Oak vs pine,fir what's

[ratso]

Your preference? I have a old Ashley wood stove that I just put a new stainless steel liner this is the second one in 40 years. I burn mostly pine my wood is well seasoned. I live in California where the weather is mild it was 29 this am. I like the soft wood it seems to put out more heat. I know the oak leaves a good bed of coals.

Happy New Year

 

[Gologit]

Pine or cedar first thing in the morning for a quick heat. Oak, madrone or almond later on in the day and into the evening. 27 here this morning.

 

[autoimage]

other than hedge its properly seasoned pin oak and white oak for me

 

[El Quachito]

I like fir, just not any pine around me to cut. It was 24 this morning. I have more fir than oak when my shed is full. Dry fir and then dry black & white oak this winter for the hardwoods.

Fir bark, an inch or two thick burns very hot. I have some of that also.

 

[Mac88]

other than hedge its properly seasoned pin oak and white oak for me

We haven't started burning hedge yet. Not cold enough. Right now it mostly red oak, walnut, and silver maple, with a few other odds and ends mixed in.

 

[myzamboni]

I burn whatever I can score for free off of Craigslist. I like Pine for the quick temp. rise you get from starting. I think the ideal for my area is a mix of pine and oak/almond (but good luck finding the latter for free).

 

[Whitespider]

Your preference? ... I like the soft wood it seems to put out more heat. ...

My preference?? Not softwoods.

It's only perception that makes you think softwoods "put out more heat." Softwoods "put out" less heat... they just burn faster and release what heat they do "put out" in a relatively short time frame (i.e. quick heat, not more heat). Fill your stove with softwood at 6:00 AM and check the temperature of your house 5-hours later... the next morning fill it with oak and check the temperature of your house 5-hours later (at 29[sup]o[/sup] outside temps you'll likely be stripped down to skivvies inside) ... then tell me which will "put out more heat."

Anyway, it's -8[sup]o[/sup] here this morning with a NW wind making the windchill index -26[sup]o[/sup]... my firebox is full of wood that's gonna' "put out more heat." That's not to say I wouldn't burn softwood it was all I had, but I'd be needin' to stuff wood in the firebox every hour or so.

 

[stihl sawing]

Oak 95% of the time, Some Red Elm and Hackberry. Burn oak mostly cause it's plentiful here. A lot of dead and blown over trees lately. I'd burn pine it a skinny minute if that's all i had. We did burn it one year all winter. Better than paying the gas bill.

 

[arborealbuffoon]

My preference?? Not softwoods.

It's only perception that makes you think softwoods "put out more heat." Softwoods "put out" less heat... they just burn faster and release what heat they do "put out" in a relatively short time frame (i.e. quick heat, not more heat). Fill your stove with softwood at 6:00 AM and check the temperature of your house 5-hours later... the next morning fill it with oak and check the temperature of your house 5-hours later (at 29[sup]o[/sup] outside temps you'll likely be stripped down to skivvies inside) ... then tell me which will "put out more heat."

Anyway, it's -8[sup]o[/sup] here this morning with a NW wind making the windchill index -26[sup]o[/sup]... my firebox is full of wood that's gonna' "put out more heat." That's not to say I wouldn't burn softwood it was all I had, but I'd be needin' to stuff wood in the firebox every hour or so.

One thing us Iowegians get is a fabulous mix of tree species which all grow here quite well. Having so much quality hardwood available makes for a lot of firewood snobs tho.

 

[Wazzu]

I am sick of hardwoods myself. I cant stand all the coal build up in my small firebox. I think I will be just be getting fir and pine from now on.

 

[Ted_D]

Red Fir and Tamrack (Larch). I broke my back this year and was unable to cut wood or anything else. Had to buy wood which was $180 a cord.

 

[Mac88]

One thing us Iowegians get is a fabulous mix of tree species which all grow here quite well. Having so much quality hardwood available makes for a lot of firewood snobs tho.

No snob here. 'Course I'm not from Iowa. We burn what we get. Just refilled the wood rack in the lean-to, about 50/50 hardwood/softwood. The temp is hanging around the mid 20's here, so we don't need a blazing fire. Since we're home most of the time, tending the fire is not much effort. If it needs another stick every few hours, no big deal. Overnight it gets loaded with hardwood and only needs a couple sticks of something light to bring it back in the morning. When the temps start getting close to 0, we'll start adding a bit of hedge for our overnight burn. We haven't touched it so far.

 

[Fronty Owner]

i burn what I've cut.
I used to use soft woods to get the fire built up and on to hardwoods of various mixtures. now I use one of the compressed fire starter sticks and pile on small stuff of various flavors.

I do tend to cut up a bunch of the small (less than 2") limbs after Ive loaded my truck. They seem to work great for rebuilding the coal bed in the morning.

To the poster that was complaining about too much coal, let them burn down a bit before reloading. That seems to be where most of my heat comes from is a good coal bed with a few flames.

 

[Fred Wright]

Yup, we burn what we have available in the woodlot. That's gum, red maple and red oak. No conifers here.

The gum and maple are fine for temps above 30 or so. Gum doesn't last long in the stove; it's a better idle wood for temps in the 40s. The maple, it can overfire if not watched. Had a split turn into an inferno last week.

Red oak is the good stuff. Get it going good and we're opening a window.

 

[Mac88]

We gotta get you turned on to hedge, Fred.

 

[Fred Wright]

We gotta get you turned on to hedge, Fred.

Mac, we'd have it processed and waiting if it was in the woodlot.

I got some hedge when we bought a load from a dealer up in New Castle County. It was mixed in with the rest. Indeed, it does burn long and hot.

 

[Mac88]

Mac, we'd have it processed and waiting if it was in the woodlot.

I got some hedge when we bought a load from a dealer up in New Castle County. It was mixed in with the rest. Indeed, it does burn long and hot.

My name is Mac and I'm a closet hedgeaholic.

 

[Gologit]

Hedge...

I hear you guys talk about hedge a lot. Is hedge the name of the tree or is it called something else, too?

 

[Fred Wright]

I hear you guys talk about hedge a lot. Is hedge the name of the tree or is it called something else, too?

Osage Orange, aka the Rolls Royce of firewood.

 

[Fronty Owner]

Osage Orange, aka the Rolls Royce of firewood.

Around here, if you get caught burning osage orange, you'd probably be lynched by one of the traditional bow makers or wood workers.... that is, after they made you divulge the location...