Sweet Gum

[G6 at Snook TX]

Are Sweet Gum trees hardwood and are they good to burn in wood stoves?

 

[WOODBUTCHER]

Are Sweet Gum trees hardwood and are they good to burn in wood stoves?

About as good as red maple, it will punk out real fast so cover it quick !

WoodButcher

 

[G6 at Snook TX]

Under the shed, but in the air I assume you to mean? They dry fast too? I had read on wikipedia that Sweet Gum is a main ingredient in plywood, particle board, and so on.

 

[Shadow&Flame]

Are Sweet Gum trees hardwood and are they good to burn in wood stoves?

I would not go out of my way to get some. Its a bear to split and burns really fast when dry.

 

[G6 at Snook TX]

The hardest wood I have ever split around here is hickory and that is like pulling apart spaghetti. It is from our church as they have two large trees killed by the drought. They will bring them down, and I was thinking about splitting now and burning next year. I guess the splitting, if I choose to get the wood, would be a good work out for the I&O 26ton splitter.

 

[Shadow&Flame]

If you are really in need of wood...it will burn. I have some of it that had to come down, so
I split it up and will burn it. I was just saying I wouldnt put alot of effort into it if you dont
need it. If you are helping the church clean it up...then that is another matter all together.

 

[cptoneleg]

This stuff is black gum I have alot of it, I wont cut another one down unless I am just clearing land it don't split, I cut it in little 6" pieces and gonna burn it as is.

 

[red oak]

This stuff is black gum I have alot of it, I wont cut another one down unless I am just clearing land it don't split, I cut it in little 6" pieces and gonna burn it as is.

Do those rounds go in your stove? Are they a quick burn or do they last awhile?

There is a black gum tree down on the national forest road where I cut wood - it's been down for over a year. It's very easy to get to and I have been thinking that I should get it, but after reading this I think I'll leave it for someone else.

 

[cptoneleg]

This stuff is black gum I have alot of it, I wont cut another one down unless I am just clearing land it don't split, I cut it in little 6" pieces and gonna burn it as is.

Do those rounds go in your stove? Are they a quick burn or do they last awhile?

There is a black gum tree down on the national forest road where I cut wood - it's been down for over a year. It's very easy to get to and I have been thinking that I should get it, but after reading this I think I'll leave it for someone else.

Low BTUs hard to split, most folks don't mess with it.

 

[egclassic]

Had a friend offer me some rounds of this stuff that he had sitting around for about two years. Wish I never went and got it! Every piece was punky. Now it is in my outside burn pile.
But if yours is in decent shape, then burn it!

 

[G6 at Snook TX]

Sounds like I need to let it pass. Help the church, but not burn it in my stove. I have plenty of oak and hickory to do the job already. Just looking for more.

 

[spur0701]

The only pro sweet gum has is it dries fast (6 months....especially considering how wet it is when cut, I've had pieces squirt water when putting them through the splitter), the cons are it is hard to split (real hard), turns punky fast, and is low on BTUs. Having said all that if you get a trunk diameter that doesn't require splitting I would think it would be good shoulder season stuff. Other than that it's a lot more work to split (I've had to literally peel apart rounds with a splitter, big ones won't split) than it's worth unless you don't have anything else or the only other thing you have available is oak that won't be seasoned for two years.