Which CL would you go for?

[Remmy122]

Dont have time for both, so which would you grab?

Cherry and sweet gum 20 mins away or black walnut 45 mins away?

I think I know the answer, but curious what you guys think

 

[pen]

I'm assuming the prices are the same? And you'll fill your vehicle to capacity w/ both? What's the ratio of cherry to sweet gum?

pen

 

[wood-fan-atic]

Cherry and sweet gum for me...not crazy about the sweet gum - but free is free.

 

[jeff_t]

I sure wouldn't drive 45 minutes for walnut. Or any other wood. Twenty minutes would be pushing it, but I don't live in the city. I guess if I didn't have wood at home or within five miles of home I might feel a little different.

 

[lukem]

I would steer clear of the gum. Nasty wood.

So I would probably do neither.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

An extra 50 minutes for the round trip would about sweep that choice away for me. Maybe it would be possible to get only the cherry if you don't want the gum?

 

[firefighterjake]

Close wood = good wood. Get the easy pickings first . . .

 

[Duetech]

Most btu charts I've seen place black walnut a little better than cherry. When dry that pans out in my gasifier but walnut takes longer to dry than cherry. I would have to know the price and quantities involved but if the cherry and gum equaled the quantity of the walnut I would edge towards the walnut. If there was only a little gum (which I have never burned and probably not known I have ever looked at it) the ride for the cherry firewood would take precedent.

 

[Remmy122]

I havent called either as time has been an issue.

both are free

The sweetgum/cherry is along a cotton field and that area was just hit by a small tornado, hopefully on the ground already. Im hoping the guy will just let me cut the gum and toss it in the woods

The "walnut" is in a city yard. Not really trying to drive 45 mins to get that.

Wifes gonna love another pile of rounds that need to be processed....

 

[WoodPyro]

I have a pretty decent stack of walnut, but haven't burned it yet, it split real easy and smelled awesome, I assume it will smell good when burning too, I can see how it can make a lot of ash from the consistency of the bark. If the sweet gum is anything like black gum ( I suspect they are roughly equal or black gum worse) I would take the rounds that don't need splitting of that and all the cherry. I can't see walnut being better than cherry, I like the bark better on cherry, also walnut is really a wet wood and takes a good long while to dry, I found that although it looks like it is drying great in rounds, wait till you split it. I have heard cherry seasons real fast and I bet it smells as good or better, I will find out here in a couple weeks when I cut a cherry that I believe was coppiced down.

 

[MasterMech]

Dropped 2 monster cherry trees this spring and can't wait to burn them. I don't remember exactly but the larger trunk was well over 24".

 

[Remmy122]

I think the smell of the cherry is why I really want that.

I got some earlier this summer and have been obsessed with splitting it.

As some one mentioned earlier it takes 2x as long to split cherry because I keep stopping to smell the splits. (neighbors already think Im crazy)

 

[smokinj]

The closest!

 

[Wood Duck]

I'd get the close cherry and gum. Clean up expectations will be less stringent in a cotton field compared to a city yard, and you won't have somebody watching you while you work.

 

[Danno77]

They are probably both gone by this point anyway. You snooze, you lose.

 

[Stump_Branch]

Remmy stick with whats close, we burn to save costs, dring twice as far is counter productive. Not to mention you most likely would get more cherry than walnut. Gum would make good shoulder season wood for you, dries kinda quick. And yes the smell of cherry makes it worth it. Could also throw some in the smoker. Speaking of, have you tried the apple i gave you yet?

 

[jackofalltrades]

Go with the closest for sure. I wouldn't cut anymore gum than I had to though. It is not fun to split at all and really is not a great burner either. It beats nothing for sure, but I wouldn't want a whole lot of it. Walnut is not far enough ahead of the cherry that you would ever recognize it anyways in my opinion. It sure aint worth driving that much further for. I am really lucky here, I can't think of a time I have drove over two miles to cut firewood. Stay close and save that money.