just got several loads of firewood for free i just had to cut and split
- Thread starter happycamper
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![[Hearth.com] just got several loads of firewood for free i just had to cut and split](/talk/data/attachments/237/237879-f2d170059a06ad62b01d7cbc2c9ceaa3.jpg?hash=ym1EsVFOsP)
Simonkenton
Minister of Fire
1. a tip of the hat for identifying
2. isnt free firewood 'good firewood' regardless of type??
macattack_ga
Burning Hunk
2. isnt free firewood 'good firewood' regardless of type??
Most of the time, but there are several species that are better off left to rot. Couple to leave around here would be silver maple and sycamore.
Why would you leave silver maple? It isnt the highest btu wood but it still burns and gives off heat. Very good for shoulder season or a warmer day. No worse then pine and some people heat with just pine. Never burned sycamore but if its free the its free, seems silly to throw it away.
macattack_ga
Burning Hunk
I'll burn pine. Pine burns fine. I come across yellow pine every now and then. I'd not go out of my way for it.
Sycamore, green, is mostly water. When it does dry out, there is not much mass to burn left.
Silver maple burns very quickly and makes so very much ash. Fluffy, dusty ash. When we did burn it we'd have to dig out the stove daily.
It seasons quickly, and I've burned quite a bit, but I avoid it now.
Maybe I'm a wood snob. ;-)
Woody5506
Minister of Fire
About a year ago I'd probably agree to never take silver maple or sycamore again. But this year I burned a good amount of each and liked a couple things about each one. Sycamore is so stringy that it starts up good. I think BTU wise it's comparable to silver maple. The plus side of silver maple is it's pretty well seasoned in about a year. I don't think I'd go out of my way for either unless I had to.
Soundchasm
Minister of Fire
I'd have to think twice about processing live cut silver maple. That stuff is as heavy as anything, but dries as light as a feather. It certainly has its place, but I wouldn't want to work on it unless it was already curing.
Free wood is great. I have a friend with 100 acres of hard wood. He hired someone to harvest it, they are taking 2900 trees and leaving all the "tops". Perfect fire wood for me. Mostly red and white oak
I'm a Silver Maple hater too. Way to much ash left for it to be worth it to me. Only would burn it if absolutely nothing else left. Sycamore dried out burns quick but doesn't leave the ash so much.
