Most people think of syrup and pancakes when they hear Maple trees, but don’t overlook the fact that Maple trees can be a great source of firewood for you.

Maple is good firewood because it is readily available and it provides good heat. It has a lower density than other hardwoods like Oak, but it is overall a very user friendly firewood to use because it burns clean, splits well and has a great aroma!

Keep reading to learn more about Maple and what makes it a great choice for firewood.

Common Characteristics of Maple Trees

Maple trees are a hardwood and are known for their beautiful fall colors as well as the fact that they are used to make maple syrup.

There are many different species of maple trees but they all have a few common characteristics that make them stand out from other types of trees.

Leaves: Maple tree leaves are shaped similarly to a hand. Depending on the species they will either have 3 or 5 “fingers”. All Maple trees drop their leaves in the winter.

Size: Maple trees usually grow to 50 to 75 feet high in the wild, but when they are used for home landscapes they stay around 20 to 30 feet tall.

Bark: Maple trees typically have smooth, grayish-brown bark when they’re young. Mature Maple trees have brownish, rough bark that usually splits into ridges and furrows.

Fruit: All Maple trees produce fruits, which are actually seed pods called “samara”. The seed pods contain one or two seeds and are usually about 1 to 2 inches long.

Common varieties of Maple trees used for firewood

There are many different types of Maple trees native to North America, but only five are commonly seen across most of the continent. The others are found regionally.

Silver Maple grows fast and is used primarily as a shade tree. The roots are shallow and are known for causing property damage. It can grow to 80 feet tall. In the fall its leaves usually turn a pale yellow.

Red Maple is a popular choice in both urban and forest landscapes. It normally grows to around 50 feet and in the fall its leaves usually

turn a deep red color.

Sugar Maple is the source of most maple syrup. It normally grows to 110 feet in height. Sugar maple leaves turn yellow, orange, and red in the fall.

Boxelder is the most common maple in mid-western North America. It is fast growing and may grow up to 80 feet tall. Its leaves turn yellow in the fall.

Bigleaf is found on the Pacific Coast. It is the most massive of North American maples. It can grow to be 150 feet tall or more, but more typically grows to 50 to 65 feet in height. In the fall, the leaves turn golden yellow.

Working with Maple Firewood

What does Maple smell like?

One of the best things about heating your house with firewood is the aroma that comes from the wood. Maple firewood has a pleasant smell and not too overwhelming. Some people say it smells like maple syrup. Yum!

Most people who burn Black Birch say it has a pleasant wintergreen smell in contrast to Cottonwood that smells like cat pee when burned. Yuck!

Is Maple sap messy?

Maple trees are pretty clean especially when compared to Pine trees. Prepare ahead of time when cutting Pine! The sap will get all over your gloves, work clothes, shoes, and chain saw. Maple is clean when matched up to Pine.

It takes 40 gallons of Maple sap to make 1 gallon of Maple syrup. A tree typically has to be 40 years old to be big enough to tap for maple syrup. Not only Maple trees, but also some species of Birch trees can be tapped for syrup. It takes 110 gallons of Birch sap to produce 1 gallon of Birch syrup.

How hard is Maple to split?

Most Maple trees split easily. One exception would be the Vine Maple that is known for being very difficult to to cut or split.

How long does Maple take to season?

Its best to split Maple very quickly and get it off the ground. This is one firewood you don’t want to let season very long because it tends to get a funny smell and will rot. Best to burn it the season you split it.

For optimal burning, firewood should be dried until its moisture content is less than 20 percent. Firewood with a moisture content higher than that may eventually burn, but it is difficult to light and hard to keep burning.

Buy an inexpensive easy to use moisture meter like this one, to ensure your split wood is ready for the fire.

Does Maple burn clean?

Maple firewood typically burns very clean with little smoke and typically no sparks either. When properly seasoned it will produce long and steady burns.

Heat Output and Efficiency of Maple

Depending on the species, Maple produces anywhere from 18.1 to 26.8 million BTUs per cord.

On average a cord of Maple is equal approximately to the following common heat sources:

• 21,649 cubic feet of natural gas.
• 246 gallons of propane.
• 162 gallons of heating oil.
• 6,580 kilowatt hours of electricity.

BTU stands for British Thermal Unit. One BTU the amount of energy required to heat one pound of liquid water by one degree Fahrenheit.

A cord of firewood is equal to 128 cubic feet of wood. Most people cut firewood into 16 inch lengths and tightly stacked it in three rows, 4 feet high and 8 feet long, totaling 128 cubic feet.

How does Maple compare to other types of firewood?

Maple has a lower density than other hardwoods like Oak, so you will need to use more of it, but Maple dries quicker than most woods.

Maple falls somewhere in the middle in terms of BTUs per cord. At the high end would be Eucalyptus at 34.5 million BTUs per cord and Osage-Orange at 32.9 million. On the low end you have Ohio Buckeye at 12.1 million BTUs per cord and Linden Basswood burning at 13.8 million.

Fire quality, amount of smoke and creosote.

Green wood tends to smoke and smolder creating the possibility for creosote to form in the chimney. Creosote is nothing more than a condensation of small, unburned particles contained in the smoke that coats the chimney surface as it exits. The creosote will stick to the sides of the chimney and can ignite, causing a chimney fire.

All wood creates creosote. Hardwoods, like Maple, burn slower and lower, so the smoke lingers longer inside the chimney, creating more opportunity for creosote build up. You can reduce the amount of creosote by properly seasoning your firewood.

The Pros and Cons of Burning Maple as Firewood

Pros

• Has a very pleasant scent.
• Readily available all across the United States.

Cons

• Doesn’t really have a lot of cons. It is a pretty decent firewood all around.

Other Common Uses

Instrument companies sometimes use Maple wood to make Violins, violas, guitars and drums.

Carpenters sometimes use Maple wood to make furniture, baseball bats, bowing pins and butcher’s blocks.

A lot of people like to use Maple wood to smoke their meat because Maple wood has such a great aroma.

There are many different firewood species to choose from. However, not all of the options will be available to you since some trees only grow in certain parts of the country. In my opinion, Maple is a great choice for firewood because it is found all throughout the United States and provides a relatively high heat. Overall it’s a great choice for firewood!

Tell me what your favorite type of firewood is in the comments below.