Burning Softwood
- Thread starter PEKS
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As long as it is seasoned, none what-so-ever. Many people burn nothing but softwood.
Hedgerow
HACK
:agree2:
Softwood needs some love too...
Burn it...
Softwood needs some love too...
Burn it...
Coldfront
Addicted to ArboristSite
I have been burning seasoned soft wood Poplar and Pine since Sept. no problem getting stack temp to 500°+ only draw back it does not leave a good bed of coals like over night. When it really gets cold I will burn hard wood just for the over night burn. There's not a darn thing wrong with burning soft wood, just don't pay hardwood price for it.
forestryworks
Addicted to ArboristSite
Ask the Westerners.
avalancher
Arboristsite Raconteur
Do a google search on "burning pine" and read all the articles. It will give you all the information that you need to be utterly convinced that if you throw so much as a toothpick made of pine in you stove your house will instantly burn down around your ears and your insurance company will refuse to cover the loss because of your negligence. Then look to see who wrote the articles. Probably some nitwit bean counter who writes articles on the side for "Ladies Home Sewing Circle" and assorted other rot.
Wood is wood.Period. The only thing that separates one chunk from another as far as being safe to burn is the amount of moisture in the wood. Some wood takes awhile to dry, some takes a whole lot less. Weather, storage, humidity, and species of wood all contribute to how fast a chunk dries out, but its all safe to burn once the moisture has left the wood.
Will wet pine be more harmful than say wet white oak in your stove? Yes, it probably will. The conifers have a tendency to have a lot of pitch, and along with the moisture it can wreck havoc on a stove pipe or flue, and in short order burning wet pine can accumulate a great deal of creosote in your pipe. But with a careful seasoning plan, proper storage, and some common sense pine and other softwoods can be just one more useful fuel to use. In fact, many guys, myself included, stock an assortment of softwoods when a fast and hot fire is needed such as first thing in the morning. In fact, that is all I am burning right now, saving the hickory, pecan, and white oak for later in the year.
jags
ArboristSite Guru
Or the folks in Canada and Alaska -where it gets REALLY cold.
russhd1997
Innocent By Stander
I know it's not a wood stove but I burn a lot of softwood in my OWB to control the bed of coals. If I burn strictly hardwood the coals will just keep piling up in the bottom of the firebox until I don't have enough room to put in a nights worth of wood.
Coldfront
Addicted to ArboristSite
Bottom line as long as you season it, burn what ever is readily available in your area, of course hardwood will get you the most btu's per pound of wood.
jags
ArboristSite Guru
Not true. ALL wood has about the same BTU per pound, its just that you get more pounds per stick with hardwoods.
Very well put!!!!
forestryworks
Addicted to ArboristSite
Go to Stanley, Idaho or Gunnison, Colorado sometime. Gets pretty damn cold there.
Stanley is routinely the coldest place in the Lower 48.
What I do when my OWB gets too many coals from burning all hardwood is pick a day when I'm home (like a Saturday) and just let it burn the coals down. I have to babysit it a bit but I can go about 8 hours on coals sometimes. Then when the coals get burnt down I empty the ash pan and I'm good for a few more weeks of straight hardwood. Like you, I love to burn soft wood when I get a good bed of coals.
Highbeam
ArboristSite Guru
Also not true, almost though. Cottonwood is technically a hardwood and some common softwoods are tamarak or douglas fir. You get more pounds per stick of doug fir than cottonwood or willow.
Worry about wood density and not about whether it has leafs.
gwiley
Addicted to ArboristSite
Those coals are heat waiting to be harvested!!!! Rake the coals and put less wood in to encourage the coals to work for their money. Based on my experience with my OWB it sounds as though you are over-feeding the beast.
borat
ArboristSite Operative
Up here, conifer wood is a fair percentage of fuel wood for people who cut their own. Smart people burn it, but those that haven't a clue avoid it. They erroneously think that all conifer wood has too much pitch in it and is bad for the stove/chimney. They're the folks who don't know one end of a chainsaw from the other and pay for birch, which is the primary fuel wood sold in this area.
One of my favourite firewood sources is standing dead jack pine. Jacks tend to die off when mature and will shed their bark after a few years standing dead (like some elms do). At camp, there are plenty of opportunities for clean, dry jack pines 50' or more tall and 16" or more in diameter. Much of it is clear of branches and when you drop the tree any bark that was hanging on it, falls off. I just buck the tree and put nice clean rounds onto the trailer.
It's the fast food of firewood. Clean, dry, readily available and burns like no tomorrow. I like to put in full 16" long rounds 10" to 12" in diameter for overnight burns. They throw off a lot of heat and last respectably as well.
One of my favourite firewood sources is standing dead jack pine. Jacks tend to die off when mature and will shed their bark after a few years standing dead (like some elms do). At camp, there are plenty of opportunities for clean, dry jack pines 50' or more tall and 16" or more in diameter. Much of it is clear of branches and when you drop the tree any bark that was hanging on it, falls off. I just buck the tree and put nice clean rounds onto the trailer.
It's the fast food of firewood. Clean, dry, readily available and burns like no tomorrow. I like to put in full 16" long rounds 10" to 12" in diameter for overnight burns. They throw off a lot of heat and last respectably as well.
gwiley
Addicted to ArboristSite
I love pine rounds - typically don't bother to split them, just through them whole into the OWB. Leaving them unsplit slows the burn down a bit.
jags
ArboristSite Guru
I know the technical def is defined as anything with a leaf but that is seriously flawed for the exact reason you state. I would never consider Cottonwood in the category of hard wood, but that might just be me. Balsa wood is also in that category and is known to be one of the lightest, softest woods available. That alone negates the "hardwood - with a leaf argument" to anyone willing to put it to the test.
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