Alright men haven’t been on in awhile hope everyone is well. I have access to some sycamore and was wondering is it worth fooling with? I’ve never burned it nor do I know anyone that has so I’m asking the experts
I have heard said if you want to put the fire out just throw in a piece of Sycamore When it is green it will not float A cord of Sycamore will lose over a ton of water by the time it gets to 20 percent MC It is very hard to split
from what ive heard and read it burns pretty descent ..... but like others have said its a little tough to split but once u got it startee it goes pretty good and 2 it has a good bit of water in it ..... i also aint got a clue how long it takes to season
Two years to season, heavy as all get out green & splits like crap. Relatively low btu for the work. I will pass on it every time.
Take a piece for your edification, split it and move on. It’s somewhere near soft maple BTU wise but much harder to split and way heavier green.
I burned some last year. After it was properly season it burned well. Good heat. But it did make a lot of ash. Middle of the road I’d say. Mine was stringy but I have a hydraulic splitter. I did burn every single piece and it warmed the house.
It splits ok if it’s fresh cut, if you let it sit around in log form for awhile look out. I’d say AC is spot on, burn like soft maple but I think it makes more ash. If I was low on firewood I would cut it. If I had plenty css I would pass.
I cut a huge sycamore last year about this time. The main trunk I had to cut from both sides with my 24" bar. I heard all the stories about how hard it was to split but it is all split and in the stacks. I did not take all the tree but a lot of it, a friend and I took down several trees at the same house so he got some too.I just brought a couple splits in last week as I have been wanting to see how it was. I did not split and put a meter to it but it burnt just fine with no sizzle. This was a couple from the top of the stack that has had good sun and wind.
Hate to rain on your parade, but i wouldnt touch it with a ten foot chainsaw. Absolutely miserable stuff to hand split. Low on the btu scale too. Sycamore, elm and gum are my "never take" woods. I suppose you could grab a piece or two and give it a try. Old saying on here is that it burns better than snowballs. Good to hear from you rebelduckman, your absence has been noticed.
I had a huge dead Sycamore tree in my yard, when I lived in Denver. I took it down. I split it by hand, stacked and burned it. I was actually pretty impressed. Burned well. I remember it smelling pretty nice too, when it burned. Split it, stack it, burn it.
I don’t turn my nose up at too many species and have my fair share of stuff that most would pass on. At some point I’m sure I’ll grab some sycamore just to say I did it, but I sure won’t go out of my way looking for a mountain of it to take up real estate in my backyard. If not for the ash buildup issue, I’d probably be all over it for shoulder wood.
Get a few pieces and try it. We had some years ago, did make a lot of ash, very little coals. Pain to split. Great to hear from you again, my Dixie brother.
I've read that sycamore is better than the soft maples and almost as good as sugar maple. I did keep some to burn but results got lost in all the info I cram into my brain
