Full load of pine for overnight!

[mtcates]

Last night I loaded my Englander 30 with a full load of Southern Yellow pine for the overnight. It was 25 degrees at 10pm last night when I loaded the stove and 19 this morning at 7:30am when I got up. Stovetop was at 650 when i went to bed and still 300 almost 10 hours later with a bed of coals. House temperature was 77 when I went to bed and 72 in the morning. This is the first time I tried to burn pine overnight. I have always liked pine but have never tried it overnight. I have gained more respect for pine. Hardwood would not have done much better.

 

[clemsonfor]

i can tell a big difference in my stove between the 2. I can get over night burns with the pine it jst does not put out the heat like HW. The pine also when damped wasy down does not burn as well from split to split if there is a bit of space bwtween them or they burn apart. I have a CAT stove so I really am just smoldering them all night. I do like it though and is perfect for daytime or those nights where we don't want to be 85F in the stove room with a load of HW.

 

[Jon1270]

The "Southern yellow" bit makes a big difference. SYP is in the same density range as black walnut/ash/yellow birch. Very different from the softer pines seen further north.

 

[Lumber-Jack]

There is certainly a big difference between pine species. The two most common types of pine where I live are Ponderosa, and Lodgepole. Big difference between the two. A lot more BTUs in Lodgepole than the Ponderosa, and Lodgepole is much easier to process because it doesn't have big branches, and associated knots in it that make splitting problematic. We also have a few of the white pine species that grow around here too, and I can certainly understand why many Easterners avoid pine if that's the only type of pine they have in their area. The stuff is like balsa wood.

 

[weatherguy]

There is certainly a big difference between pine species. The two most common types of pine where I live are Ponderosa, and Lodgepole. Big difference between the two. A lot more BTUs in Lodgepole than the Ponderosa, and Lodgepole is much easier to process because it doesn't have big branches, and associated knots in it, that make splitting problematic. We also have a few of the white pine species that grow around here too, and I can certainly understand why many Easterners avoid pine, if that's the only type of pine they have in their area. The stuff is like balsa wood.

We have many species of pine, Ive been scrounging some the last year as most people throw it away, I have 4 different types of softwood in my stash seasoning, two different types of pine and two different hemlock types, I can tell there will be a difference just by the weight of the splits. I have a small amount of white pine that I mainly use to burn down coals when they get built up, I have burned full loads and it did alright.

 

[dougand3]

The Southern Yellow Pine is good stuff. I can max load the Kent Tile Fire and have a good coal bed for re-start after 9 hours. Stove room drop is from 78 - 72*F.

I heard "it" again last week, tho. I was giving some scrap guys an old fridge. They were stove burners and admiring my wood cribs. I said I scored 6 cords of Southern Yellow Pine. One dropped his jaw and literally screamed "DAT PINE WILL BURN YO HOUSE DOWN!" I tried some edumacation but he wouldn't have any of it.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

I use pine for 2 things
1. For getting a cold stove up to temp(it does burn fast and hot)
2. For daytime use when im around to reload the stove more often and burning smaller loads for reduced output.
Oh and one more reason is i have so much of it i dont quite know what else to do with it.

 

[Jerry_NJ]

I became the owner of a few cords of downed White Pine following the Sandy storm that hit NJ/NY end of last October. I have been hand splitting some large rounds (as big as 30") that are too big to just move around. When the WP is green/wet it is heavy. So my problem is splitting by hand and my maul and wedge skill isn't the best. I just ordered a Fiskar X27 (36") and hope it will help me split from the outside in. That said, I hope to get some heating out of the WP next year. Reading here it seems I have the worst of the Pine line as far as firewood goes.

Seeking any advice on using the Fiskar for large rounds of White Pine, how long does it have to season (assume covered on the top, open on the sides), is creosote build more of a problem than is HW... would rotating WP followed by HW make for a cleaner chimney? Must be some other things that will come to mind and are welcome too.

