For all those behind in their wood stacks - or the "will it be ready this year" crowd:

[Duetech]

heck cherry, silver maple, and ash will all season about the same way

How about Beech? I just acquired quite a bit and I heard that it is great fuel wood. It seems to be dense like Oak, but I am not sure how long it typically takes to season. The splits I have are large (5" to 6" in diameter at the widest point and 16"to 18" in length).

Unfortunately beech does not dry quickly so for near future use you will need to split it small. a moisture meter will help a lot in that regard. beech is highly rated for btu output so it is worth the wait. copy and past this link to your browser and down load it for future use: (broken link removed to http://chimneysweeponline.com/howood.htm) Someone gave it to me and I have found the link very useful.

 

[JotulOwner]

heck cherry, silver maple, and ash will all season about the same way

How about Beech? I just acquired quite a bit and I heard that it is great fuel wood. It seems to be dense like Oak, but I am not sure how long it typically takes to season. The splits I have are large (5" to 6" in diameter at the widest point and 16"to 18" in length).

Unfortunately beech does not dry quickly so for near future use you will need to split it small. a moisture meter will help a lot in that regard. beech is highly rated for btu output so it is worth the wait. copy and past this link to your browser and down load it for future use: (broken link removed to http://chimneysweeponline.com/howood.htm) Someone gave it to me and I have found the link very useful.

Thanks, but I recently learned that my Beech wood isn't Beech. It's Maple. I am working on next year's supply, so seasoning isn't an issue for this year (hopefully). Anyway, trying some Beech would have been nice, but I do like Maple and I learned more thanks to the members of this forum.

 

[DiscoInferno]

I too have often sniffed wood. 8-/ I try to get my daughter to smell interesting splits, but she always thinks I'm tricking her somehow. And the wife just shakes her head. By now I could probably identify quite a few types of wood based on smell alone.

I've collected a decent bit of cherry over the years, and have come across 3 seemingly distinct types. One I've been calling "wild cherry", it grows everywhere along the edges of woods here. It has scaly bark, a yellowish sapwood, and light-medium red heartwood, and while the smell is definitely cherry it's somewhat thin and sour. Another I've been calling "black cherry" has a deep purple papery bark (like a birch), has a deep red/purple heartwood, and has a deep, rich, sweet "classic" cherry smell. Both can be decent size, and I don't know if they are really different species or just had different soil, etc. The third is an ornamental which didn't have much of a scent.

 

[beardley]

I love black cherry. Burns long and smells great. We have a lot in our wood lot. Here is yesterdays harvest. This one was just shy of a face cord.

 

[lexybird]

i have about 4 cords of black cherry ,love the smell no doubt.. especially when burning it! ,has a sweet odor that lingers around the yard on a cold janruary day
for all to enjoy,mine has seasoned well ,its gray cracked and dry in 5-6months in a double row with plenty of sunlight and breeze.

 

[firefighterjake]

heck cherry, silver maple, and ash will all season about the same way

How about Beech? I just acquired quite a bit and I heard that it is great fuel wood. It seems to be dense like Oak, but I am not sure how long it typically takes to season. The splits I have are large (5" to 6" in diameter at the widest point and 16"to 18" in length).

Unfortunately beech does not dry quickly so for near future use you will need to split it small. a moisture meter will help a lot in that regard. beech is highly rated for btu output so it is worth the wait. copy and past this link to your browser and down load it for future use: (broken link removed to http://chimneysweeponline.com/howood.htm) Someone gave it to me and I have found the link very useful.

Thanks, but I recently learned that my Beech wood isn't Beech. It's Maple. I am working on next year's supply, so seasoning isn't an issue for this year (hopefully). Anyway, trying some Beech would have been nice, but I do like Maple and I learned more thanks to the members of this forum.

Maybe it's Beeple . . . beech and maple . . . or would that be Mapeech?

Just kidding . . . my friend and I have a running joke about cutting Mash trees since we were cutting some tall trees and couldn't tell if they were maple or ash until we had them down on the ground and could identify them by the leaves.

 

[firefighterjake]

And chaulk me up also as a fan of black cherry . . . love the smell, love splitting it, love the color and best of all I like the way it burns.

