Burning pine questions

[Hatrackr]

So I'm new to wood burning and I've always been told burning pine is a big no no because of the sap causing creosote. After reading several post I see a lot of people burn pine is this possible because of the way new stoves burn or was everyone wrong in telling me not to burn pine? Does it require extra dry time to get the sap out or less cause it's soft wood. There is better than a cord of ponderosa pine sitting at the yard waste site where I've been scrounging my wood all cut to length just needing to be split. I have a new enviro kodiak 1700 insert is it safe to burn the pine and is it going to be really short burn times with the pine? Any input would help!

 

[BrotherBart]

It is fine to burn. And needs to be split and stacked to dry for at least a year. The mistake that has always been made is burning pine before it was ready and still contains too much moisture but will burn because of the resin it contains.

 

[jjstarbuckle]

Like bb says it's totally fine if processed right. I burn it every year. Some folks can only burn pine where they are located.

 

[Hatrackr]

How are the burn times? Would it be best to burn on the weekends when I can tend the fire more? I burned a bunch last year in an outdoor wood stove and I chewed through a cord really fast

 

[BrotherBart]

Yeah it doesn't give a the burn times of hardwoods. But fully a third of wood burners in the country, on the West side, heat their homes with pine. And have for centuries.

 

[Dix]

I a a pine fan. I admit it.

I love it for shoulder season, helping coax a fire going, and giving you that extra boost when you have less than primo fire wood to burn.

Lucky here, in that we have "scrub pine", which seasons in 4- 5 months depending on split size.

Add it to your arsenal, you won't regret it.

 

[Grisu]

We had two big white pine trees in our yard that needed to be taken down. Not to waste anything I split it and after one year of seasoning burned it last winter a lot. I became a huge fan of pine although it takes about twice the time to process per BTU and can be a huge mess (sap etc).

Advantages of pine:
- Dry pine is great to get a fire going quickly but be careful when loading it on hot coals. That can quickly lead to a runaway stove when the air is not closed in time.
- Pine is great when it's really cold outside since it burns quickly with very little coals. Thus, you can easily load the stove every 3 to 4 hours and keep it above 500 F all the time before the house has time to cool off.
- No one wants it and you can get a lot of it free.
- Dries quickly; one good summer is usually enough.

Cons:
- Be prepared for sap all over your hands and equipment. (Cooking oil and mayonnaise helps getting it off your skin.)
- Lots of knotty pieces that can be a bear to split.
- More work and needs more room (almost twice the number of cords than good hardwood like oak).
- Burn times are lower; more in the 4 to 5 hours range. Use your good hardwood for overnight burns.

Tip: Top cover your pine stacks. They like to soak in a lot of water when it rains.

 

[Rossco]

I burn pine no worries. But only long dead snags. 13-16%

No green cut.

 

[begreen]

Pine does not create creosote. Burning unseasoned wood, be it pine or oak, does. The problems is too cool flue gases will condense on the inside of the pipe. This is the start of creosote buildup. Folks burn pine because it's full of oils so it will burn while being unseasoned. But that cools down the flue gases and gunks up the flue, especially if the fire is then shut down to a smolder.

 

[blacktail]

 

[Hatrackr]

That's funny! Thanks for all the input I'm grabbing a load of hardwood tomorrow from the yard waste site I'll have to make a trip back to grab the ponderosa

 

[Sconnie Burner]

I've been eyeing up a white pine and wondering the same thing. Its leaning over, but up off the ground. Was wondering it if was worth my time with all the branches that I would need to remove and haul away myself. I guess I will have to go after it now. It looks to have been dead for awhile so if the mm says its ready for this year, it will go in a stack for shoulder wood!

 

[Rossco]

That's funny! Thanks for all the input I'm grabbing a load of hardwood tomorrow from the yard waste site I'll have to make a trip back to grab the ponderosa

The Poderosa around here is sappy and cracky, Beware.

 

[Seanm]

OP, ponderosa isn't bad wood and like others say it will burn with little ash and give you good heat. If you split the rounds a bit bigger than you're used to it will last a bit longer. I have to drive 45 minutes to get any and since I'm surrounded by slightly higher btu lodgepole pine I'm able to stick to that. Let people think its junk so you can get more!

 

[firefighterjake]

Not sure about how well ponderosa burns . . . but right now 90% of what I've been burning has been eastern white pine. It's perfect wood for this time of year when I just need a quick, hot fire to warm up the stove and home in the evening or early morning.

