So I'm burning the first of the sugar maple from the GTG we had in the spring of 2014. Ive been patiently waiting on trying the sugar maple that Scotty Overkill dropped in my backyard. Its been split and stacked about 2 1/2 years and wow I am impressed. Loaded up the stove last night and this morning and I am really liking this stuff. Burns great and for a long time. I just switched from the soft maple, and walnut and this is a big difference. Puts the same amount of heat out for much longer. Not much ash and coals really well.
Sugar is great wood. I'll take it over any oak, any day. But being the wood hoarder I am, I'll take both the sugar AND the oak.
Well, it's either equal to, if not more btu's than oak anyway. But I'd rather have beech, then ironwood, and the holy grail of firewood, shagbark over sugar. That's all great stuff though. I wish there was more locust here, there's a lot of yardbird honey locusts in towns, but the indiginous black locust isn't in my locale where my wood lot is. Further west in the state, even 30 miles or so and there's a good bit of BL.
Yea Sugar maple one of the top dogs Lites & burn great, good flames, good heat, clean burning, smells good
Preemo stuff! I had burned practically straight beech for about 15 years . Forgot what other woods were like . A few years ago I got ahold of a sugar oak and hickory mix . I kinda turn my nose up to beech anymore !
I hear you with wanting to save them. The stuff cut up in my picture is another section that fell off the big one in the background she's slowly dying and it's awful but won't go to waste at least
Just hit a cache of sugar in my stacks, probably have about a face cord of the stuff. Keeping the house nice and toasty. First time I have burned any, have only had silver and red for maple before. Have another 2/3 of a cord freshly cut and split waiting to be picked up at my buddies and added to the stacks for 18/19. He had a big one taken down the week after I cut down a few smaller trees on his property. I should of taken the day off and went over there and had the tree service put some aside, I'll be regretting that for some time. Have just been way too busy.
Would have loved to save this one but it was huge, hollow, and about 20' from my bedroom window. Also it sat on the side of the house that all our storms come from. Having that tree down was a huge relief. Sat in the house during many storms watching that tree and praying it wouldn't fall on the house.
In my experience that is normal for sugars.. they tend to grow in clumps and often several tree grow together into one trunk where the barks rub often leads to rot spots...
Ask my wife and she'll tell you one more negative and that is the smell, at least for black locust. She hates it, but we've only burned very little that was given to us as we don't have any around here.
I love burning it, smell doesn't bother me. The heat output is amazing. But sugar maple is easier to work with and seems close on heat
