Pine: What to do with it?

[Skier76]

We just purchased a weekend house in Southern VT. We're going to install a wood stove this spring/summer. (Piping and chimney is already there, previous folks took the stove with them).

Currently, there's a pretty decent stack of pine logs in the back yard...I'd say anywhere from 18-14" long...12" or so in diameter. Problem is, they look a bit "old". I've been running around doing other things, but took a few seconds to give one a good whack with my maul....stuck right into it.

I know pine isn't the best wood to burn; I plan on getting some hardwood and stacking it this summer to burn next season. But I'd also feel bad about wasting all this wood. I'm thinking of renting a splitter, and making a big collection of kindling. Since we'll be using this house a lot on the weekends, having some pine kindling to get things going could be a good thing.

I will take some pics of the wood this weekend and post them up if needed.

Any thoughts on my plan? I'm open to suggestions.

 

[d.n.f.]

Some of us out west only burn pine.
Some in Alaska only burn pine.
Some in the Yukon only burn pine.

It burns fine.
If it is dry it burns really fine.
Dry pine will burn cleaner and with less creosote than any other wet wood. I have burned pine all winter and have not had to clean my chimney in the spring.

It throws lots of heat. It burns long in a cat stove. It smells great.

It can be sticky though....

 

[Bubbavh]

Some of us out west only burn pine.
Some in Alaska only burn pine.
Some in the Yukon only burn pine.

It burns fine.
If it is dry it burns really fine.
Dry pine will burn cleaner and with less creosote than any other wet wood. I have burned pine all winter and have not had to clean my chimney in the spring.

It throws lots of heat. It burns long in a cat stove. It smells great.

It can be sticky though....

+1

 

[pulldownclaw]

Sometimes pine goes punky fast. If it does it usually just shatters when you try to split it. If so, us it for campfires or something. If not.....

Split it.
Stack it off the ground.
Cover the top only, or not. (Some people say pine will soak up water)
Burn it next year.
Enjoy your getaway!

 

[Skier76]

Awesome! Thanks guys! I'm glad to know this pile won't go wo waste. Also, it's great to know I can use this for more than just kindling.

I'll snap a few pics this week so you can see how much I have.

Also, I have a few smaller dead pines on the property. They're not rotten, so they may make some good wood as well!

 

[SlyFerret]

I like to have some pine on hand for the shoulder seasons.

I checked with Englander and was told that it's perfectly fine to burn in my 30-NC, as long as I'm running it properly, the secondary combustion system will still burn clean.

You can't damp pine down for an extended burn like you can with other types of wood, but it's great for a quick shot of heat to knock the chill off when you only want a short burn cycle.

-SF

 

[Henz]

use it in your outdoor firepit. that is all I would do with it

 

[Skier76]

I like to have some pine on hand for the shoulder seasons.

I checked with Englander and was told that it's perfectly fine to burn in my 30-NC, as long as I'm running it properly, the secondary combustion system will still burn clean.

You can't damp pine down for an extended burn like you can with other types of wood, but it's great for a quick shot of heat to knock the chill off when you only want a short burn cycle.

-SF

That's good to know. So just burn it with the damper wide open?

 

[daveswoodhauler]

I like to have some pine on hand for the shoulder seasons.

I checked with Englander and was told that it's perfectly fine to burn in my 30-NC, as long as I'm running it properly, the secondary combustion system will still burn clean.

You can't damp pine down for an extended burn like you can with other types of wood, but it's great for a quick shot of heat to knock the chill off when you only want a short burn cycle.

-SF

That's good to know. So just burn it with the damper wide open?

If its dry, I wouldn't keep the damper wide open, as its going to burn real hot.

 

[pinewoodburner]

Burn it, if it is dry it will burn just fine.
For longer burns, use larger splits than hardwood.
I get 6-8 hour burns with pine vs 10-12 hardwood with a cat stove.

