Box Elder?

Yellow(tulip) poplar Dennis. We don’t have any of the other kind that I know of down here but I got a section of about 10 acres that is just about all tulip with some cherry and maple mixed in. There’s my soft stuff for years to come

 

Silver maple is very much worth the effort. Another wood that is easy to use... It's very common, easy to split, dries fast and gives decent heat. What's not to like?

Are you guys all Suburban Wood Snobs?

 

I've never seen silver maple in the wild around here...and I've hiked and hunted all over this area. I thought it was more of a yard tree in the cities. I'm not very city compatible, so I don't see it much.

What's a suburban wood snob?

 

It's a swamp tree, you country wood snob. Us suburban wood snobs find the everywhere because they grow fast.

 

Same here. Lots of them in town, never seen one in the woods.

 

I'll burn silver, in fact I am right now. But unlike Norway or Sugar which are just as common and easy to come by around here, it just doesn't excite me. For the amount of wood that ends up on the local free section of Craigslist or what I can get from tree guys, it's just something at this point I'll pass on.

 

I actually kinda like silver maple! Been burning it right now actually, as it's my only dry/seasoned wood at the moment.

 

Box elder and the lower grade woods do not work well for me. They make heat, but just burn to fast. I get into that and willow here occasionally. I try to mix it in occasionally, use it to start the fire, or use it on days like today where it’s warm and a quick fire is ideal. If you have the time and place to store, use it!!

 

Willow I would think long and hard about going through the effort as it has so much water in it and the knots are frequent... And it feels like balsa when it dries.

 

I never cut box elder without being armed with Tordon so the miserable stuff can't grow back.

 

I've got silver maple in my woods, they're huge. I'm trying to eliminate them as they tend to break off in windstorms and create a big mess. I have one right now that is probably a 2+ cord tree and will take out my shed if it falls toward its' lean.

 

I chuckle when I hear wood snobs. In the state of Vermont 25% of the households burn wood. Most do not burn pine, but I do. If it's a wood and I have to cut it. It goes in my stacks. I have plenty of room to stack, so every little bit helps.
Plenty of silver maple and tulip poplar here in stacks. Unfortunately, I have very few good ones up here. No Oak, Hickory or Locust

 

Wood snobbery is regional, I think. I'd also suggest it varies from county to county lol. Where I live, I'm in an extreme minority for burning wood. I'm the only one in my neighborhood or really in the area with hoards of firewood. Some people have chimneys that you'll see smoke coming from on the weekends, but that's about it. Now if you drive half an hour away to a more rural county, that's where more people are burning consistently. But basically we have a lot of trees and not a lot of wood burners.

 

The problem with silver maples as Jon kinda already said is they get too big for their own good. The big crotches rot out and can cause massive damage.

 

Also called swamp maple here, not a red or sugar, some refer to box elder as swamp maple also.

 

Some of it will probably be a pain to split unless you have a hydraulic. Dries fast and burns clean, just check it for carpenter ants as they seem to like it a lot, at least here.