I know some guys here burn pine and say it’s fine. I was always told not to burn it here. Is this too old school advise? I have some White Pine cut in rounds about 2 years ago. Was going to use it in the outdoor wood stove but I have not used it in a while and if it is ok to burn inside in my Jotul f400 I will. That pine was so sappy when I cut it but now seems pretty dry. I split a bunch for kindling but have yet to throw the large rounds in the stove.
Burning Pine is it really ok?
- Thread starter bigealta
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MissMac
Minister of Fire
I burn pine. A few winters it's the only wood that i've had for my stove. Just make sure it's seasoned properly like all wood should be. No issues. Alternatively, send it my way - I'd be happy to discard it for you.
TheAardvark
Burning Hunk
As long as it's dry it's perfectly fine. I prefer pine for outdoor campfires instead of my insert, but it's fine. I keep some on hand for kindling or if I just want a quick fire in the insert.
brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
Gearhead660
Minister of Fire
I like to burn pine in shoulder season, for some quick heat or to burn down coals. I keep a small rack full in the house.
On average 50% of my wood is pine. It's fine if its dry, personally I like mine under 18%.
I've been trying to watch closely to see if the "creosote myth" is true. I do find that pine produces more soot than other wood species, and does build creosote in my chimney slightly faster than the birch, spruce or poplar I'd otherwise burn. The difference isn't significant, and for me the half hour of time to perform an extra sweeping in a year is well worth the significantly reduced labor for the easy to access pine firewood here.
I've been trying to watch closely to see if the "creosote myth" is true. I do find that pine produces more soot than other wood species, and does build creosote in my chimney slightly faster than the birch, spruce or poplar I'd otherwise burn. The difference isn't significant, and for me the half hour of time to perform an extra sweeping in a year is well worth the significantly reduced labor for the easy to access pine firewood here.
I agree about the soot. It is powdery though (for me), and not concerning in quantity.
Ok thanks guys, hard to break such ingrained thoughts. Will throw in some this shoulder season.
Dry pine is fine but it has different burning characteristics. It can take off an burn too hot compared to hardwood so air control is important. Do the dollar bill test on your doors and ensure they are tight so that if you do have to slow down the burn that you have control of the air.
I've been burning a fair amount of eastern white pine (and just about every other softwood species) for a number of years now.
Great for the shoulder seasons when you want a quick, hot fire . . . or for making kindling . . . or for those days when you really don't mind tending to the woodstove a bit more.
Not so great at coaling.
I haven't noticed any issues whatsoever . . . other than the wood burns down quicker than higher BTU hardwoods.
As others have noted . . . it does need to be seasoned. I suspect one of the reasons for the "pine is bad" mantra among many Easterners is that even unseasoned pine may seem lighter in weight compared to a similar hardwood. If folks toss in unseasoned pine (thinking it is light and therefore seasoned) they will in fact produce creosote . . . much in the same way that unseasoned hardwood would produce creosote.
The only bit of caution I should mention (but it is probably in the "very rarely happens" category) is I once had some large bucked pine. Tried to burn them in the whole form in a small fire. It pretty much only seared the outside of the bucked pieces. A year or so later I finally got around to splitting those pieces up for use as campfire wood due to the twists and gnarly looking wood. That wood burned like no other wood I have had before or since then . . . it burned very intensely and unlike other wood had a dark, black smoke as if I was burning diesel (in fact a friend of mine called it "diesel wood.") All I can theorize is the first fire charred the outside and prevented (or slowed) the sap from leaving the wood and when burned the second time the dried sap burned a lot more intensely. Again . . . only happened the one time and it was with camp fire wood. It is however far more common to have the snap, crackle and pop from the pine wood -- a bonus for me when I am looking for some "action" in the firebox.
Great for the shoulder seasons when you want a quick, hot fire . . . or for making kindling . . . or for those days when you really don't mind tending to the woodstove a bit more.
Not so great at coaling.
