Pine is for suckas!

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
DoHomerSimpson

DoHomerSimpson

ArboristSite Lurker
Joined
Oct 28, 2017
Messages
27
Location
Ireland
All the old beliefs about pine burning your house down have been well debunked alright.

If you can get pine for free, it's a good option unless you can get suitable hardwoods for free also.

Once felled, the effort and cost involved in processing each cubic foot of pine will be similar to that required to process a hardwood. Yet, you will only get 50% of the heat output from each cubic foot of the pine. So, a lot depends on how much time you have available and how much of a price/value you put on it. Of course, if you can get paid to take it away as well then you're on a winner!
 
panolo

panolo

Seldom right...Always opinionated!
Joined
Oct 14, 2016
Messages
1,147
Location
Central MN
I got about 6 cords sitting up north from the last storm this year. Just got to make the trip to grab it. Most of it is Tamarack which I have never burnt but the old timer that has the property next to my Uncles say it's pretty decent firewood. Said if he didn't have 6 years worth ready to roll he'd of snatched it on me. Also said it was rarer to see stands of tamarack where it wasn't that wet. Never really paid much attention because pines are usually yard trees in my area.
 
Joined
Oct 19, 2009
Messages
29,497
Location
MN
I got about 6 cords sitting up north from the last storm this year. Just got to make the trip to grab it. Most of it is Tamarack which I have never burnt but the old timer that has the property next to my Uncles say it's pretty decent firewood. Said if he didn't have 6 years worth ready to roll he'd of snatched it on me. Also said it was rarer to see stands of tamarack where it wasn't that wet. Never really paid much attention because pines are usually yard trees in my area.
Tamarack is fantastic. It has a reputation of burning out stoves (such as barrel stoves or those made with low quality metal) but if you have a good stove and do not overfire it works really well. It is my favorite for sauna fires because it provides immediate heat and also burns as long as mid grade hardwoods like maple and birch. I had cut a half cord of oak that I will not be replacing when it is gone as it burns too slow in the sauna so you either need to use something else to get the fire going or plan to let the sauna heat longer.

It normally grows in swamps or bogs so is often hard to get. Loggers will often mix it with hardwood and sell it to OWB users.

Where exactly is up north?
 
panolo

panolo

Seldom right...Always opinionated!
Joined
Oct 14, 2016
Messages
1,147
Location
Central MN
Tamarack is fantastic. It has a reputation of burning out stoves (such as barrel stoves or those made with low quality metal) but if you have a good stove and do not overfire it works really well. It is my favorite for sauna fires because it provides immediate heat and also burns as long as mid grade hardwoods like maple and birch. I had cut a half cord of oak that I will not be replacing when it is gone as it burns too slow in the sauna so you either need to use something else to get the fire going or plan to let the sauna heat longer.

It normally grows in swamps or bogs so is often hard to get. Loggers will often mix it with hardwood and sell it to OWB users.

Where exactly is up north?

In between Gheen and Greaney. He owns a few hundred acres up that way. Don't think he would have lost many trees but the couple sections to the west had been logged and I don't think many of those trees had ever seen wind.
 
panolo

panolo

Seldom right...Always opinionated!
Joined
Oct 14, 2016
Messages
1,147
Location
Central MN
Small world

He lives more towards Buyck/Crane Lake but over the years he flipped some land to acquire more. I think he got this piece when he sold a beautiful 80+ just outside Cotton that ran along the whiteface river. I had a fantastic deer stand that looked down at the river and was nestled in some pines. Probably my favorite place in the world.
 
Joined
Oct 19, 2009
Messages
29,497
Location
MN
He lives more towards Buyck/Crane Lake but over the years he flipped some land to acquire more. I think he got this piece when he sold a beautiful 80+ just outside Cotton that ran along the whiteface river. I had a fantastic deer stand that looked down at the river and was nestled in some pines. Probably my favorite place in the world.
We used to catfish on the Whiteface just west of Cotton. My FIL's family came from Toivola the next township over.

You can always tell who the tourists are when they ask for directions to Boo-sick.:laughing::laughing::laughing:

Buyck_Community_Sign.JPG
 
panolo

panolo

Seldom right...Always opinionated!
Joined
Oct 14, 2016
Messages
1,147
Location
Central MN
Ain't that the truth! I never fished the river much. His place was east. We didn't venture towards Toivola much except for the few years when there were no deer. Drove around and bs'ed with some locals. Used to love going to Susies sweet shop for breakfast. They used to come out and chuckle when we would kill a couple of the breakfast specials apiece.

He's been in Buyck for awhile now. My cousin moved up about 7-8 years ago and works in Cook at some place that makes hard wood floors or something. Pretty good gig up there. When the VRT was for sale a number of years ago my dad and his biz partner contemplated hard on it but instead partnered up on a ranch in Wyoming. Often wondered if they would have pulled the trigger if I would have ended up living there.
 
Marine5068

Marine5068

Addicted to ArboristSite
. AS Supporting Member.
Joined
Nov 20, 2009
Messages
2,308
Location
Madoc, Ontario, Canada
the newer EPA stoves really like softwoods like pine. they still burn a good long time and give off excellent heat without the un-burnt coals building up so bad. i burn a lot of it
What kind of newer stove do you own?
My Drolet loves longer burns of softwoods too.
I always start the fires with softwood. Pine, Spruce, Fir.
 
Top