# silver maple



## ejevans22 (Jun 12, 2010)

just picked up a bunch of free wood. The guys said it was silver maple. I was wondering if it is any good. Im going to split it and burn it anyway. free wood is free wood.


----------



## Jeb1heat (Jun 12, 2010)

I think maple in general is well worth burning. It's a good hard wood, not as much so as oak, but i'd take it any day. I'm pretty sure I had some silver two years ago and it burned and heated well.


----------



## rdust (Jun 12, 2010)

Silver Maple falls in the middle, it's good for around 20mbtu per cord.


----------



## oldspark (Jun 12, 2010)

rdust said:
			
		

> Silver Maple falls in the middle, it's good for around 20mbtu per cord.


 I would say low end of the middle, I like it in the fall and spring but not for when it gets real cold.


----------



## smokinj (Jun 12, 2010)

I like it! The heartwood can be very good firewood.


----------



## webie (Jun 12, 2010)

Its free ,  its good . Thats about 60% of what I burn .


----------



## minnow19 (Jun 12, 2010)

Just piggy backing on this thread - I recently got a Norway Maple for free.  What is the drying period for this?


----------



## oldspark (Jun 12, 2010)

smokinjay said:
			
		

> I like it! The heartwood can be very good firewood.


 Must not be the same silver maple we grow around here.


----------



## LLigetfa (Jun 12, 2010)

Silver Maple is a very fast growing tree and generally, the faster the tree grows, the lower the BTU.  There's a wide variety of Maple and Silver Maple would not be on my list of wood to use for cabinetmaking, but I'm pretty sure that all Maple will burn unless it's petrified.


----------



## ShenValSteve (Jun 12, 2010)

Personally, I won't waste the fuel to cut it or the space to store it.  Much better wood can be had in this area for free.


----------



## mtarbert (Jun 12, 2010)

Silver Maple = Swamp ....about as good as poplar....OK if it is free an cose but, not much good if it is Cold outside


----------



## dafattkidd (Jun 13, 2010)

Hey guys,

How about sugar maple?  According to http://www.woodheat.org/firewood/firewood.htm it's much better than silver maple.  I just scored about a cord and a half of sugar.  Freshly cut.  How long should sugar maple season, and is it higher quality than silver maple?  Thanks.


----------



## Tony H (Jun 13, 2010)

I have burned a good deal of silver maple , it's considered a soft maple and is not a top end wood. I burn it mixed in with harder woods all season with the exception of cold nights. It cuts splits and seasons well and is good to burn after 6-9 months in this climate.


----------



## webie (Jun 13, 2010)

Here ( Silver= Swamp = Soft ) maple its all the same thing . Thats what kinda took over the swamps here when the elm all died .  Like You all have said it grows fast , splits well and seasons really quick , but its the bottom end of BTU out put for maples . Hard = Sugar maple near the top end of the BTU range for maples . 
 I have no complaints burning soft maple .  I will take silver maple any day of the week before popular or willow or cotton wood .


----------



## sapratt (Jun 13, 2010)

Silver maple is of my favorite wood. It splits easy and burns good..


----------



## oldspark (Jun 13, 2010)

no man said:
			
		

> Silver maple is of my favorite wood. It splits easy and burns good..


 Compared to what type of wood, I have a few options here (oak, white ash, green ash, mulberry) that I can get easily so silver maple is something I do not mess with, not saying it is not worth burning but it all depends on what other wood is available.


----------



## midwestcoast (Jun 13, 2010)

DaFattKidd said:
			
		

> Hey guys,
> 
> How about sugar maple?  According to http://www.woodheat.org/firewood/firewood.htm it's much better than silver maple.  I just scored about a cord and a half of sugar.  Freshly cut.  How long should sugar maple season, and is it higher quality than silver maple?  Thanks.



Sugar maple is great my dad has a maple bush & heats with about 75% Sugar Maple. Much more dense than Silver.  As for how long to season?  As always it depends on whether live or long dead when cut, how small it's split, sun & wind exposure....but it's like most other hardwood, a full year is best. It'd be pretty tough getting it dry by this winter


----------



## smokinj (Jun 13, 2010)

oldspark said:
			
		

> smokinjay said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I am sure it is but when you get into a big one 45in.+ you will find its very hard in the trunk and will give a 28ton spliter a run for its money....Dog out a 60cc saw and make 3 guys want to cry before its all over.........And can also be milled into some nice lumber on a good clean tree. With that said there is more junk silver maples than you can shake a stick at.


----------



## jeff_t (Jun 13, 2010)

I haven't been into a silver maple that big that had any heartwood left. Got one in the three foot range I'll be finishing up next week that's got some promise, though.


----------



## smokinj (Jun 13, 2010)

jeff_t said:
			
		

> I haven't been into a silver maple that big that had any heartwood left. Got one in the three foot range I'll be finishing up next week that's got some promise, though.



I have one to do this fall thats 63-65in. biggest tree I have ever seen dont know if it will be worth a crap but will make an awesome video!


----------



## jeff_t (Jun 13, 2010)

I got one tipped over in the storm last weekend. I haven't gotten into the trunk yet, but I've cut down to the first crotch and its been solid so far. 
I've had enough of the big stuff for a while.I'm doing it for a friend, but my heart wouldn't be broken if she found someone else to take care of it.


----------



## firefighterjake (Jun 14, 2010)

DaFattKidd said:
			
		

> Hey guys,
> 
> How about sugar maple?  According to http://www.woodheat.org/firewood/firewood.htm it's much better than silver maple.  I just scored about a cord and a half of sugar.  Freshly cut.  How long should sugar maple season, and is it higher quality than silver maple?  Thanks.



Good stuff sugar maple . . . one of the better maples to burn and most folks would favor it over silver maple . . . but truth be told I burn just about every kind of tree I run into . . . I try not to discriminate . . . my own take is that even the lesser-BTU woods have a place -- either as kindling or for burning in the shoulder season or simply to burn when I'm home during the day and don't mind loading the stove more often.

But to get back to your question . . . yeah . . . good score. In general you want to have it cut, split and stacked for about a year.


----------

