# Silver Maple / Firewood?



## Dale.Z (May 27, 2009)

Neighbor just had a *Silver Maple* fall from a storm. Question is does it make good firewood? Hate to do all that work for if it’s less the desirable firewood.

Thanks Dale


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## aandabooks (May 27, 2009)

Not bad. Good fall/spring wood or mix a piece or two in with some oak. Better than cottonwood/willow and worth the work if not too hard to get.


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## Laird (May 27, 2009)

+1:agree2:


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## smokinj (May 27, 2009)

I use it alot 20 million btu per cord


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## Ductape (May 27, 2009)

I've taken plenty for free. Its not oak or locust......... but a decent middle-of-the-road firewood.


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## ray benson (May 27, 2009)

I like silver maple as long as you have good access(no long carrying from back to front yard). Burns better than our cottonwood, boxelder, willow.


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## cuttinstuff (May 27, 2009)

It all burns.


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## outdoorlivin247 (May 27, 2009)

Like has been said above...Great wood for spring or fall...I usually don't go out of my way to get it, but I won't let someone just push it up in a pile and let it go to waste...


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## danrclem (May 27, 2009)

The worst thing about silver maple is that it will get punky real quick.


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## mercer_me (May 27, 2009)

outdoorlivin247 said:


> I won't let someone just push it up in a pile and let it go to waste...



I do.

I had ten on my lawn and I cut them all down becouse every time I mowed the lawn I would mow hundreds of tiny Silver Maples. I cut some of the bigger stuff up to burn, and I think I got more money in gas cutting them up than they was werth. I wouldn't eaven fool with them if I was you.


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## audible fart (May 27, 2009)

I dig silver maple. I Burn it alot. It dries quick. Cuts pretty easy. Free maple is cheaper than oil. Get the maple.


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## Dale.Z (May 27, 2009)

Thanks everybody for the advice. I think I will go for it. Close to the house, easy access and it will help out my neighbors. I have lots of red and white oak little bit of hickory and some ash so I am going to try mix it like aandabooks said. Plus its hard to say no to free.

Dale


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## kas7227 (May 27, 2009)

I like Silver maple when it's free and easy to get. It's good for starting fires and those 50 degree weekends when you just want to have a fire.


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## woodbooga (May 27, 2009)

Dale.Z said:


> Thanks everybody for the advice. I think I will go for it. Close to the house, easy access and it will help out my neighbors. I have lots of red and white oak little bit of hickory and some ash so I am going to try mix it like aandabooks said. Plus its hard to say no to free.
> 
> Dale



An empty woodshed is a hungry wood shed. It says, feed me.

A full woodshed is a lonely woodshed. It says, build me a friend right here next to me.

Wash, rinse, repeat. :blob4:


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## Dale.Z (May 27, 2009)

_*woodbooga: (WOOD-bug-ah),* n. reg. dialect, common to areas of N.H. and Maine; one obsessed with obtaining free firewood to fuel woodburning appliances to mitigate expenses related to home heating with fossil fuels. Used as a term of derision by non-woodburners who mock the presence of loose bark and other wood waste in pickup truck beds._



This made my night! I thought I was the only one with this ailment, my wife wants me to call the doctor in the morning and ask if there is a treatment program for the likes of us now that I have the official name for it. 
LMAO!!!!


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## woodbooga (May 28, 2009)

Dale.Z said:


> This made my night! I thought I was the only one with this ailment, my wife wants me to call the doctor in the morning and ask if there is a treatment program for the likes of us now that I have the official name for it.
> LMAO!!!!



The cure is worse than the illness. Among the only known ways to curb or cure woodboogery:

-Burn down house
-severe back injury
-being naughty with chainsaw; too many stitches to work
-tree falls on you
-groin
-truck breaks; other vehicle is Mitsubishi

Lots of good advice here on how to avoid these so-called cures for fiending for wood.


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## willsaw4beer (May 29, 2009)

woodbooga said:


> The cure is worse than the illness. Among the only known ways to curb or cure woodboogery:
> 
> -Burn down house
> -severe back injury
> ...


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## powerstroke73L (May 31, 2009)

I picked up a bunch because the power company was cutting a new ROW along my route to work and cut a 24" diameter with some big main branches. The rounds were heavy as all get out which I later found out was because they were 90% water! The splitter really tore through them rather than actually splitting them and the water just poured out. It's really stringy too which gets annoying. Not the best stuff, but anytime I can grab a truckload of wood for free on my way to work I'll take poplar, pine, cottonwood, etc... I get enough oak and locust for overnight burns-the lightweight stuff is for weekends when I want an excuse to play with the furnace every couple of hours.


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## woodlumn (Aug 24, 2009)

> I dig silver maple. I Burn it alot. It dries quick.



I just got tipped off to a load that's mine for the taking.

about how long do you think I'd have to wait to burn it?


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## goof008 (Aug 24, 2009)

take it...it splits nice and easy, and is a good starter for wood that takes a while to get going like hickory or locust.

Free wood is always the best...and the closer the better


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## Beefie (Aug 24, 2009)

Not my top choice but I usually have about 1.5 to2 cords per year. It makes heat quick but does not last long. Like stated here before its good for the spring and fall. Great for weekends when its to cold to putz outside and screw around with the wood-burner

Beefie


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## woodlumn (Aug 24, 2009)

approx. how long does it take to dry?


