a pine convert

Ubookz · Oct 31, 2011

Out interior west our wood is mostly pine, jack pine, ponderosa and lodgepole, a lot of mountain beetle killed-turns the infested wood blue but burns ok. Half my winter fuel is pine, the other half is douglas fir.

Lately I have burned some paper birch which is scarce but have found a wood I like to burn: mountain alder; it grows in a bush style and is smaller but the flame is less yellow with a slight purple hue. btu is about 17k. The splits have a pleasant aroma.

I don't know that anyone else burns this wood-it is too small to bother with!
I see truckloads of pine mostly and then fir

Biff_CT2 · Oct 31, 2011

onetracker said:
based on what i have read and learned here, i am doing something i have never done in 35+ years of burning wood. yesterday i was out in a gentle cold rain bucking up fallen pines. a couple of them were taken down as hazards and a few more fell in storms. i NEVER would burn pine in the past because i believed it was harmful or dangerous to stove and chimney. after reading posts from you fellers (and ladies) out west, i realized that any wood is fine to burn as long as it's seasoned and you guys get along just fine in winters as cold or colder than ours. so thanks for the shift in worldview and i look forward to my friends and neighbors giving me crap about it....so i can simply smirk.

my plan is to get out there after hunting season to split it to stove size right there on the ground and stack it right there where its laying and burning it one year from now. i am so psyched cuz this will probably save me about a cord (3 face cords, 2 ricks 1.2 bush cords ;-) ) of hardwood every year. i'll repeat this process with the other downed pines and stack them where they lay. i just can't stand burning hardwood in october. my wife grabbed some 2 year seasoned sugar maple off the stack the other day and i cringed.

OT

You'll go blind...

Dune · Oct 31, 2011

Ubookz said:
I like to burn: mountain alder; it grows in a bush style and is smaller but the flame is less yellow with a slight purple hue. btu is about 17k. The splits have a pleasant aroma. I don't know that anyone else burns this wood-it is too small to bother with!

I keep everything down to an inch. The small stuff adds up, is easy to process and dries quicker.

Bspring · Oct 31, 2011

gzecc said:
IMO, there's nothing wrong with burning it, its the processing thats a PITA. All the knots, branches, sap etc, just too much work.

I also agree but some types of pine are better than others. I process pine but only because I have so much of it. If I didn't it would just rot which is what I let happen to my Tulip Poplar. The Poplar has an even lower BTU rating than the pine, however it is way less work.

coverdome · Oct 31, 2011

Will second that Pine is a PITA to deal with.
A friend offered me the wood from a pine (evergreen tree of some type) that came down in his yard this summer. Didn't really want it, but agreed to take it in case one day one of his huge oaks ever comes down. Got a truckload of 10-14" rounds. Each one had 3 or 4 good size branches on it (he left 3-4" of each branch on the round). Took 8 hours to hand split, for about 1/3 cord.
Major PITA! Never again.

gmule · Nov 1, 2011

coverdome said:
Will second that Pine is a PITA to deal with.
A friend offered me the wood from a pine (evergreen tree of some type) that came down in his yard this summer. Didn't really want it, but agreed to take it in case one day one of his huge oaks ever comes down. Got a truckload of 10-14" rounds. Each one had 3 or 4 good size branches on it (he left 3-4" of each branch on the round). Took 8 hours to hand split, for about 1/3 cord.
Major PITA! Never again.

Dry pine splits easy I spilt 8 cords of it this summer with an 8lb maul

eujamfh · Nov 1, 2011

I am watching a load of pine burn right now. I too would have never taken pine until I read the posts here...and frankly, thoughthe process time is more work, you pretty much know it will be stove ready within a year.

I am such a convert I will let tree services drop pine at my place. I figure I save travel and fetching time which I can put into processing. Either way - it burns hot and though overnights are not likely...unless it is sub 32 degrees all day, it works for us.

Mrs. Krabappel · Nov 1, 2011

fossil said:
I mix my Pine in with the rest of my Pine. Burns well, keeps me warm. Without Pine I'd pretty much be out of the woodburning business.

:lol:

Is that what is causing mini-explosions in my stove right now? There's a mix in there. A bit of pine.

fossil · Nov 1, 2011

~*~Kathleen~*~ said:
fossil said:

I mix my Pine in with the rest of my Pine. Burns well, keeps me warm. Without Pine I'd pretty much be out of the woodburning business.

Click to expand...

:lol:

Is that what is causing mini-explosions in my stove right now? There's a mix in there. A bit of pine.

No doubt. I burn so much Pine I had to build up a sandbag bunker around my stove to protect me from shrapnel injuries when the stove inevitably blows to pieces. I have a full bomb squad suit I wear when I have to tend the stove.

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a pine convert

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