Oh, yes. Safety when using a Fiskar. I have used an axe and know there is a risk to feet and legs if the axe deflected off the round. I have read it is safest when using a Fiskar to use the 36" length (X27), face the split with the feet apart, round elevated on a splitting table - another round. The table I'm using is my standard for splitting, about 18".

 

[clemsonfor]

Pine should season in an easy 6-10 months so what your splitting now will be fine next season.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Pine is fine
for this cold house of mine.
Oak is right
for overnight.

 

[billb3]

Nice Big chunks of pine must burn pretty good in a 3+ cu ft stove.

 

[weatherguy]

I checked some hemlock (I think) that I split over the summer, its a dark yellow wood and after a few months seasoning its still got some good weight to it, Ill have to post pics and maybe someone can identify the species and I can look up the btu's, seems to me like it would be every bit as good as silver maple and I got a cord of it.

 

[madrone]

a local fire department was quoted in the paper not long ago warning not to use softwood in fireplace. kind of funny considering that's what most people burn in this part of the country. they all but blamed a chimney fire on the wood.

pine doesn't clog chimneys, people clog chimneys

 

[Jack Fate]

I could be wrong here but, What we call white pine around here is a very slow growing pine .Which would lead me to believe the density would be hi for a pine hence a longer burn & greater coaling .
To my knowledge there aren't any yellow in my area
Yellow is premium for building
But then again I've never burned any pine in my stoves, to us it's for bright & fragrant campfires. (not cooking)

 

[Jerry_NJ]

Well I can always chalk-up splitting my pine to exercise... as long as I don't have an accident and get hurt. I just ordered a Fiskar X27 to handle some splitting at the site of the downed pine. The Eastern White Pine is very heavy wet/green. I think it is rather light when seasoned. I may split some in smaller pieces, and use as a starter - I've read several posts were the use was limited to getting the stove hot quickly.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Ralax i burn mostly

a local fire department was quoted in the paper not long ago warning not to use softwood in fireplace. kind of funny considering that's what most people burn in this part of the country. they all but blamed a chimney fire on the wood.
pine doesn't clog chimneys, people clog chimneys

Relax iv been burning mostly pine for 5 years. I dont burn ANY unseasoned or wet wood. I dont have chimney fires ,i dont have creosote in my flue,but my neighbor who burns GREEN hardwood has all kind of creosote running down his exterior flue pipe and will be burning his house down in the very near future.

 

[madrone]

that guy lives down the hill from me. splits hardwood in the fall, and then stacks it under a tarp on the north side of his house. smokes out the whole neighborhood.

 

[Standingdead]

I like red or Norway pine. It's BTU level is comparable to lower grade hardwoods. It's a fairly dense wood. Easy to split. Once it's seasoned for a year it's ready to go. I also got to admit to liking my "pine smelling" work cloths after processing a few cords of pine...gloves left in my truck are a poor mans air freshner

 

[Jerry_NJ]

in spite of my life long (and a long life) of burning mostly hardwood, some not so seasoned (you know, seller says $$ for cord(not) of delivered split seasoned (not) hardwood) has been used the year it was delivered.

This tread is encouraging me that I can make some use of the pine I have to clean up anyway. Added to about a half cord of down hardwood (I have a large branch from a Ash down and waiting my chain saw) could see me through another winter - I have some Birch too I have to cut down and split. Birch is not my favorite but I cut/split about a cord of it last year and it is burning nicely this year. Birch doesn't store well, one year seasoning and burn. Birch will be showing a lot of decomposition if held over to the next year.

As for "few cords of pine...gloves left in my truck are a poor mans air freshner" I wonder what the gloves are stuck to. Or, does seasoned pine sap on gloves just have fragrance not stick?

For me it is White Pine and it seems there is a wide difference in Pine, just as there is in the even broader class "Conifer".-

It is about 40 degrees right now (9 am) and we're expecting 60 degrees tomorrow - the insert is out and cold.