sure neighbor. I'll send you a couple splits

 

[ohlongarm]

your were use to burning cottonwood for so long that the cherry seems sooo good

In a Blaze King a full load of seasoned cottonwood will burn productively 8 hours,my guess it beats your smoke dragon by 75%American indians almost exclusively heated and cooked with cottonwood and fared very well,that is until eastern european settlers came over and fuzzed up everything.

 

[gzecc]

In a Blaze King a full load of seasoned cottonwood will burn productively 8 hours,my guess it beats your smoke dragon by 75%American indians almost exclusively heated and cooked with cottonwood and fared very well,that is until eastern european settlers came over and fuzzed up everything.

Yeah the American Indians were a very advanced culture. I would definetly take their word for which wood is best to use. They had the biggest and the best woods in North America to choose from, and they chose Cottonwood?