This winters firewood.

[petefrom bearswamp]

After 20 years of running 2 different outdoor boilers I have to burn Cherry this winter.
All previous years were mostly ash and hard maple.
I would load it twice a day with 10 pieces of wood and it worked fine.
This year is 100 percent cherry as I had tops from a sale of dead and dying cherry 2 yrs ago.
Charts I have read on btu content say Cherry is roughly 80 percent of Hard maple and 90 percent of Ash.
My experience this year is that the my rtv load of the better wood lasted 10 days and the cherry is only lasting 6 to 6-1/2.
The weather has also been generally warmer so far this year altho this mornings temp was 0 degrees.
Next winters wood will be about 90 percent of the better species.
Any others have a similar experience?

[WV Sawmiller]

   I pretty much burn whatever hardwood is available from dead, dying or fallen trees. The last couple years has mostly been ash just because so many are dying here. I got some red oak tops and beech from a neighbor trimming and removing some hazard trees. I split the beech yesterday. Anything over about 12" diameter or with a limb or crotch I first had to cut a notch about a 4-6 inch deep as a starter cut with my chainsaw and some of them still required a wedge. I just use a maul to split my wood and find beech to be about the hardest wood to split I ever tried. I cut up a small buckeye yesterday that fell in the creek when I cut an ash beside it. Buckeye is about the sorriest wood we have here to burn. I have burned some cherry and felt it did okay but certainly not as good as ash or oak. Locust is a highly preferred firewood around here.

[sublime68charger]

I have mostly Oak with what ever else mixed in.  With the capacity of the fire box on my boiler it all goes threw.  My oak has been dead for 6 years tree  tops and such from logging but only been cut and split for 6 months.  Heck even some of the stuff I burn is about 1 step from just being brush pile wood.

[thecfarm]

Takes time to get rid of the wood you don't want.  ;D
With me I burn anything and I do mean anything. I have hauled wood out and it breaks off and I have to stop on the way back with some more wood and pick it back up. Worth it? To me it is. Hard to work a tractor in the woods and go over a tree laying on the ground 6-8 inches across. 
I cut mostly dead trees. Seem to be a never ending supply of them on my land.
But the last 2 years I am clearing beside the road. I am burning some good hardwood trees.      This is an ongoing project that will take me years to get done. 

[SwampDonkey]

I burn what I thin out of the woods and that is mostly aspen and softwoods, some maple, ash. Yeah, maple and ash burn longer for sure, and certainly impacts your cut'n and gathering volumes. I usually plan on cutting 8-9 cords ahead for the next year, but often have 1 cord remaining by the time I shut the burn'n down for summer. I actually tend to throw in more wood, more often, because I have all kinds of it. There will often be a 1/2 high pile of coals in the stove during the day, unless it's sunny. On a sunny day I let the fire go out mid morning until dark.

[taylorsmissbeehaven]

I burn whatever comes along as well. Scored a nice red Oak from my neighbor yesturday. Been standing dead for a couple of years and a small snow/wind event brought it down last week. I have just cleared a few acres of land in the mountains that was loaded with Cherry. I had hi hopes for it :D. Maybe those tops will best be used for smoking meat. Ill burn anything that doesnt make a saw log as Im not particular. Brian

[PoginyHill]

Between road building and thinning out undesirable trees, I generate plenty of firewood - mostly red maple and aspen. I will cut up dead or fallen trees and leave in the woods for nutrients.
I have a newer woodlot I need to do the same with (road build and cull bad stuff), but that lot is heavy to beech, hard maple, and yellow birch. Can't wait!

With my OWB, I don't have any issue no matter what I burn. Except the first year I operated it. Spend all summer installing it and building a woodshed and none with firewood, so I was going - literally weekly - into the woods to cut dead standing fir to burn for the next week or two. Definite difference with that stuff. I'm glad that is behind me.

[cutterboy]

pete, your experience is about the same as mine. Cherry lasts about 2/3 to 3/4 as long as oak in the stove. Cherry burns well and gives off nice heat but doesn't have the long burn that ash or oak does.
I burn a lot of different kinds of wood and have put them in three categories.
Red and white oak, hard maple, hickory, ash, and black birch are my all-nighters, long burning wood.
Cherry, red (soft) maple, and white birch are my medium burning daytime wood.
Aspen is my quick burning wood.
These are the woods that I burn regularly that grow on my farm. Although this winter for the first time I have burned some hemlock and some yellow poplar. I'd put them in the category with the aspen.
All dry wood burns and gives off heat and I burn it all.

[cutterboy]

I forgot beech! That is defiantly a long burning wood but it doesn't split easily. 

[mike_belben]

black gum is the worst i have ever split.  its like the 16 strand double braided rope of trees. you need a chain loop to remove it from your splitter wedge when the splitter relief valve goes wide open with the piece half way split and completely stuck on the 4 way.  

i try to make any type of sawlog out of gum now.  pallet wont take it but tie will. just give me anything so i dont have to split this.  if you see an all nighter round in my woodpile its gum. 

[moodnacreek]

About half of what we burn in the house is locust. My wife hates the smell and I like the heat.  If you want heat and have a choice cut live hickory and put it in a shed for 2 years, Be carful, you may warp the stove.