Curing time for white pine?

[flashy]

I have a Central Boiler OWB that I use to heat my large old farmhouse here in Northeast Iowa. I burn oak and elm and walnut predominately. There are some very old and large White Pines that are past their prime and need to be removed in a grove near the road by my house. They are alive but getting quite ragged around the edges. I plan on blocking them into chunks (unsplit) roughly 50 - 60 lbs each. They will be piles ,not stacked, uncovered on cement. What would be the correct length of time to wait to let them season before I burn them? Also, should I burn the pine all by itself, or mix it with hardwoods in the OWB?


029 Super
Echo cs-346
Case Ingersoll splitter

 

[sloth9669]

no pro

iam not a pro but my guess would be a solid year is best and id mix it in.....probly wont last all night so feed it on the days you are around to keep adding and olny hardwoods at night....

 

[hockeypuck]

I would cut it and half or quarter it depending on the size. A few months of good drying time and mix it in with some hard wood so you keep a good bed of coals. Pine dries out fast when you get is split once.

Puck

 

[flashy]

I would cut it and half or quarter it depending on the size. A few months of good drying time and mix it in with some hard wood so you keep a good bed of coals. Pine dries out fast when you get is split once.

Puck

Good point. However, since the logs are 2+ feet thick my 60lb round "slices" won't be very thick, creating a relatively high amount of cut surface area, allowing good drying. I may be wrong.

 

[hockeypuck]

It might be pretty tough on the back loading pieces in the boiler that big? But I am not exactly Mr. USA either. If you can throw it in comforably, go for it. It can be an awkward position trying to get a large piece of wood in the boiler, especially for the back.

 

[flashy]

It might be pretty tough on the back loading pieces in the boiler that big? But I am not exactly Mr. USA either. If you can throw it in comforably, go for it. It can be an awkward position trying to get a large piece of wood in the boiler, especially for the back.

I've got a pretty good system. I take the seasoned pieces from the pile to a flat wagon with a tractor and front end loader. Then I pull the wagonload of wood to within 10' or less from the OWB, so I can just pick up the wood, turn and walk to to boiler and roll it in. No bending at all. I'm 46 and fortunately, my back is still pretty good, as long as I don't overdo it.

 

[sdt7618]

Split it

IMHO it would be best cut thicker and split once or twice. would let more air into the fibre of the wood. you would still be able to ge the size you seem to want, just a few ore hours works to slit it.. but let cutting time.

my.$0.02 worth.

steven:monkey:

 

[Husky137]

95% of the wood I burn in the OWB is white pine. I usually cut it to 2 foot lengths and halve or quarter on the splitter. Unsplit, it will suck to try and burn for a long time, split you'll be good to go in a month. Load her up and it will go all night, throw in a few bits of hardwood to help keep the coals.

 

[porta mill]

curing time for pine

no need to cure pine . from a tree to the owb. in the spring anf fall I might quarter the logs if they are big . In the dead of winter if they will go through the door they will burn.

 

[stonykill]

95% of the wood I burn in the OWB is white pine. I usually cut it to 2 foot lengths and halve or quarter on the splitter. Unsplit, it will suck to try and burn for a long time, split you'll be good to go in a month. Load her up and it will go all night, throw in a few bits of hardwood to help keep the coals.

thats it right there. Took the words out of my mouth. I usually let my white pine season a few months longer, but otherwise just what I do

 

[stonykill]

no need to cure pine . from a tree to the owb. in the spring anf fall I might quarter the logs if they are big . In the dead of winter if they will go through the door they will burn.

yes it will burn, but if you have a forced draft system, green wood will burn up quicker than dry wood. At least in my boiler, the dryer the wood is, the less I load it. The idea is, the blower on the door runs less to heat the water, then the fire goes dormant. With green pine, my forced draft runs and runs, and the wood burns right up. Dry seasoned wood is the best way to go. But yes, ANY wood will burn in a forced draft system.