Best Type of Wood to burn?

[butler]

Hi guys...wondering what most guys burn in there rigs... I have a 2x6 CDl raised flue... I tried dry hardwood but the ashes pile up to fast and block any air from entering the box... tried mostly dry pine and softwood this year and ashes are minimal but I burn twice as much wood and have to load the box non stop.
Wondering which is best route to go

[madmapler]

Most guys blend the two. We have always done that(the 4 years I've been doing it) but this year I bought a big load of hemlock slabs and went with primarily that. What I found out was that although the slabs burn up quick, when I kept it stoked, the evaporator was super productive. I mean big time. With two of us, we are able to do it that way and it's the way to go for us. I still use a blend of hardwood especially in the early part but transition to all slabs 1/2 way through. I get a log truck load of slabs stacked right outside my door for $300. and run the saw through them before I boil as I need them. Another great thing is I still have 2/3 of my hardwood still stacked for next year. No cutting evaporator wood this year.

[Daveg]

Hickory is plentiful here and it's got more BTU's by volume than maple, cherry, oak, locust or beech. I burn some ironwood too, and it is #2 on the BTU list of northeast tree species. Slabs contain a higher percentage of useless bark than cordwood.

[Michael Greer]

A narrow hook-shaped poker dragged under the fire now and then will take care of the ash build-up. I start my day with a load of softwood, and then fire with hardwood for the rest of the day. When I see from the level in the tank that I have about a hour's time left, I switch back to softwood. A softwood fire is quick to heat up, but also quick to die out. I like the fire to finish up just when I get to the last of the day's sap and not linger on like hardwood coals will. Too much heat under the pans will continue reducing the contents of the evaporator after you've left the sugarhouse, and can lead to an uncontrolled mess when you come back next.

[Clamer33]

We have burned a lot of Cedar slabs the past two years and our 2x8 just rips. Hardwood slows it down for us. This year I put a small blower on the unit like the woodsaver from leader. And we went from 30 GPH to 60GPH. But our stove pipe went from a slight yellowish colour mostly just above the back flue pan to almost black all the way to the top this year. We have a tempature guage on the pipe but it died last year from the heat. I would guess that the pipe was well over 1000 deg to tarnish the SS pipe black.

[Maplewalnut]

We like a 50/50 split while boiling but try to burn only soft at shutdown do we are not waiting around waiting for fire to die down

[cncaboose]

I burn exclusively hard wood with minimal ash. Make sure your fire is getting plenty of air and you should get a complete burn.

[Haytapper]

Does anyone use mostly poplar wood? I Thought it burned fast, but it burned hot.

[tcross]

i burn a lot of poplar. it does burn hot and fast. it also dries quick and splits like a dream! i burn whatever i got. some ash, maple, beach, pine, hemlock, slab wood etc... whatever needs to be taken out of the sugar bush gets thrown on the pile. i do prefer slab wood however. easier to handle and burns super hot.

[Zucker Lager]

I burn mostly popple sometimes I have a little pine mixed in its usually the trees I cut to clear around maples and to keep the roads clear. The popple burns great and I second everything TCross says about it. Right now I'm working on cutting a road through the woodlot so next year I'll have a mix of popple, hemlock, pine. Best of all its free. Jay

[maple flats]

I burn them all, but most of next year's wood will be sugar maple. I had one dying sugar that I had to take down last fall because A new shop I was getting would have been in jeopardy. That tree was no longer good to make saw logs or I'd have sawed them. So far I've cut and split maybe 1/4 of the tree and about half that much again will fuel my evaporator for the next season. I will also be burning some hemlock slab off my sawmill.

[Chicopee Sap Shack]

Popple burns super hot for sure.... but it take a long time to dry. If you have your wood done by June you will be fine it you wait until November you might have to turn the blower up.


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