 

[BurnIt13]

My neighbor is a tree guy and processes all the hardwood he cuts down to sell for firewood. He normally has to pay to get rid of the softwoods. I've been getting some loads from him since pine is one of my new favorite woods.

I burnt 1.5 cords last year and it works really well with my Englander 30. It burns hot and clean and doesn't leave much ash at all. I didn't empty the stove once with the 1.5 cords I burnt. Since it dries quick I find it very easy to control in my stove.

This year I'm burning all hardwood but next year I will have about 2-2.5 cords of spruce to go through.

The only thing I don't like about it is the bugs eat the pine. They get between the bark and the wood and create a real mess. Then when you go to bring loads in the house you end up getting sawdust everywhere. But I get it for free dropped 10ft from my wood pile so I will deal with it.

 

[Hatrackr]

Didn't have much room left over for any of the pine found this surprise when I went to pick some up I guess I'll grab it next time

 

[SteveKG]

Pine and spruce are all we have here, except for the occasional aspen. I've burned pine in 70s-stoves, up to today's modern burners. Works great, never even knew anyone thought it was problematic until reading about it here on the forum after 40 years of using it. People around here would fall down laughing if anyone told them burning pine was a problem of any sort. Seasons in months. Standing dead wood can be cut and split and stacked and register 10 to 15% moisture in a few months, at the most. Green stuff takes a couple months longer. I rarely ever find visible sap in mine unless it is a place where the tree was damaged during its lifetime. I only mention sap because I've heard a few people say that they don't burn pine because it is so sticky with sap. Hmmm, haven't seen it. Maybe pine in other areas of the continent are really sappy, not here in the Rocky Mntns. Unless I am cutting green wood, still living til wind knocked it down. Then, it's green wood and, yes, sticky, or can be.

 

[weatherguy]

Pine and spruce are all we have here, except for the occasional aspen. I've burned pine in 70s-stoves, up to today's modern burners. Works great, never even knew anyone thought it was problematic until reading about it here on the forum after 40 years of using it. People around here would fall down laughing if anyone told them burning pine was a problem of any sort. Seasons in months. Standing dead wood can be cut and split and stacked and register 10 to 15% moisture in a few months, at the most. Green stuff takes a couple months longer. I rarely ever find visible sap in mine unless it is a place where the tree was damaged during its lifetime. I only mention sap because I've heard a few people say that they don't burn pine because it is so sticky with sap. Hmmm, haven't seen it. Maybe pine in other areas of the continent are really sappy, not here in the Rocky Mntns. Unless I am cutting green wood, still living til wind knocked it down. Then, it's green wood and, yes, sticky, or can be.

The white pine here which is the most common type is sappy as hell, gets on your saw, your hands the splitter, it can be a mess. We don't have lodgepole pine here which I understand is a pretty decent pine.

 

[Grisu]

The white pine here which is the most common type is sappy as hell, gets on your saw, your hands the splitter, it can be a mess. We don't have lodgepole pine here which I understand is a pretty decent pine.

Agree 100%. What helps is to just cut it in rounds and stack those up for seasoning for a few months. They will actually dry somewhat and then the splitting and stacking is much less of a mess.

 

[Dix]

+ 1.

Sappy, sappy, sappy.

But I still love it. My Prince of a firewood guy mentions to me every time he brings me some how sappy it is. His son owns a tree company. He gets the cleaned up trimmings that people pay to have taken away, and gives it to his Dad, who then processes, and sells the fire wood.

John - " You want this stuff? It's so sappy?"

Eileen - " Yep, I do. "

John - "It's makes you have chimney fires, ya know. Cut down your creosote by throwing kosher salt into a hot fire. Pine is not good. I'd have to charge you the same for it"

Eileen - "OK, bring it."

And he does

 

[Dix]

Agree 100%. What helps is to just cut it in rounds and stack those up for seasoning for a few months. They will actually dry somewhat and then the splitting and stacking is much less of a mess.

Grisu is correct. A lot of the sap bleeds out, if you give it time.

 

[Grisu]

Pine is not good. I'd have to charge you the same for it

Does that mean you are paying the same price per cord as for hardwood? As much as I love pine, I am not sure if I would do that. 14 million BTU per cord versus 22 mBTU; that's a big difference per $.

 

[Dix]

What he charges me is sinful, in a good way to my benefit. .

 

[Grisu]

What he charges me is sinful, in a good way to my benefit. .

I see. What happens in Long Island, stays in Long Island.