Is pine more smokey than other wood?

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Sep 29, 2010
246
Southern NH
I'm burning some pine that has been CSS since April/may and it seems like it smokes a lot more than the ash I was burning last year. I haven't used the moisture meter on it, so I don't know what the moisture content is. Im assuming it's dry because it lights easy and burns HOT. I do occasionally see what looks like the bark melting.

Any thoughts or comments?

Thanks.
 
If you are getting smoke and seeing "oozing"at the ends as it burns, then it's not fully seasoned yet. Shouldn't smoke more or less than anything else if it's ready.

pen
 
Pine will burn fresh cut or seasoned...it doesn't take much to get it going. If it is cracking and popping and sap is boiling out, the wood needs to dry more.
 
pen said:
If you are getting smoke and seeing "oozing"at the ends as it burns, then it's not fully seasoned yet. Shouldn't smoke more or less than anything else if it's ready.pen
Wallace said:
If it is cracking and popping and sap is boiling out, the wood needs to dry more.
The Red Pine I got for kindling was dead standing, split tiny, and has been drying for a couple months. Still not ready, from what you guys are saying. I only use a couple of small sticks per start so no big deal, but I though that stuff would dry out quicker since I split it so small...
 
I checked it on the moisture meter today and after splitting 2 pieces, both were at 13%. I'm not getting oozing at the ends, I see what looks like the bark melting. The moisture meter is a harbor freight and on fresh oak, it was reading "OL". It was also reading 27% on some wood split for only a couple of months. I think it is accurate enough.

It's only smoking when I start the fire. Once its cranking, it is barely smoking.

Thanks for the replies.
 
I find it emits more smoke simply as a byproduct of burning quite fast and leaving nothing behind. No coals, no ash. All that mass has to go somewhere. Voila. Smoke.
 
I don't burn pine until the bark has fallen off, until then I don't consider it ready.
 
wannabegreener said:
I checked it on the moisture meter today and after splitting 2 pieces, both were at 13%. I'm not getting oozing at the ends, I see what looks like the bark melting. The moisture meter is a harbor freight and on fresh oak, it was reading "OL". It was also reading 27% on some wood split for only a couple of months. I think it is accurate enough.

It's only smoking when I start the fire. Once its cranking, it is barely smoking.

Thanks for the replies.

As to the "bark melting" I think you're seeing pitch being cooked out. Very high fuel value. That's one of the big differences between conifers and deciduous. I'd experiment with primary draft settings to reduce smoke, once firebox is above 1000 deg F.
 
I think pine tends to smoke less than other woods because it lights up fast - the only time I get much smoke from any wood is right after I light or reload the stove.
 
When that pitch catches on fire, watch out. Stuff is like a blowtorch.
 
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