Pine for firewood

[tld400]

Given the option to burn pine or burn cottonwood, I'd choose cottonwood. I have more of both lying around than anyone wants. Some pine splits worse than cottonwood and throws pine tar at you along with it.

That being said, I'll burn something else, such as elm, maple, ash, walnut, mulberry, locust, and hackberry. I have plenty of these also.

I can get plenty of hardwoods also but Im just trying to see if pine is worth te time and space it will take up. The one reason Im considering it because I pass multiple houses that have it all cut up for free.not split just firewood length

 

[tld400]

All the info has been greatly app. You guys talked me right into it. Tomorrow I will go load some pine up. Since Im on the wood subject does anyone no how long honey locust takes to season. And wow I didnt no oak takes two years to season.I always thought one year. Thanks

 

[sgt7546]

Honey Locust: I go a year on mine, and I burn and sell alot of locust. My first season burning I was probably closer to six months time and we kept nice and warm that year. It depends really on the size of the splits, how you stack it (single/double/triple rows), and where you stack at. In other words does it get sun and wind.

 

[woodbooga]

yep - pine is good burning.

But do a favor and don't burn any Sandy-downed pine during the current cycle. It's green and poses all the problems of burning any species green.

My advice is to gather any/all Sandy-downed - hard and soft - and keep till next winter.

 

[tld400]

yep - pine is good burning.

But do a favor and don't burn any Sandy-downed pine during the current cycle. It's green and poses all the problems of burning any species green.

My advice is to gather any/all Sandy-downed - hard and soft - and keep till next winter.

That is my plan now to get the pine and use it next year in the early months with a little oak and then hopefully the honey locust and some oak that I'm splitting now for the colder months. I'm going to try and get ahead at least a year or two by cutting through out the year And what my friend gives me when he takes a tree down here and there.

 

[sgt7546]

That is my plan now to get the pine and use it next year in the early months with a little oak and then hopefully the honey locust and some oak that I'm splitting now for the colder months. I'm going to try and get ahead at least a year or two by cutting through out the year And what my friend gives me when he takes a tree down here and there.

You got the right idea. I heat 24/7 and need about six cords a year. I started like you did, now I keep about 20 full cords handy just in case. Once you get in the habit of not paying the gas man it gets a whole lot easier to gather wood.

 

[tld400]

You got the right idea. I heat 24/7 and need about six cords a year. I started like you did, now I keep about 20 full cords handy just in case. Once you get in the habit of not paying the gas man it gets a whole lot easier to gather wood.

I been cutting wood to help out friends for years and always cut oak not pine.But I fianally put wood stove in last season. I wish I wasn't stuborn and listened to them years ago to put one in. So now Im going to try to get as much wood as i can hold on property. Since I hear good things about pine I will try to get mixed species of wood. Before I used to heat my house with mostly electric and one wall mount gas heater. House was never real warm and it cost me a little more than 300 a month more on my electric bill. Now I haven't turned any other sorce of heat on and my house stays about 74 to 76 all the time and Im not going broke heating it. Now Im like my friends trying to get everyone else in the family to get a wood stove and whe they do I will turn them to this site. Its helped me out alot:msp_smile:

 

[rob206]

I burn a lot of pine in my OWB, in fact I prefer it when I don't need the coal build up. In the summer when there are long periods of time between burn cycles pine will sometimes go out where hardwoods would restart. In the months of October, November and most of December I burned pine almost exclusively.

The trick to burning pine and any wood for that matter is to properly season it first. Pine seasons in 6 to 8 months when cut to size and split. Another plus IMO. Oak will take 2 years to season and I can't get far enough ahead to let wood season that long. Yes I can burn green wood in my OWB but get more useable heat out of dry wood.

Take all of that free pine that you want. It will heat your house just fine and won't burn it down in the process. It smells like a campfire when it's burning too. :msp_thumbup:

Same here. I just started burning the oak & maple that is stacked in my shed.

 

[ft. churchill]

We'd be cold all winter with out pine. We burn pinyon pine and it is a great firewood. My flue is very clean each spring when I brush it. It has less than 1mm of fluffy soot at the worst part. The pine I burn is very dry though, it is, well Nevada after all.

