Hemlock

got one pick-up truck load of Big Hemlock and am going to get at least two more loads.
What do you think of Hemlock as a fire wood? Better than Pine? cleaner?
Also, as I will leave it in the round as I will not need it for this burning year. I will split it late winter or early spring.
Should I cover it while it is still in the round?

Hemlock is pine. Its better pine. Can't you get a better hardwood in NH? For the same amout of labor you will get 50% more heat.

Hemlock is not pine. Much different.

Sorry I was wrong. Its a conifer. Still soft wood. Hemlock P of white oaks heat value.

FREE!

hemlock is poisonous! :sick: be careful to not breath the smoke or sawdust. it can be very harmful!

Breathing trace amounts of hemlock isn`t gonna kill you. A sliver that can get into the blood stream however, should be removed immediately.

Wear gloves-Skinnykid.

I just about burned up a big hemlock tree that died in my backyard.
It was about 1.5 years old.
It's very light. It takes up maybe twice the space. But the price was right!

thanks, I always have work gloves on.

If that was the case I wood be DEAD! Some days thats all we cut in the mill.

It'll heat your family. May not be the best firewood, but a BTU is a BTU and it will heat your house.

Matt

Hello! I just joined this site, but I thought I would jump right in.

Hemlock is a little better than pine and smells really nice when you burn it. Its great for camp fires. I use it for starting fires some. It pops and cracks a lot when it burns. Big hemlock blocks are really hard to split and the old knots are amazingly hard. I would never choose to cut a hemlock to burn - just because its a lot more work to split than its worth, but by all means, if its free wood, burn it and it will definitely heat fine.

also, the hemlock tree is definitely NOT poisonous in any way at all - I think others are thinking about the herbaceous plant in europe that is poisonous - definitely way different plant.

good luck!!

If it's the same hemlock we have here I'll burn it if I don't have to work too hard for it. It dries pretty fast, too.

Pine and hemlock are both coniferous.

I stand corrected! thank you, after being told my whole life in the woods by people to be careful with hemlock dust or smoke, and after a little internet research, I found that the tree is not poisonous. learn something new every day :red:

Ouch. . .

Like most other folks I'll burn it and in fact I've been burning some in some slabs I picked up at my Uncle's house (he runs a small sawmill) . . . but I don't go out of my way to look for it . . . will burn it if it's in the way or free. Like most other softwoods (and well trees in general) just make sure to burn it after it is seasoned. When dry hemlock is actually a pretty tough wood, but when green it is very wet . . . around here many folks use it for sheds, snowmobile bridges, etc. as it is easy to work when green and then it hardens up (which provides better wear on snowmobile bridges vs. white cedar which is good for its preservative properties, but too soft for the snowmobile's carbides.)

No its not. The hemlock tree is not "poisonous hemlock"/"deadly nightshade". That's not a tree.

I have cooked over it, breathed the smoke, carved spoons out of it, roasted marshmallows and steak tips on its cut branches with no ill effects. Ill effects. Ill effects. Slam hoobadoo imma banana patch. Ill effects.

ya thanks. we already established my wrongness 3 or 4 posts ago. :cheese:

Don't mind AP . . . he's just been breathing in some of that poisonous, mind-altering hemlock smoke . . . either that or he's been burning that lethal pine again. J/K.

me no read too goodly

i use it yes it can really retain water... Hemlock slabs that are dry are super easy to split up small and make kindling out of .it really starts a early morning bed of coals fast also it fills in space for the overnight load up .biggest thing is be sure its dry or it will smolder smoke like a coal train and stink up the place

:cheese: