Notice: I'm still groggy from cutting a pine tree in the heat yesterday so I might be rambling a bit!
Ok, I've got plenty of pine around me and just picked up a small load yesterday. I'll probably be splitting it this coming weekend.
My stove is an F3CB and this pine is to compliment about 1/4 of a cord of seasoned oak that I have on hand already. I've got other oak drying but I don't think it will be ready this winter (11/12).
I know that pine has lower btu's than oak and that it burns hot and fast. I've got a bit of apprehension about burning it (don't want to overfire the stove). A few questions...
How big should I make the splits? I can easily make some 6"square splits from these rounds...seems someone said to make pine splits as large as possible to sustain a longer burn. That makes sense.
The smaller the splits the hotter and faster burning the fire will be. If I'm using small rounds or splits in the stove should I only load it like half full. I know each stove/chimney is different, so I guess I'm looking for something as a general rule to go by to get started with.
Before I started writing this post I had a million questions...now my mind is blank...I think it's half-baked from the heat yesterday. I guess what I'm looking for is other folks experiences, suggestions, and techniques on how to burn pine.
Thanks for the feedback.
Ed
Ok, I've got plenty of pine around me and just picked up a small load yesterday. I'll probably be splitting it this coming weekend.
My stove is an F3CB and this pine is to compliment about 1/4 of a cord of seasoned oak that I have on hand already. I've got other oak drying but I don't think it will be ready this winter (11/12).
I know that pine has lower btu's than oak and that it burns hot and fast. I've got a bit of apprehension about burning it (don't want to overfire the stove). A few questions...
How big should I make the splits? I can easily make some 6"square splits from these rounds...seems someone said to make pine splits as large as possible to sustain a longer burn. That makes sense.
The smaller the splits the hotter and faster burning the fire will be. If I'm using small rounds or splits in the stove should I only load it like half full. I know each stove/chimney is different, so I guess I'm looking for something as a general rule to go by to get started with.
Before I started writing this post I had a million questions...now my mind is blank...I think it's half-baked from the heat yesterday. I guess what I'm looking for is other folks experiences, suggestions, and techniques on how to burn pine.
Thanks for the feedback.
Ed