Does anyone burn cedar?

[Kenster]

My neighbor says cedar burns too hot. I haven't burned much of it in my VC Vigilant. What I have burned was mixed with various oaks from my property. But I have a lot of cedars too. Is it bad to burn them?

I found what I think is a great kindling. I had some left over pieces of cedar rail fencing that I cut into about ten inch lengths then split up into quarter inch thick kindling. Sure gets a fire going quickly. And so the grain of the wood makes it so easy to split. When I ran out, I went to the hardware store and bought another rail for $5. That will last me a couple of years at least.

 

[Battenkiller]

Our northern white cedar is the lightest wood in North America, with a density of about 21 pounds/cu.ft. It is way too light to be considered "stove worthy", but I have used scraps from boatbuilding as kindling and it burns very hot and fast.

 

[hareball]

I have about 20' worth of log length Jersey Red Cedar I don't know what to do with yet. Was thinking about splitting it really small and sell some fire bundles. I'm using the sawdust from it in the snake tanks since it's toxic to mites.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

I use a lot of Western Red Cedar for kindling and occasionally I'll cut up a log of it into cordwood. It's not the best but it beats being cold.

 

[Stlshrk]

In VA we have Red Cedar. It makes for great kindling, but burns off too quickly to make a whole load in the boiler. As it gets close to the end of the season I may mix some in. Only because the hardwood mix will be the least seasoned part of my stacks, by then.

It does smell great though!

 

[twitch]

I love using cedar for starting fires, burns hot and fast. Also makes my boiler room smell like a cedar closet.

 

[firefighterjake]

I mostly use the eastern white cedar found around here for kindling . . . but in the shoulder seasons I'll toss on a few of the more gnarly pieces for a quick, hot fire . . . since it burns hot and fast though I wouldn't go with cedar in the dead of winter since I have much better (and longer lasting) wood.

 

[scotsman]

Well, I have a few hundred cords of cedar to burn and I've found it very much agrees with my burning program. I must hasten to add that this wood is VERY old and VERY dry. It does burn hotter, but that isn't an issue here. As dry as it is, it lasts pretty well. I have no problems with it and it makes our rural area smell pretty good. I think mixing it in with the hardwood pallet wood that I have recently acquired is the best of both worlds. Cedar gets stove up to temp and catches pallet wood, which burns longer. I don't know the effects of "new" cedar, but my old stuff does very well.

 

[billb3]

The cedar here, makes Eastern White PINE look like hardwood.

I burned quite a bit of it one Winter with a stove in the basement at the foot of the stairs.
I wasn't sure which I was going to wear out first, my legs or the stairs.

 

[Wood Duck]

Here in central PA the only 'cedar' is Eastern red Cedar, which is also found in east texas. It smells great, dries pretty quickly, and burns fast. I am always amazed how light it is when dry, especially compared to medium to high density hardwoods, which are the majority of the wood here. Eastern Red Cedar is actually a juniper, and you probably have Eastern Red Cedar there, plus maybe a couple of other species of juniper, so i bet they are similar woods.

 

[highmark800]

My Father burns Cedar and Pinon. He uses it in an old smoke dragon and has to clean his chimmney every other month. He has had several chimmney fires. The Cedar does smell good.

 

[prajna101]

I found a log in a guys basement that was totally dry. I bucked it up and burned it. Burns fast and leaves really no coals. You have load a lot but it was fun. I could toss a split in and it would be fully engulfed and roaring before I could close the door. Yard smelled nice too.

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[Highbeam]

Our western red cedar trees get big. Really big. A normal blow down can be three feet across. I am not going to waste that wood and I only need so much kindling so yes, I have burned many cords of straight western red cedar. I actually like it a lot. It splits easy, smells good, medium ash producer, makes lots of cool spark sounds, and it actually has reasonable heat value much like the rest of our local softwoods. From the chart I recall it was better than pine for btus per cord.

 

[schwaggly]

I use cedar as a starter and I throw some in when we have company. I try to burn some before they come over so they can smell it as they walk from their cars. once inside you can't smell
any smoke at all, I plan to keep it that way.

 

[FireAnt]

Thanks for this topic. I have so many dead cedar trees at my parents house. The stuff doesn't rot. I am pretty sure it is red cedar. I will have to try some in the stove. We used it for camp fires and it used to smell great.

 

[billb3]

When we were kids, dad had us boys go into the woods at the wamp edge where the cedar trees grew and showed us which trees were the good ones for fence posts and rails and how to use an axe to chop them down, carry them home on our shoulders.
It kept us busy and out of trouble that Summer.
We built a nice fence.
It was supposed to last a lifetime with the posts well soaked in creosote.


Someone backed into that fence about 15 years later.
Cedar most certainly does rot and they also make wonderful termite condos.
Two myths flushed down the toilet by a chrome car bumper.

 

[ansehnlich1]

Yep, I've burned eastern red cedar. It's lightweight stuff, I burn it on weekends, with other lightweight stuff. Ain't no problem with burnin' it.

Heck, I don't care what kind of wood it is, if I can split it, dry it, and fit it in, I'll burn it.

 

[firefighterjake]

My Father burns Cedar and Pinon. He uses it in an old smoke dragon and has to clean his chimmney every other month. He has had several chimmney fires. The Cedar does smell good.

Not having ever burned pinon . . . I'm guessing that perhaps yiour father may either a) be burning unseasoned wood in the stove (hence the need to clean every other month and the chimney fires) or b) is not burning the stove at a hot enough temp to prevent the excessive build up of creosote. It has been many folks' experience . . . even our hardwood-deprived members' experience . . . that softwoods can be burned and burn well in a stove without any special hazards . . . providing that the wood is seasoned and the correct stove/flue temps are maintained.

 

[missing link]

Snap Crackle Pop
I like putting in my out side fire pit
LINK

 

[SmokinPiney]

I have about 20' worth of log length Jersey Red Cedar I don't know what to do with yet. Was thinking about splitting it really small and sell some fire bundles. I'm using the sawdust from it in the snake tanks since it's toxic to mites.

Split it into a few large pieces and toss one on the fire any time ya need to get it goin. That stuff goes off like gasoline!

 

[firefighterjake]

I use cedar as a starter and I throw some in when we have company. I try to burn some before they come over so they can smell it as they walk from their cars. once inside you can't smell
any smoke at all, I plan to keep it that way.

HehHeh . . . Kind of like having that one room in the house that you only use when you have company . . . or the "company" dishes . . . or "company sheets" and "company towels" . . . now we have "company wood" -- I like it . . . and the sad thing is that I suspect many of us have wood that we put aside just in case of company . . . wood that is really dry, wood that is really fragrant or wood that will be visually appealing either for the snapping and popping or for the gentle flames.