Paper/White Birch vs. Red/Soft Maple ?

[logbutcher]

Our firewood harvest each year since '99 has been about 1/3 Red Maple, 1/3 Paper Birch, and the rest a mix of Red Oak (dead and live ), Green Ash, and little Spruce and Fir for those shoulder season quick fires ( or a cool foggy July ).

Birch is easier to cut, more of it, easy splitting, and easier to get to on our place , but pooches ( "rots" for you non-Mainers) within a year even slicing the bark down to wood. Red Maple has a tougher grain for splitting, weighs more green ( tougher humping ), but seems to coal better than Birch. The red Maple stores well, but there's not more than 20-25 trees left in the woodlot.

Here's the problem: in the forestry BTU value charts for firewood ( million Btu's /cord ) Paper Birch comes out higher than Red Maple; a few other charts show Maple higher.

What's your take on which to cut more of ? We cut now.

 

[woodbooga]

How much acreage do you have? And if you were to cut more of one species, would you risk being in a position of having less of a variety down the road?

Red maple's much better and I don't know why that chart places it lower than paper birch. The paper birch I burn I split at twice the size since it seems to go so quick.

 

[logbutcher]

How much acreage do you have? And if you were to cut more of one species, would you risk being in a position of having less of a variety down the road?

Red maple's much better and I don't know why that chart places it lower than paper birch. The paper birch I burn I split at twice the size since it seems to go so quick.

+/- 60 a. total, mostly spruce and fir old growth.
Most charts show Paper Birch higher in BTU's than Red Maple, though the Maple burns better for us.
Much more Birch since it's a "pioneer" species when cutting.

 

[Mike Van]

"pooches" - - I like that word --

 

[woodbooga]

+/- 60 a. total, mostly spruce and fir old growth.
Most charts show Paper Birch higher in BTU's than Red Maple, though the Maple burns better for us.
Much more Birch since it's a "pioneer" species when cutting.

A guy I know in Colebrook (about 15 miles from the Canadian border) has a similar mix. Doesn't have the same variety of species we have "below the notches). He saves his red maple for this time of year, and burns poplar and birch mostly when not in the dead of winter.

I happen to like birch but just wish it didn't go so quick.

Also, I've found that splitting it (not just scoring it in the round) vastly extends its shelf life.

 

[logbutcher]

A guy I know in Colebrook (about 15 miles from the Canadian border) has a similar mix. Doesn't have the same variety of species we have "below the notches). He saves his red maple for this time of year, and burns poplar and birch mostly when not in the dead of winter.
I happen to like birch but just wish it didn't go so quick.
Also, I've found that splitting it (not just scoring it in the round) vastly extends its shelf life.

Know Colebrook well, it's on the way to the Northeast Kingdom, VT from here Downeast through Errol and Dixville Notch. ( IF and only 'if', you're up for a romantic weekend , do The Balsams in Dixville, .. "first in the nation to vote".)

Poplar is worthless, I'd rather burn spruce or fir. I'm thinking that maybe Paper Birch burning "fast" is a myth, perhaps the quick burning bark. I've tried same sized splits of birch and maple: the birch seems ( so far, if thick splits like maple) to last and coal like maple. Those .edu charts show Paper Birch with HIGHER rating than Red Maple.

 

[xcr440]

We heat 100% with birch and poplar at my parent place in northern wi. I like it but man does it go to crap fast. As soon as you see the tree has no leaves on it in the summer you better cut it.

We have no maples to speak of. So I can't comment on them.

He in southern wi I burn alot of oak(red,white) and cherry.
I do bring down a load of brich home every year or so. Depends how many I lose during the year(2 acres)

 

[Hlakegollum]

We have sugar maple and red (swamp) maple in Pa. The red maple after sitting a year is as light as aspen, I only use it for starting fires. The sugar maple burns like good hard wood, maybe they have them switched on the chart.

I store the birch, yellow popular and aspen in the wood shed, otherwise it rots and mushrooms start growing on it.

 

[hutch3912]

Paper Birch

Are you sure its paper birch and not gray birch? With the species comp of red maple, fir and spruce makes me think your land is a little wet at some point of time in the year leading me to think its gray birch. Gray birch will rot even if its stacked in 6-10 months paper will last longer anywhere from 16-18 months. A good way to tell the difference on mature trees is obviously the bark (paper will peal in longer sheets) and the maximum size, gray birch won't get much bigger than 10" dbh(diameter at breast height).

 

[sesmith]

I'd cut whatever's best for your forest to have cut. Both burn and you've obviously used both for heating, so my plan would be to cut what I could cut sustainably, so I had the firewood source indefinitely. As far as burning, red maple burns good and coals great. White birch I have not burned, but suspect it's not as good a heating wood as red maple. Red maple will continue to grow in the partial shade in the forest waiting to get light and a chance to grow. Birch, as you mentioned is a pioneer species, and is shade intolerant and relatively short-lived. So if there's more birch, it's maturing and dying anyhow, and opening up the forest by cutting the birch and allowing the better maple trees to grow...you get the idea. FWIW, I'd get a forester in there to look at the forest and help you mark and cut firewood trees (regardless of species) that are the junk trees you want to remove to improve the forest stand.

 

[logbutcher]

Are you sure its paper birch and not gray birch? With the species comp of red maple, fir and spruce makes me think your land is a little wet at some point of time in the year leading me to think its gray birch. Gray birch will rot even if its stacked in 6-10 months paper will last longer anywhere from 16-18 months. A good way to tell the difference on mature trees is obviously the bark (paper will peal in longer sheets) and the maximum size, gray birch won't get much bigger than 10" dbh(diameter at breast height).