 

[djones]

I burn pine and other soft woods in the early part of the season, I have plenty of pine here on the farm and friends are always offering me their pine trees. I do fill the OWB more often with pine but it's free for the most part. Just be sure to have the blower on to create a good burn it the chimney, it cleans out any soot and creosole buildup during each cycle. Every time I burn with pine I have a cone of flames at the top of my short stack chimney at the end of each cycle, just before the aquastat shuts down the blower. I have not had to clean out my chimney in the 8 years I've used it. I've looked and there is no buildup of any kind in there. Enjoy the pine.

 

[mizzou]

All the info has been greatly app. You guys talked me right into it. Tomorrow I will go load some pine up. Since Im on the wood subject does anyone no how long honey locust takes to season. And wow I didnt no oak takes two years to season.I always thought one year. Thanks

I get a fair amount of honey locust and I always give it a year, but sometimes it takes a little longer. As far as oak taking 2 years to season, I've never had to go much over a year with any of the varieties of red oak, the white oak varieties seem to take a little longer but not 2 years.

 

[tld400]

I get a fair amount of honey locust and I always give it a year, but sometimes it takes a little longer. As far as oak taking 2 years to season, I've never had to go much over a year with any of the varieties of red oak, the white oak varieties seem to take a little longer but not 2 years.

I wish I could get honey locust every year but I doubt it. I got 10 pickup loads from a 150 year old tree that got blown down. The wood I got was just a part of tree. The base was 56 inches wide. So honey locust and pine should be a good mix for next year at least.

 

[greenskeeper]

I use pine and other evergreens to feed the wood stove in my detached garage. The "downside" to pine is actually an advantage out in the garage because it is easy to start (when needing quick heat in the garage) as well as burns fast so that when I am done working the fire isn't still going unattended.

 

[stihly dan]

I get a fair amount of honey locust and I always give it a year, but sometimes it takes a little longer. As far as oak taking 2 years to season, I've never had to go much over a year with any of the varieties of red oak, the white oak varieties seem to take a little longer but not 2 years.

I have some red oak not stacked properly that is 3 yrs stacked, still not ready.

 

[stihly dan]

Pine is good to start fires. The sap, and work for little heat(compared to your readily available hard wood) isn't worth the effort. But for the fire pit, chimnea, its great grab it up. Good bright light and burns out quick.

 

[Wood Doctor]

Oak Takes Forever to Dry

I have some red oak not stacked properly that is 3 yrs stacked, still not ready.

Precisely why I have always contended that oak is not very good for firewood. Save it for making furniture and woodworking in general. Burning it makes little sense when other plentiful species that dry much faster are available. And, several other species give out almost as much heat and are ready to burn during the same year that you harvest them. See my list above in post #14.

 

[woodbooga]

We'd be cold all winter with out pine. We burn pinyon pine and it is a great firewood. My flue is very clean each spring when I brush it. It has less than 1mm of fluffy soot at the worst part. The pine I burn is very dry though, it is, well Nevada after all.

The dominant species in NH where I am and much of the Northeast is white pine. Compared to other softwoods, it does seem to retain moisture longer - and the knots take a real long time to dry.

I try to buck at the whorls to expose the knots to air to expedite drying.

 

[ratso]

pine

Well about 10 years ago i turned my nose up at pine and burned fir as my softwood.That all changed I burn mostly pine for softwood now.The worst thing about pine is if you have a pile and it rains on it pine acts like a sponge.

 

[Wood Doctor]

Well about 10 years ago i turned my nose up at pine and burned fir as my softwood. That all changed I burn mostly pine for softwood now. The worst thing about pine is if you have a pile and it rains on it pine acts like a sponge.

Amen to that. I ran into this a few years ago when I used southern yellow pine for outdoor furniture. Even when painted, it soaked up water and rotted out in only a few years. I rebuilt the same furniture with white oak and it keeps going and going.

 

[Como]

Rain?

We are lucky if we see that in May.

I have some repairs to do on a roof. Not really an issue in Winter as the snow is blown off by the wind.

We are in a serious drought up here, we need the moisture and the Ski Resorts need the snow.