Wait at least 6 months and up to 12 months for dry firewood depending on type of wood. Hardwoods like oak and maple dry more slowly than soft woods like pine and spruce. To ensure dry firewood, wait at least 12 months before burning.
The season typically lasts 4-6 weeks and ends when temperatures remain above freezing and buds begin to break dormancy (2). Under ideal conditions, a single tap hole can yield 40-80 gallons of sap in a season, although a more typical average is between 5-15 gallons (1).
So time is a pretty good metric. The best measure is to look at the end grain. If it looks freshly cut with no cracks or checks it's unseasoned. If it has a grey cast and has lots of cracks and checks, it's seasoned. Weight is another; a piece of green wood will feel...
A sugar maple should be about 40 years old and be 10 to 12 inches in diameter at chest height to get one tap. Across the region, the tapping season typically starts early to mid-January (the first-day sap is collected), ends at the end of April (last day of sap collection).
It generally takes six months to a year for a typical firewood seasoning process, so you'll need a spot where the woodpile can sit stacked for that long.
Wait at least 6 months and up to 12 months for dry firewood depending on type of wood. Hardwoods like oak and maple dry more slowly than soft woods like pine and spruce. To ensure dry firewood, wait at least 12 months before burning.
Softwoods (Pine, Spruce, Cedar)
Softwoods such as pine, spruce, and cedar are among the fastest types of firewood to season.
It takes at least forty years for a maple tree to grow before it is big enough to tap.
One way the season ends is that the sap stops running. If there are no frosts for several days, the flow of sap slows significantly and eventually stops. No sap = no syrup. If this happened in February or March, we would wait to see if it cools down again, but by April we know the trees are done.
Without a freeze, the flow of sap will continue to slow and eventually stop because there is no longer a difference between the pressure inside and outside of the tree. However, producers often observe an uptick in sap flow during the daytime over a few days.
Oak. Oak is considered the best firewood for burning, by far. This type of wood produces a slow-burning fire that lasts longer and burns more evenly and hotter. Also, oak is plentiful and found in almost any area of the country.
Leaving wood exposed to the outdoor air will typically dry it out within six to 12 months, assuming it's properly stacked and covered. Splitting wood, however, can speed up this process so that wood dries more quickly.
Can Firewood Be Overly Dried Out? Yes, it is possible for firewood to become too dry.
A sugar maple can live up to 400 years, whereas a silver maple usually lives about a century. Red maple trees live a bit longer, surviving up to 300 years.
What does maple sap look and taste like? Maple sap, as it drips from the tree, is a clear liquid containing about 2% dissolved sugar. It looks just like water, and has a very slight sweet taste. The true maple flavor comes out as part of the heating and boiling process.
When it comes to the average time frame required to season maple wood for firewood, you're likely going to need to give your maple wood around 6 months for it to season correctly and be ready for use on a fire.
Once a taphole is drilled into a tree, the maple season clock starts to run. Using buckets and open tapholes, that window of opportunity is around 4 weeks before the taphole starts to heal up and sap flow diminishes.
When the sap reaches 66.9% sugar, it is then maple syrup. Maple syrup that is boiled too long will crystallize and maple syrup that isn't boiled long enough will spoil quickly and will be watery because the concentration of sugar in the syrup will be too low.
Tap the Tree
A height of about 3 feet is recommended. If the tree has been tapped in previous seasons, do not tap within 6 inches of the former tap hole. Ideally, the tap hole should be above a large root or below a large branch on the south side of the tree.
That just has to be better for the maple tree in the long run. Less damage to the tree increases the odds of good productivity in future years. For number of taps per tree, I highly recommend only one.
Hardwood burns the slowest, produces the most intense fires, and produces hot coals that remain hot long after a fire has gone out. When hardwoods are burned in good conditions for a fire, they produce very little smoke or unhealthy particulate matter.
Firewood is dry when it has a moisture content below 18 %. In spring and summer, you can stack and dry your wood outside. In the fall, the wood should be moved to a wood shed where it is protected from rain and snow.
Fresh wood is easier to split, so don't wait too long after cutting down a tree!