Myths about differant wood types

Crazy I know but wife said I was giving off poisonous gas the other night!

Elm is not hard to split.

i keep hearing this one "its best to mix in some green wood with dry becuase dry seasoned wood burns up too quick "

Don't burn Boxelder or you may bring on death from the Hag Goddess who lives in the tree.

That the oil in red cedar will set up in your chimney and plug it up, same thing you hear about pine.

Highbeam said:

That the oil in red cedar will set up in your chimney and plug it up, same thing you hear about pine.

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It is funny that the same people who say that will buy cedar fire starters

osage orange won't burn your house down =-)

It's okay to cut down the rain forests it has no effect on the environment. Oh...by the way...all wood gives off poisonous gas while burning. It is commonly referred to as carbon monoxide but don't tell anyone and we can keep it secret a while longer.

Birch creates more creosote than any other wood.

Green wood lasts longer.



I have to tell the story of my father in law (i've mentioned him before). He uses a stove, and from coals he will put in 1 chunk so big that it's all that fits in the firebox. 30 seconds after putting it in, he closes the air all the way, and closes the damper almost all the way. is smokes like a banshee, has very very little flame and after 20 min you cant see that its there because the glass is BLACK. The top of his chimney is jet black. It takes from 6am to 2pm to get the house up to 68* in 20* weather. You can touch the top of the stove for more than 10 seconds. waaaay longer.

I say "pa, you are not burning properly, its just smoldering. Its not efficiant and very polluting... not to mention how bad the inside of the chimney must be. You should put in smaller pieces, leave the air open until its charred and not close the damper so much."

He says "i've been burning for 30 years, you have been for 6 months. I know what I'm doing. Besides, Ive only gone through 1 cord... you have gone through 5 (we heat 2100 sq ft 110 year old house with a furnace keeping the house at 74*, he heats a 1500 sq ft 3 year old house with a freestanding stove)"

I say "ya, you are right :roll: :roll:

I just read a new one being started.

Bigg_Redd said:

Sap = Deciduous

Pitch = Coniferous

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;-P

Todd said:

Don't burn Boxelder or you may bring on death from the Hag Goddess who lives in the tree.

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That's elder, not boxelder.

CowboyAndy said:

Birch creates more creosote than any other wood.

Green wood lasts longer.



I have to tell the story of my father in law (i've mentioned him before). He uses a stove, and from coals he will put in 1 chunk so big that it's all that fits in the firebox. 30 seconds after putting it in, he closes the air all the way, and closes the damper almost all the way. is smokes like a banshee,
I say "ya, you are right :roll: :roll:

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LOL- smokes like a banshee- does it howl like a chimney too?

-pH- lies like a sieve, leaks like a rug

I think a sieve actually will hold water longer than a rug, no counting for saturation. Maybe we should write a letter to the Board to have that changed

lexybird said:

i keep hearing this one "its best to mix in some green wood with dry becuase dry seasoned wood burns up too quick "

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I actually have the manual for my stoves that state just that. The manufacturer calls for a mix of green wood to extend the burn time.

karri0n said:

I think a sieve actually will hold water longer than a rug, no counting for saturation. Maybe we should write a letter to the Board to have that changed

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And while your at it, find out why the meanings of hemoroids and asteroids aren't switched around!

johnsopi said:

We all know myth about Pine burning your house down. My neighbor tells me Black Walnut lets off poisonous gas whan it's burned.
What other cazy stories have you heard?

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I never heard the one about walnut gas, but I DO know of a few houses burnt down by chimney fires started by white pine or Christmas present wrapping paper. Not a myth (unless you're using the anthropological defintion of the word).

It's not because there's anything wrong with pine, it IS because it can burn fast and hot., especially in kindling sizes. We use it often in our sap arch when making maple syrup. Throw hardwood in to cool a fire, and through softwood in to get it hot - fast. Take someone who's been heating their house all winter with nothing but hardwood and a fire turned down everynight. They open it and throw a load of dry white pine in, and often a chimney fire will start. In my area, Christmas morning often has the most chimney fires. That from people throwing their wrapping paper into the fire.

CowboyAndy said:

Birch creates more creosote than any other wood.

