# burning silver maple



## HuskyMurph (Jul 11, 2010)

anybody every burn silver maple in there wood stove. i have a chance to get a few good loads of it. probably a cord and half. id use it for campfires and early fall and late winter early spring fires in my stove. just curious what you guys think..


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## smokinj (Jul 11, 2010)

I have burned a lot of it 20m btu per cord its as good as cherry.


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## HuskyMurph (Jul 11, 2010)

smokinj said:


> I have burned a lot of it 20m btu per cord its as good as cherry.



reallly???? man and to think i been burning it in my firepit looks like ill take alot of it. does it leave alot of ash??? how long you have to let it dry???


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## smokinj (Jul 11, 2010)

HuskyMurph said:


> reallly???? man and to think i been burning it in my firepit looks like ill take alot of it. does it leave alot of ash??? how long you have to let it dry???





About 6 months split and stack..There is atleste 3 years that the only thing I burnt was silver maple...I do tree removals and got to get rid of it, But the trunks can be very good firewood. Now the nice stright clean ones I will mill into lumbar. Most will say how good cherry is and hate silver maple I see the two about the same in all aspects.


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## retoid (Jul 11, 2010)

I've burned a lot of silver maple as well, good stuff when dry. Burns well, and can even be used for smoking foods. When I had a bunch of it I would just start a fire in my weber bbq with the maple, let it burn down to coals and then throw my food on and kill some air flow to create smoke, I can't tell you the wonders it does to a steak.

It also kept my family warm all winter.


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## biggenius29 (Jul 11, 2010)

I burn about 90% of it. It isnt oak or locust, but it is better than other woods available. 

Wood is wood, and wood burns, just some burns hotter and longer than others.


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## DSS (Jul 11, 2010)

In my part of the world, maple is the best firewood you can get. I've burnt cord upon cord of it.
When it gets really dry, the bark falls off. Only thing better would be apple, at least around here. Not as good as oak, but oak in the forest is non existent here.


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## ihookem (Jul 11, 2010)

It's not bad stuff. It splits easy. it dries fairly fast but not as fast as ash and faster than oak. I don't know why so many won't take it for free.


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## bluestem (Jul 11, 2010)

ihookem said:


> I don't know why so many won't take it for free.



If someone was giving the limbs away for free I'd take it. It burns perfect in fall and spring. I can imagine though that a large majority of the silver maples that are for free have either 1: fallen down because they are completely hollow, or 2: they were taken down because they were completely hollow. Silver maples around here that are like this are generally very large and would be a PITA to handle for me anyway!! That's why I wouldn't take it!!


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## MNGuns (Jul 11, 2010)

Around here there aren't too many deciduous tress I won't burn. Maples are just fine for heat....


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## Pain Cow (Jul 11, 2010)

This year has been different so far. Most years I end up getting 80 percent silver maple. This year I ended up getting 80 percent red and other oak. I always like starting a fire with 3 or 4 silver maple logs then propping an oak log on them once they're burning really well. At that point I generally crack a couple windows and light a cigar. I wish fall would get here already.


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## dingeryote (Jul 11, 2010)

If it's wood and fits into the Stove, it gets burned.

Silver Maple beats lots of other stuff we burn.

Mix it with some Oak for overnight though.

Stay safe!
Dingeryote


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## Ductape (Jul 11, 2010)

Silver Maple is pretty common around here. I take all I can get........ burns good for me. It's not Locust......... but what is?


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## ray benson (Jul 11, 2010)

Ductape said:


> Silver Maple is pretty common around here. I take all I can get........ burns good for me. It's not Locust......... but what is?



I never pass on silver maple. It does seem to burn nicely in my stove.


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## smokinj (Jul 11, 2010)

One thang for sure around here if you can drop and buck a 50-60in. silver maple you will never worry about wood got a 63in. coming up this fall and will be the biggest I have put a tape one. Hopping its clean enough to get some monster beems out of.