It's Paper/White Birch Hutch, pretty sure of that since it grows in most of the woodlot often +12" DBH. The terminal buds and bark are Betula Patifera (just some showing off ). What does UM Forestry have for BTU values for Red Maple and Paper Birch ?

I'd cut whatever's best for your forest to have cut. Both burn and you've obviously used both for heating, so my plan would be to cut what I could cut sustainably, so I had the firewood source indefinitely. As far as burning, red maple burns good and coals great. White birch I have not burned, but suspect it's not as good a heating wood as red maple. Red maple will continue to grow in the partial shade in the forest waiting to get light and a chance to grow. Birch, as you mentioned is a pioneer species, and is shade intolerant and relatively short-lived. So if there's more birch, it's maturing and dying anyhow, and opening up the forest by cutting the birch and allowing the better maple trees to grow...you get the idea. FWIW, I'd get a forester in there to look at the forest and help you mark and cut firewood trees (regardless of species) that are the junk trees you want to remove to improve the forest stand.

We have a Management Plan for patch cuts done in 2000, and the wood is sustainable. The T.S.I. (Timber Stand Improvement ) I do includes firewood harvesting and some pulp. A friend Forester recommended cutting ALL the Red Maples to allow stump growth for later cutting for firewood. I'll keep the ones for mast and firewood.
What BTU values do you have for the two species ?

Nice ideas guys....thanks.

 

[sesmith]

We have a Management Plan for patch cuts done in 2000, and the wood is sustainable. The T.S.I. (Timber Stand Improvement ) I do includes firewood harvesting and some pulp. A friend Forester recommended cutting ALL the Red Maples to allow stump growth for later cutting for firewood. I'll keep the ones for mast and firewood.
What BTU values do you have for the two species ?

Sounds like you have a good plan in place. I'm sure your forester knows way more about your area than I do. In all the charts I found paper birch was either listed higher than red maple or at the worst equal to it. I'm sure you've probably seen this one:

http://mb-soft.com/juca/print/firewood.html

and this one:

http://**********/econtent/index.php/articles/heating_value_wood

Have fun cutting. I'm doing the same (but mine's mostly beech )

 

[logbutcher]

Sounds like you have a good plan in place. I'm sure your forester knows way more about your area than I do. In all the charts I found paper birch was either listed higher than red maple or at the worst equal to it. I'm sure you've probably seen this one:
http://mb-soft.com/juca/print/firewood.html
and this one:
http://**********/econtent/index.php/articles/heating_value_wood
Have fun cutting. I'm doing the same (but mine's mostly beech )

All the Beech here in coastal Downeast Maine gets diseased at ~ 5"-10" DBH and stops growth.
There's not much to harvest.
The links are just some of the BTU value listings found; they aren't consistent. I will look more closely at the Birch species: Paper or Gray.

 

[LumberjkChamp]

"pooches" - - I like that word --

Yeah, me too. My birch pooches, does yours?

 

[Zodiac45]

Yeah, me too. My birch pooches, does yours?

You have too split it right away too avoid "pooching". The bark holds in water. If you split it soon after cutting it holds up much better, but even then a year is tops.

Logbutcher---Personally, I'd say the red maple is the better of the two but they are actually quite close on the BTU scale. I'd go with your current plan unless you have easier access too one or the other or it fits into your land managment plan better.

 

[LumberjkChamp]

I remember the first time I found out that Birch will rot on you within a year if you don't split it. I was so heartbroken. I must have been about 13 or 14 and had worked on cutting about 3 medium sized Paper Birches for a while- they were from a powerline ROW cutting and were the first real trees I ever cut. I thought to myself how I would be rich with firewood.

For some reason I didn't split most of it -I think because I kept busting the handle on the old maul that I found. So I figured I would just stack it and leave it "to dry" until I could get a better maul. Well....about a year later I came back to "split" my stack of treasure and found that it was so rotten that the head of the maul would just stick it the wood and bury itself.

That was the hardest lesson I think I've ever learned with regard to wood. I now promptly split all Birch after cutting it.

To stay on topic here I would like to state that I do look forward to burning both Red Maple and Paper Birch, even though I have better hardwoods like maple and oak in my woodpile. Believe it or not I know people who will turn their back on either of those species because they are "not a good hardwood." Not me though, I'll take as much as I can get. And I would cut more Birch if I could.

 

[sesmith]

All the Beech here in coastal Downeast Maine gets diseased at ~ 5"-10" DBH and stops growth.
There's not much to harvest.

Yea, thats why I'm burning mostly beech these days. Beech bark disease is killing most of ours too. In my woods, most of the diseased trees are around 75 years old so there's a lot of firewood to be had. Trying to thin out the diseased beech and get something else to regenerate, but thats hard cause the deer like everything except beech.

 

[logbutcher]

You have too split it right away too avoid "pooching". The bark holds in water. If you split it soon after cutting it holds up much better, but even then a year is tops.

Logbutcher---Personally, I'd say the red maple is the better of the two but they are actually quite close on the BTU scale. I'd go with your current plan unless you have easier access too one or the other or it fits into your land managment plan better.

The plan has been to buck and stack in winter, split and stack in late summer to fall. You're right about the Birch: even scored well into the wood, it begins the pooching only after a few months piled in bucks before splitting.

Why do you think the Maple is better for firewood Steve ? There's much more birch on our place to harvest, it's easy to get, and lighter to hump on and off the trailer. Decisions, huh ?