Burning soft wood

[kversch]

I'm one of those spoiled northern guys with lots of hard wood available. But I'm no wood snab. I would like to start expanding my search to the softer woods. Looking for tips from any of. You guys who have to burn them on a regular basis.

I currently have around me a face ford of red and white cedar to split up to burn. As well as a few logs of Austrian/scotch pine. How long do theses species need to season befor burning. I've always r heard pine can gum up your chimminy.

 

[Jay106n]

The cedar is great to split up into small kindle. It lights up fast and easy. I wouldn't use to much of it in my firebox as it is very sparky. The pine is also good for kindle or shorter and HOT fires, but doesn't leave much for coals, and you have to reload often. I have burned about a cord of pine so far this year, while saving my hardwoods for the real winter cold. It is ok to burn if you follow the rules. Make sure your wood is dry. Make sure your chimney is clean. Don't overload your stove. Don't overfire your stove. Control your airflow. Enjoy.

 

[tigeroak]

I don't burn much pine/cedar but if you can get some soft maple we burn about 80% soft maple every year. We hold for 2 years but 1 most of the time it is ready- but I like 2 years.

 

[Seanm]

I currently have around me a face ford of red and white cedar to split up to burn. As well as a few logs of Austrian/scotch pine. How long do theses species need to season befor burning.

C,s,s right away or in early spring at the latest and it will be ready next season no problem. No need to split it real small or you will have lots of dry hot burning wood! Medium sized splits are what youre after.
Edit: Do this for pine but save the cedar for kindling.

I've always r heard pine can gum up your chimminy.

Common non truth out there. Lots of people will tell you this and be convinced they are right. Improper burning practices causes chimney fires, not pine. You will get hot fires with pine if youre not paying attention to your air and that could light off a chimney fire if your flue is dirty. I burn lots of pine out here and never had a chimney fire. Enjoy!

 

[D9H]

I've burned ponderosa, lodgepole, and cedar (juniper?) exclusively for years because it's what I have around here. I've never had any trouble with any of them. I never had the chance to burn any kind of hardwood, so I can't compare.

This year I got a real woodburner that will handle the heat of pinon, so I've been filling up on all the dead pinon on my place.

Pine will season very quickly if you get the bark off and split it. It can be ready for the stove in as little as three summer months. Of course the longer the better. If you don't get the bark off and leave rounds for a couple years it rots before you know it.

I've never had my chimney gum up. I brush it out every couple months all winter, it always brushes out real easy.

If it's not real cold, I'll burn cedar, when it gets below zero I start loading up the ponderosa and now, pinon.

 

[LocustPocust]

People in many parts of the world burn nothing but Pine because there's nothing else to burn. They always have. It becomes a problem when they burn wet Pine which will dirty up a chimney just as fast as wet hardwood. I personally don't burn Pine but there isn't a lot of it here, either.

I get the feeling the myth of Pine as a dangerous firewood comes from people who have smoldered hardwood in their stoves for months or even years, and then for whatever reason one day loaded their stove full of Pine and got a rip roaring fire going and it ignited months worth of build up in their chimneys.

 

[NordicSplitter]

Just got a log load of Poplar and some Pine came with it. They are both fine if seasoned for about 2 years. Cheap to because most guys that sell log loads think people are crazy for burning it and they just want to get rid of it.

 

[LocustPocust]

I burn Poplar (Cottonwood) and boxelder during the fall and spring. I can't see burning my high BTU wood when it's 40 or 50 outside.

 

[Sconnie Burner]

I burn Poplar (Cottonwood) and boxelder during the fall and spring. I can't see burning my high BTU wood when it's 40 or 50 outside.

I do the same thing here. Its easy to scrounge because no one wants it. I try to find 2 face cords a year. One for fall shoulder season and one for spring. I wish I had more right now with this mild winter we have going. I can keep my house plenty warm with these woods when its in the 30s and 40s!

 

[kennyp2339]

I received my first load of eastern white pine last year (actually this week last year) I split it right away and stacked it on its own set of pallets, this past fall I burnt it all during the shoulder season.
I loved it, the one thing I need to point out which worked wonders for me is to split the rounds large, I normally cut my logs around 18" length and split to 5" thick (+ -) with the pine I split 6" - 8" thick, I was worried about the smaller splits causing a over fire, and short burn times, with the larger splits I didn't have any problems.
I would lite the stove normal, get her cruising and then load 3 - big guys and keep the air down, now I use a BK Princess but my burn times were very generous and on the days were the temps didn't get out of the 30's. I would definitely keep a load of soft wood for shoulder season burning after this past experience.

 

[heavy hammer]

Been burning cedar for the last couple of months. It's great for getting a fire started. I usually cut it into kindling or very small pieces. Get a nice fire then put one piece of something on top of those coals. If it is seasoned and nice and dry don't see why pine, cedar, or any soft woods would be a problem. Wet or unseasoned hardwoods are just as bad to burn as wet or unseasoned softwoods. Season it and fire away soft woods are great for this type of year just enough to get a nice fire to take the chill out of the house then let die out. If you are like most guys here you probably don't want to burn seasoned locust, oak or whatever hardwood you fancy when it is 55 degrees out I know I don't. My father always kept and burned everything if it is seasoned go with it. You can always take a quick look down the chimney every once and awhile to set your mind at ease, takes very little time to give it a quick cleaning

 

[Fred Wright]

Red maple is a good choice for softer wood to use during those breaks in the extreme cold. We've been cutting and burning red maple for years, it cures in under a year when stacked. Burns well, catches fire quickly.