More maple.

Picked up some more maple over the last two days. I originally wanted to get it this Saturday but they needed it moved so they could have the stump removed. Went after work for one load and went back the next morning with the saw to noodle down some of the big stuff. There is still about 4 feet of the trunk on the stump - it's directly against a fence so they are moving the fence to cut that and grind the stump. There will be at least one more load of the big stuff. I'd much rather load the trailer but it would be impossible to get anywhere near the wood so I'm loading it on my driveway off the back of my truck..lol..

 

Very nice score!

I'm guessing those bigger rounds are a little on the heavier side?

 

Yeah they were pretty stout. Luckily it's lighter than oak.

 

Nice haul - bark curling up on one side - I'm thinking sugar maple! That'll be another prime addition to the collection!

 

I see a couple leaves in there. In the close-up pic of your truck bed, in the lower left corner, I think I see a sugar maple leaf. Did it come from that tree? If you can get a close up of one of the leaves, it could confirm sugar vs red. Red are a bit more "serrated", while sugar have smoother margins between the lobes.

 

I like burning maple. I'm not really good with species though. Seems like around here maple is one small step above pine.

 

It could possibly be from 2 different maples. Some of the branches could be from a monster they had pruned, whereas the big stuff is from the tree they had removed. I'll head out in a minute to take some close ups. Just waiting for the coffee maker..

 

I've been burning poplar in the shoulder season, but on Wednesday, it didn't warm the house up as much as I wanted. Only bumped it up 5 degrees, from 66 to 71. So I tossed in some red maple - that did the trick! Took the house up another 10 degrees, to 81!

 

Here's a few of the leaves and some closeups of the bark.

 

That's sugar maple all right!

 

I know maple isn't the greatest in terms of btu's, but I like working with it and the little bit I've burned this year did the job. Next year I'll have a ton of maple from some earlier scrounges plus what should be some primo oak and mulberry by then to mix with it.

I liked this scrounge because the wood was left in longer lengths so I can cut them to what I like for stacking. My cutting buddy has an owb so he'll be getting another load of uglies - he gave me a bunch of oak that will be three full years for next winter.

 

I'm a big fan of maple! Soft maple can dry over a summer, if you need some extra wood in a pinch. And that sugar maple is right at the top of the list in BTUs. Sweeps has it better than red oak! https://chimneysweeponline.com/howood.htm

 

Wow. I didn't realize that. What kind of drying time for sugar?

 

You'll probably want to give that a 2-3 years, like the other denser woods.

 

Good to know. I'll stack it with the oak from a few weeks ago. I'm gonna be really warm in a couple more years..lol..

 

Looks like red maple to me tom..good score...all these big trees yur gettin..bout time to score one of them thar 441c's..

 

Eazy way to check.....take a split late next spring and check the moisture..soft maple dries very quickly...

 

Eyeballing a 461..hehehe.. Whatever maple it is, it was free and for the first time in all of my scrounges, very close to my house. My wife scored this for me from a co-worker.

Hopefully sometime around December, 25 I'm posting pics of a 461...

 

Charts I see say equal to Red Oak...24 Mbtu. I burned some last year, and that sounds about right. It's in a different league than soft Maple...