I've never burned cherry, so, was looking forward to it. I had cut a small cherry tree that had to go, was growing up into a nuisance area at my house. I cut it 5-6 months ago. Yesterday, I grabbed some of the small limbs off the stack, they were 2-3 inch diameter, small! I split one to get a reading and it was 12%! Alright, ready to go! Yet, upon starting up a firepit fire, they did not catch on fire easily. Once they got going, after using three firestarter bricks, water sizzled out the ends. They finally caught on and burned great. But... 12%... that sure does seem low! Anyone know the scoop? "Should it" have started easier reading only 12%? That reading seems a bit suspect but I checked it twice and the meter seems to be working normally lately. And does cherry provide a pleasant odor if it's been longer dried? I didn't notice anything special about the smell.
If water is sizzling out it’s not 12%. Branches can be a real pain to dry. We used to keep all our branch material in long sticks and cut them on the buzzsaw rignt as we brought them into the cellars. Dead branches ok. Stuff like Black Birch which is close to cherry bark wise would sizzle after sitting for a year. Bark is a protective coating that among other things helps keep water in. I would say either you found one dead branch that had dried or your MM is off, drastically.
Cherry drys fast but I still give it 2 years to dry. I like the smell of it. I try to mix it with something like ash cause my only problem with cherry is it don’t burn down well. It leaves chunks of charcoal that don’t burn up. Mix it with something else and problem solved. I’d give your wood another season to dry if you can.
Oh yeah, the smell. I never really smell wood burning in the stove. I do outside at times but it’s always pretty much the same to me. I’ve done a lot of woodworking with Cherry. It’s a twisty wood full of desire to warp as you cut it. Cutting cherry smells good, just like cherry. When it twists into a table saw blade and begins to burn it smells horrible.
Is it possible you were reading the MM upside down so it was 21% instead of 12%? Ive seen that happen on here more than once! Rounds, regardless of diameter, take longer to dry out and the sizzle showed it!
Sure sounds like it is too wet. Must have gotten a bad reading or poor prong placement on the MM. 6 months doesn't seen anywhere long enough for cherry unless it was standing dead maybe.
Branch wood takes longer to dry. If that was split once it would've probably been dry enough. Even in 6 months. If it sizzled from the ends it wasn't 12%.
There is a difference in cherry. Choke cherry can really be difficult to dry, especially the limbs. It is more like birch in that sense. As for the scent most people talk about, I've never got excited over it nor have I ever noticed much scent to cherry, especially when it is burning. When it burns, it smells like smoke.
This ^ ^ ^...that paper bark on cherry limbs seals the moisture in...I've had small limbs rot in my stacks because of that...
