Maple vs Oak

[ashy larry]

Did a little testing recently, may be interesting to some, common knowledge to others.

First off, i enjoy maple, it smells great being burned and is lighter and easier to handle than oak. Most of what i cut is red and white oak though.

We had a 3 day period if cold nights, in the 20-24 range. Decently chilly for NC. First night i loaded up the hotblast with all maple. No real heartwood, but good sized limbwood where the tree had forked. Big splits and rounds. 8 hours later when i woke up it was 22 outside and 65 in the house, with only wood as me heat source. There was a small bed of coals i could rechunk on top of. The next night was all the same except for white oak wood. When i woke up 8 hours later it was 19 outside and 72 in the house. Big bed of coals and my fans still kicking on.

I kinda figured that would be the result, but was still pleased. I would much rather deal with maple and it leaves almost no ash.

Note: damper was open 2 turns after chunking before bed both nights.

 

[svk]

Sounds about right. You didn't mention which maple, were you using sugar maple?

 

[ashy larry]

Honestly dont know the difference in the maples. Gray bark, white wood.

 

[Wood Doctor]

Soft (silver) maple burns well but is much less dense than hard maple, such as sugar maple. When green, it is also much easier to split. I have run into some hard maple species that have to rest in the round for weeks before they can be split. Not sure what that is, but it's out there.

Oak, on the other hand, splits green or dry. Only problem with oak is that it takes forever to dry. Hard maple and oak are about the same in heat content, white oak being the best. Both make very good firewood.

 

[ashy larry]

This wasnt silver maple, i do know that. Ive been working up a separate maple tree lately, and the trunk is very very tough to split, but its got a very twisty grain.

Once dry, maple seems to be a lot lighter than oak, which is nice when im moving it into my carport and loading the stove. I love the way maple smoke smells also.

 

[TimberWolf530]

Larry, so you have a furnace is that correct? The reason I ask is that with my stove and seasoned wood, if I left it on all night open two turns on the dampers, it would melt my stove. I could probably do it with wood that isn't seasoned all the way, but I try to avoid that. I guess what I'm getting to , is that wood seasoned or maybe a little wet? I'm not sure how furnaces work, so it may just be normal.

 

[ashy larry]

2 turns isnt much on mine. I ground the damper nubs off so it can almost shut completely. I wouldnt leave it more than 2.5-3 turns open if it was conpletely full. All of the wood has been top covered outside for 8-9 months in NC heat. Not fully seasoned but doesnt sizzle and hiss either.

 

[Wood Doctor]

Interesting that some charts rate red oak and sugar maple as almost identical in heat content: 26.4 million BTU/cord. If so, they should weigh about the same as well when dry.

 

[svk]

Sugar maple should be heavier than red oak but lighter than white oak when both are seasoned.

 

[Wood Doctor]

Sugar maple should be heavier than red oak but lighter than white oak when both are seasoned.

That's what I have heard also. This same chart rated them the same in weight--3,757 lb per cord. Once again, we have an average to contend with. Red oak heartwood may actually be denser than hard maple and some red oaks are denser than others. I once cut a pin oak round that was mostly heartwood and the dang thing actually sank in water.

 

[ashy larry]

I would think weight varies by soil/climate/season. White oak is definetly heavier but green red oak is a moisture sponge and can be unbearable heavy.

 

[ashy larry]

Its actually harder to find any maple or hickory thats down around here. Everything seems to be white or red oak, which is an ok problem i guess. I just get bored and like to tinker with new woods.

 

[066blaster]

Just started burning my sugar maple, and I love the stuff. It's been cold here and it just burns better than my oak and hickory. Not necessarily longer, but hotter and cleaner. I do like silver maple too. You can put a huge log in and it will completely burn up without flipping it over. Quite often in the morning I had a half burned smoldering piece of oak laying in there. I wouldn't really consider that a longer burn time . Maybe a mix of both is ideal.

 

[Wood Doctor]

Just started burning my sugar maple, and I love the stuff. It's been cold here and it just burns better than my oak and hickory. Not necessarily longer, but hotter and cleaner. I do like silver maple too. You can put a huge log in and it will completely burn up without flipping it over. Quite often in the morning I had a half burned smoldering piece of oak laying in there. I wouldn't really consider that a longer burn time . Maybe a mix of both is ideal.

Sugar maple makes awfully good syrup. Ever tried to do that by tapping the tree with hanging buckets? I used to do this and make my own maple syrup in Connecticut. Just curious.

 

[mainewoods]

Don't know about the rest of the country, but up here there isn't much doubt about red oak vs sugar maple. Red oak is about twice as heavy, burns hotter, and lasts longer. Red oak takes longer to dry, without a doubt, but the heat output is considerably higher than sugar maple. American beech is very similar to red oak, heavy and burns fierce. Splitting wise , red oak is much easier than beech, and sugar maple is a close second. Sugar maple will burn up to a fine ash by morning , red oak ( and beech) will have a nice bed of coals. Sugar maple, almost always, is much lighter than either of the other two. When you throw red oak or beech into your stove, you would be wise to turn that damper down. JMO

 

[066blaster]

Sugar maple makes awfully good syrup. Ever tried to do that by tapping the tree with hanging buckets? I used to do this and make my own maple syrup in Connecticut. Just curious.

Thought about it but never tried, sounds like a lot of work. What if someone pees in my bucket.

 

[bitzer]

Thought about it but never tried, sounds like a lot of work. What if someone pees in my bucket.

It is a lot of work. 30 gals of sap to one gal of syrup.

 

[buzz sawyer]

That's what I have heard also. This same chart rated them the same in weight--3,757 lb per cord. Once again, we have an average to contend with. Red oak heartwood may actually be denser than hard maple and some red oaks are denser than others. I once cut a pin oak round that was mostly heartwood and the dang thing actually sank in water.

Great point. I made a handrail from pin oak and it was the hardest, heaviest oak I've ever worked with.
Another difference - oak takes longer to dry but is much less prone to rotting compared to maple.

 

[Dirtboy]

I don't get much oak, but when I do its probably my favorite for the cold months. Maple, ash, elm & beech are my staples around here.

 

[Wood Doctor]

Great point. I made a handrail from pin oak and it was the hardest, heaviest oak I've ever worked with.
Another difference - oak takes longer to dry but is much less prone to rotting compared to maple.

In addition, soft (usually silver) maple dry rots faster and becomes punkier faster than any firewood that I know of. In about two years, it will dry rot in a garage.