a question for woodstove/ fireplace owners, NF

[chris.brock]

a trust everyone's opinion here, more than internet searches, that's why I would post a stupid NF question like this

 

I've had my cottage for only 4 winters, I know some of you guys have burned wood for dozens of years

 

 

I've got a lot of Red and White Pine, cut, split and dried, from the wind burst storm in July in Haliburton. Is it ok to burn in my wood stove?

 

I've heard no, the creosote is dangerous and may cause a chimney fire, and I've heard it's fine, only White Birch is to be avoided

 

any input would be appreciated

[grizzlybri]

I took forestry in school and as long as the wood is dry you will be fine, Green wood of ash trees contains moisture and green poplar contains moisture are the ones to watch out for. I know that is the rule of thumb my family use at our cottage for our wood stove

Edited September 17, 2013 by grizzlybri

[chris.brock]

I took forestry in school and as long as the wood is dry you will be fine, Green wood of ash trees contains moisture and green poplar contains moisture are the ones to watch out for. I know that is the rule of thumb my family use at our cottage for our wood stove

sweet, thanks grizz

[OhioFisherman]

I have had my woodburner now since 1990, it has never seen pine, pine get's used for bonfires.

[chris.brock]

I have had my woodburner now since 1990, it has never seen pine, pine get's used for bonfires.

why Ohio? creosote?

 

my goal is to never buy wood, I'm always scrooging wood, I've got tons of pine, oh yeah, if I didn't mention it before, I'm cheaper than dirt

[SirCranksalot]

As said above, as long as the wood is dry it's good to burn. Sap, once dried out, becomes valuable fuel.

[chris.brock]

thanks Knuguy

 

it's funny how ads for firewood racks and furnaces are popping up above my post, smart advertising, except they don't realize, as I might have said before, I'm cheaper than dirt

[Bernie]

Hi Chris.

 

I'll burn some pine, as long as it is well seasoned.
The trouble is, being a softwood, it burns quickly.

As it was mentioned, allowing any type of wood you burn to dry out is the most important. This process will depend on how dry the area you place the wood is, how fine it is split and how dense the wood itself is. Most folks burning wood like to give the wood a year to season.
It's the moisture content in the wood that creates the dreaded creosote coated chimneys.
The problem is that this moisture condenses inside the chimney and leaves the residue. Many folks also damper their stoves too much with the damp wood and makes the situation even worse.

Then when they get a blazing fire going it can heat up the residue in the chimney and it will then ignite, causing a chimney fire.

 

Pine is a softwood, therefore the wood is pourous with lots of air pockets making it less dense and often ignites easier so it makes good kindling to start a fire if split fine.

Hardwood can also vary in how dense it is. Poplar is a less dense hardwood and burns fairly quickly but leaves little ash residue. Great daytime firewood.

I'll burn white birch readily. It's fairly dense and lasts well in the woodbox with good heat output. I just leave the damper open when putting it in to allow the bark to burn off. better.

Of course, maple, oak, cherry, yellow birch are the ideal woods to burn. Long lasting in the stove with lots of BTU to throw out.

[chris.brock]

thanks Bernie, I trust your opinion

 

oh yeah, I saw 1 of your boats, it's been a little neglected though, at Doug Thompsons on Gull Lk, Haliburton, he knew all about you guys, pretty cool, small world

[woodenboater]

I pretty well only burn maple (and other hardwoods) which I buy seasoned, in my stove. My property has decent woods with some hardwood but it's mostly pine with some poplar and that wood gets used in the firepit. If you plan to burn in the winter and the stove is your only heat, I'd suggest buying properly seasoned hardwood as softwoods aren't going to last very long for an overnight burn.

 

So after saying all that, I wouldn't worry too much about burning the pine, just burn at the right temp zone and creosote shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Edited September 17, 2013 by woodenboater

[chris.brock]

I pretty well only burn maple (and other hardwoods) which I buy seasoned, in my stove. My property has decent woods with some hardwood but it's mostly pine with some poplar and that wood gets used in the firepit. If you plan to burn in the winter and the stove is your only heat, I'd suggest buying properly seasoned hardwood as softwoods aren't going to last very long for an overnight burn.

 

So after saying all that, I wouldn't worry too much about burning the pine, just burn at the right temp zone and creosote shouldn't be too much of a problem.

it's kind of a goal of mine to never pay for wood, I'm trying to get ahead on seasoning some hardwood

 

thanks

[SirCranksalot]

I find it ideal to have a mixture of hard and soft---maybe about 2/3 hard. The soft is good for kindling, of course, but also to get the fire going and the stove up to temp. Then, once that first load burns down a bit into red glowing charcoal, load in the hardwood for a longer, slower burn.. If you Google wood burning you'll find that there's great variation in the heat values of different woods, both hard and soft. About the best is apple if you can find it.(I have to reign in my urge to scrounge---it's usually not worth it unless you're OK with min wage. Mind you, there is real physical satisfaction in splitting the wood.)

