What Kind of Pine/Evergreen Do You Burn?

[Pulp]

white pine, cause it's f'in everywhere. I dropped one dead standing last year and burned it in the pit in the rain the same day. Once I got the 4 inch thick vein of pure pitch in the middle to light, it went up like a match head. Smelled amazing. Got to use my buds brand new log splitter he left here too. Boy was he impressed when he came over and found me juicing pine logs in his formerly spotless splitter.

Where in Hell you got so much pine ? Not much here.

 

[Wannabe123]

My yard's full of it. It is the state tree. It's our state flower too incidentally.

King pine I always thought was just really big pine. I was told it was used for ships' masts back in the olden days, but I think that may be hooey.

 

[svk]

Back before the original logging days much of northern MN was pure white pine. Norway apparently regenerates better and coupled with mortality from white pine rust we probably have 80% norway, 10% jack and 10% white currently.

 

[steved]

I've been getting pine trees from peoples' yards...its hard to find a "stand" of pine in Pennsylvania.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G730A using Tapatalk

 

[bunfoolio]

This year I have burned a lot of white pine. I was outside with my neighbor and he commented how good it smelled. It might be my favorite smelling wood thus far.

For next year I will be burning a lot of hemlock, cedar, and white pine.

 

[lapeer20m]

I burn mostly red pine in my owb. Although I have acres of it on my property, most of my firewood I've been scrounging from my neighbors by helping them dispose of problem trees.

People around here are convinced that you cannot burn pine in a woodstove.

When the temps get into the single digits I burn hardwood, but for 80% of the season I burn red pine.

 

[svk]

Hey @benp what are your thoughts tamarack versus white birch/red maple.

 

[benp]

Hey @benp what are your thoughts tamarack versus white birch/red maple.

Nothing seems to get the fire going like Tamarack except maybe some splits from a Norway base that are pretty pitchy.

I'll use the Tamarack at night when the temps are warm, not sub zero. It just doesn't last.... similar to Paper Birch.

I'm using big splits of Red Maple now at night along with sugar and oak.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

>
What Kind of Pine/Evergreen Do You Burn?

What ever kind I can get my hands on that "isn't" good enough quality to go to my BSM!

I'm NOT a firewood snob at all!

SR

 

[Ambull01]

Just curious for those who burn the "red headed stepchild" of firewood, what species do you burn?

I've burned lots of jack pine and norway. Norway is real good stuff, on par with black ash. Long burn times if you keep it in large splits. Jack is ok, a far cry better than aspen.

White spruce isn't bad, again a lot better than aspen. Really messy stuff though, the bark falls off everywhere.

White pine goes quick, it's really light once dry.

I scrounged up a dead tamarack this fall for testing's sake. Had to carry it out of a bog so won't be doing that very often. Should be a hot sauna next fall when I fire it up.

Balsam is not really worth the work to process it. A full load in my boiler during heat demand lasts 45 minutes. To get a good hot sauna it takes at least 2, sometimes 3 loads to equal 1 load of hardwood.

When at all possible I try to process any evergreen in the winter to avoid the sap problem. If the tree has been dead at least a year you can cut in summer without problems.

This is awesome. I want to print this whole thread out and send it to my in-laws. They're all saying I shouldn't burn pine. Told them there's some areas where pine is the predominant fuel. They still don't believe me because I have no personal experience with it.

Dang if I know, I get them confused. I think we have three kinds around here, white, yellow and loblolly?? Not sure on the last one, short needles..maybe.

Amen. I thought all the little needle trees were the same until recently. There's a house near me with some massive pine blow downs. Didn't look like the traditional pine to me because the wood was reddish and a bit stringy looking. Also thought pine were all smaller trees. I need to increase my pine knowledge as I can get a ton of this stuff since everyone refuses to burn it.

 

[svk]

This is awesome. I want to print this whole thread out and send it to my in-laws. They're all saying I shouldn't burn pine. Told them there's some areas where pine is the predominant fuel. They still don't believe me because I have no personal experience with it.

Amen. I thought all the little needle trees were the same until recently. There's a house near me with some massive pine blow downs. Didn't look like the traditional pine to me because the wood was reddish and a bit stringy looking. Also thought pine were all smaller trees. I need to increase my pine knowledge as I can get a ton of this stuff since everyone refuses to burn it.

Yeah it's pretty comical. I had a guy ask if I could spare some firewood. "Sure, I've got lots of pine" (Grumbles "no thanks") Your loss.

