The best wood to burn

[dave7965]

How is cherry maple to burn ? Is oak the best overall besides ash ?

 

[Wood Duck]

I have never heard of Cherry Maple. Both cherries and maples are good firewood.

 

[gzecc]

Oak is hard to beat after 2+ yrs of seasoning.

 

[hareball]

For me it all depends on the outside temps. Over 30 °F I'm burning Cherry and 20-30 °F I mix cherry and Oak. For the really cold weather I dip into my red and white oak stash.

 

[WOODBUTCHER]

Any seasoned wood will heat your house, as you start burning other species, you'll notice real world characteristics of each one.

Coaling
How well it ignites
Ashes
Overnight longevity

From top to bottom:

1.Shagbark/Pignut Hickory
2.Black Birch/White Oak/Sugar Maple
3.Red Oak/White Ash
4.Black Cherry/Silver Maple
5.Red Maple

 

[Battenkiller]

I start each day with a shot of cherry to get the stove juices flowing. After the stove is good and hot, I like to switch to white ash for the rest of the day. In the real cold weather I prefer hickory to the ash, but that can roast me out of the basement if I'm not careful. Three big splits on top of a 2" coal bed erupt into flames almost instantly, and will last about 4 hours of good heat. I switch to a mix of cherry and ash/hickory for the overnight. A stove full of straight hickory gives me too many ashes and coals in the morning. I get my best burns with a shallow layer of ashes. It's pretty hard to manage that with 3" of red hot hickory coals to shuffle from side to side. I'm learning that my stove/flue/wood combo likes loads that are just to the top of the bypass damper. Any higher and I start to have to micro-manage the morning fill because of excess coals. I'd rather deal with a warm stove that's almost empty come morning.

Those are my three main firewoods, the most versatile for me being cherry. I wouldn't mind some two year old rock maple or white oak, or some three year old red oak. If someone wants to age it for me for free, they'll get no complaint from me. Beech and black locust are high up there for me, but are seldom offered by the wood guys I use. No matter, I can get the job done with cherry and ash alone. I use the same woods with well spaced out small, quick and hot fires in the shoulder seasons. When I'm down to about one full cord, I save it for the next season's beginning and stop burning at that point. Enough is enough. It always a pleasant day for me when I realize I can have my entire shop back once again.

 

[lexybird]

cherry is medium heat wood .. its okay but nothing great id want for january nights , sugar maple is much better and has awesome coaling ability but red oak , beech ,and hickory are my favorites for max btus

 

[North of 60]

Is oak the best overall besides ash ?

Oak is not worth the hassle for me. The extra burn time it gives does not out weigh the extra fuel costs it creates to go pick it up.
Pine is the best overall for me.

 

[SolarAndWood]

What's in your shed now and what do you have access to cut for the future? Unless you have an infinite supply of the good stuff, burn the least quality dry stuff you have that will get the job done on any given day. I would take dry pine over wet oak any day of the season, this evening included.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

How is cherry maple to burn ? Is oak the best overall besides ash ?

Cherry: Great to burn and does not take long to season.

Maple: it depends on what maple you have! It is all good but soft maple burns fast and quick compared to many others. Hard maple is great.

Oak: Great to burn if you give it enough time to season right.

Ash: Great to burn and does not take long to season.

 

[billb3]

I like a mix most of the time.
A wonderful blend of differing burn characteristics to add character and burning diversity to the firebox.

You'd think I'd like Dr.Pepper, too, but I don't.

 

[firefighterjake]

How is cherry maple to burn ? Is oak the best overall besides ash ?

Every wood has its place . . . and I refuse to discriminate against any wood based on its color, size or BTUs.

All the woods you have listed are good species to burn.

Cherry: Moderate BTUs, splits easily, wood smells great when split and the smoke smells pretty darn nice too . . . be sure to go outside at some point to smell the smoke.

Maple: Low to high BTUs, depending on the species . . . ranging from silver maple to sugar maple. The denser maples and white ash tend to be my "deep winter" wood when I want some heat.

Oak: High BTUs, one of the true titans when it comes to wood burning . . . takes a while to season . . . but produces lots of heat. Sadly, I have very little oak on my property that I cut on . . . but I do have some oak in my woodpile to burn in a couple of years.

Ash: Moderate BTUs. Ah, white ash . . . my hands-down favorite. Seasons fast, splits like an Olympic figure skater and burns fantastic.