I have to settle for.........Tamarack, any good for epa stoves?

[Cudos]

I've been trying to find some seasoned birch (20%) moisture or less. I cannot find any at all. I am limited to birch, spruce and tamarack in this area . Now I can get some dry tamarack and was wondering if tamarack is recommended or not for my Super27. I've heard it likes to spark, less heat and makes a poor coal bed for overnight burns which I currently get from the dry birch I have left.

Anyone burning this stuff? I have no choice at this point.

Thanks,

 

[LLigetfa]

Around here the old timers say never burn Tamarack in a cookstove because it will burn out the grates. I've only ever used it for fenceposts. Those suckers are heavy... I suspect they'd have good BTUs.

 

[Wood Duck]

I think any type of wood is fine to burn in any woodstove. It is possible to overload and overheat the stove, and conifers like spruce and tamarack make overfires a little more likely because they tend to burn fast when they are good and dry. Just watch the stove until you are used to burning tamarack and you'll be fine.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

I've been trying to find some seasoned birch (20%) moisture or less. I cannot find any at all. I am limited to birch, spruce and tamarack in this area . Now I can get some dry tamarack and was wondering if tamarack is recommended or not for my Super27. I've heard it likes to spark, less heat and makes a poor coal bed for overnight burns which I currently get from the dry birch I have left.

Anyone burning this stuff? I have no choice at this point.

Thanks,

Are you serious?

It's excellent firewood.

Burn it.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I think you'll be fine. It can't be any worse burning a deciduous conifer than burning a pine. :lol:

Matt

 

[Cudos]

I've been trying to find some seasoned birch (20%) moisture or less. I cannot find any at all. I am limited to birch, spruce and tamarack in this area . Now I can get some dry tamarack and was wondering if tamarack is recommended or not for my Super27. I've heard it likes to spark, less heat and makes a poor coal bed for overnight burns which I currently get from the dry birch I have left.

Anyone burning this stuff? I have no choice at this point.

Thanks,

Are you serious?

It's excellent firewood.

Burn it.

Yes I'm serious, were not all wood gurus like you.

Thank-You everyone,

 

[Wood Duck]

You have an EPA stove, which means dry wood is important. I'd take anything dry over anything not-dry. Softwood like spruce or tamarack (tamarack is softwood in the sense that it is a conifer (has cones), but not particularly 'soft' as in low density) will burn great if it is seasoned (dry). Anything will, although some are better than others. You can find charts online that tell the heat value of various types of wood, and you'll see some are higher than others, but all wood has a pretty decent heat value and you can burn it. The differences between the woods are most evident when you try to get a long burn. Tamarack and white birch are about eqaul in terms of BTUs per cord, so you'll have to experiment to see if one burns longer than the other. It might depend on the size of the pieces they are cut to. If I had some spruce (pretty soft, burns fast) and some birch and tamarack (harder, longer burn) I'd burn spruce whenever I am able to reload frequently, and save the tamarack and birch for overnight burns.

 

[Cudos]

Thanks Wood Duck,

I'm going to give the Tamarack a shot.

 

[roddy]

i,ve burned tamarack before,its real good for a soft wood,kinda much like white birch,but burns to nothing (no coals)..id, be all over that stuff if it were dry and not much else available....

 

[Cowboy Billy]

I have a cord of it split up and drying for next year. It smelled like turpentine when I was splitting it. My friend Scott said it burns really hot and his dad over-fired his grandpa's stove and cracked it. When I get around to burning mine I will try a few small splits and work up from that until I get a feel for how it burns.

Billy

 

[okotoks guy]

I've been trying to find some seasoned birch (20%) moisture or less. I cannot find any at all. I am limited to birch, spruce and tamarack in this area . Now I can get some dry tamarack and was wondering if tamarack is recommended or not for my Super27. I've heard it likes to spark, less heat and makes a poor coal bed for overnight burns which I currently get from the dry birch I have left.

Anyone burning this stuff? I have no choice at this point.

Thanks,

I am actually selling the same stuff just south of you! In B.C. it is referred to as Larch and what I am selling
is referred to as "Buckskin Larch" because it was cut from dead standing and the bark has dried and fallen off.
This is awesome wood.It burns just as hot or hotter than dry birch and with WAY less ash.It burns long and hot
and burns with a bright flame.BTW most guys selling birch right now in our area are selling stuff that was cut
this year.I live in Okotoks now but when I lived in B.C., guys would just about trip over white birch to get to
Buckskin Larch. You will love that wood and it smells great too when it is burned.