# Cherry Drying Time



## BIGChrisNH (Feb 1, 2017)

Hey Everybody,
So I got quite a bit of cherry this year in log length (large one fell down at my father in-law's property), After cutting, splitting and stacking it, I became very familiar with the fact this it is HEAVY, and very wet. Having never worked with cherry before, what can I expect for seasoning times for it?

I've got it stacked along with maple, red oak and some pine in a 5 cord row facing southeast on a hill. That location gets sun all day and if there is any wind, it hits the wood pile first. It's a good location.

Anybody have experience burning cherry?

Thanks!


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## TedyOH (Feb 1, 2017)

I love it for the BBQ pit, not so much for the stove.....it's good and others love it, I save it for ribs, pork butts and brisket. You'll probably be good for the 17-18 season....dries pretty quick

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## jatoxico (Feb 1, 2017)

Haven't burned all that much of it but agree with Tedy it's decent firewood but not as good as other hardwoods. It seemed to benefit more so than others from top covering since the flaky bark let in and held moisture then got buggy/punky on me.


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## BIGChrisNH (Feb 1, 2017)

Okay, thanks to both of you. The entire 5 cords is top covered with a double layer of tarp so I'm good there. I had heard that it dries fast but I just couldn't believe how wet the wood was when first split. Oh yeah, it's tough to split too, stringy as anything.


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## jatoxico (Feb 1, 2017)

BIGChrisNH said:


> Oh yeah, it's tough to split too, stringy as anything.



Not much of the stuff around here grows very straight for very long I'll say that.


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## gzecc (Feb 1, 2017)

BIGChrisNH said:


> Okay, thanks to both of you. The entire 5 cords is top covered with a double layer of tarp so I'm good there. I had heard that it dries fast but I just couldn't believe how wet the wood was when first split. Oh yeah, it's tough to split too, stringy as anything.


Doesn't sound like cherry. Post a picture. Could be something else.


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## woodsHAM (Feb 1, 2017)

Cherry is thick where I live , so I burn it often. Expect same heat and burn times as soft maple. It does dry fast for as heavy as it is green, I have no issues after one summer of seasoning. Other than the mess from the bark it is one of my favorites to chuck in the stove.


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## FaithfulWoodsman (Feb 1, 2017)

I burn a lot of it. Covered and in good location one year is enough time to season. As others have said it's not top heat, but I find it's better than most say. Don't know if my trees are just more dense but I find they burn much better than soft maple and just below ash. One of my favorite woods.


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## moresnow (Feb 1, 2017)

Hand split a giant pile of Cherry last fall. By hand. Like butter. Might verify your wood? Also possible that different flavors of Cherry split tough? My Cherry gets used for cooking. Wonderful stuff.


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## FaithfulWoodsman (Feb 1, 2017)

I get them both ways. Some can be a little twisty and full of bends and compression wood, very rough to split. Others grow bone straight an split much easier. Would love some pics.


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## BIGChrisNH (Feb 1, 2017)

I don't have any rounds left of it I don't think (it's all split and stacked), but I'll grab some splits and post pics of those tonight.


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## husky345 vermont resolute (Feb 1, 2017)

I get a tonne of pin cherry but no so much black cherry. 


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## royrizzle (Feb 1, 2017)

Black Cherry grows plentiful in our forest here in the north , some is nice and straight & some all directions.
Nice for burning , gives off a soothing aroma .
Makes for high end cabinetry too .


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## BIGChrisNH (Feb 4, 2017)

Here is some of it in the pile. This was from one of the straighter grained rounds (of which there were few). The tree was kind of off by itself, so maybe wind after all those years made it grow kind of twisty I don't know.


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## woodsHAM (Feb 4, 2017)

Looks like you have red oak ! Not seeing any cherry there.


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## woodsHAM (Feb 4, 2017)

Black cherry has black scaly bark when mature or smoother bark when small


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## TedyOH (Feb 4, 2017)

Yeah I think red oak as well....good news it's way better than cherry.....bad news it takes at least 2 summers to dry

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## BIGChrisNH (Feb 4, 2017)

Okay well thanks everybody.


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## FaithfulWoodsman (Feb 4, 2017)

Lol! You just upgraded 12 levels on the btu charts. Red oak. However I can understand hoping for some easier drying wood. If u have access to any woods/feild lines at all you can prob find some cherry or ash living, dying or dead that will be ready for sure next fall.


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## gzecc (Feb 5, 2017)

Too bad. Red Oak takes forever to dry. I'd take cherry every time.


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## ohlongarm (Feb 5, 2017)

I like cherry but I've found 18 months seasoning works best,any less than that and, I get too many coals.Eighteen months a good clean and fairly decent burn imo much better than soft maple which I avoid.


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## ValleyCottageSplitter (Feb 5, 2017)

moresnow said:


> Hand split a giant pile of Cherry last fall. By hand. Like butter. Might verify your wood? Also possible that different flavors of Cherry split tough? My Cherry gets used for cooking. Wonderful stuff.



I helped split some cherry logs for my parents that had been sitting around for several years.  It was a huge pain.  The wood was all twisted and I could often only get it to split 4-6".  Even stuff that looked like it should be straight still would split diagonally.  There were a few pieces that were straighter grained that split relatively easily, but that was rare.  It was all limb wood though, maybe the trunk wood is different.

My experience with red maple has been exactly as you described for cherry.  Everything I've split has been perfectly straight.  Pops right apart.  Only the knotted wood provides any difficulty.


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## Jay106n (Feb 6, 2017)

That is not cherry. Looks like red oak. Good stuff but will take a few years to dry.


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## hickoryhoarder (Feb 6, 2017)

I have pretty much experience with cherry.  I don't burn overnight, so I'm not suggesting it for those who do.  My drying times are fast -- sunny, windy driveway -- but it's the only thing I can burn 6 months after cutting and splitting. 

Good kindling, and combined with oak and hickory makes the most watchable fires.  It's actually pretty light when dry -- therefore less BTUs.  Piece of cake to split, another reason I like it (I split with a maul), and I show neighbors how to split their wood using cherry.  It burns longer than something like tulip poplar, but shorter than hardwoods.

I'm talking about black cherry, natural to the Midwest.  I suspect other kinds of cherry would be similar, but not sure.


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## hickoryhoarder (Feb 6, 2017)

gzecc said:


> Doesn't sound like cherry. Post a picture. Could be something else.



Agree, stringy doesn't sound like cherry. Cherry is super easy to split.


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## hickoryhoarder (Feb 6, 2017)

BIGChrisNH said:


> Here is some of it in the pile. This was from one of the straighter grained rounds (of which there were few). The tree was kind of off by itself, so maybe wind after all those years made it grow kind of twisty I don't know.



Red oak for sure.  That's why it's so heavy.


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## Hasufel (Feb 6, 2017)

Yup, looks like red oak. Split it thinner than normal so it'll be ready to burn within your lifetime.


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