Things to know for New Woodstov`er

[MOOSETRAX]

Hello folks
New here to using the wood stove, what are the good woods that can be used on the stove, heard from someone that pine isnt a good idea as creosote will build up causing chimney fire. Any and all useful info appreciated. Thanks & stay safe.

 

[sb47]

Hello folks
New here to using the wood stove, what are the good woods that can be used on the stove, heard from someone that pine isnt a good idea as creosote will build up causing chimney fire. Any and all useful info appreciated. Thanks & stay safe.

Many people use pine and other woods just beayse there are no other local wood to use and thats all they have. The secrete to keeping creosote build up is to burn a hotter fire. Creosote is just un burned fuel that builds up because the fire is not hot enout to burn the fuel efficiently. It's fine to burn pine as long as you have a good hot fire. Any wood fuel will do the same, so get that fire going good and hot and that will reduce the build up. You don't have to burn a hot fire all the time but its best to burn a good hot fire from time to time to keep the build up at a minimum. I burn a good hot fire frome time to time to burn off the build up.

 

[anlrolfe]

Well seasoned wood and high efficiency stove solves most creosote issues. A low smolder may last longer but is bound to foul the chimney.

 

[moresnow]

Creosote is created through poor burning practice. Burning unseasoned wet wood of any specie will result in creosote buildup. Pine is fine when used for firewood. Old wives tale that burning Pine is dangerous. Rubbish.
If your new to burning wood you really need to research how to properly season firewood. Wood stoves require seasoned fuel to perform correctly/safely. Rule of thumb is to season your wood until it's internal moisture content is 20% or less. Take some time to research testing firewood moisture content. Many use a cheap moisture meter purchased at any big box store or online. Eventually you will be able to figure out how long each type of wood you get takes to properly season after being cut, split and stacked.
Welcome to AS. Plenty to learn here. Enjoy.

 

[pdelosh]

Yes Pine is fine once its dry. I always have a couple face cords of white pine on hand. A few things that I have noticed over the years that I feel is helpful.
An ember rake for raking the coals forward is nice
Loading perpendicular to the glass or north/south if possible
The use of a sooteater for cleaning your flue
A magnetic Wood Stove thermometer
Use of a Kindling Cracker for making kindling. Much safer than a hatchet
And dry wood is by far the key to your stove operating effortlessly.

 

[moresnow]

Yes Pine is fine once its dry. I always have a couple face cords of white pine on hand. A few things that I have noticed over the years that I feel is helpful.
An ember rake for raking the coals forward is nice
Loading perpendicular to the glass or north/south if possible
The use of a sooteater for cleaning your flue
A magnetic Wood Stove thermometer
Use of a Kindling Cracker for making kindling. Much safer than a hatchet
And dry wood is by far the key to your stove operating effortlessly.

Solid advice.
I might add. Pick up a box of Super Cedars fire starter's. Use 1/4 of a puck to start a load on a cold start. No need to create or store kindling or paper etc. Time and effort saver.

 

[Short timer]

Solid advice.
I might add. Pick up a box of Super Cedars fire starter's. Use 1/4 of a puck to start a load on a cold start. No need to create or store kindling or paper etc. Time and effort saver.

There’s a coupon code for them. Hearth20 should work.

https://www.supercedar.com/
Top down starts along with North South loading of wood under 20% moisture is how I run my stove.

 

[nathan4104]

Hello Moose
Good advice here already.
pine is fine to burn, I sell as much pine as birch here. (Our 2 main woods).
Folks like pine (jack pine) here cause as firewood it’s harvested as dead standing wood. The Rest goes to the chipper or mill. Their theory that’s it’s ‘dry’. Most people burn a good hot fire once a day to clean the chimney. If you can, get a year ahead on your wood, under cover in a shed or piled up so it’ll dry. Don’t cover it tightly with a tarp. Use some scrap plywood or Scrap roofing metal instead.
By keeping a year aheadyour wood will be nice and dry, you won’t be held to the mercy of the firewood guy if you’re buying (trust me we run out too) and it’s like it better than money in the bank.
your picture looks like it could be anywhere but sure has a Muskoka -ish look to it.

