Soft Maple
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Ductape
Addicted to ArboristSite
Middle of the road firewood. Not bad, not great.
I always take all I can get when I'm scrounging.
I always take all I can get when I'm scrounging.
Doug Fir
ArboristSite Operative
It's good but not great. I have some burning in my wood stove as I write this. The stuff I'm burning is Big Leaf Maple, which is a soft maple that we have in our part of the country. It's better than most conifers, but it's much closer to Douglas Fir than to a hardwood like oak or hard maple. It dries fairly quickly. It leaves a fair bit of light fluffy ash, but other than that there is little to say.
It heats the house!
Doug
dingeryote
Blueberry Baron
It's right up there with cottonwood for spring and fall use. Burns fast, not a lot of heat.
You'll be feeding the stove like a Grain auger come Febuary though.
I dunno if I would be tempted to buy unless it was like 100 bucks for an 8 cord load.
Swamp maple is a lot of work for little heat.
Stay safe!
Dingeryote
You'll be feeding the stove like a Grain auger come Febuary though.
I dunno if I would be tempted to buy unless it was like 100 bucks for an 8 cord load.
Swamp maple is a lot of work for little heat.
Stay safe!
Dingeryote
dingeryote
Blueberry Baron
That is cheap, but how much can you burn in a year while stuffing the stove every hour?
Darn if I would be tempted too, but knowing how bad the stuff goes to rot after a year in the stack, as well as the amount of work when I would rather be cutting up Oak and hard maple...I think I would pass. Maybe split the load with a neighbor?
Ya still have to have some good stuff for the deep cold and storms. If they are pulling out the swamp maple, are they thinning or harvesting? Maybe ask and see if you can get access to the Red Oak and Cherry tops.
LOL!!
If this goofy weather holds, you might be fine with all Swamp Maple afterall.
Just goofy this year.
Stay safe!
Dingeryote
Darn if I would be tempted too, but knowing how bad the stuff goes to rot after a year in the stack, as well as the amount of work when I would rather be cutting up Oak and hard maple...I think I would pass. Maybe split the load with a neighbor?
Ya still have to have some good stuff for the deep cold and storms. If they are pulling out the swamp maple, are they thinning or harvesting? Maybe ask and see if you can get access to the Red Oak and Cherry tops.
LOL!!
If this goofy weather holds, you might be fine with all Swamp Maple afterall.
Just goofy this year.
Stay safe!
Dingeryote
StephieDoll
ArboristSite Operative
If I had to pick just one wood to burn it would be silver maple. Seems to give me good burns, lots of heat, nice coals and seasons very fast. I have not had any problems with rot as long as it is off the ground. Load the stove at 10PM and will still have coals to restart around 5AM in my stove. I would be tempted to do that deal if it was available around here.
Streblerm
Addicted to ArboristSite
I burn a fair bit of silver maple and I would take all that I can get. It seasons fast, gives good heat, burns clean and doesn't leave a lot of ash. Like StephieDoll I can easily get 7-8hr burn times with it in my pre EPA stove.
It also smells wonderfull, right up there with cherry and hickory if you ask me. It has kind of a sweet/spicy smell almost like sandalwood incense.
What else can you ask for?
The swamp/red maple around here isn't quite as dense as the silver maple, more like what Dingerydote is talking about. I still burn it though.
It also smells wonderfull, right up there with cherry and hickory if you ask me. It has kind of a sweet/spicy smell almost like sandalwood incense.
What else can you ask for?
The swamp/red maple around here isn't quite as dense as the silver maple, more like what Dingerydote is talking about. I still burn it though.
Get and burn a lot Silver maple. Its the staple wood wise that is decent and almost always free. case in point my friends place and mine are about the same size he is not a burner. utility bill last month his over $300, never has heat above 65. mine $85 avg temp inside 73. I haven't broke into the Elm,Oak, Hard maple and a bit of Ash yet. Actually starting to run out of Silver. I have a cord or so of Willow from about 3 years ago I need to drag up to the house, good enough when I'm home and can keep feeding the stove.
laynes69
Addicted to ArboristSite
I've burned a ton of silver maple. Personally I think it's much better than cottonwood. I like it because it seasons quickly, and I have no issues going overnight with it either. I like to split it on the bigger size, which helps with the longer burns. It's not locust, but it produces heat and keeps us warm. I'd jump on it, but that's me.
Doug Fir
ArboristSite Operative
It turns out that there was another thread on this same subject a short time ago:
http://www.arboristsite.com/firewood-heating-wood-burning-equipment/179898.htm
The only thing about which everyone agrees is that it is not as good as hard maple, and that it goes bad quickly. Many folks have found soft maple (all types, including swamp maple or red maple) to be decent firewood--certainly better than cottonwood. Others disgree. My guess is that those who find it to be like cottonwood burned some that had started to go bad. It does resemble cottonwood when it starts to turn--it burns like paper. If you cut it green, store it properly and burn it within a couple of years you should be fine.
