Firewood

What kind of wood works best as firewood for sugaring? Hardwood? Softwood? What should I look for when cutting trees for sugarwood?

Tongue in cheek answer - in order of preference - free, dry, any

If you want a serious answer tell us a more.
How many taps?
Open fire, cinder blocks, barrel evaporator, 3'x8' arch?
What's available?

It really depends on your evaporator. If you're on natural draft you want wood that burns as fast as possible - which normally means bone dry softwood split very fine. With our forced air we want big (up to 8" diameter), some moisture and as many BTU's per chord as possible. For us, maple works great but any hardwood will do. We get some softwood mixed in on occasion and after boiling on hardwood we hate seeing poplar, basswood or spruce go into the firebox.

If you have a choice...Hardwood...it doesn't smoke...it contains more BTUs....you're already in the woods doing something. For a 2ft. wide evaporator, you want 2"x 24" wood. for a 3ft., you want 3"x36" etc. Unless you really want to do a LOT of splitting, you should save the large diameter stuff for the wood-stove in the house and send all the limb-wood to the sugarhouse.

...And really, big Eddy is right burn whatever comes your way. This year I'll be burning a lot of 110 year old Hemlock 2x4 and 2x6.

You might want some softwood kindling to get your fire started and then you'll need osage orange, hop hornbeam, persimmon, or hickory (shagbark or bitternut). These are the top 4 BTU-containing hardwoods. Over time, with experience, you'll find out what length to cut it and what size to split it. If these species aren't available, Google "BTU hardwood" for a list.

Ennismaple, just curious, but why do you suggest some moisture in your wood. I thought that was a BTU thief.

I've always burned black locust and cherry. This year I acquired seven large pine trees to add to my woodpile. After working with the pine, I will always try to have some and it should be easy to get because nobody wants it. Now I burn half and half, half hardwood and half soft. The pine is great at those times when the boil just kinda peters out and you need to get it ripping again. It is also great at the end of the night when you want something to turn to ash in the firebox quickly and not leave any lingering coals. I still feed my fire with only 3 gallons left in the head tank because the pine will turn to ash in less than five minutes.

I also like the mix of hardwood and softwood. This year I had a lot of Norway maple that came my way for free except for my time to cut it and split it. It burned great. The softwood gives a lot of flame and the maple provided a longer burn and a more stable stack temp.

I'm on natural draft. I burn pretty much only softwood, mostly poplar, basswood and pine. It burns fast and hot and doesn't fill the arch with coals. Also, it's a good way to get rid of wood that would be useless elsewhere.