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## HuskyMurph (Jul 11, 2010)

nice i have 2 of them that i can get the wood from. ill definetly look at it differnt now. now just have to get a spliter if im going to put up alot of it. thanks guys


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## unclemoustache (Jul 12, 2010)

I rather like it too. Splits easy, burns well, and leaves very little ash. It's pretty darn low on the BTU's, but these other factors make it (IMHO) a decent wood. I prefer oak though, and we have plenty of that around here.


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## pipehead (Jul 12, 2010)

dingeryote said:


> If it's wood and fits into the Stove, it gets burned.
> 
> Silver Maple beats lots of other stuff we burn.
> 
> ...



+1. There is no bad wood (if it's free), just some is better than others. As long as it's dry, in the stove it goes.


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## vwboomer (Jul 12, 2010)

Considering I just put up 2 cords of box elder, yeah I'd like some maple!
Always free CL wood but not closer than 50 miles 

Got a trailer of some red oak, popple and a bit of birch to cut/split. 

There's only two kinds of firewood: good free firewood, and not so good free firewood.


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## Rookie1 (Jul 12, 2010)

I burn it and its Ok with me. Dont think it does good overnight.


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## Mike PA (Jul 12, 2010)

pipehead said:


> +1. There is no bad wood (if it's free), just some is better than others. As long as it's dry, in the stove it goes.



Yup - some is better than others, but it can all serve a purpose. I take it all. If it came to cutting one oak or one silver maple, I'd take the oak. But, if I can take both - I do!.


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## AIM (Jul 13, 2010)

I had never burned any soft maple till last year and was really surprised by it.
I cut a live one down last September or October for my dad to make room for a driveway. Chucked it in the boiler in march and it burned beautifully. That wood seasoned in about 5 months. Sitting outside no less.
I'll take all I can get now. Which is good cause there are SKADS of it available.


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## needwood (Jul 13, 2010)

HuskyMurph said:


> anybody every burn silver maple in there wood stove. i have a chance to get a few good loads of it. probably a cord and half. id use it for campfires and early fall and late winter early spring fires in my stove. just curious what you guys think..



I have burned allot,i mean allot of silver maple" It burns good(not for long)puts off good heat and seasoned in just a few month. The only thing i have found bad about silver maple is the krasselt. Keep your pipe clean and let it burn buddy!!!


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## woodbooga (Jul 13, 2010)

Nice to see silver maple getting some love from the AS set. Seems like it was last year's firewood whipping post, relegated to September warmups and weenie roasten duty in the firepit. 

IMO, it's the consummate 'ok' fire wood. I only cut a little of it. It was a popular yard tree, so a lot of it gets whacked down by tree service companies. Not much native around unless except adjacent to rivers or thereabouts.


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## SWI Don (Jul 15, 2010)

I've burnt silver maple a few times. It surprised me. What everyone says is true. One caution. It may not keep for years and years in the outdoor woodpile. It does however season quickly. If you are collecting 12-13 wood you might want to pass.

Wood fired grilling has intrigued me lately (not smoking, direct fire). It seems to me that silver maple would be a great wood for the homeowner wood griller. It lights easily, coals well, and doesn't last forever. Of course you could just douse the wood when you are done and have natural charcoal ready for the next fire. Then it doesn't matter so much if the wood will burn for a long time. I do that in our fire pit. 

Don


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## woodhounder (Jul 15, 2010)

Rookie1 said:


> I burn it and its Ok with me. Dont think it does good overnight.



I agree. When burning in the winter be prepared for nightly feedings.


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## smokinj (Jul 15, 2010)

woodhounder said:


> I agree. When burning in the winter be prepared for nightly feedings.



If your in the trunk wood (heart wood) and not the limbs this stuff can burn as good as anything.


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## laynes69 (Jul 15, 2010)

I burned alot last year. I like maple because it will burn hot when seasoned and leave little coals for a reload. I never had any problems with an overnight burn with maple. I will agree that the heartwood of a large maple is good stuff.


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