Pine...worth the effort?

[Sleepy]

Back in the forties, the guy who built the building my business is in planted a bunch of Christmas trees.

Today, the some of ones left are dead. Most of the dead ones are still standing and have been dead long enough that the bark is mostly gone.

They are about 12" diameter at the base and would be easy to fell and limb.

Are there any concerns I should have or precautions I should take if I burn this stuff?

Can I burn it now or should I wait?

 

[smokinj]

split it and see

 

[Danno77]

well. is it worth the effort? yeah. I mean it has to come down anyway (sounds like you on top of that) cause it isn't pretty and isn't, or won't be, safe.

i haven't burned any pine in my stove, but in the fireplace it went hot and fast and it wasn't even super seasoned. if you are burning in a stove i'd watch it to make sure you don't overfire (ie don't assume you can leave it wide open for 20 minutes and then throttle back like you usually do)

have fun and report back.

 

[Lumber-Jack]

Are there any concerns I should have or precautions I should take if I burn this stuff?

Only if you have been burning unseasoned wood (eg. fresh split oak) in your stove for any length of time. The pine will probably be nice and dry and burn real hot, the way wood is suppose to burn, and if you have a heavy deposit of creosote in your chimney the extra heat from the pine could ignite it and you'll end up with a chimney fire. This is why there is an Old wives' tale that pine causes chimney fires.
Make sure your chimney is clean.

 

[billb3]

I planted a lot of douglas fir and spruce and even native white pine as part of a forest restoration project in the late sixties. During the project (low funded ) it was obvious mother nature was better at it than me so I abandoned my efforts.
All those trees were overtaken my the indigenous white pine / maple / oak and died and/or are dying.

I've cut some and it is not worth much. Some is rotten, bug infested and quite soft / punky. None really look as though they were the correct species to have planted here. Hard to explain. Stressed / strained like this were the moon.
Some I buned in a back yard pit and it all burned like paper with lots of crackling and popping.
It's also hard to get to.


What's ironic as I walk these acres 40 years later is even the white pine that grows here naturally that I planted / transplanted died or was overtaken by maple and is gone.



It should burn for you if it's solid wood, and it's one way to get rid of it. Should cut pretty easy, too.




edit: my efforts weren't a total waste, as some were cut down and used as Christmas trees, even by me, but no one ever did any pruning so they were all 'natural grown' Christmas trees. I'm glad Christmas trees were not my intention because I never would have made any money unless Charlie Brown and twisted distorted trees had become all the rage at some times. The bugs and worms can be devestating.

 

[firefighterjake]

Back in the forties, the guy who built the building my business is in planted a bunch of Christmas trees.

Today, the some of ones left are dead. Most of the dead ones are still standing and have been dead long enough that the bark is mostly gone.

They are about 12" diameter at the base and would be easy to fell and limb.

Are there any concerns I should have or precautions I should take if I burn this stuff?

Can I burn it now or should I wait?

I like burning softwood . . . and this is from a guy who has access to all kinds of hardwood.

I like burning softwood since it's fantastic kindling . . . and great for starting a fire . . . and once seasoned is pretty darn good if you're up and about. Plus, I know it may be a bit warped, but I kind of like it when I get a piece that snaps, crackles and pops.

I like burning softwood enough that I usually specifically will cut a tree or two just for the kindling and shoulder season burning -- typically a tree that is either standing dead or toppled. Last year, around Thanksgiving, I cut and split a large spruce that came down near my parents -- I was burning this up this past weekend . . . and getting pretty decent fires in terms of burn time.

Precautions . . . I might not want to load up the stove to the gills and leave the air open all the way . . . and I would definitely want to make sure it's seasoned before use . . . like any other wood. If the wood is standing dead it may or may not be ready for burning . . . the only two ways to tell would be a moisture meter or try burning a piece and see how it burns. If I were you I would cut some down and see how it burns now . . . if it burns great . . . good news . . . burn away . . . if it doesn't burn well, cut it up, split it up and stack it for next year.

 

[firefighterjake]

Incidentally, not that it makes any difference really . . . but are these Christmas trees pines . . . or some other type of softwood . . . and I am curious if they are pine what species? Around here the only pine tree I see most folks using as Christmas trees are Scotch pines . . . not the more common Eastern White . . . again, it doesn't make any real difference as a softwood tree is a softwood tree. Just curious.

 

[Sleepy]

Thanks for the replies! I am not sure what species of pine these are. I am going to cut & split some and give it a try. Popular opinion in my part of the country is that it would be bad to burn pine in a stove/fireplace. I know from hanging around here that a lot of people burn pine with good results.

 

[Wood Duck]

Worth the effort? That depends how much effort. If they are easy to get to, easy to fell, and not rotten, they are definitely worth the effort. If there are wires, buildings, too many other trees, rotten wood... I can think of a bunch of reasons that they might not be worth taking, but the fact that they are pine or some other conifer is not one of them. One nice thing about dead pines is that the wood should be nice and light to move compared to recently living hardwoods, and your chainsaw should tear right through.

 

[mayhem]

If its easy to get at then yes, get it all. Cut, split and stack it and plan on using it no sooner than this coming spring, better to wait till next fall thoguh.

Pine has a bad rap for creosote and chimney fires because people try to cut it and burn it too soon. You gotta let your wood dry.

 

[youngbear]

I cut up a spruce that was dying in my lawn. Easy work limbing and bucking, but splitting it with a maul was a PITA. Had get the splitting wegdes out.

 

[Wood Duck]

Ornamental spruces are a pain because they have too many large branches. A had a bunch here recently and had to sort of beat them apart. Spruce from a forest - where all of the lower branches have self-pruned - are a lot easier to split, at least the parts without branches.

 

[bluewhale32]

Well considering that a lb of pine is roughly the same as a pound of any other other wood in btu value you would be crazy not to burn it up. don't believe all the crap you hear about pine, it burns and heats you're house like any other wood, i have burned many many cords of it and my insert does not mind at all and my warm house does not either. Go for it