I have a lot of red Norway pine. It is cut, split and stacked. Moisture reading around 1 to 10 percent. Anyone burn this wood before? (Indoor stove) any info is greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Norway pine....is it any good for a indoor stove?
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English BoB
Minister of Fire
That is going to make a serious HOT fire, do,you have any other wood to mix with it ?
Be careful and watch your temps closely untill you get the feel for burning it.
bob
Little Digger
Member
Burn it! It comes in at 17.9 MBTU's per cord. It weighs in at 2890# per cord. It rates right in there with Big Leaf Maple, Black Ash, Boxelder, and White Elm to name a few with pretty much the same stats.
As with any pine, get used to it's burning characteristics. Start off slow, and as the previous poster said, mix it with something if possible. With a moisture content that low, it's going to burn fast and hot.
As with any pine, get used to it's burning characteristics. Start off slow, and as the previous poster said, mix it with something if possible. With a moisture content that low, it's going to burn fast and hot.
Thank to you both! I have a lot of red elm (10-20% moisture) white cedar (1-5%) oak (15-25%) any suggestions are really appreciated!
tigeroak
Feeling the Heat
Do as others have said with the pine, then later when it gets colder I would mix the pine/elm and if needed oak and oak/pine [ the 15-20 % oak].
Little Digger
Member
Mix it with either the Red Elm or Oak. Either should work, but first, you really need to have your meter checked. I just checked some of my 3 year seasoned wood, which I've had in the house for several months, and the lowest is 12.7%. I also checked some kiln dried pine lumber and it's coming in at 12.2%.
1 to 10% and 1 to 5% is insane crispy dry! Did you re split a split and check the fresh inside towards the middle?
1 to 10% and 1 to 5% is insane crispy dry! Did you re split a split and check the fresh inside towards the middle?
Both the pine and cedar have been out in the sun for at least two years. The oak was cut last summer. I am not sure when the cedar was cut...the previous land owner left it on the property when I bought it. That was two years ago. I peeled off all the bark on the cedar and let it bake in the summer sun. I will try another split tomarrow. It is really dry wood. You can smell it when you walk by the woodshed. The red elm was cut as dead standing trees. It is split ASAP and baked all spring and summer as well.
kennyp2339
Minister of Fire
AmbDrvr253
Minister of Fire
Its no good, you better ship it over to me in NJ so I can safely dispose of it for you. lol
Im closer. PA. Ill burn it for u!
Wood Duck
Minister of Fire
It will burn great, just be careful not to overload the stove. Very dry pine like you have can burn very hot.
Wisneaky
Minister of Fire
I'm probably the closest. Right here in Wisconsin. I'll make sure it's safe to burn.
Thanks to everyone for your comments. I split another other cedar log and tested it in the middle of the split. I got readings between 8 and 10%. It's all good. I am really learning a lot from everyone here on this site. I think I will need the pine for the cold wisconsin winters.
Come on down to Buffalo county.......but only after all the deer hunting is over....
No you want your oak for the cold part of winter. Pine will burn hot yes but it will also burn fast. Did your mm come with a calibration procedure? I really think it is pretty far off those sound impossibly low for air dried wood
Seanm
Minister of Fire
Ive had softwoods like pine not even register although its unlikely its that dry even if the meter is giving that reading. Moisture meters are calibrated to doug fir. Pine especially can give inaccurate readings (see bhollers calibration comment). Either way if you are getting a low registered reading you can assume its very very dry. Ive posted here in the past about some of my pine that has been so low that I have problems with the burn and end up keeping it for kindling. Your meter is probably fine.
Lumber-Jack
Minister of Fire
Seanm and bholler are right. The actual moisture content is probably much higher then the 1% reading you are getting on your moisture meter, but it is probably not a failing of the meter itself. Rather it is just a limitation of the way they are calibrated to take their readings. Like most meters, these resistance moisture meters are calibrated to be most accurate at or around a specific moisture reading, on a specific wood, and that is normally on Douglas fir at around 20% moisture content. When the actual moisture is progressively higher or lower the readings become increasingly inaccurate. Although you could try a brand new battery and see if the readings you get are any different.
Not to worry though, if you are getting readings under 20% the wood is good to burn.
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Great advice. Thank you and everyone else for your comments. The last three nights were in the 40s and high 30s. Mama bear wanted a fire so I thought it was time to fire it up. I re- split a lot of my Norway pine and cedar and took new readings in the middle of the splits. I was getting any ware from 10 to 20 % readings so, it was game on. I mixed the cedar and pine with box elder. All the burns went really well. I used a stove thermometer and watched the temps to avoid over-firing the stove. The heritage came to life with ease each night. The smoke was clear from the chimney and there was not any black soot on the glass. The stove heated the house to 70 degrees each night. Stove never ran above 550 and I was able to control the temp. with the damper. Wife is warm and happy....I must be doing something right so far.
Oldman47
Minister of Fire
Let me help a bit. You do not have any wood of any species at 1%. If you live in the desert and have 4 years old wood you might possibly have some species at 10% or a bit less. You moisture meter is broken. In most of the US a 10% moisture reading is not possible unless you have a kiln to finish the drying.
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