 

[karri0n]

anyone like the smell of red oak?

That's one that I definitely don't want to sniff, and don't even like walking past the freshly split pile because of the smell.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Yes, I do like the smell of red oak. I used to love it when I sawed lumber and we'd get a bunch of red oak. Strong odor really spread all over the place.

 

[Flatbedford]

My wife hates the smell of Red Oak. I like it. Kinda pungent, but it is the smell of easy splitting, hot and long burning wood. I think somebody posted here a while ago that the smell of Red Oak was like the smell of victory. I have a cord or so to split. I can't wait to get through the Maple I have so I can split the Oak.

 

[olskool53]

Nothing beats the smell of birch.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Sassafras does!

 

[LLigetfa]

Nothing beats the smell of birch.

Drying or burning? IMHO it smells OK burning but it has kind of a cat piss smell just sitting in the holder. Doesn't leave the whole yard smelling nice like Ash does.

 

[trailblaze]

well this is my second year... first year i bought cherry cut in may split in june and it burned very well this past winter.. in fact i ran too hot all year... had the chimney cleaned (18Ft -16 DW stainless/4SW) and the guy said it really didn't need it


so i bought this years supply in april (cut and split) and it's looking like a nice grayish color and should be just as fine..


i bought maple oak and cherry this year.... guess i'll see what happens. i just dont have the room to store 2 yrs worth of wood

 

[Ratman]

I love black cherry. Burns long and smells great. We have a lot in our wood lot. Here is yesterdays harvest. This one was just shy of a face cord.

My mouth is watering again (pic#3)

 

[Wet1]

Beardley,
Nice looking little CC. :coolsmile:

 

[stee6043]

I dropped three more black cherry's yesterday. One of them was the biggest I've taken so far. It was just a pinch more than 18" at the base. I know this only because it's the first time I've ever wish I had a 20" bar!

Great wood and I too am very jealous of everyone on this site that has a nice tractor.

 

[ozarkjeep]

luckily the black cherry trees seem to fall really easy with any ICE weight on them, so weve got plenty to scrounge here!

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/35235/

 

[beardley]

Beardley,
Nice looking little CC. :coolsmile:

It's a great little unit. At first I was afraid it was going to be too small, but I was wrong. It actually works out in my favor for wood harvesting. It's only 4 ft wide so I can get it in anywhere.

 

[leaddog]

I dropped three more black cherry's yesterday. One of them was the biggest I've taken so far. It was just a pinch more than 18" at the base. I know this only because it's the first time I've ever wish I had a 20" bar!

Great wood and I too am very jealous of everyone on this site that has a nice tractor.

be carfull cutting those nice cherry trees as they may be worth more for lumber. venier cherry price was up last I heard, not like a few years ago but worth saving for lumber. I have a lot of cherry and I cull the crooked and ones with small crownsbut save the good ones. If you have many it might pay to see a licened forestor as he might make you a lot of money.
leaddog

 

[golfandwoodnut]

I know that cherry is about the most valuable lumber these days. Everyone is getting cherry floors and cabinets. Unfortuneatly with building down the price is currently down. I am torn between cutting some or saving them. You have to be a little careful too because forest rangers have told me they are like humans and have a limited life, not like oaks that go on forever. Some of the ones I have are peaking the one ranger told me cherry trees should not get that big. I am trying hold off until the price goes back up, but in the mean time cutting up the fallen ones or the limbs that come down.

 

[Woods Dweller]

Maybe my wood is located in an ideal drying location plus I split every thing small to medium. spring to fall is enough to dry any wood for me.... even oak. Yes, this is with a moisture meter after splitting the wood in half. I just thought I should post this for any rookie who think they need two years minimun to season wood, time is not the only drying factor.

I'm not too far from you in South Jersey and I couldn't agree with you more. I have a staging area in a clearing up on a slight hill that is almost perfect for seasoning. I run multiple 60 foot long single stacks about 8 feet apart (so I can drive my tractor through) and the wood gets about 10 hours of direct sunlight in the summer. The wood bakes in the SJ heat and gets lots of air. I leave it there uncovered all summer until I move it into the shed in late october. I can stack green oak in the spring and it’s perfect by late fall.