Pacific Northwest Firewood

[Gologit]

Wires?

 

[Doug Fir]

Along the east slope of the North Cascades the best conifers for firewood are western larch (tamarack) and Douglas-fir. Larch has a somewhat better reputation. It tends to be a bit denser. I believe this is due to the fact that it often grows in more challenging conditions. This leads to slower growth and thus higher density (as the annual growth rings are close together). I find that Doug-fir from overgrown stands in marginal locations can also be quite dense, for the same reason.

Doug-fir is by far the most common firewood species around here. It is about the same density as big leaf maple (a soft maple). Sometimes people travel a ways to the east to pick up some apple. That's great firewood, and the only hardwood that can be found in any quantity. But it can be expensive to haul wood any distance, so most of us use what we can find in our own "backyard".

Lodgepole pine is a notch lower than Doug-fir, and Ponderosa pine is a notch lower than Lodgepole. P-pine is plentiful, but people tend to avoid it because Doug-fir is also widely available.

There's a lot of aspen around here, but once it dries it is very light. It is even less dense than P-pine, but sometimes people burn it because it can be really easy to get. Large clear trunks sometimes fall right across the road. Since you have to cut it up to clear the road you might as well throw a few rounds in the back of the truck. :msp_smile:

None of the conifers we burn create a creosote problem. Even the pine burns clean. Of course if you do not season the wood properly you can get a creosote problem, but it's pretty easy to season wood here, as it is very hot and very dry during the summer and early fall. A couple of summers in the shed and my wood is at 10% on the moisture meter, which is actually drier than optimal.

Doug

 

[deerlakejens]

Burning Big Leaf Maple as we speak, burns fairly hot and long and leaves a nice bed of embers for tomorrow. Most of my wood pile is Doug fir, plentiful, splits easy and burns hot. I also have a few cedars, cherries and hemlocks in the pile, with the cherry being pretty decent. There's even about a cord of alder waiting for winter.

 

[Steve NW WI]

Since dear old Sandy blew through, Ive been inundated with tons of spruce and white pine. Looks like I'll have plenty of shoulder season wood for the next couple of years.

If the spruce is in your yard and you need to clean it up, go ahead. If you are going to pick it up somewhere else, let someone else deal with it. Spruce has about 1 gazillion limbs, and therefore knots per tree. No fun limbing, and less fun splitting, unless you cut the blocks out between knots and leave knot cookies for the firepit.

White pine is alright in my book, but I don't see much of it unless one needs to leave someone's yard.

 

[ponyexpress976]

If the spruce is in your yard and you need to clean it up, go ahead. If you are going to pick it up somewhere else, let someone else deal with it. Spruce has about 1 gazillion limbs, and therefore knots per tree. No fun limbing, and less fun splitting, unless you cut the blocks out between knots and leave knot cookies for the firepit.

White pine is alright in my book, but I don't see much of it unless one needs to leave someone's yard.

Im getting paid to clean them up. I have a place nearby that accepts the chips. Cutting down on expenses by not paying to dump it. Most places want $50+ per load to dump. I figure I'll burn this stuff and maybe sell a few extra cords of hardwood.

 

[Gkiesel]

Once again you guys give me an education.
Not all conifers are considered pines, is what I'm hearing.
I've always been told do not burn pine in the stove, but out here we get all kinds, white pine, doug fir, blue spruce. From what I gather, as long as it's dry enough it not out of the question to burn. G

 

[smokee]

Just curious, to the firewood buyers, what you pay for a cord in the N.W. of what kind of wood?

 

[H 2 H]

Just curious, to the firewood buyers, what you pay for a cord in the N.W. of what kind of wood?

This place Forest Land Services here in town sells Alder $230 a cord


Home Heating Products Stanwood, WA - Forest Land Services Inc

 

[MNTAINGAL23]

We like to burn madrone alder big leaf maple and doug fir. Except for fir the others make it smell like a bbq. A cord runs 225 to 250

 

[slowp]

I just had a vision. We can haul a load of alder to Pike Place Market and fling it through the air like the salmon throwers. We'll give it a snooty name and sell it by the chunk. Who's in with me? :msp_smile:

 

[Big_Al]

Usually tamarack or Doug fir is 200 cord, lodgepole is 150. All of them burn fine dry, clean my chimney once a year.

 

[H 2 H]

I just had a vision. We can haul a load of alder to Pike Place Market and fling it through the air like the salmon throwers. We'll give it a snooty name and sell it by the chunk. Who's in with me? :msp_smile:

I'm in :msp_smile:

 

[Gologit]

I'm in :msp_smile:

Me too. I'll bring some madrone...great wood for throwing.

 

[Cedarkerf]

Were in. We wouldnt even need to split it cut rounds 25 to 30 inches long and call them rustic stools and charge 65 dollars a round like they do on ebay

 

[slowp]

Were in. We wouldnt even need to split it cut rounds 25 to 30 inches long and call them rustic stools and charge 65 dollars a round like they do on ebay

Those might be a leetle bit hard to throw--at least for me. :msp_smile:

 

[El Quachito]

Or fill your fabric shopping bag.

 

[sawsalottawood]

Here in the Willamette Valley

I will only burn Hickory, Hedge and Pecan. Those other woods leave too much creosote in my chimney

regards,

SAWs

 

[slowp]

Another marketing ploy, our alder is wild grown--not planted! That will cause the price to go higher, right?

 

[Wazzu]

Just curious, to the firewood buyers, what you pay for a cord in the N.W. of what kind of wood?

About $250 a cord for "red fir"/Doug Fir in the Boise area. That is, whatever is left over after the Forrest Service lets most of it burn up all summer out in the woods.

 

[Gologit]

Another marketing ploy, our alder is wild grown--not planted! That will cause the price to go higher, right?

Yup, especially when you label it as "Organically fertilized by grass fed deer"...