How much is too much ..... Pine

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Auzzie Gumtree

Auzzie Gumtree

Minister of Fire
Oct 17, 2012
535
Just got the chance of a very big score (6 trees.) Had a look on Friday after work and got my first load. Its a very easy score but i don't have much room left and i don't want to 'waste' it on Pine. But on the other hand some of the best burning wood i have had this year has been pine and i know it will be good to go next year.

I am going back tonight for another load - i can fit ~ 1/3 cord in my Ute and i actually drive past it on my way home - so how much is too much pine???? or can there ever be too much free wood.

I will try and take some better snaps tonight as these don't do the amount Justice. You can see my ute in the last picture so access is not a problem and splitting the wood is a dream with the Fiskars 27 - so much easier than the gum i have been working on.

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Is that Monterey pine, what you call radiata? I have cut, processed and burned a lot of that. It burns hot, but fast. If it is easy to get I would go for it. It is easy to cut and split, and it dries in one season. Not as long burning or dense as euc (gum), but a good one to mix it with. I used to burn euc and pine when I lived in California. If I had to have one of the other I would choose euc, but, you need shoulder wood and something to get the euc going with. Also euc is a bear to process, it takes time to dry, and once it is dry it is like splitting rock. Some euc rounds we had would take 2 days to burn completely.
 
Yeah, I'm making sure I've got enough quick-dry to ensure dry wood for next season, then I'll transition into the longer-burning stuff when I've got a big enough stash that has had plenty of time to dry out. I have enough room to stack plenty of both, though....
 
You can never have enough. Gremlins tend to pop up at the most in opportune times.
 
I have had yellow pine in the stack for 2 years and it still burned great and did not get punky or anything.
 
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I would have a hard time passing up an easy score of decent wood like pine. You never know what will happen in the future - you might get too busy to collect wood, you or a critical piece of equipment might break, wood might be hard to come by, etc. I say pick up all the pine you can store while the picking is easy.
 
That wood looks easy as all get out to process. In addition, I do not think your weather gets that cold. In addition to that, you like your outside firepit. Do I need any more additions :p
 
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If all you have to do is split it, grab as much as you can, then grab some more.
If I didn't need more Oak, I'd be putting up a bunch of Pine right now.
The Pine I put up a couple months ago will be more than ready by this time next year.
 
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Thanks for the replies I got another load tonight. I will post pics when I,m at work tomorrow. I will make some room - but it was where my shed was going....... I talked with the owner and she was telling me the neighbour was taking full uncut lengths and milling them. You can just see in the last picture the line with a hoist attached. One man can take the large piece in the last picture into the back of his truck.

I'm guessing I will get a load after work until its gone. There's a few others interested so don't want to be greedy. Not sure what pine it is but it doesn't have any sticky stuff, I think that's the technical term, its nice and clean.
 
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Monterey pine (or radiata pine) is the most abundantly grown commercial timber species in the world, and by far the most common in NZ and Oz. About like Doug fir is grown in the PNW, and yellow pine in the south. They make good flooring planks and it is used in housing construction down under. It is generally not grown in the US for commercial wood use. It is commonly planted for fast-growing landscaping, and is only cut/used for firewood in its native range in California.
 
Got the second load home today. Not sure how much but i thinking over a cubic metre (1/4 cord ) so 5 trips should be about 1 1/2 cord.

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Yes hurry, summer is coming down under!

I get most of my wood here in the spring. By the time fall rolls around the wood scroungers are out in droves.
 
StihlHead said:
Yes hurry, summer is coming down under!
Click to expand...
It was 80 degrees here yesterday...... this is the best time for me to collect firewood as everyone else is 'over it' until next year. Give it another 8 months and then they will realise they need more firewood asap - that's when i stop trying to get any as competition is too fierce.

Have a look at this from our local ebay - ".......Red gum tree great burning wood. Selling all pieces in the photo for $800, which is from a 15 metre tall tree, there is more than 3m3 it is unsplit. Can also sell smaller amounts call for price......."

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I used to get all the euc I wanted in California for free, especially if it was dry because it was so hard to process.

I thought that $600 was excessive for a cord of apple on Craigslist in Seattle, but $800 for that pile is downright insane. You have us beat at that price for 2/3 of a cord. Plus you have to process it?!
 
Wow I hope you can scrounge some. 800.00 is outrageous. Of course we're up above and not down under.
Wood is scarce to say the least. Good luck. Dry seasoned pine does burn ok.
 
Paulywalnut said:
Wood is scarce to say the least.
Click to expand...

Not in NJ from the posts I read here... they drag logs to your door there, for free. The rest of us have to beat off the wood hungry wolves and gather it up and haul it ourselves.
 
StihlHead said:
I thought that $600 was excessive for a cord of apple on Craigslist in Seattle, but $800 for that pile is downright insane
Click to expand...
This is the worst one i have seen in a while and no-one is bidding on it. Its the wrong time of the year and its way to expensive. I don't buy any of my firewood and i managed to collect ~ 4 -5 years worth in one year. Its not all as good as Redgum - which is the yardstick for measuring quality firewood similar to Oak in the USA, but still hardwood.
 
I don't collect pine and there is a lot of it around here to be collected. I just don't have the time and have too much other nice wood
to work on. I guess the question of what is too much is fully up to effort, space and time on your part.

Keep up the good work...and enjoy your summer.
 
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