 

[gumneck]

Here, yellow pine or loblolly is everywhere but you dont see the guys selling firewood advertising any pine. In fact, 99% of the time they put "no pine" in their ads. I have alot of split pine that's been drying in racks and the top covered sitting outside. Never tested the moisture content but its been cut/split for more than 2 years. I have no problem with soot in the chimney pipe or ill effects on the wood stove. I burn a mix of pine and hardwoods and pine just burns fast as the only problem I see. In the mid Atlantic our temps fluctuate a lot so sometimes its just too hot to run the stove so for me wood burning isn't crucial but pine is certainly part of the plan because its free. I would just caution as others did to make sure its had plenty of air time after its been split. A year of drying under top cover should be a good insurance if you have any doubts about it.
This topic has been covered extensively on AS and you'll get a good history lesson on the oil crisis of the 70's and chimney fires due to pine....but it wasn't the lowly pine's fault.

 

[moresnow]

Check Wal Mart online for the Super Cedars. It was the cheapest route a week or two ago. Had to buy the 100 count package to get the best deal. Not a issue as a few fellow stove user's are happy to split the box.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

Welcome to the site Mousetrax!

First off, check the stove pipe installation to be sure it is correct.
The female end of a section of pipe should be UP. Male end down.
You might think this is incorrect, that smoke would escape the joints.

It is about the heated creosote liquifying and flowing downward, keeping it inside the flue.
If installed incorrectly the creosote will run down the outside of the stove pipe at the joints.
This is an obvious fire hazard should it ignite.

Check all smoke detectors for proper use and get new batteries. Keep some batteries on hand.
Buy several large fire extinguishers and place one in the room with the stove, each bedroom, and by exterior doors.
Flash lights near fire extinguishers.
If you have kids, do fire drills frequently at random times, sometimes after dark, with a meeting place some distance from the house.
(We had an issue with my father-in-law visiting, thinking he was exempt from this drill.)

Check the chimney often. Certainly before and after a burn season and perhaps monthly during.
As mentioned burn hot fires.
If you have a tight house consider a fresh air feed for the wood stove for better burns. May not be possible for older stoves but I'm assuming most newer catalytic stoves have that option.
If you do have a catalytic element, pull it out for inspection and a light cleaning of the ceramic honeycome holes. Green wood and low temp burns can and will plug these, causing poor air flow within the stove and burns.
The catalytic elements are sacrificial, and need replacing every few years as they deteriorate and crumble when cleaning.
Firewood has bugs, larva and eggs, and rodents and should be stored outside in a dry covered area for best burns. Top covered firewood rows to keep the snow off is sufficient. Complete covering with tarps entraps moisture, is counter productive to air drying, and is an environment for mold.

 

[ElevatorGuy]

If pine is all I had to burn I wouldn’t waste my time burning wood. Have you already bought a stove or a new place with one?

 

[MOOSETRAX]

Welcome to the site Mousetrax!

First off, check the stove pipe installation to be sure it is correct.
The female end of a section of pipe should be UP. Male end down.
You might think this is incorrect, that smoke would escape the joints.

It is about the heated creosote liquifying and flowing downward, keeping it inside the flue.
If installed incorrectly the creosote will run down the outside of the stove pipe at the joints.
This is an obvious fire hazard should it ignite.

Check all smoke detectors for proper use and get new batteries. Keep some batteries on hand.
Buy several large fire extinguishers and place one in the room with the stove, each bedroom, and by exterior doors.
Flash lights near fire extinguishers.
If you have kids, do fire drills frequently at random times, sometimes after dark, with a meeting place some distance from the house.
(We had an issue with my father-in-law visiting, thinking he was exempt from this drill.)

