Maplewood is a pretty popular and fast growing wood that can live up to a hundred and thirty years. This wood is sometimes considered to be pretty decent firewood, but how true is that?
Here is everything you need to know about burning silver maple and how efficient it is.
Effectiveness of silver maple
Honey silver maple is not usually considered an effective firewood when compared to other types of maple wood. This is because it is a soft variety of maple wood, which means that it does not produce as much warmth.
That being said, it is still perfectly capable of creating a quite efficient flame. Moreover, silver maple firewood creates approximately 20.1 million BTUs. This number is actually considerably higher than most types of spruce and poplar wood.
On the other hand, when silver maple is used as firewood it tends to burn out pretty quickly. Or at least at a more rapid pace than other varieties of maple wood.
Even though this isn’t the most useful and efficient part of silver maple firewood, this wood can still provide pretty sufficient warmth while it is burning.
In addition to this, silver maple firewood actually catches on fire considerably quickly. Due to how fast it is capable of sparking and how it burns out at a more increased pace, silver maple can be a perfect wood to use for kindling a more long lasting fire.
Key characteristics of silver maple
Silver maple does not actually have or generate much moisture or sap sugar when compared to other types of maple firewood. Because of this, it only creates minimal amounts of creosote. Creosote is a chemical that is produced when certain tars and plants are burned.
This chemical is largely harmful to humans, especially if large amounts enter the system. Creosote often causes unpleasant rashes and general skin irritation. Therefore, silver maple firewood not producing very large amounts of this dangerous chemical ensures that our bodies stay healthy and function as they normally would, without having to deal with any inconveniences.
It also means that this low amount of creosote makes silver maple perfect for both outdoor and indoor use, and that it will keep your chimney cleaner for longer.
To add to this, silver maple firewood only produces a minimal amount of smoke. When compared to other types of firewood, the silver maple produces quite a decreased amount of smoke.
This is not only useful when it comes to using this firewood indoors but it also means that your lungs and eyes don’t get irritated as they usually would if they came in contact with large amounts of smoke.
Furthermore, silver maple firewood actually creates coals that will usually help a fire to last and burn longer. However, these coals aren’t always the most effective as when compared to other types of maple firewood, silver maple firewood is pretty soft and weak.
Positives of burning silver maple
- First of all, silver maple firewood is a very very easy wood to split. This is because it is one of the softest varieties of maple wood.
- In addition to this, it has a minimal creosote and smoke buildup which ensures that your health isn’t facing any harm or irritation and makes it perfect when it comes to indoor use of firewood
- Moreover, silver maple firewood has a very minimal spark production. This means that it is pretty easy and safe to use both outdoors and indoors.
- To add to this, silver maple is quite resistant to rot. This means that it can last longer and be kept in your barn for a more increased period of time.
Negatives
- On the other hand, silver maple wood has a lower BTU and produces quite a bit less heat than other types of wood. Especially when it is compared to other varieties of maple wood.
- Moreover, silver maple firewood burns out at a quite rapid pace which means that it won’t provide heat for as long as other firewoods possibly could.
Final thoughts
Overall, maple is not ideal wood to use for fires. This is mainly because of the amount of heat it produces and how quickly it tends to burn out. This being said, it is the perfect type of wood to use for kindling when dealing with more long lasting fires.
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