Doug
http://www.arboristsite.com/firewood-heating-wood-burning-equipment/179898.htm
The only thing about which everyone agrees is that it is not as good as hard maple, and that it goes bad quickly. Many folks have found soft maple (all types, including swamp maple or red maple) to be decent firewood--certainly better than cottonwood. Others disgree. My guess is that those who find it to be like cottonwood burned some that had started to go bad. It does resemble cottonwood when it starts to turn--it burns like paper. If you cut it green, store it properly and burn it within a couple of years you should be fine.
Doug
It also splits super easy, and leaves very little ash in the stove, and in the midwest it's quite plentiful! I wouldn't pay for it, though.
We cut some property a few years back which was 99% soft maple. I had 37 tandem dump truck loads of logs. It cut & split good. I processed & sold it all in 'bout 3 months. I used several cords in my Clayton Furnace burning it only 20% seasoned (guess) & it did fine. Once well seasoned you would need good seals on your stove.
I guess it really depends on your situation. Does your stove have a nice sized firebox? Are you behind on wood supply? How does it compare to your other sources----do you scrounge or buy? There are different types of soft maple and I've burnt tons of them all red seems a bit heavier than silver when dry. But none compare to sugar maple.
If your stove has a dinky firebox and you're going from hard to soft maple you might not be pleased. A lot depends on where you reside on the wood snob meter.
If your stove has a dinky firebox and you're going from hard to soft maple you might not be pleased. A lot depends on where you reside on the wood snob meter.
Sawmill
ArboristSite Operative
I have an outdoor wood furnace and I will burn any type of wood. I hate to buy wood because I have 40 acres of ash elm birsh beech and popular. My knees are bad so I am having a hard time working in the woods anymore. I don't need the wood this year but it was close by. I went this morning and bought 10 cords of it and they are going to be cutting 180 acres of mostlt hard maple and they are going to bring me another 10 cords of it. Looks like my wood processor will get a work out this summer. Thanks for all the info you guys put out. If the weather don't cool off I won't need much wood this year. Last year at this time it was -20 and to day it is almost 40.
logbutcher
Addicted to ArboristSite
Get a better concept of the BTUs in firewood on the sticky here @ chimneysweeps online. It's a clear listing ( same as some of .edu listings from universities) with 2 columns for comparison of heating values.
Red/Soft Maple is at the low end OF THE HARDWOODS in millions of BTUs per cord. Cottonwood is way down among the softwoods in heating power per cord = 12.6, with Balsam Fir for example @ 13.1 MBTY/cord. No comparison to Soft/Red Maple.
Soft Maple is one our primary woods with Paper/White Birch (20.0 MBTU/cord). We got our first bought trailer load of 24' Red Maple logs last year which came out to close to 10 cords in volume on the ground before bucking, splitting, stacking. Cost=$800. Reason: shiny new titanium hip.:hmm3grin2orange:
Burns OK, hard starting unless bone dry, but holds coals well overnight. Soft Maple tends to heart rot easily, so some of the log is lost for firewood, though it stores better than our other primary wood, Paper Birch ( scored along the bark for butt storage ).
We burn what we got, avoiding softwood except in shoulder seasons.
Red/Soft Maple is at the low end OF THE HARDWOODS in millions of BTUs per cord. Cottonwood is way down among the softwoods in heating power per cord = 12.6, with Balsam Fir for example @ 13.1 MBTY/cord. No comparison to Soft/Red Maple.
Soft Maple is one our primary woods with Paper/White Birch (20.0 MBTU/cord). We got our first bought trailer load of 24' Red Maple logs last year which came out to close to 10 cords in volume on the ground before bucking, splitting, stacking. Cost=$800. Reason: shiny new titanium hip.:hmm3grin2orange:
Burns OK, hard starting unless bone dry, but holds coals well overnight. Soft Maple tends to heart rot easily, so some of the log is lost for firewood, though it stores better than our other primary wood, Paper Birch ( scored along the bark for butt storage ).
We burn what we got, avoiding softwood except in shoulder seasons.
I don't want to assume anything here. What type of soft maple, Silver? What is your definition of a pulp cord? If it is a true cord, 128 sq' than by all means go for it. $40 per cord delivered!!! If I did my math right that is 20 cords for $800. It would be worth that just to watch the guy unload it. You could just cut it up and sell it in the round and make good money on that. If you want to take the time and split it you could even make more money. Forget about burning it, I see the means of acquiring a new saw or two, maybe a new log splitter. Maybe a new to you used wood hauler.
That stuff would sell here for $200 a cord split. The sellers would even advertise it as hard wood.
With gas running just under $3 a gallon in this area it would cost most of us $40 a cord just to go get it and bring it home not to mention our time to cut, load, unload, etc.
If you live in an area were firewood sells for dirt cheap than maybe its not worth your time, but this is what I call a windfall.
Richard Dupp
ArboristSite Member
O.K. guys, help me out here, what is soft maple? We have a lot of sugar maple in this area, better than poplar but not great.
Sawmill
ArboristSite Operative
Here a pulp cord is 128 cubic feet. and firewood is cheap. I can buy hard maple or oak for anywheres from 60 to 70 dollars in 10 cord loads. It has to be cut yet and most does not need to be split
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