Another observation about Silver Maple

It simple does NOT burn very long which means you go through it faster. I won't pass it up if someone offers it but I don't think I'll be going out of my way either.


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I agree, its not terrible, but it doesn't last very long. I was surprised when I saw its BTU rating on a chart, its not very high!

Good shoulder season wood.

I have come to the conclusion that I hate silver maple, for the most part its a pia to split and I am now burning some that was split and stacked spring of 2011 and it is not hard and clanky its dull, almost spongy and the ends do not crack like a real hardwood, its like a fake hardwood, at least with pine you know what it is LOL On the bright side I am getting to test out my hernia to the max with all this Sandy Black Locust

Yeah I have some, it's only a year old or less and it's nice and dry (by the banging it together test, and the ignitability test), but if I load up the stove with a few splits, once I get her up to cruising temperature, it's like it's time to reload, there's barely any volume of wood left to let burn. Oh well, it burns. Have had some luck tossing a few pieces of the silver maple in with some not quite ready oak.

We've burned tons of soft maple and disagree. We do agree that it will not burn as long as the better hardwoods like oak or hard maple, etc, but it can make really good firewood and we will continue to burn it annually.

Does it burn like pine?

No.

I am burning some right now (mixed with elm) , css for a year. Yes, it burns fast but it puts out fairly good heat.

For me, it splits like a dream when green and I use mostly tiny splints as kindling. The again, I have split apple and elm by hand . Drys uber fast also when put in single rows.

Silver maple is perfect for using this time of year here in PA. Wish I had more, this was scrounge from 100 yards from my home!

I burn everything. I don't separate any of it......hickory, oak, maple, hackberry, walnut, sycamore, hedge, ash, mulberry, locust, honey and black, elm, cherry.. I have some of all of that in my stacks right now. I just throw it in the stove as I bring it in. I have done that for 40 years I have not been cold once.

Could not agree more. Cut it, split it, season it till it is ready and enjoy the BTUs. Not everyone can get exactly what they want to burn, so I take whatever is available and be thankful for getting it.

if you really want something to complain about, I could introduce you to cottonwood. If I were to burn oak, I would have no furniture nor flooring. Back in the day of westward expansion, I wish you all would have brought along some acorns.

It seems to leave a lot of light fluffy ash also.

Silver is a good component of those mixture loads, like one silver, a red oak, a black locust and a mullberry. Makes for a progressive burn. But then I also mix different cereal in the bowl and several salad dressings at once. Nothing wrong with pork and beef together, either. Dang, I'm hungry again. Oh, back to the thread.. silver maple makes good kindling too.

Silver maple is a good firewood,never had issues with splitting. I tend to leave my rounds about 6-8 inch diameter and splits fairly large and let them season for 2 years ,this gives them more burn time. Also makes good quick hot fire with smaller splits that i let season for 1 year. Try different size splits of silver. One thing for sure it doesnt last long when splits are small. IDK..i like all the maple species

I love silver maple, I have tons of it and as a matter of fact have the stove loaded with it as I type this. Yes, it burns faster, but it burns super-clean and very hot. I wouldn't be without it, especially in the shoulders.

As mentioned by Gark, it works great in mixed loads for a progression style burn.....

I've burned nothing but Silver Maple and a bit of Basswood so far this year. I'll soon start in on some heavier woods to get overnight burns, but for fall & spring I'll throw a few splits of well dried silver maple & a fire starter in the stove in the morning & have a nice hot fire quick & easy.

Here's a tip..............since it dries fast and burns fast, get ahead of it and make your splits good size. That way you get longer burns.

Thats what I did with it, thats one type of wood I dont make small splits, it dries pretty fast even being in big fat pieces so thats what I do.

I have a little silver maple and I find it doesn't burn quite as nice as my Lodgepole pine. Pretty close, but doesn't quite burn as long.
Makes sense according to this BTU chart. http://forestry.usu.edu/htm/forest-products/wood-heating

Its great stuff for a quick hot fire & when just needing to take the chill off for a few hours on those 40-50 degree days.Helps supplement the NG furnace in this big old house & it dont drive me outside like oak/hickory/locust/mulberry would at these temps. Have just about 1/2 of the Norway/Silver mix from neighbor's trees in June 2011 left in the stack.If its all gone before 'normal' cold gets here,I have a bunch of odd chunks/uglies & walnut tops/branches/milling scrap to continue with until breaking out the Red/White Oak in December/January.

Silver Maple makes good kindling,and I also like to use it to get my not quite seasoned oak going. I noticed a local builder has some stacked in front of a new house being built,hopefully I can score some.

I have a little bit of silver in the stacks and I am just fine with it. Lights off nicely and throws good heat. I'll save the oak and locust for the real cold weather. I've burned some maple last year that was soft, possibly swamp maple, and I was not too crazy about it.

Scott, I've always thought that soft maple would really be nice when making maple syrup. Burns hot for sure and it also dries super fast. One could cut some in the fall and use it for making syrup in the spring.

Been there, done that, works real well. Sugar shack heats up real fast too. A C