Any experience with Silver Maple?

[Trogdor]

Have lots of Silver Maple available...

Anybody have experience with it?

Thx

 

[jatoxico]

Pretty good stuff. Dries quicker than a lot of other species. Stuff I've had (not a whole lot) has been a little twisty but I wouldn't pass on it.

 

[new_wood]

Dries quicker than most other species but is lower on the btu charts. I have plenty in my area and am always happy to add it to the stacks.

 

[DougA]

Yup, same here. Best used during the day, not for a 12 hr burn.

 

[Applesister]

You got yourself a great source of wood. Depending on how you process it, get it stacked, you could be burning it at the start of next season. And that's a good deal. At the worse you'll be burning in the late spring next year.
You can count on the shorter drying times as the flip side to lesser BTUs.
Its a perfect trade for me and maple always burns clean. Not smoky like poplar.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

I enjoy Silver Maple...like these folks said it burns nice and clean with a lively flame but a little bit on the fast side, not the most BTU'S but not bad either. I use it for kindling and quarter-splits because it ignites easily but also throw some bigger splits in too. It is very abundant here in Eastern PA. and seems to grow fast...good stuff, I love it!

 

[Longstreet]

It's a perfect example of mediocrity. Low end for hardwood BTUs but seasons faster than most. Probably similar to cherry.

I find that most Silver Maples are yard trees and fairly twisty grain.

 

[kennyp2339]

I like silver maple, I try to mix it in with oak and birch, but I seriously would not have a problem burning it solely.

 

[bobdog2o02]

I agree with the above"twisty yard tree " comment. Other than that it lights easy. Burns kinda fast and I find it coals pretty heavy like most maples....

 

[tigeroak]

3/4 of what I burn is maple and it puts out the heat. I burn it till I go to bed then load with better wood. You will on average burn about 4-8 4x4 splits more per day, in my stove over oak but I like. I like as it is easy to split and dries fast in 1 year but we go with 2 year with it. Every one around here will pass on it but not me. I always have at least 5-7 cord around here.

 

[ewlsey]

I find it leaves very little coals. Otherwise I like it. It dries quick, especially considering how wet it is when green. It's really easy to get a fire going from coals with dry silver maple. I mix silver maple and hackberry pretty often. It's a good combination.

 

[nrford]

It burns.

 

[j7art2]

I'm burning some right now. Like others said, it's similar to cherry. Burns fine.

Wood is wood. If it's available, cut and burn it. I just got 7 free massive truckloads of unprocessed pine with lots more to come. I'm still thrilled, and I live in a state where people burn nothing but hardwoods.

 

[tomc585]

Burns too hot for me if I pack it out, overtemps the stove. I like it to keep a small single piece at a time fire when I am home. Got about 3/4 of a cord for free so I just mix it up.

 

[macattack_ga]

It does burn hot and like others said fast. Perfect for the pre-breakfast load.

 

[Sawset]

Figure on 5 times the amount of ash as oak. Leaves behind a lot of fluff.

 

[tomc585]

It does burn hot and like others said fast. Perfect for the pre-breakfast load.

Comes in handy

Figure on 5 times the amount of ash as oak. Leaves behind a lot of fluff.

fluff....good stuff in the marshmallow form

I also noticed that it seems to hold moisture longer under the bark after a rain...maybe its just in my head.

 

[Fred Wright]

It's fine for those not so cold days or evenings. I wouldn't suggest soft maple when it's in the teens or below outdoors... but we burn it when there's a break in the weather.

 

[AnalogKid]

I'm burning it now as its all I have left. It does season quick as mentioned, which is nice. It is real easy to burn. By that I mean, you toss it on some moderately warm coals (don't even need to be real hot) and it takes almost immediately. Then, it will burn great with very little air. So the door can be closed soon thereafter and the air can be turned all the way down within minutes. The locust I burned all winter was fantastic, but it is definitely more temperamental regarding the air it's being fed.

The silver maple gets up to temp fast, so it's great to warm a cool stove or to heat house fast in instances like just coming home and house is cold. Downside, as mentioned, short burn duration.

 

[Trogdor]

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences with it!

Will be adding it to my small yet expanding stacks for some quick heat (after seasoned of course).

 

[Frank625]

Love it, seasons quick and burns nice. I do like Cherry too. It is nice to mix with oak to get the fire going quick.

 

[Knots]

I heated my house with it this winter. Not my favorite but it works. I consider it a "medium" hard wood. I don't seek it out, but I don't pass it up...

 

[Pennsyltucky Chris]

I burn a lot. It seasons in 1 summer. It also burns very hot. It's shoulder season wood to take the chill out of your house in the evening and morning.

 

[Isaac Carlson]

We burn lots of maple. We also burn oak, elm, locust, birch, etc... They all keep you warm. We use the heavier stuff for over night burns. Wet oak works great for overnights, but not recommended for inexperienced burners.

 

[jatoxico]

I think it's the inexperienced burners that burn wet oak.