O' Christmas Tree?

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.
Mr. Kelly

Mr. Kelly

Feeling the Heat
Oct 24, 2009
265
Northern Worcester County, MA
Hi all,

Happy New Year, and all that stuff...


Now that the holidays are done... I'm contemplating what to do with the very first "real" Christmas tree our family has ever enjoyed. It is a magnificent fur tree, from the Carolinas... It cost us a fortune!

I've been clipping branches off of the thing slowly and feeding them to our PE Summit, who is devouring it handily. However... it's a boatload of work to do... and it burns very sappy.

Is anyone else doing something similar... or is it much wiser to just haul the thing out into the woods at the end of the yard and let mother nature do her tricks?

I'm concerned mostly about creosote from the very wet wood, not to mention the very erratic burning pattern in the stove.

Any opinions on the sappy matter?
 
Mr. Kelly said:
much wiser to just haul the thing out into the woods at the end of the yard and let mother nature do her tricks?
I'm concerned mostly about creosote from the very wet wood, not to mention the very erratic burning pattern in the stove.
Any opinions on the sappy matter?
Click to expand...

You nailed it right there.

That said, I gave up messing with the same situation about 5 years ago, and went artificial.
 
You are pretty daring to be putting it in your PE Summit.......last 2 years I have been doing what you are doing but in my outdoor fireplace. Those sappy branches go up in flames in seconds..... I personally would stop what you are doing ASAP.........
 
I think Christmas trees burn so fast and hot that you won't get creosote, but I wouldn't put much in the stove at once.
 
My thought is that they might be burning fast and hot... but... one branch snuck over to the glass, and the end sat against the glass... and left a nice little "blob" of sap that remained behind... That made me wonder...

Actually, it's kinda fun to hear the needles "pop" and "snap"... but once they heat up a bit, they do take off with a roar... and I'm not sure that is good for joints on a stove... to have them heat up that quickly...

It's a big job, too, since you can only get so much in there at a time... The poor Christmas tree looks mighty pathetic standing there with multiple gaping wounds all over the place!
 
A stove is not a trash burner. The branches of that tree, are trash and don't belong in the stove. If you want to cut up the trunk itself and let it season in the stacks with other wood for next season or the year after, then that would be appropriate.

Quick hot fires, like these branches can provide, has started many chimney fires. Not saying your chimney is dirty enough to have one, but that this sort of burn is not advised and not what your stove was meant for, no matter how convenient. A similar situation that has started many chimney fires is burning Christmas wrapping paper and/or bunches of cardboard for presents, etc.

Use the stove as intended, and throw the tree in the backyard for the birds to use until you can figure out how you want to properly dispose of it.

If you have a bird feeder out back, they will really like the tree nearby.

pen
 
  • Like
Reactions: ChadD, Rebelduckman, Fred Wright and 1 other person
Depends whether your xmas tree trunk is big enough to mess with. Mine usually are in my opinion. What I do is limb it down to the trunk and then cut the trunk to lengths and stack like any other tree. Burn it next year or the year after.
 
It's green, unseasoned wood.

Take it outside. Burn it in a bon fire. Or keep it around, cut it up and use the small rounds for next year's fire.

Some communities also have a "recycling" program where they will pick up or collect the trees and turn them into mulch or wood chips for bio fuel.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TreePointer
Drag it out in the woods and dump it...perfect habitat for small critters. Out here in the Northwest, they are being collected to be submerged in streams to provide safe habitat for new little fishes. Don't burn it in your stove. Rick
 
  • Like
Reactions: Fred Wright and Jags
Burned my tree yesterday in the outdoor fire pit. That's not going in my stove.
 
How long should I let Judas Priest cassettes season before burning?
 
  • Like
Reactions: firefighterjake
It's great that we can have discussions about what is safe and what isn't safe for burning. The vast majority of people in my area still think that burning pine will pretty much guarantee one a chimney fire ;hm.

Lots of misinformation out there, great that wisdom is shared and everyone is better off for it.

pen
 
  • Like
Reactions: firefighterjake and Fred Wright
I did a prescribed CRP burn last year on 200 acres and we had a couple hundred 8ft tall Eastern Red Cedars in the pastures. Every time the fire hit one of those it lit off like a bonfire. No way I'll ever put a real tree in my living room again.
 
There are few things we enjoyed more as kids than our annual burning of the Christmas trees. I remember riding my bike around the neighborhood picking up a handful of trees on the curb. We would tie a rope to them and drag them home. Onto the trailer dad would put them and take them to the families cabin in the woods.

After they dried, we would throw them on to a hot bonfire. We didn't handle them so most of the needles would still be attached. If you've never seen a dried xmas light off all at once you are missing out on life!
 
  • Like
Reactions: jeffesonm
I'm taking the tree outside. Stacking all the cardboard from presents under the tree. Preparing 2oz of Jack Daniels neat....and torching it!

I love not having neighbors.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Wildo
I completely disagree. I burn trash in mine every day! I just limit it to the handful of mail and personal papers I would typically run through the shredder.

I don't burn the entire Christmas tree, but I clip a few small branches off when we take it down and throw them in. Nice smell and sounds! Just don't over do it. Don't stuff the firebox full and you'll be OK....Everything in moderation!


pen said:
A stove is not a trash burner. The branches of that tree, are trash and don't belong in the stove. If you want to cut up the trunk itself and let it season in the stacks with other wood for next season or the year after, then that would be appropriate.

Quick hot fires, like these branches can provide, has started many chimney fires. Not saying your chimney is dirty enough to have one, but that this sort of burn is not advised and not what your stove was meant for, no matter how convenient. A similar situation that has started many chimney fires is burning Christmas wrapping paper and/or bunches of cardboard for presents, etc.

Use the stove as intended, and throw the tree in the backyard for the birds to use until you can figure out how you want to properly dispose of it.

If you have a bird feeder out back, they will really like the tree nearby.

pen
Click to expand...
 
I recycle mine. toss it off the deck into the yard with the lights still entwined, pull the lights out and not care about the needles that will end up in the grass.

Buzz the limbs off just like any other tree, only season those for next year's kindling in plastic laundry baskets. Buck the center pole to length, split and season.

Ready to go in one year for me generally, and unique bark. Kinda full circle thing to bring in the first piece of last year's tree for the stove when this year's tree is getting decorated...
 
  • Like
Reactions: PA. Woodsman
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

S
installing manual damper above pacific energy summit
Replies
10
Views
3K
Pacific Energy
simplynatural
S
ToltingColtAcres
Heat Loss calc software
Replies
9
Views
953
DIY and General non-hearth advice
Ashful
Ashful
Ashful
  • Locked
Christmas breakfast
Replies
31
Views
2K
The Inglenook
begreen
begreen
Ashful
  • Locked
Lionel O-gauge train platform - under Christmas tree
Replies
42
Views
14K
DIY and General non-hearth advice
El Finko
El Finko
5654684
DIY Grid Tie 5.1kW for $0.77/kW
Replies
27
Views
7K
The Green Room
byQ
byQ
Top Bottom
Back