a question for woodstove/ fireplace owners, NF

[chris.brock]

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.

 

I remember touring around the Yukon, it's all white spruce, at the campsites there was free firewood (spruce), I thought it was pretty interesting that the wood doesn't take long to season up there because of the dry climate,

thanks Drifter, you must be loosing a lot of daylight up there, it's a magical part of the world though, I want to go back

[chris.brock]

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.

 

straight pipe

[chris.brock]

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.

 

 

I can identify all the species, I may be living in Oakville but don't hold it against me

 

I've got both poplar and ash stacked and drying and know the difference

[DRIFTER_016]

Thanks Drifter, you must be losing a lot of daylight up there, it's a magical part of the world though, I want to go back

Yep, losing 6 minutes a day at this point.

Won't be long before I'm drilling holes and riding the sled.

Got about a month of open water fishing left.

[Sinker]

 

straight pipe

No worries then. Just get a chimney sweep, and clean it out once in a while.

 

Don't try and simmer the fire with pine. You have to have a good hot fire to help prevent the creosote build up. Just make sure you start with a clean chimney to start. Its not as bad as some make it out to be. There's no hard wood where my old man lives in nfld either. Been burning mostly spruce for 3 generations in the same house. I wouldn't think twice about it. It won't be the best wood for heat, but it will keep ya warm if you keep the wood to it!

 

S.

[blue pickeral]

The internet wood burning sites are pretty good for picking up a few tips....ever tried lighting your fire from the top down as opposed to the bottom up? After a while you'll get to know your stove and using different species of wood will come about situationally....if you need a quck burst of heat, put on a birch log.....hard woods as mentioned for long sustained burns....pine will work well for creating a bed of coals (don't overlook any dimensional lumber left over from projects or even from 'free' piles outside place that use shipping skids)

 

On the other hand, if you have any elm, don't bother unless you are trying to create a smoky smudge...when living they are 40% water, take at least two years to season before they will even light, and are just not worth the trouble.

 

Being cheap as dirt is okay, but if at an early stage, invest extra in a really efficient stove which will save time and money inthe long run. A Pacific Energy Super Series stove might produce only a grand total of a half cup of creasote off a 26' chimney a year.

Edited September 22, 2013 by blue pickeral

[Roy]

 

On the other hand, if you have any elm, don't bother unless you are trying to create a smoky smudge...when living they are 140% water, take at least two years to season before they will even light, and are just not worth the trouble.???

 

Water is not 100% water..elm is 140% water???

[Bernie]

LOL Roy.
Ya, kind of wondered about that too.

Years ago, when I bought my first house I set up a wood stove. Of course I had no dry wood.
I cut down several dead elm to get me going.
It burned hot and strong with no chimney residue to speak of.

[lew]

As long as everyone burns their fire hot, makes sure the chimney is in good shape and clean, you'll all be good to go.

[woodenboater]

and a stovepipe thermometer is highly recommended.

[Rod Caster]

I have a pacific energy stove with stainless steel chimeny and its very tall, over 30'. Just cleaned it out yesterday and had about a cup of creosote. I'll be burning all hardwoods including poplar in the transition seasons.from fathers advice, poplar and black ash burn pretty good but don't leave sufficient hot coals like maple does to stoke your fire quickly in the middle of the night.

 

Anyway, I'm not much help here because this will be my first real burning season. Good luck Chris, like you, I'm taking the frugal route and cutting, bucking and splitting my own heat!

[blue pickeral]

Water is not 100% water..elm is 140% water???

Sorry about that - dancing fingers - fixed it to 40%. As a reward for your vigilance, a link to a chart which shows green /dry ratios - will come in handy if you are trying to figure out if your trailer will handle that extra cord you are thinking of loading.

 

http://www.ncsec.org/cadre2/team18_2/students/percentWater.htm

 

Elm will dry standing, but once it is cut will rot before it dries if left lying around.