I haven't noticed any issues whatsoever . . . other than the wood burns down quicker than higher BTU hardwoods.
As others have noted . . . it does need to be seasoned. I suspect one of the reasons for the "pine is bad" mantra among many Easterners is that even unseasoned pine may seem lighter in weight compared to a similar hardwood. If folks toss in unseasoned pine (thinking it is light and therefore seasoned) they will in fact produce creosote . . . much in the same way that unseasoned hardwood would produce creosote.
The only bit of caution I should mention (but it is probably in the "very rarely happens" category) is I once had some large bucked pine. Tried to burn them in the whole form in a small fire. It pretty much only seared the outside of the bucked pieces. A year or so later I finally got around to splitting those pieces up for use as campfire wood due to the twists and gnarly looking wood. That wood burned like no other wood I have had before or since then . . . it burned very intensely and unlike other wood had a dark, black smoke as if I was burning diesel (in fact a friend of mine called it "diesel wood.") All I can theorize is the first fire charred the outside and prevented (or slowed) the sap from leaving the wood and when burned the second time the dried sap burned a lot more intensely. Again . . . only happened the one time and it was with camp fire wood. It is however far more common to have the snap, crackle and pop from the pine wood -- a bonus for me when I am looking for some "action" in the firebox.
Possibly a lot of fatwood in that round. Once dry it's like oil burning... (I recently came into a few rounds with a lot of fatwood - cut it out and made fatwood starters; at 1/2" square they dried quickly. And it is like an oil lamp...)
I have a jotul f500. In its life I have sent up about 10 cords of white pine. No problems. I like burning it a lot. Helps with temperature regulation and puts on a good show with the flames. It will always have a place in my wood pile.
DRY pine is great stuff. With the weird weather here lately I have been digging around in the woodpile looking for pine and wished I had more stacked separately as I would rather not burn better hardwood with the warm temps. I agree it's not good deep winter fuel and won't hold coals but if it's free and easy I will take it. Spruce is fun too as it can be like fireworks in the stove and I like the smell, helps with cabin fever.
Prof
Minister of Fire
Others have said this, but dry pine is fine. The sap is actually an accelerant. A bit like putting kerosine on any other piece of wood. I was told by my grandfather to not burn pine. He was right about much more than he was wrong about in my life, but he was wrong about this. He also said that burning oil was a "lazy man's heat." I don't think he was completely right about this--but I don't burn oil. I am making peace with my heat pump though--it is taking some time though. Pine is fine--it can be a pain to split and causes all of the good distress that any other wood does, so burn away.
I think the old myth that softwoods cause chimney fires goes along with the notion that you can season wood in a summer. If you spend the winter burning barely seasoned oak and then throw in a load of pine that's been drying for the same amount of time, you'll probably have a chimney fire. Not the pine's fault.
Verify the moisture. Rounds of pine here will still be wet enough to have liquid run out of them after setting a year as a round. I didn’t expect them to be dry but I was shocked how wet they still were.
Otherwise I’ve ran over 2 cords of yellow pine through the vc encore and chimney shows no signs of build up..
Otherwise I’ve ran over 2 cords of yellow pine through the vc encore and chimney shows no signs of build up..
EbS-P
Minister of Fire
The F400 secondary combustion goes to blow torch mode on a full load of dry pine even with the air full closed but I never had any temp issues. Could cruise for an hour at 600. I got one really big sappy piece extra dry and that too the center of the top to 915 degrees. I get a lot of fluffy carbon filament type from my yellow pine.
It what I use for kindling
It what I use for kindling
I just did a N/S bottom row of pretty big 1/4 splits of white pine, then 2 small oak splits E/W for 2nd row, and twigs on top. Burned very well, good secondaries, but stayed easily in control as the pine got rained on a week or 2 ago and had not "bone dried" out yet.
I’ve burned a lot of pine, probably 12+ cords worth. It does produce good heat, just not for very long, it’s nice for a short hot fire after work but before bed, and it’s nice for burning down your coal bed. It’s messy with the bark.
