Sugar Maple (and Pine)...smoky?

[Woody Stover]

Wow, these firewood rating lists are all over the board! I've seen White Oak BTU listed anywhere from 25.7 to 29.1.
Anyhow, I've seen Sugar Maple on a couple of lists rated as giving off "heavy smoke." Most other list have it as a low-smoke wood. I've not burned any Sugar Maple, but I will this year. Those who have, what can I expect?

I also wonder about how smokier woods (Elm is rated "medium") would affect a combustor. More smoke to burn=more heat from the combustor? Will smokier woods wear out the combustor more quickly? Hard to quantify this stuff, I know, but I wonder...

 

[ecocavalier02]

i would not imagine that a smokier than other woods would effect the combuster. what effects it is crappy and unsesoned wood. let it be dry and it will be fine. combuster love to eat that smoke, it doesnt like a steam bath.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

I had a decent amount of Sugar Maple last year and didn't notice it being anything but great fuelwood. I see why it is so cherished because it burned very well for a long time and threw great heat-didn't notice it being smoky though.

 

[CTYank]

Wow, these firewood rating lists are all over the board! I've seen White Oak BTU listed anywhere from 25.7 to 29.1.
Anyhow, I've seen Sugar Maple on a couple of lists rated as giving off "heavy smoke." Most other list have it as a low-smoke wood. I've not burned any Sugar Maple, but I will this year. Those who have, what can I expect?

I also wonder about how smokier woods (Elm is rated "medium") would affect a combustor. More smoke to burn=more heat from the combustor? Will smokier woods wear out the combustor more quickly? Hard to quantify this stuff, I know, but I wonder...

Seems to me, because sugar maple is such great fuel wood, that whoever said that it gives off heavy smoke was doing some heavy smoke.
Simply put, flat wrong. Lots of folks throughout our society publish lots of stuff that's not fact-checked; what's the agenda of these guys? Maple-haters?

 

[TreePointer]

Heavy smoke with sugar maple? I've burned my share of sugar maple in an open fireplace, and I've found the opposite to be true. It burns hot and clean.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Sugar maple like any other wood will give you heavy smoke....when burned before it has had time to dry. Let your wood sit long enough to dry and it will be fine. Simply put, dry wood won't smoke as much as green wood.

 

[onetracker]

Heavy smoke with sugar maple? I've burned my share of sugar maple in an open fireplace, and I've found the opposite to be true. It burns hot and clean.

+1

sugar maple is superlative firewood.

 

[Woody Stover]

OK, you've put my mind at ease. As I said, I take these firewood lists with a grain of salt. I put a lot more stock in the testimony of experienced burners. Sugar Maple will make up about half of my supply for 2012 if the Black Oak isn't quite dry...

 

[wood butcher]

I will take you sugar maple and run a cord through the wood stove and give you a written report in the spring. Great burning when dry. I have some 'rock' maple from a friend, will be great in 2 years.

 

[Woody Stover]

I will take you sugar maple and run a cord through the wood stove and give you a written report in the spring. Great burning when dry. I have some 'rock' maple from a friend, will be great in 2 years.

Thanks for the offer but I wouldn't want you to go to any extra trouble for me. :lol:
I've seen several people here say that it'll burn decent after a year, so I'll try to get it stacked in the next couple of weeks. I've got about 1/2 cord of branches from the tree that are dry enough to burn this year. "Rock" appears to be a nickname for Black and Sugar...

 

[dafattkidd]

I burned about a cord of sugar maple last winter. It was c/s/s in May and I burned it in January/February. It was great wood. A lot of heat. Great coals. Quick to ignite. 8 months seasoning and it was great.

 

[raybonz]

Hard Maple is excellent firewood and like any other firewood needs to be seasoned properly.. Hard Maple seasons in about a year once split and stacked off the ground and is about equal to Oak which requires 2-3 years to season.. Send it here and I'll take it off your hands!

Ray

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Only bad thing is that tree will no longer give enough sap to make syrup.

 

[raybonz]

Only bad thing is that tree will no longer give enough sap to make syrup.

Mrs. Butterworth and Aunt Jemima are happy to hear this they say real syrup is for saps.. :bug:

Ray

 

[Woody Stover]

Only bad thing is that tree will no longer give enough sap to make syrup.

Yes, but it'll keep my sap flowing this Winter...

