21 hours of Hemlock

[TX-L]

It was cold all weekend, so I had a fire from Friday through Monday. Snow mixing with rain on Friday afternoon, frost overnight Sunday and Monday nights. I noticed a lot of members also had fires over the weekend.

Anyway, Sunday evening I filled the stove with six pieces of split & seasoned Hemlock, not thinking it would last all that long, as its a softwood coniferous wood, and quite light compared to the hardwood I usually burn. I set the stat at the normal setting and was thinking maybe twelve hours of burn time. To my surprise TWENTY ONE hours later my cat probe was still in the active zone, and the stovetop was 325.

To this I submit: Who needs oak, maple, beech with that kind of performance?

 

[charly]

It was cold all weekend, so I had a fire from Friday through Monday. Snow mixing with rain on Friday afternoon, frost overnight Sunday and Monday nights. I noticed a lot of members also had fires over the weekend.

Anyway, Sunday evening I filled the stove with six pieces of split & seasoned Hemlock, not thinking it would last all that long, as its a softwood coniferous wood, and quite light compared to the hardwood I usually burn. I set the stat at the normal setting and was thinking maybe twelve hours of burn time. To my surprise TWENTY ONE hours later my cat probe was still in the active zone, and the stovetop was 325.

To this I submit: Who needs oak, maple, beech with that kind of performance?

I have lots of hemlock here crowding out my forest floor with their big canopies.. I need to thin some out, I'll keep it on mind... Can't be too much different then the soft Silver Maple I've been burning.. as long as it's seasoned well... Is a year good on hemlock or is at least two preferred?

 

[TX-L]

The wood I burned was cut/split/stacked last spring and seems very dry. I was under a covered lean-to all winter. One year should be plenty.

 

[begreen]

The BK was built and designed in softwood country. A year's drying time is usually fine for pine, hemlock, fir if adequately protected and ventilated.

 

[charly]

The BK was built and designed in softwood country. A year's drying time is usually fine for pine, hemlock, fir if adequately protected and ventilated.

I'll have to try some down the road because I certainly have plenty here..

 

[Highbeam]

Not just hemlock, I get the full 24-30 hours from junk swamp wood like willow as well. I clean the forest first when I harvest firewood and that often means partially rotten logs, fallen trees, whatever has come down or needs to come down.

If we get high burn times on junk wood then what happens with madrona or hickory?

 

[Todd]

Seems to me you can get the same burn times with Pine or good hardwood but the difference is the heat output, hardwood gives off more heat and the stove burns hotter.

 

[Highbeam]

Seems to me you can get the same burn times with Pine or good hardwood but the difference is the heat output, hardwood gives off more heat and the stove burns hotter.

It would have to make more btu per hour with burn time and fuel volume being held constant. The stat would normally be regulating output but when in ultra long burn mode, the stat must sit at zero regardless of output. To get lowest output, you need crappy wood.

 

[alforit]

If we get high burn times on junk wood then what happens with madrona or hickory?

Would be interested to know.........Have you tried it ?

 

[Highbeam]

Would be interested to know.........Have you tried it ?

I have burned madrona but not in the BK and I'm not going to cut one of them down since all of mine are healthy but that is one tree that I will not allow to go to waste. The hardest hardwood that I've burned a lot of is bigleaf maple and red alder, hardest softwood is straight doug fir.

Even if I was picky, the northwest doesn't have much to offer.

 

[begreen]

Madrona and locust are my favorite winter wood now. I have been fortunate enough to get some of each from dead fall and storm damage scrounging. We have a lot of 10-18" locust trees here that only last so long, especially if they are leaners. I try to only burn it when temps drop below freezing.