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

there are alot of myths out there about burning pine, like that it produces more creosote then hard woods, that it contains less btu's the hardwood. The truth is, the only difference between pine and hardwood is the density. The btu's/lb is higher in some species of pine then hardwoods. The problems of course with buying wood, is that its sold on volume not on weight, so if you are actually buying wood you are getting about half as many btu/cord as hardwood. That of couse changes as well, pine at my altitude is as hard as most hardwoods from the east. But all in all, most wood is consistant when it comes to btu/lb.

 

[pinewoodburner]

there are alot of myths out there about burning pine, like that it produces more creosote then hard woods, that it contains less btu's the hardwood. The truth is, the only difference between pine and hardwood is the density.

Don't give away my secret. People won't burn pine so they give it away. If they know the truth, I won't get as much free wood.

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

my mouth is :zip:

 

[Bubbavh]

there are alot of myths out there about burning pine, like that it produces more creosote then hard woods, that it contains less btu's the hardwood. The truth is, the only difference between pine and hardwood is the density.

Don't give away my secret. People won't burn pine so they give it away. If they know the truth, I won't get as much free wood.

+1
Some people are so desperate to get rid of it around here they'll even drop it off!
Now if I can just figure out how to get them to split and stack it!

 

[d.n.f.]

Wow.

Burning pine causes genital herpes in your grandfather.

He told me that once.

 

[Pagey]

I burned a cord of white pine this past heating season. The wood came from a decent stand of pine trees located around the large pond on my grandparents' cattle farm. When split and seasoned, it tested anywhere from 12%-18% moisture content. That stuff burned hot, fast, and clean. I had no problems with creosote, contrary to ye olde wives' tale. Like any other wood - proper seasoning and you're good to go. I would love to have another cord for the coming shoulder season heating needs! You could barely touch that stuff to even a mild coal bed and you'd have a huge fire in just minutes! Great for morning restarts.

 

[Skier76]

That's good to know about the restarts or starting a fire. Since this is a weekend place, getting it warm in a hury will be a nice bonus.

This thread delivered! I was just hoping to find out if I could use the wood for kindling. Now I may have to fix that chainsaw that was given to me and start helping neighbors withe pine blow downs!

 

[Pagey]

My dad is about to buck up 2 cords of black pine (it's a little more dense than the white pine). I'm looking forward to getting it split and stacked. I'm a big fan of pine.

 

[North of 60]

You can't damp pine down for an extended burn like you can with other types of wood.

-SF

Why not?

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

You can't damp pine down for an extended burn like you can with other types of wood.

-SF

Why not?

I assure you you can, i do it just about every night. I get 8-14 hour burns out of my mansfield that has never seen a piece of hardwood.

 

[North of 60]

You can't damp pine down for an extended burn like you can with other types of wood.

-SF

Why not?

I assure you you can, i do it just about every night. I get 8-14 hour burns out of my mansfield that has never seen a piece of hardwood.

Exactly Thats all I got. Shoulder season and beyond. For me, due to my CAT stove it smolders just as good as any wood. Always seasoned is the key.

 

[BrowningBAR]

So, what is the length of time needed to season pine?

12 months? 18? 24?

Does it take less time than wood that is more dense?

 

[North of 60]

That will all depend on climate etc...Even type of pine. Iam sure northern pine will be denser than southern as an 8" tree can be 20 to 50 years old here.

 

[moosetrek]

Geez, all you Easterners want us to freeze? So far we've made it through the season with almost entirely pine. Our Englander doesn't know there's other kinds of wood out there, so shhh! As mentioned, out here in the West there's pine, pine, and even more pine. Forest Service permit, truck, trailer, and chain saw and off you go! I'm pretty sure we've had to damper down the stove, about every night. It burns fine, and when dry will easily throw enough heat for us to keep the windows open. Since our oak forest won't be ready for harvest for another... Yeah right! There's so much beetle-killed standing dead pine I can't imagine burning anything else; so far no creosote probs other than the spark arrestor on the chimney cap from a couple loads of not-too-dry wood.

 

[smokinj]

just finised a pine tree last night the smoke smells funny because This was the frist time that ever burnt it.My dad always said not to but after reading the post I gave it a shoot work out well enough that i would do it again but that pine tar sucks