just picked up a bunch of free wood. The guys said it was silver maple. I was wondering if it is any good. Im going to split it and burn it anyway. free wood is free wood.
silver maple
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Jeb1heat
Member
I think maple in general is well worth burning. It's a good hard wood, not as much so as oak, but i'd take it any day. I'm pretty sure I had some silver two years ago and it burned and heated well.
I would say low end of the middle, I like it in the fall and spring but not for when it gets real cold.rdust said:
smokinj
Minister of Fire
Just piggy backing on this thread - I recently got a Norway Maple for free. What is the drying period for this?
LLigetfa
Minister of Fire
Silver Maple is a very fast growing tree and generally, the faster the tree grows, the lower the BTU. There's a wide variety of Maple and Silver Maple would not be on my list of wood to use for cabinetmaking, but I'm pretty sure that all Maple will burn unless it's petrified.
Personally, I won't waste the fuel to cut it or the space to store it. Much better wood can be had in this area for free.
Silver Maple = Swamp ....about as good as poplar....OK if it is free an cose but, not much good if it is Cold outside
dafattkidd
Minister of Fire
Hey guys,
How about sugar maple? According to http://www.woodheat.org/firewood/firewood.htm it's much better than silver maple. I just scored about a cord and a half of sugar. Freshly cut. How long should sugar maple season, and is it higher quality than silver maple? Thanks.
How about sugar maple? According to http://www.woodheat.org/firewood/firewood.htm it's much better than silver maple. I just scored about a cord and a half of sugar. Freshly cut. How long should sugar maple season, and is it higher quality than silver maple? Thanks.
Tony H
Minister of Fire
I have burned a good deal of silver maple , it's considered a soft maple and is not a top end wood. I burn it mixed in with harder woods all season with the exception of cold nights. It cuts splits and seasons well and is good to burn after 6-9 months in this climate.
Here ( Silver= Swamp = Soft ) maple its all the same thing . Thats what kinda took over the swamps here when the elm all died . Like You all have said it grows fast , splits well and seasons really quick , but its the bottom end of BTU out put for maples . Hard = Sugar maple near the top end of the BTU range for maples .
I have no complaints burning soft maple . I will take silver maple any day of the week before popular or willow or cotton wood .
I have no complaints burning soft maple . I will take silver maple any day of the week before popular or willow or cotton wood .
Compared to what type of wood, I have a few options here (oak, white ash, green ash, mulberry) that I can get easily so silver maple is something I do not mess with, not saying it is not worth burning but it all depends on what other wood is available.no man said:
midwestcoast
Minister of Fire
DaFattKidd said:
Sugar maple is great my dad has a maple bush & heats with about 75% Sugar Maple. Much more dense than Silver. As for how long to season? As always it depends on whether live or long dead when cut, how small it's split, sun & wind exposure....but it's like most other hardwood, a full year is best. It'd be pretty tough getting it dry by this winter
smokinj
Minister of Fire
oldspark said:
I am sure it is but when you get into a big one 45in.+ you will find its very hard in the trunk and will give a 28ton spliter a run for its money....Dog out a 60cc saw and make 3 guys want to cry before its all over.........And can also be milled into some nice lumber on a good clean tree. With that said there is more junk silver maples than you can shake a stick at.
smokinj
Minister of Fire
jeff_t said:
I have one to do this fall thats 63-65in. biggest tree I have ever seen dont know if it will be worth a crap but will make an awesome video!
I got one tipped over in the storm last weekend. I haven't gotten into the trunk yet, but I've cut down to the first crotch and its been solid so far.
I've had enough of the big stuff for a while.I'm doing it for a friend, but my heart wouldn't be broken if she found someone else to take care of it.
I've had enough of the big stuff for a while.I'm doing it for a friend, but my heart wouldn't be broken if she found someone else to take care of it.
firefighterjake
Minister of Fire
DaFattKidd said:
Good stuff sugar maple . . . one of the better maples to burn and most folks would favor it over silver maple . . . but truth be told I burn just about every kind of tree I run into . . . I try not to discriminate . . . my own take is that even the lesser-BTU woods have a place -- either as kindling or for burning in the shoulder season or simply to burn when I'm home during the day and don't mind loading the stove more often.
But to get back to your question . . . yeah . . . good score. In general you want to have it cut, split and stacked for about a year.
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