Green wood lasts longer.

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Neither of those are myths. With Birch, it's the bark and that fact people don't give it enough time to season.

Green wood does last longer. If you have nothing but green wood, you won't be burning it until next year so it will last a year longer than the seasoned stuff you burn now.

jdemaris,

how about Jan 15th ish when people (no kidding) cut up their tree in the house & burn it?

I had a friend (TIC ) say that since he had a two sided fireplace, he could just push the tree in from the living room side, and if he pushed it at the right speed, it would burn up before anything came out on the dining room side.

A better story is a farmer friend of mine had an old section of barn that he milked in many years ago. It got beyond repair and he and his brother tore it down, and burned the debris in the barn yard. I was captain of the local fire company at the time, He and his brother were both Charter members 50 years earlier.
He says that they discussed lighting it on fire while it was still standing, then calling us to put it out when it got to the good part, kind of like a test of our skills.
I thought that was clever!!

Adios Pantalones said:

Todd said:

Don't burn Boxelder or you may bring on death from the Hag Goddess who lives in the tree.

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That's elder, not boxelder.

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Yep, your right, I thought they were the same. No wonder I didn't die.

LLigetfa said:

CowboyAndy said:

Birch creates more creosote than any other wood.

Green wood lasts longer.

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Neither of those are myths. With Birch, it's the bark and that fact people don't give it enough time to season.

Green wood does last longer. If you have nothing but green wood, you won't be burning it until next year so it will last a year longer than the seasoned stuff you burn now.

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But that's not the WOOD's fault that people don't let it season enough. IMO, it IS a myth that birch creates more creosote. Any wood that is properly seasoned creates the same amount: none.

Chris S said:

jdemaris,

how about Jan 15th ish when people (no kidding) cut up their tree in the house & burn it?

I had a friend (TIC ) say that since he had a two sided fireplace, he could just push the tree in from the living room side, and if he pushed it at the right speed, it would burn up before anything came out on the dining room side.

A better story is a farmer friend of mine had an old section of barn that he milked in many years ago. It got beyond repair and he and his brother tore it down, and burned the debris in the barn yard. I was captain of the local fire company at the time, He and his brother were both Charter members 50 years earlier.
He says that they discussed lighting it on fire while it was still standing, then calling us to put it out when it got to the good part, kind of like a test of our skills.
I thought that was clever!!

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Around here, old house and barn burning is sometimes done by local volunteer fire departments for "practice." In fact, I had to back out of what would been a great buy in the Adirondacks, a few years ago. My purchase offer was accepted on an old farm house and 20 acres of woods. House was almost ready to fall down. I was buying it with the intention of replacing with an equal sized cabin. I was OK legally since the replacement was "grandfathered in" and therefore not subject to newer building and zoning regs. A few days before the closing was supposed to take place, my wife and I drove up to see the property one more time - about 120 miles from our home. Well . . . we got there and found a smoldering pile of cinders. Later found out the seller invited the local Indian Lake fire department to come burn it down and have a practice session. That screwed all my plans. Law says that the grandfather clause only applies to existing buildings. If you tear or burn down, and don't replace immediately, you lose the right. So, I had to back out of the deal.

I heard this one recently from a supplier:

"We don't split the wood until it's ready to be delivered because once it's split it will just absorb moisture"


Sad state of affairs is, this guy has sold me the best wood I've gotten from a supplier. He at least had it downed for a year and a half, but it's still not fully dry for obvious reasons. My guess is 30-40% MC, which is better than most places around here that seem to either drop it and split it the day you get it, or split it and let it sit in a puddle for 3 months.

Burning wood will give you more free time as you are not paying high gas bills anymore.

d.n.f. said:

Burning wood will give you more free time as you are not paying high gas bills anymore.

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Sure, you save lots of money. All you need is a stove, SS pipe, good chainsaw with at least 200 ccs, safety gear including carbon fiber full-face helmet and 12-layer kevlar chaps, splitter (preferably a 3000 ton titanium with remote control), mauls and axes in each available size and head style, wedges, a shed, a deuce and a half, with trailer. I feel like I'm missing a few things...