[OhioFisherman]

Well it's a soft wood and the amount of heat given off by it is low compared to hardwoods. I have seen others use it and was not at all impressed.

 

Cheap? Me also, but there are a bunch of Amish sawmills in my area and it's not hard to find slab wood cheap, 50 - 60 bucks used to fill my tandem axle trailer with a cord and a quarter of short cut slab wood, and there were a lot of pieces 4x4 4x6.

 

Burning oak, hickory, ash, poplar, cherry, apple, and even black walnut was cheap. My son now helps a couple friends at times clear areas for farmers and brings home pickup loads of wood.

[woodenboater]

it's kind of a goal of mine to never pay for wood, I'm trying to get ahead on seasoning some hardwood

 

thanks

 

Gotcha and if my acreage was mostly hardwood, I'd be investing in a Husqvarna to drop and buck them

[bigugli]

I spent 20 years heating my home with wood. It is only economical if you can scrounge up most of your yearly supply. Drying is key. Know your wood types, burn rates and BTU's.

Having been an arborists assistant, I burnt whatever I cut down or trimmed. That can include some really unusual species of tree. Back on topic, pines and spruce are fine for daytime burn, even willow for that matter, but only if you let it dry adequately. For me that means 2 years in the shed.

[Sinker]

I'd burn it in mine.

 

Do you have a straight pipe to the roof, or is there an elbow or two?

 

Definitely needs to be good and dry.

 

S.

[Old Ironmaker]

The lower the moisture content of the wood of course the greater ration of carbon to H2O. Dry or not the tar in softwoods is still in the wood, to a lesser degree when bone dry but still there., Just smell it.

 

It is absolutely fine to use your softwoods as kindling. I would not burn it exclusively as my main carbon source or even at 2 to 3 ratio. It will certainly add to the tar buildup in the stack. But as a starter sure go ahead. It simply doesn't give off enough heat to be worth while. Another problem you might find is that the bosh in the lower stack and thus the upper stack or chimney may not come up to temperature sufficiently enough to sustain a good initial draught or sustain a draught causing blowback of smoke, if that happens well then you have a pile of furniture stock. All wood stoves and fireplace inserts are designed slightly differently where it won't make a difference on one but will on another.

 

I would give it more than a year to dry for certain. There are some guys out here that don't burn a thing including hardwood unless seasoned 2 years. One good smack with an axe and it splits if seasoned 2 years, if your splitting by hand it makes easy work of it the longer seasoned.

 

But to answer the question I would use it as a starter only, and then only if bone dry.

 

Bigugli hit the mail on the head, know your wood. Some Poplar disguises itself as ash, I know guys out here that think they are burning Ash and it's really garbage Poplar. Get a good book describing the trees we have here in Ontario and good pictures to help identify each type in each species. Chapters is a good place to look. If I find my favorite I'll post it here when I do.

[Sinker]

My old man burns 95% spruce in his for 9 mos of the year. You have to know how to clean your chimney, its messy wood, but if that's what you have, burn it.

[Paudash]

as long as you clean your chimney you will be fine. Always clean it at least once a year or after every 3 cords depending on how much you burn and you will never have a issue.

[Woodsman]

As some have stated earlier that pine from July is not ready to burn yet.

Give it at least one more year & 2 would be better.

[lew]

We've got an airtight downstairs in the family room and I only ever burn well seasoned hardwood in it. It gives off great heat and the furnace only runs a fraction of the time. I stoke it up before going to bed and in the morning it's still glowing hot and fires right up again as soon as I throw in a few more logs.

 

I also have the chimney cleaned every year.

[SirCranksalot]

Chris,

 

If you go to the websites below you will get more detailed and better advice than you will get here on OFC.

 

 

http://woodheat.org/good-firewood.html

 

http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/home/heating_cooling/firewood.html

[Bernie]

Knuguy.....
Kind of slamming the good folks here with that statement.
The advise given by those that did, was pretty good.

Perhaps Chris may get further advise at those sites you posted, but to say "better advise" is quite rude.

[DRIFTER_016]

We only burn soft woods up here because there are no hardwoods.

Mostly it is black spruce but also some pine.

As has been said it is fine as long as it's dry.

Even then I would hop up on the roof a couple of times a winter and run my chimney brush down the pipe to clean out any buildup.

[Sinker]

Chris,

 

If you go to the websites below you will get more detailed and better advice than you will get here on OFC.

 

 

http://woodheat.org/good-firewood.html

 

http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/home/heating_cooling/firewood.html

Meh......nothing on those sites that hasn't been said here.

 

S.