Burning pine

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Most of the folks here do not burn in FIREPLACES. Most, not all, burn EPA rated woodstoves.
The near complete combustion capabilities of woodstoves mitigate the "dangers" of burning pine
or other softwoods...
 
Most of us west of the Rockies burn softwood including pine, fir, spruce. That's what we have and it is a good fuel. We burned mostly doug fir this year.

I think pine got a bad name because you can burn it greener than a lot of other woods due to it's high oil content. Burn poorly seasoned wood and you are very likely going to have a creosote problem. If you don't clean the chimney regularly under those conditions you will likely have a chimney fire at some point. This is particularly an issue in older airtight stoves that allowed one to shut down the fire to a smolder (aka creosote factory). The problem is not the pine, it's a problem with the person burning the fire. Burn dry wood and don't let it smolder and you will be fine with pine.
 
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Scotty Overkill said:
Dexter nailed it! I'm a new believer in pine.
Click to expand...

Dexter said what I was thinking, I have some pine seasoning right now for next year, Ill use it in shoulder season where I need fast heat but not all day.
 
I have all kinds of wood from white pine to red oak to fir. I burn mostly pine,for a quick hot fire and, save the oak for overnight burns. The amount of tar and creosote depend more on how dry the wood is and the type of stove and the draft. I burn mostly EPA stoves,but when i do burn an older smoke dragon i NEVER let it smolder. Burn it hot and fast and as long as the pine is dry you wont have a problem, I NEVER burn wet or unseasoned wood EVER .
 
There is a lot of mistaken stories about pine. They are right in that pine can give some fireworks with the snapping and sparks so anyone with a fireplace would need to pay attention to that. But....burn pine with no fear....so long as you season the pine the same as you would most wood and that means to dry it for a year before burning it. Do that and fear not.

The part about chimney fires, Dexter said a lot! Poor burning practices (usually burning wood that has not been dried) will coat the chimney with creosote and then if you burn a really hot fire with pine, yes, that could start a chimney fire. But then, do that very same thing with most wood and you can start a chimney fire. Just remember that no matter what you burn, dry the wood before you burn it and then enjoy the heat, even if it comes from burning pine.
 
I burnt pine for the first time last week and I am burning it as we speak. Got some last December with the intent to use it in the outdoor campfire. I split it up about 3 weeks ago. It then went to the "shoulder pile" for next fall. Well the recent cold weather and threat of snowy weather over the next few days changed that.

No creosote or other problems except It burns quick compared to oak. Could be seasoned a little more but it is keeping the house warm.
I would not make it my main source or even suppliment my oak firewood with it in the winter, but for times like this it's good.
 
Joful said:
I've seen a few members mention they burn pine, one stating it was all they had available in their locale. I've always thought this was to be avoided. The references in this article agree:

http://www.ehow.com/about_5426072_can-burn-pine-fireplace.html

So, what's the verdict?
Click to expand...
Pine-good, unseasoned wood-bad. I season pine for two years before burning. Underseasoned oak will also cause creosote.
The government guy is an idiot as wood pellets tend to be softwood.
 
Do a search here on Hearth.com. This has been discussed ad nauseum. Every year. Where I live, if I didn't have Pine to burn, I'd basically have no firewood whatever to burn. Lodgepole Pine, Ponderosa Pine, Tamarack (Western Larch), Juniper...these are my fuels...all softwoods. Yeah I burn more volume, but hey, it's easy to split and lighter to carry. I haven't frozen to death (yet). Rick

Here's where I live:

http://beta.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/97701
 
Seasoned pine is your friend.

Don't pass it up.

Use it & burn it.
 
I like to mix a piece or two of pine with a load of oak. The pine starts faster and gives off gasses faster than the oak, so it allows me to turn down the air sooner and go bac, to sleep. As the pine burns out the oak is hitting its stride and so I get a more uniform burn with a mix than I would with just oak. Yesterday I noticed a couple of piles of free, bucked pine along the streets so I plan to do a little scrounging today.
 
We LOVE pine. We have a LOT of it seasoning right now, but have burned a bit of it already (it was standing dead, beetle killed, so it was like it was preseasoned-really light and no sap). The best part is a LOT of people still believe you can't burn pine so it's easy pickings for us. We ended up with about 50 scotch pine and after a wind storm another 5-6 random freshly downed pines (THOSE are NOT going into the stove for at least a year, sappy sappy sappy).
 
I burn quite a bit of Pine along with Cedar and Oak. The Pine burns just as well as any other soft wood and works great in combination with the Oak to get the fire going quicker. Some of the Pine has so much pitch that I can't pick up a piece without getting it on my hands which is a pain. It doesn't produce any more creosote than the other woods given the same moisture content. The biggest factors in creosote build-up in the chimney is how much moisture is in the wood and how hot the chimney walls are when the moisture is being carried up the chimney. If you burn just dry, seasoned wood and burn the stove hot on a regular basis the Pine will work as well as any other wood.
 
I have burned Pitch Pine. I like it more than Eastern White Pine, which is the only other common wild pine in my area. I wouldn't get too worried about the name Pitch Pine - I think it has about the same amount of pitch, tar, etc, as other 'yellow' pines like Loblolly, Viriginia, or Red Pine. Pitch Pine burns well and is nice to work with if you have trees that grew in the woods. Trees that grew in an open location have lots more branches and are probably knotty and more of a pain to split.
 
Has anyone burned aromatic cedar? Is the smell of it burning pleasant or overwhelming?
 
DexterDay said:
Pine does not start chimney fires. Bad burning habit and techniques start chimney fires.
Click to expand...

But . . . burning pine will cause baldness in some males (it's the only reason I can come up with as to why I am losing my hair) and warmth in the home.
 
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Seems to me the folks who burn nothing but pine because there's no choice would have to disagree with the "experts".
Dry it, burn it. It works.
I burn pine by choice because I can cut it here on the property. I let it get dry enough over the course of about one summer, then in the stove it goes.
Very good for quick warm up fires in the morning and similar situations.
 
We burn lots of softwoods pine is one. Just be sure it is seasoned and your good to go! Our experiance is that it burns super hot and can actually be too hot If your not carefull. I overloaded my stove the other day on pine ( judged the heat needed poorly ) and got the house to 83 f in no time. Too hot for me anyway lol the wife loves the heat.

Pete
 
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