Big leaf (west coast) maple drying time

[AndrewU]

Got a few cords of big leaf maple split. Pretty sure it will be dry enough by next fall/winter to burn, assuming I get it stacked in my shed soon. But, am I being overly optimistic? Typical split is <4" on the biggest side. I'm on the north end of the Puget Sound.

 

[Wisco Shepherd]

Got a few cords of big leaf maple split. Pretty sure it will be dry enough by next fall/winter to burn, assuming I get it stacked in my shed soon. But, am I being overly optimistic? Typical split is <4" on the biggest side. I'm on the north end of the Puget Sound.

If it acts anything like the silver maple I have it should dry out pretty fast.

 

[AndrewU]

If it acts anything like the silver maple I have it should dry out pretty fast.

It's a soft maple, much closer to silver than sugar maple.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

If it’s like silver and red maple, I’m sure it will be good by next burning season. I’m processing hardwoods now ( not oak) with the plan to use them in a years time.

 

[ericm979]

Big Leaf Maple is my favorite firewood of the nine species of trees we have here. Splits easy, dries relatively fast and burns well. It also doesn't rot when its on the forest floor so you can grab old dead stuff. If if was alive recently, one summer may be enough if the shed is in the sun and well ventilated. If it's years dead it may be nearly ready now if it was off the ground.

 

[begreen]

Yes, it should be ok to burn in the 2025-2026 heating season. We have a batch of it. It has good attributes, but I prefer Doug Fir, mainly because it creates a lot less ash than Soft Maple. That said, there is a big split of soft maple in the stove right now.

 

[AndrewU]

Big Leaf Maple is my favorite firewood of the nine species of trees we have here. Splits easy, dries relatively fast and burns well. It also doesn't rot when its on the forest floor so you can grab old dead stuff. If if was alive recently, one summer may be enough if the shed is in the sun and well ventilated. If it's years dead it may be nearly ready now if it was off the ground.

Been down a couple years. But the bigger rounds were still wet to the touch when first split.

 

[begreen]

It'll dry out now that it's split. Years back a friend dropped off a truck load of large maple rounds that had been sitting in a swamp. They were seriously waterlogged and heavy. I split them up and stacked the splits to dry. By the next year they burned fine.