Sweet Gum For Firewood

[barneyrb]

I always considered it right next to Cottonwood (last choice) for a fireplace. It will burn after an extended drying period but IMHO it will produce very little to no coals and a very fine ash. In my fireplace a nice bed of oak coals are where the heat comes from.

 

[fearofpavement]

I don't pursue sweet gum but if I encounter it and it needs to be cut up anyway, I just mix it in with my other wood. Burns fine if seasoned (as any other wood requires) and I think it mainly gets it bad firewood reputation because it is hard to split. If you get careless it'll put the back of a maul right between your eyes when green.

 

[tpope]

We burn the heck outta it... When it has been blown over on the farm and needs to be cut. Hard as you could ask for to split. Glad we use a 28 ton hydraulic splitter for that. Let it dry and you are good to go.

When I was selling firewood, we mixed it in at about 5 percent a load. Excess went to our house to be burned. If my wife can get it into the wood stove, it'll burn.

 

[CRThomas]

I

Times must have been tough John, but always remember to add your equipment costs to your daily costs and figure out what you made a day. It makes for a rought time to do that on a daily basis when/if you dont own the land and someone is dicking you around and you are wasting time.

PS. We (me and a saw freak friend of mine) got 35 cord of wood cut, bucked and split (in 5 days)and have been delivering it since - but its been for fun money for both of us. The saws we used did not miss a beat - 372GXP, 041, 136 and an 011AV. The splitter was a self made tractor PTO type and was slow, but hey it was 30+ hickory and red oak so it did OK even if it was a very slow cycle time splitter.

I do firewood and make a comfy living about 70.000.00 th last year

 

[axe2fall]

Any wood will burn. Sweetgum, also known as Liquid Amber will too.
Getting it to that point is seldom worth the effort.
I cut plenty of em but seldom burn any unless it's small enough to avoid splitting.
It needs hot coals and plenty of air to burn well and is not all that hot.
I call it rainy day firewood

 

[GrassGuerilla]

Makes good firewood. Also warms me from the inside knowing that particular sweet gum won't rain those god forsaken balls anymore. One of the few trees I truly delight in burning;-)