Up in Yukon/Alaska that's all alot of those guys have to burn.

And I always follow up with this: My uncle/aunt/cousins have been burning pine in their sauna for 60 years. My uncle has been gone for 40 years so I guarantee the chimney hasn't seen a brush for at least that long.

 

[Ambull01]

Yeah it's pretty comical. I had a guy ask if I could spare some firewood. "Sure, I've got lots of pine" (Grumbles "no thanks") Your loss.

Up in Yukon/Alaska that's all alot of those guys have to burn.

And I always follow up with this: My uncle/aunt/cousins have been burning pine in their sauna for 60 years. My uncle has been gone for 40 years so I guarantee the chimney hasn't seen a brush for at least that long.

lol that's great. Whatever happened to beggars can't be choosers?

You know I specifically mentioned firewood burning in Alaska. Father in-law drove up from NC to stay with us for a week during the holidays. I said Alaskans burn mostly pine (read it somewhere). He started going on about how Alaska has the most hardwood trees in the nation and how he went on a vacation to the state decades ago (guess that gives him first hand knowledge). Then he tried to explain to me how we should use our EPA insert at wide open primary air setting to get the most heat/efficiency. I had to stop talking to him in respect for the holiday spirit.

 

[ponyexpress976]

I've burned about 2.5 cords of white and several varieties of spruce. It's the "great hurricane experiment" as we call it here. So many of them got knocked over so I figured I'd try burning it and either prove or disprove the myth that pine will only result in chimney fires and gunked up equipment. The one thing I can confirm is that my X27 and several chainsaws are permanently "tacky". Burned about a cord at the end of last year and the flue was no different than other years. Since pine seems to be the only wood you can still get on craigslist for free, I'll burn it here. Might as well sell the other stuff and make the money when I can as opposed to sending it up the chimney.

 

[svk]

I've burned about 2.5 cords of white and several varieties of spruce. It's the "great hurricane experiment" as we call it here. So many of them got knocked over so I figured I'd try burning it and either prove or disprove the myth that pine will only result in chimney fires and gunked up equipment. The one thing I can confirm is that my X27 and several chainsaws are permanently "tacky". Burned about a cord at the end of last year and the flue was no different than other years. Since pine seems to be the only wood you can still get on craigslist for free, I'll burn it here. Might as well sell the other stuff and make the money when I can as opposed to sending it up the chimney.

If you can, process it in the winter when the sap is frozen. Or two summers in the sun and it is all dried up.

 

[svk]

lol that's great. Whatever happened to beggars can't be choosers?

You know I specifically mentioned firewood burning in Alaska. Father in-law drove up from NC to stay with us for a week during the holidays. I said Alaskans burn mostly pine (read it somewhere). He started going on about how Alaska has the most hardwood trees in the nation and how he went on a vacation to the state decades ago (guess that gives him first hand knowledge). Then he tried to explain to me how we should use our EPA insert at wide open primary air setting to get the most heat/efficiency. I had to stop talking to him in respect for the holiday spirit.

I have a relative like that in regards to politics. He's socialist but identifies as DFL. I'm middle of the road and vote "best man". He accuses me of being a right wing crazy LOL. We just don't go there.

 

[windthrown]

Lots of misinformation out there (and here) about pine. Alaskans do not burn mostly (or even very much) pine. Sorry. Inland and farther north they have mostly birch, tamarack and cottonwood. In the south along the coast and the Alaska panhandle they have spruce, cedar and hemlock. Most people I know up there burn spruce or birch. Here is a map of the firewood species that are common there. Pine is not even listed:

http://www.alaskawoodheating.com/availability.php

There is also a huge spread in pine species quality for heating with, from pinion pine which has more heat than most of the better hardwoods, to the softer punky stuff like white pine or balsam fir. On my property here I have a lot of lodgepole pines (pinus controta), which is a premium firewood in the west. But even that species has three main sub types, and they grow and burn differently. I have two sub types of lodgepole; shore pines and Murrayana. The latter here are commonly called jack, black, or Sierra lodgepole pines and they get huge. Shore pine is hard and dense, and that burns pretty hot. The Murrayana burns good and has medium heat, about like elm for comparison.

