An inappropriate choice of wood can ruin the effectiveness of your fire station. There are some common and basic entities that you need to consider before choosing the right firewood. First is the splitting properties. The wood must be easy to cut into pieces. The wood must have great heat value. So, is silver maple good firewood?
Silver maple (scientific name: Acer Saccharinum) is widely used in landscaping because it is a fast-growing tree. And Silver maple is considered moderate-quality firewood. It can generate 19.5 million BTUs per cord. It is not wise to use silver maple in the coldest months.
Another, important, the amount of smoke the wood produces. Then you need to look for whether it emits any smell when it burns; if yes, you need to find if that is harmful to our health. Before choosing wood for your fire station, you must follow some basic considerations.
Dry, non-poisonous, and a piece of wood with a little tree pitch are the best options for fire stations. Hardwoods, like oak, and birch, are the best options for this purpose.
Is silver maple good firewood?
Yes, silver maple is good firewood for winter months (except extreme weather); it can produce enough heat to keep your home warm overnight. But it cannot generate as much heat as oak, beech, or ash wood(which is recommended for extreme weather). Compared to other softwoods, Silver maple burns slower. And it does not generate very much smoke and secretes a pleasant spell. However, as a firewood, silver maple is not the best option.
How long does it take for silver maple to season?
Before using any wood in the fire station, the wood must be seasoned properly; it is not exceptional for silver maple. The wood must be seasoned for at least one year if the maple tree is small. But for mature silver maple, the seasoning time is at least 1.5 years; 2 years will be better.
The best part is that the silver maple is not as rot pron as the other maple versions. So if you left silver maple for years, there would not be any issue; you just need to ensure the wood doesn’t come in direct contact with water or moisture.
How long does maple wood need to dry before burning?
Maple wood needs to dry for 6 to 18 months. But you can leave it for years to make it drier. This drying time varies with the tree’s age and the type of maple tree. You can leave silver maple to dry at any dry space for years; as it is not rot-prone, its properties remain intact; even if it becomes more appropriate for fire stations.
Is silver maple wood good for anything?
You can easily find silver maple in the eastern area of North America. Even this is one of the fast-growing native trees in that area. It produces flowers in the early spring. The combination of bright green and silvery-white looks very beautiful on these blooms.
Silver maple is commonly used for natural fencing purposes for its first growing nature.
Silver maple wood is very hard in nature. For this property, this wood is widely used in making musical instruments, wagons, rails, carts, cabinetry, etc. The silver maple has straight grains. For this reason, woodworkers love to work with this wood.
Some people use silver maple in fire stations too. It is effective for not-so-cooled areas. Being hard in nature, it lasts long; and it does not create a lot of smoke. But as the heat generation capacity is low, it is not so effective for this purpose.
Which maple is best for firewood?
There are varieties of Maple trees, but only five are the most common among them, and these are usually found and used in the USA. To be precise, Sugar Maple is best firewood.
1. Sugar Maple
This is the main source of maple syrup. In general, the height of this tree is 110 feet. The BTUs of this type of tree is 24.0, which is the highest. This is the best maple tree whose wood can be used in firewood. It generates low smoke, and its burn time is moderate.
2. Bigleaf
This type of maple tree is mainly found on the Pacific Coast. The average height of this type of tree is 50 to 65 feet, and the maximum height that this type of tree can reach is 150 feet. It has moderate burn time. Its BTUs is 22.7. It imitates a very good fragrance.
3. Silver Maple
This is the first growing maple tree. And it is mainly used as a shade tree. The average height of this tree is approximately 80 feet. Its BTUs is 19.0. It generates low smoke. It has a low burn time and emits a good fragrance. As for firewood, this is not a good option.
4. Red Maple
This maple tree is widely used in urban and forest landscapes. The average height of this tree is approximately 50 feet. Its BTUs is 18.1. It generates moderate smoke. Its burn time is moderate.
5. Boxelder
This type of maple tree is mostly found in mid-western North America. It is also fast-growing. The average height of this type of tree is 80 feet.
Can you smoke meat with silver maple?
Sugar maple is the best fit for this purpose. Compared to sugar maple, silver maple is soft. And for smoking any food, hard maple is the best option. It will not be a good decision to smoke meat with silver maple; it will not be so effective.
How do I know if my tree is good for firewood?
For fire stations, seasoned woods are a must. First of all, you need to check if the wood is seasoned well or not. A perfectly seasoned wood’s end must have been dark in color, and there may be some cracks. Seasoned and dry woods are lighter.
And when you hit two seasoned wood pieces, it will make a hollow sound. And if you find any green color, or if you can’t easily peel the wood’s bark, it is not ready. It needs more time to be perfectly seasoned.
What burns better, maple or oak?
An oak cord is a better option for burning purposes. In the same natural condition, a cord of oak can generate more heat than a maple cord. That is because the oak’s cord is heavier and denser. Being denser, it will take more time to burn out and generate more heat.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
You May Also Find Useful: Is Spruce Good Firewood?
What wood is toxic burning?
If you want to find such toxic wood to burn, search for if the wood is covered with vines. Poison sumac, poison ivy, and poison oak are the most common in this context. And you have to avoid any tree whose name the word -’ poison’ is attached. This wood releases irritant oil.
And the smokes of these woods are also poisonous. If anyone breathes this poisonous smoke, then he can face severe allergic respiratory problems or lung irritation.
Which wood should you not burn?
We should not burn any poisonous wood. Besides that, we need to avoid green wood, softwood, driftwood, non-local wood, Oleander, or if you find wood of any endangered species.
Conclusion
You can easily use silver maple as a firewood in your pit, or stove. This is not the best option, but it is harder than many commonly available options. Oak and birch are the best options for this purpose. Maple wood generates moderate heat, so it is not good to use in very cold areas. But it has a very pleasing aroma, so this is a good option for moderately cool areas.