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## Beefie (Aug 24, 2009)

Stack it outside in a sunny area. Make sue it can get plenty of wind , split it in to smaller chunks. It should be good to go by heating season. Test a chunk first either outside on the campfire or in the wood-burner to see if it sizzles.

What type of wood appliance are you using and were is the wood going to be kept.

Beefie


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## woodlumn (Aug 24, 2009)

thanks, Beefie!

the appliance is a Heatmor 100 CSS, pictured in my avatar. The wood will be kept outside - would you recommend putting a tarp over it, or letting it stay exposed? I'm in Virginia, so rain is moderate.

thanks again.


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## Beefie (Aug 24, 2009)

leave the wood exposed as long as you can if it looks like rain ,throw a tarp over it. Once it is done raining take the tarp back off. Make sure it is tarped before the first snow. I think you should be good for fall depending on how many warm days and wind is left. Even if it is not dry by fall it will be buy spring. Freezing and thawing tends to cold dry the wood can't explain it but it seems to work here in Wisconsin.

Beefie


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## Woodcutteranon (Aug 24, 2009)

I like silver maples...espescially free ones. It is easy to handle because of the smooth bark. There is usually a lot of limbing to do. It's always softer than what I am expecting when cutting it.


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## woodbooga (Aug 24, 2009)

Beefie said:


> Freezing and thawing tends to cold dry the wood can't explain it but it seems to work here in Wisconsin.
> 
> Beefie



I'm no scientist, but I think the reason wood seasons thru the winter is due to a process called sublimation. It's when a solid goes directly from a solid (frozen moisture content in wood) to a gas (evaporated water).


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## Rookie1 (Aug 24, 2009)

woodbooga said:


> I'm no scientist, but I think the reason wood seasons thru the winter is due to a process called sublimation. It's when a solid goes directly from a solid (frozen moisture content in wood) to a gas (evaporated water).



You may not be a scientist but Ill bet you stayed in a Holiday In Express last night with those big words. You impress me!


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## Beefie (Aug 24, 2009)

Rookie1 said:


> You may not be a scientist but Ill bet you stayed in a Holiday In Express last night with those big words. You impress me!


That is just too funny .

Beefie


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## TreePointer (Aug 24, 2009)

woodbooga said:


> I'm no scientist, but I think the reason wood seasons thru the winter is due to a process called sublimation. It's when a solid goes directly from a solid (frozen moisture content in wood) to a gas (evaporated water).



I am a scientist but that doesn't even get me a cup of coffee on a good day  (I'm not a recognized expert on climate effects). The really cold weather can make for very dry atmospheric conditions, and there can indeed be substantial drying via sublimation. 

http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercyclesublimation.html

I'd be interested in seeing a formal study measuring moisture content of firewood after being seasoned in 10% relative humidity at 100&deg;F and 10% relative humidity at 0&deg;F. Maybe you all can pay extra taxes to have the federal government fund my research on this.


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## iskiatomic (Aug 24, 2009)

If it's free get it.

Have you ever seen a cold fire?


KC


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## blades (Aug 24, 2009)

There has been a lot of Fed. money spent on things less than adequate in nature. Now while you are doing the drying research if you could just find time to find the right components to break down lignite..............


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## wkpoor (Aug 24, 2009)

powerstroke73L said:


> I picked up a bunch because the power company was cutting a new ROW along my route to work and cut a 24" diameter with some big main branches. The rounds were heavy as all get out which I later found out was because they were 90% water! The splitter really tore through them rather than actually splitting them and the water just poured out. It's really stringy too which gets annoying. Not the best stuff, but anytime I can grab a truckload of wood for free on my way to work I'll take poplar, pine, cottonwood, etc... I get enough oak and locust for overnight burns-the lightweight stuff is for weekends when I want an excuse to play with the furnace every couple of hours.



That was Sycamore you are talking about not maple.
I have tons of Maple and have burned it all winter long. Some I get is great, dries fast and plits easy. Others show signs of rot within a few months and if not burned the first season is no good the following yr. I've got other Maple that is as good as the day it was brought home 3yrs ago. Some seems to have fungus spores in the wood that excellerates the rot and maple that doesn't have it will last a good long while.


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## chainsawaddict (Aug 24, 2009)

One thing that surprises me is the amount of people that mistake white cottonwood for silver maple here in NE. Just something to think about.


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## J.W Younger (Aug 24, 2009)

I'm not sure its the same but red maple is worth the effort if its easy too get at. Cut and splits real easy, drys fast not dense but is good mixed with oak, hickory etc. makes good moderate temp fuel.


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## ProMac1K (Aug 25, 2009)

chainsawaddict said:


> One thing that surprises me is the amount of people that mistake white cottonwood for silver maple here in NE. Just something to think about.



I've caught myself doing that, you just have to pay attention to the bark by the stump, if it's at least a partially mature tree. Oh, and of course the leaves. 

I really like silver maple. Real straight branches for enjoyable limbing, ignites quick if you have a good kindling fire, and its smooth bark really makes handling and wood rack cleanup more enjoyable. Mine doesn't rot easy either. Disadvantage is you really have to have it split (even the small rounds), as there is hardly any bark for it to catch fire without a tinder or kindling fire.


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