In general, evergreens are a bad name for conifers, as there are several conifers that are deciduous, including larch/tamarack, bald cypress and dawn redwood. Also softwoods are a bad name for them as well, as many are harder than hardwoods, and many (including pines) have more heat available in them than hardwoods. For example, pinyon pine has 27 M-BTU per cord, which is about the same as black locust or hickory. Good stuff, eh? Western Larch (AKA: Tamarack) is a preferred species for firewood here, with about 28 M-BTU per cord. Doug fir is not far behind larch or pinyon pine, with 26 M-BTU per cord. I burn more Doug fir than any other wood here. It is good wood to heat with and has really low ash. For that reason, it is a premium wood to use in wood pellets. Doug, along with larch, are also the standard woods here in the western US for dimensional lumber and framing/building with. They have similar strength to southern yellow pine.

Here is a BTU chart for western tree species, and some eastern species to compare them to. These types of charts are highly varied, but for most western species (and the common eastern species that grow here) this is the best chart that I have found:

http://firewoodresource.com/firewood-btu-ratings/

 

[Sawyer Rob]

After having "lived" in Alaska for 25 years, and burned wood for much of that, spruce is what is burned most, as that's what is available to most folks... There is also birch and cotton wood, but spruce is the most burned specie.

There's not much pine in Alaska...at least not where "most" folks live...

SR

 

[Ambull01]

Lots of misinformation out there (and here) about pine. Alaskans do not burn mostly (or even very much) pine. Sorry. Inland and farther north they have mostly birch, tamarack and cottonwood. In the south along the coast and the Alaska panhandle they have spruce, cedar and hemlock. Most people I know up there burn spruce or birch. Here is a map of the firewood species that are common there. Pine is not even listed:

http://www.alaskawoodheating.com/availability.php

There is also a huge spread in pine species quality for heating with, from pinion pine which has more heat than most of the better hardwoods, to the softer punky stuff like white pine or balsam fir. On my property here I have a lot of lodgepole pines (pinus controta), which is a premium firewood in the west. But even that species has three main sub types, and they grow and burn differently. I have two sub types of lodgepole; shore pines and Murrayana. The latter here are commonly called jack, black, or Sierra lodgepole pines and they get huge. Shore pine is hard and dense, and that burns pretty hot. The Murrayana burns good and has medium heat, about like elm for comparison.

In general, evergreens are a bad name for conifers, as there are several conifers that are deciduous, including larch/tamarack, bald cypress and dawn redwood. Also softwoods are a bad name for them as well, as many are harder than hardwoods, and many (including pines) have more heat available in them than hardwoods. For example, pinyon pine has 27 M-BTU per cord, which is about the same as black locust or hickory. Good stuff, eh? Western Larch (AKA: Tamarack) is a preferred species for firewood here, with about 28 M-BTU per cord. Doug fir is not far behind larch or pinyon pine, with 26 M-BTU per cord. I burn more Doug fir than any other wood here. It is good wood to heat with and has really low ash. For that reason, it is a premium wood to use in wood pellets. Doug, along with larch, are also the standard woods here in the western US for dimensional lumber and framing/building with. They have similar strength to southern yellow pine.

Here is a BTU chart for western tree species, and some eastern species to compare them to. These types of charts are highly varied, but for most western species (and the common eastern species that grow here) this is the best chart that I have found:

http://firewoodresource.com/firewood-btu-ratings/

SOB, my father in-law was right! You just ruined my whole week. Well I'll never tell him he was right lol.

Spruce looks an awful lot like pine to me. I think you're the guy that taught me poplar is considered a hardwood despite it's light weight, propensity to rot, etc. All this tree stuff is quite confusing.

Edit: You know what, I was referring to Alaskans burning conifers. Yeah, that's what I meant. lol. They all look the same to me. Does spruce have a lot of pitch? That's the main thing he was arguing.

 

[Pulp]

Nice stuff Windthrown.....even for a Left Coastie PNW.

In Northwoods Maine, The Country and coastal Downeast, the spruces and balsam fir are the dominant 'pioneer' trees after
the low bush berries and paper birch set up.
They grow fast and thick in this low Ph bony soil, and abundant year-round moisture. Within a few years they'll
be "doghair thick" and up to 4' to 8' tall. Clearcuts regen fast, though mostly we do patch cutting of 5-10 a. each now.

 

[Ambull01]

Doug fir is not far behind larch or pinyon pine, with 26 M-BTU per cord. I burn more Doug fir than any other wood here. It is good wood to heat with and has really low ash. For that reason, it is a premium wood to use in wood pellets.

I'm not sure what the most common type of Christmas tree people buy but I think Doug fir is one of them. Damn it I just missed out on the best scrounging score in all of 2014! All those Christmas trees everyone just threw away was actually premium firewood!