Check the chimney often. Certainly before and after a burn season and perhaps monthly during.
As mentioned burn hot fires.
If you have a tight house consider a fresh air feed for the wood stove for better burns. May not be possible for older stoves but I'm assuming most newer catalytic stoves have that option.
If you do have a catalytic element, pull it out for inspection and a light cleaning of the ceramic honeycome holes. Green wood and low temp burns can and will plug these, causing poor air flow within the stove and burns.
The catalytic elements are sacrificial, and need replacing every few years as they deteriorate and crumble when cleaning.
Firewood has bugs, larva and eggs, and rodents and should be stored outside in a dry covered area for best burns. Top covered firewood rows to keep the snow off is sufficient. Complete covering with tarps entraps moisture, is counter productive to air drying, and is an environment for mold.

Thanks to all of you for the valuable info. will check the connections once again, i am sure i did it right. fire drill is a great idea and life saver..for sure.

 

[MOOSETRAX]

If pine is all I had to burn I wouldn’t waste my time burning wood. Have you already bought a stove or a new place with one?

Bought a place with just chimney, added a stove myself.

 

[MOOSETRAX]

Hello Moose
Good advice here already.
pine is fine to burn, I sell as much pine as birch here. (Our 2 main woods).
Folks like pine (jack pine) here cause as firewood it’s harvested as dead standing wood. The Rest goes to the chipper or mill. Their theory that’s it’s ‘dry’. Most people burn a good hot fire once a day to clean the chimney. If you can, get a year ahead on your wood, under cover in a shed or piled up so it’ll dry. Don’t cover it tightly with a tarp. Use some scrap plywood or Scrap roofing metal instead.
By keeping a year aheadyour wood will be nice and dry, you won’t be held to the mercy of the firewood guy if you’re buying (trust me we run out too) and it’s like it better than money in the bank.
your picture looks like it could be anywhere but sure has a Muskoka -ish look to it.

You nailed it, yes in Muskoka its just amazing !!!

 

[siouxindian]

get a wood cook stove.get a chainsaw .get a double bit ax.get a maul . get a wedge . get to cutting wood .this is all for now. carry on. you do this check this post after you do this. for a few years. p. s . you can thank me later.

 

[FinnKamp]

Here where I live, it is compulsory to have a professional chimney sweeping every year in single family houses and every second year in summer houses.

We burn occasionally pine, because it's available. Oaks and such grow naturally only in very small micro climate areas in the southern part of the country.

I can't really talk about US spec wood stoves as we have masonry heater (as typical here) but the chimney sweeper has never mentioned about any build-up. A quick hot fire with dry firewood - that's how you use masonry stove - keeps the chimney very clean.

 

[LondonNeil]

And it starts.....

The stove, some delivered wood, a post on an internet forum, some knowledge, some better wood and stove operation, some more heat, a chainsaw, a maul, another post, another chainsaw, another axe, another post, another chain, a file, a guide, another post, a pair of boots, a pair of chaps, another post, a pair of gloves...a box of gloves.... Aniket box of gloves, another post, a sooteater, an injury, another post, a hydraulic splitter, another post, a 1 tonne truck, another post, some pallets, a wood shed, another post.... Spring comes, another post, a pickaroon, another essential piece of equipment, summer comes, another post, another job to do, a log jack, another piece of equipment, autumn comes, another post, a tote bag, a wood trolley, another post, another oil delivery doesn't come, another post.... To answer another newbie's post, another one sucked in, another post....

 

[FinnKamp]

And it starts.....

The stove, some delivered wood, a post on an internet forum, some knowledge, some better wood and stove operation, some more heat, a chainsaw, a maul, another post, another chainsaw, another axe, another post, another chain, a file, a guide, another post, a pair of boots, a pair of chaps, another post, a pair of gloves...a box of gloves.... Aniket box of gloves, another post, a sooteater, an injury, another post, a hydraulic splitter, another post, a 1 tonne truck, another post, some pallets, a wood shed, another post.... Spring comes, another post, a pickaroon, another essential piece of equipment, summer comes, another post, another job to do, a log jack, another piece of equipment, autumn comes, another post, a tote bag, a wood trolley, another post, another oil delivery doesn't come, another post.... To answer another newbie's post, another one sucked in, another post....

Don't forget the 40:1 mix. Our dog breeder's cousin's niece had a seized 231. And she didn't mix premium on 40:1.

 

[LondonNeil]

another post, another oil thread!