 

[raybonz]

Only bad thing is that tree will no longer give enough sap to make syrup.

Yes, but it'll keep my sap flowing this Winter...

Amen brother! Burn on!

Ray

 

[Hiram Maxim]

Only bad thing is that tree will no longer give enough sap to make syrup.

Did you know that Michigan is the largest exporter of Sugar Maple? :lol:

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Hiram, you should not tell those people from New England those things....

 

[Cascade Failure]

Only bad thing is that tree will no longer give enough sap to make syrup.

Did you know that Michigan is the largest exporter of Sugar Maple? :lol:

But not the largest producer of maple syrup...

http://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/New_England_includes/Publications/0605mpl.pdf

http://www.mi-maplesyrup.com/

 

[Hiram Maxim]

Only bad thing is that tree will no longer give enough sap to make syrup.

Did you know that Michigan is the largest exporter of Sugar Maple? :lol:

But not the largest producer of maple syrup...

http://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/New_England_includes/Publications/0605mpl.pdf

http://www.mi-maplesyrup.com/

I should have said for wood products!

I guess basketball courts are made from Sugar Maple? who knew? :cheese:

 

[Hiram Maxim]

Hiram, you should not tell those people from New England those things....

I know.....

A buddy of mine in Oklahoma uses Sugar Maple and Pecan in his smoker for his Brisket. That got me going on Sugar maple!

Then all of Zaps post!

Another friend has a cabin near Cedarville Michigan in da Yooper and its Sugar Maple heaven on his acreage.

After cutting and splitting it all Summer I'm more than convinced why its called hard maple or rock maple.

 

[Thistle]

I guess basketball courts are made from Sugar Maple? who knew? :cheese:

Best domestic wood for finish flooring. Other traditional uses are bowling alleys/lanes,cutting boards,butchers blocks,rolling pins,baker's peels .

I tried Maple-Cured Bacon for the first time a few months back.Oh my.... :coolgrin: The whole house smelled like warm Maple Syrup until late that evening.

 

[firefighterjake]

Sugar maple like any other wood will give you heavy smoke....when burned before it has had time to dry. Let your wood sit long enough to dry and it will be fine. Simply put, dry wood won't smoke as much as green wood.

+ whatever . . . I've found that most any wood if properly seasoned will not produce a whole lot of smoke . . . or any smoke. I suspect it has more to do with moisture and not seasoning vs. the species . . . the exception being a pine tree I had that burned black . . . but that I believe was due to the fact that I had charred the large round and left it that way before splitting it many years later -- I think it trapped a lot of the pitch inside it.

 

[Woody Stover]

I've found that most any wood if properly seasoned will not produce a whole lot of smoke . . . the exception being a pine tree I had that burned black . . . but that I believe was due to the fact that I had charred the large round and left it that way before splitting it many years later -- I think it trapped a lot of the pitch inside it.

Interesting. We had a little fire pit party last night. It was chilly, down in the low 60s...but I'm not ready to give up my shorts yet. :lol:
Anyway, at one point I tossed on some dead standing Red Pine I have. It wasn't super dry, but was below 20% for sure. I noticed a bit of black smoke as it burned, and assumed this was caused by the pitch burning. Now, I'm going use the Pine only as a starter wood to get my hardwood loads going more quickly before the bypass is closed, but it got me to wondering weather there would be any detrimental effects from running the black pitch smoke through the combustor on a regular basis...

 

[raybonz]

I've found that most any wood if properly seasoned will not produce a whole lot of smoke . . . the exception being a pine tree I had that burned black . . . but that I believe was due to the fact that I had charred the large round and left it that way before splitting it many years later -- I think it trapped a lot of the pitch inside it.

Interesting. We had a little fire pit party last night. It was chilly, down in the low 60s...but I'm not ready to give up my shorts yet. :lol:
Anyway, at one point I tossed on some dead standing Red Pine I have. It wasn't super dry, but was below 20% for sure. I noticed a bit of black smoke as it burned, and assumed this was caused by the pitch burning. Now, I'm going use the Pine only as a starter wood to get my hardwood loads going more quickly before the bypass is closed, but it got me to wondering weather there would be any detrimental effects from running the black pitch smoke through the combustor on a regular basis...

I would imagine the pitch would vaporize at the extreme temps that occur in a cat..

Ray