# How long for red maple to season?



## JoeyD (Apr 5, 2012)

How long does it take to season red maple? I ended up with about 1/2 cord from my last winters scrounge and I am hoping to maybe burn it this fall or at the very least next spring. It seems to be drying fast which gave me hope for the fall shoulder season. This is my first time dealing with soft maple so I'm not sure when I can count on burning this stuff. Any chance this fall? At the very least next spring I should be good, right?


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## WellSeasoned (Apr 5, 2012)

Yes you should be fine so long as it is css in a sunny windy ventilated area.


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## weatherguy (Apr 5, 2012)

It will definately be ready some oct-nov as long as like the above poster said, store it in a sunny spot where it gets wind.


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## JoeyD (Apr 6, 2012)

I was hoping for October but if it isn't ready I am just going to hold it for spring 2013. I currently have mostly oak which takes almost three years until it will burn good in my stove so this stuff is a whole new animal for me.


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## oldspark (Apr 6, 2012)

JoeyD said:


> I was hoping for October but if it isn't ready I am just going to hold it for spring 2013. I currently have mostly oak which takes almost three years until it will burn good in my stove so this stuff is a whole new animal for me.


If you have it stacked in single rows in the wind and sun then it will be ready in October, no problem with soft maple doing this if stacked by early April or before.


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## Woody Stover (Apr 6, 2012)

I scrounged a Red Maple last Summer that came down in a storm. Most of the wood was from the lower trunk, and water squeezed out when it was split. We split it kind of small and it was dry by fall, no hissing and burned well. It dried even faster than other stuff I had that is considered to be quick-drying, like Cherry and White Ash. I think that even if you split bigger than we did, it'll be dry by Fall; It's already stacked, right? If it's stacked single-row in the wind, it should be good to go.


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## Backwoods Savage (Apr 6, 2012)

You could probably cut soft maple in June and be able to burn it by October or November. It dries super fast.


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## ScotO (Apr 6, 2012)

Yep, just as the others have said, that softer maple (silver, red, black) will dry out fast.  Norway and Sugar maples, they take a lot longer.  you'll be fine by Sept./Oct. with that maple.


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## Ash_403 (Apr 6, 2012)

I have done it with a 1/3 to 1/2 cord for the last three years.  Always dry.

Cheers


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