Do you burn pine?

[thombat4]

Not only do I love burning pine, but it's sure fun to split with the Fiskars SS...!

 

[Benning]

Not only do I love burning pine, but it's sure fun to split with the Fiskars SS...!

I tried to split some knotty pine with my SS and the darn axe sunk in and didn't come out without thorough verbal abuse.

 

[thombat4]

I tried to split some knotty pine with my SS and the darn axe sunk in and didn't come out without thorough verbal abuse.

Hmmm...I wonder how fresh it was. All the unsplit pine I get is usually a year or two seasoned. Busts apart real nice.

 

[myzamboni]

I use pine cones and pine twigs to start the fire. But I wouldn't soley burn pine...someone here posted a picture of their flu after burning Pine for 3 months...I think after you see that....your arm would shake as you placed the pine in your stove or fireplace. LOL

That guy's pine was not seasoned long enough and he choked down his burn. I burn almost nothing but pine and got a whopping pint of crud when I swept the chimney last month.

 

[woodbooga]

That guy's pine was not seasoned long enough and he choked down his burn. I burn almost nothing but pine and got a whopping pint of crud when I swept the chimney last month.

In another pine burning thread, someone said it's fine as long as you don't dampen down to try and make oak out of it. Thought that was the best way of putting it.

 

[LarryTheCableGuy]

It takes about a year to season most any wood (some oak maybe 2)

It really depends on where you live.

I just moved from Big Bear Lake where we had very low humidity most of the time. I have cut, split & stacked green, living Ponderosa pine in September and then tarped it around the end of October when the snows started.

I started burning it in early January. The smaller splits were bone dry and I worked down through the pile into spring. Our relative humidity was usually 10-15%, often lower.

I know that's a somewhat extreme case (but a lot of high mountain climates are like that) and "average places" might take a year.

And after cleaning my chimney at the end of the season - maybe a 1/4 cup of soot.

I love pine, not nearly as much as I love oak, but I still love pine!


.

 

[turnkey4099]

Just go cut more!

Earth First! and we'll do the other planets next.

Harry K

 

[pugster]

Hi all,

First ever post at the forum, and I'm totally confused on this issue. I live in the UK and whilst I can get hardwood ok, I have a free supply of softwood this winter. I don't want to risk my chimney just to save a few quid. After phoning several sweeps who all said "don't burn pine" I also had the following email with another sweep (30 years in the business from his website)

Totally confused...

Hi Chimney Sweep,

I have a quick question about my open fireplace - probably a silly question. Is it ok to burn softwoods in an open fireplace? I have a neighbour that is getting rid of dozens of thick floorboards, and I think they are pine. I also have access to a lot of pallets (again pine). These are all dry and untreated. I have read differing reports, from pine being absolutely fine, thought to it being a cause of creosote build up.

I would like to use the pine to supplement my smokeless coal. I get my chimney swept once a year, am I likely to get any problems?

Thanks in advance

Pugster

------------

Hi Pugster

Its a soft wood and if not seasond correctly will produce a lot of creosote.

Make sure any wood you burn is very dry and has no chemicals in it as these may come back into the room and poisen you.

Pine also has a low heat out put compared to other wood. Besides that can not see a reason why not use it if its free, dry and not treated

------------

Hi again,

Many thanks for your response, this is my first year burning anything, so I'll give it a go. If I get you out for a sweep in spring would you be able to tell if I was doing any damage, and could it be permanent - or would a sweep sort it?

Thanks again
Mark

------------

Hi Pugster

If its creosote you can't sweep it and it a pain to remove and expensive.

Anyone offer any advice? In one email he says its free so burn it, another he says creosote is expensive to remove. I burn on a cast iron open fireplace, in 100 year old property, I have a new pot fitted with a bird cage. Am I just storing up problems, by burning pine pallets and other assorted offcuts (floorboards etc)

Many thanks in advance,

 

[Steve NW WI]

It really depends on where you live.

I just moved from Big Bear Lake where we had very low humidity most of the time. I have cut, split & stacked green, living Ponderosa pine in September and then tarped it around the end of October when the snows started.

I started burning it in early January. The smaller splits were bone dry and I worked down through the pile into spring. Our relative humidity was usually 10-15%, often lower.

I know that's a somewhat extreme case (but a lot of high mountain climates are like that) and "average places" might take a year.

And after cleaning my chimney at the end of the season - maybe a 1/4 cup of soot.

I love pine, not nearly as much as I love oak, but I still love pine!


.

Yep, it's very similar to some of the farm forums I'm on, the big differences in growing hay in the "humid east" vs the "arid west". Guys in the western Great Plains and further west actually bale at night to get "dew moisture" or it dries too much. Guys in my area and east, spend nervous days hoping it doesn't rain until the hay finally dries enough to bale.

Humidity or lack thereof will play a huge role in drying times.

 

[mtngun]

One thing about ponderosa is it has a sponge-like cell structure that soaks up moisture like a sponge. Not a big deal if you have a shed for storing your firewood, but under less than perfect storage conditions, it'll soak up any rain'/snow moisture and then take a long, long time to dry out.

Just a few hours ago I was splitting some ponderosa and doug fir rounds that were in an uncovered pile that had been rained on last week. All the wood was 100% seasoned, and despite the recent rain, the fir was dry as a bone and ready to burn.

The ponderosa, on the other hand, was so wet that when the maul sunk in, moisture would ooze up around the maul. This was not sap, just water that the wood had soaked up. This spongy behavior seems typical for ponderosa and it can be a nuisance to burn for that reason.

 

[SmellslikeCedar]

Heated with pine for years,,Just burn a hot fire & check your pipe twice a year.

 

[buildmyown]

I am this year had to take down a big pine in the yard couldnt see it go to waste. All the big stuf cut and split just about 2 cords all the smaller stuff had some good bonfires with it. Im a fan so far fast to temp in the insert easy light and seams to burn clean so far only thing coming out of the stack is little heat waves. The only thing I dont like is it doesnt coal at all like hardwoods but oh well i just mix a hardwood in with a load of pine.

Not that I will go out cutting all pine for firewood now but I will be less picky. I have enough pines on my property that I might take one a year to make the hard woods last longer. So far im a fan of it fro early fall fires to take the chill off the room quick.

 

[coppersnowblue]

I mix in a little dry pine from time to time.

 

[pugster]

I don't think anyone in this thread is burning on a cast iron or otherwise open fireplace. Most of us are serious about heating with wood. Take the advice of the chimney sweeps in your area or get a good wood stove installed.

Thanks for the post - I'll leave off the softwood and get some decent hardwood delivered. For a number of reasons we can't get a wood stove at this point in time, but I'm still suprised how well the open fire heats our (very small) house.

Cheers again.

 

[MJR]

This went six pages!!!

 

[redprospector]

This went six pages!!!

Hahaha. It's a Pine burnin' thread, what did you expect?

Andy

 

[Scootermsp]

With an OWB? You bet your knotty butt I do!

 

[WidowMaker]

It's all pine of one spicies or another...Lodge Pole,, Tamerack, Red Fir, Doug Fir...