Boxelder Firewood

Ever had a tree everybody told you to skip... and then you burned it anyway? That's boxelder for me. Also called Manitoba maple or maple ash, it's technically a hardwood in the maple family, but it sits at the bottom of that family tree in terms of quality.

At 17.9 million BTU per cord, boxelder puts out decent heat on paper, roughly on par with black ash and some of the softer maples. But those numbers don't tell the whole story. At 2,890 lbs dry per cord, it's a lighter wood that burns through quicker than you'd want on a cold January night.

Here's the thing nobody warns you about, boxelder is actually difficult to split. The grain twists and interlocks something fierce. I've put a maul clean through oak rounds with one swing, then had boxelder rounds just laugh at me. If you're processing a whole tree's worth, you'll want a hydraulic splitter. Coal quality is poor, so don't expect it to hold overnight.

The good news is seasoning only takes 6 to 12 months. Stack it in the spring and it'll be ready by fall. It's abundant across the Midwest and Northeast, so you'll rarely have trouble finding it, most people are happy to give it away.

Bottom line, boxelder is "free wood" fuel. It's not something you'd buy, but if one comes down in your yard, it's worth burning through a shoulder season mixed with better firewood types. Think of it as the budget cousin of Silver Maple firewood.