One thing is have noticed with my stove at least, is if I have a full load of pine, is it will take off easy, get to 600, see secondaries firing, close the bypass and the stove stalls, staying at about 650-700 and then backpuffs, and it’s a real thick black smoke coming out. And the wood is just charred. Yes, the wood is dry, no, my cat or chimney is not plugged.
The solution I found is it takes a bit more fussing with the stove, and getting it hotter before you close the bypass, and keeping it hot.
The only thing I can think of is maybe it takes a bit more to ignite the pitch, or that thick of black smoke overwhelms the cat, who knows. I know that the boxelder, quaking aspen, ash, pin cherry, black cherry, apple, dogwood, locust and mulberry from the same stack, stacked at the same time, with the same moisture content don’t require as much fussing.
It may be that the pines I do cut around my place are standing dead/laying dead, and died from a pine beetle or blight, so maybe that makes them have more pitch.
One thing is have noticed with my stove at least, is if I have a full load of pine, is it will take off easy, get to 600, see secondaries firing, close the bypass and the stove stalls, staying at about 650-700 and then backpuffs, and it’s a real thick black smoke coming out. And the wood is just charred. Yes, the wood is dry, no, my cat or chimney is not plugged.
The solution I found is it takes a bit more fussing with the stove, and getting it hotter before you close the bypass, and keeping it hot.
The only thing I can think of is maybe it takes a bit more to ignite the pitch, or that thick of black smoke overwhelms the cat, who knows. I know that the boxelder, quaking aspen, ash, pin cherry, black cherry, apple, dogwood, locust and mulberry from the same stack, stacked at the same time, with the same moisture content don’t require as much fussing.
It may be that the pines I do cut around my place are standing dead/laying dead, and died from a pine beetle or blight, so maybe that makes them have more pitch.
Woody5506
Minister of Fire
Tell the pine burning naysayers about the demographic of wood burners who ONLY have pine available to heat with in certain parts of the world and watch their heads spin and see what excuses they come up with. I was once told people in those areas also have way bigger chimneys so therefore its okay.
It's puzzling how ingrained it is into people's heads at this point.
It's puzzling how ingrained it is into people's heads at this point.
Glad I came across this thread. I have a bunch of pine sitting in the backyard I have saved for bonfires. Havent gotten around to burning it yet but i guess ill save it for heat. I recently cut a giant round and some others and seen the moisture at 13%.
Do I need to be concerned with the popping in the wood stove? I'm always paranoid whatever is popping will go up the flue and start a fire.
I had a couple splits that got mixed in last year and heard the popping. It dirties the glass a little with spots but if it's safe I'll for sure burn it in the fall and spring.
Do I need to be concerned with the popping in the wood stove? I'm always paranoid whatever is popping will go up the flue and start a fire.
I had a couple splits that got mixed in last year and heard the popping. It dirties the glass a little with spots but if it's safe I'll for sure burn it in the fall and spring.
The trick in not getting a chimney fire is to not have crud in your chimney.
If the pine is indeed 13 pct, it's safe to burn. Popping or no popping.(Though I would be a bit surprised for unsplit wood to be 13 pct. Did you measure it on the cut end or did you split it and measure it with the pins along the grain on the freshly exposed (because split) surface?)
If the pine is indeed 13 pct, it's safe to burn. Popping or no popping.(Though I would be a bit surprised for unsplit wood to be 13 pct. Did you measure it on the cut end or did you split it and measure it with the pins along the grain on the freshly exposed (because split) surface?)
I measured this on freshly split wood using an axe. Stuck the prongs in the middle of the wood, perpinduclar to the grain. The wood rounds were sawed to about 16 inches last spring (2021). The pine has been sitting for a number of years, just bought the place a year and a half ago.
Ok. Try resplitting another piece and measure with the pins parallel to the grain.
I do think it'll be ok to burn but it will be nearer to 20 pct, I guess.
I do think it'll be ok to burn but it will be nearer to 20 pct, I guess.
