How many of you guys burn pine? How long do you normally let it season for? And for it to season does it have to be split or just cut up?
Pine
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CentralVAWoodHeat
Minister of Fire
Burned some this year that I had to cut out of a tree overhanging and tearing up my new fence. After a summer in the sun it was dry as dirt and made great starter logs, burns fast and catches quick. I wouldn't burn it too green though because...you know....
Cool i have no problem burning it. The way I see it it’s no different then any other wood just needs to season. It seemed to dry out well with just one summer on it but I figured I would let it go two. People around here don’t want it, tree guys can’t sell it so people have piles they put on Craig’s list and I’ve been picking them up.
Prof
Minister of Fire
I'm doing the same thing--people think pine is dangerous in my neck of the woods. I used to try to convince them that it isn't, but it never worked. I just take the pile and smile as they tell me that I'm going to burn my house down. Meanwhile, my chimney has less than a cup of build-up in it a year. It will season, cut, split and stacked in a windy/sunny location in about 6 months. I usually let mine season a but longer. Oh, and people hate hemlock around here too--it doesn't even have any pitch to speak of!
kennyp2339
Minister of Fire
They are right but for the wrong reasons.
Pine has the ability to dry out in one season, more or less it is also passed up my most folks that routinely burn hardwoods, so figuratively someone can get some pine and have it sit in there wood pile for 2 or 3 season before they consider using it, all the while they have been burning more moisture laden hard woods which because of poor drying practices of splitting oak in the summer to burn that winter have built up creosote in the chimney, they also get into the habit of burning there stoves with a higher air setting because that's what they had to do unconsciously to get the oak to burn so it becomes there new normal way to burn. The user then runs out of there "premium" hard wood and remember they have pine out back, now this pine is ultra dry and they throw a load in and walk away, due to the dry wood catching and higher air setting the stove burns hotter igniting the creosote that built up in the chimney from burning poorly seasoned hard woods.. That's were the east coast myth comes from of pine is dangerous.
Pine, hemlock, spruce, fir, tamarack . . . I burn 'em all.
Great for shoulder seasons and for burning down excessive coals . . . and if I'm just puttering around the house I'll burn some to "save" my good stuff.
I would cut, split and stack softwood for a year . . . but in reality, most of the softwood I burn has been seasoned much longer with a year or so outside and another year or so under cover before use in Year 3 or 4.
Great for shoulder seasons and for burning down excessive coals . . . and if I'm just puttering around the house I'll burn some to "save" my good stuff.
I would cut, split and stack softwood for a year . . . but in reality, most of the softwood I burn has been seasoned much longer with a year or so outside and another year or so under cover before use in Year 3 or 4.
I burn plenty of pine. Let it season a minimum of a year after it has been cut, SPLIT, and stacked. True seasoning does not go into full effect while it is still in the round. Get it SPLIT for it to really dry. Pitchy pine may burn “dirtier” than some other woods but if the moisture is gone it will only create light fluffy soot (and less of it) as opposed to the shiny, glazed creosote that is dangerous and can start chimney fires. When you burn any wood with insufficient oxygen and excessive moisture or a combination of those two factors it makes more creosote a lot easier.
Gotcha it’s a pain to split by hand which is why I left it in the rounds until after summer when it dried out some. I’m picking up my granddads splitter this year since he doesn’t use it anyMore
Pine is fine
Super cool and burns hot
So into the pile it goes with ash, locust, and a short time
So goodbye to the days of Brrrr....
Pine is a find
And its pitch will cause flames to dance
So don't drive by leaving it in the ditch
Load it up at every chance
Because pine is a fine find.
Super cool and burns hot
So into the pile it goes with ash, locust, and a short time
So goodbye to the days of Brrrr....
Pine is a find
And its pitch will cause flames to dance
So don't drive by leaving it in the ditch
Load it up at every chance
Because pine is a fine find.
Ctwoodtick
Minister of Fire
This should be cut and pasted in response to every pine thread.
Pine is indeed fine. Certainly avoid loading stove with much more than a few small splits, as pine ignites much faster than hardwood, especially with some pitch present. Over firing stove and or chimney could occur.
The pine myth. Proof that people will readily accept old wives tales but can be hesitant to accept some science.
toddnic
Minister of Fire
I burn pine during the shoulder season along with hemlock and poplar. I normally let pine season 9 to 12 months which will normally get it under 20% moisture. It is great for kindling and for getting the fire going as well.
Growing up we burned lots of pine, construction scraps, old fence rails and downed limbs from a half dozen pines in the neighbors yard. I burned dead pine, spruce and cedar the past couple years along with my hardwoods. No problems, great for mixing in the pieces of oak.
Depending on the split size and drying conditions, I've processed in spring, burnt that winter. Size, sun, and air movement are the key. Just make sure it's dry.
Most of the time I use it to heat the stove up in the cabin. Coming Into a cabin at ambient is a chilly experience. A load of pine heats it up fast, but burns down fast enough I can reload before bed. 99% of it is white pine up there. Down at the house, I'm not always sure of the species. Who knows what gets planted as an ornamental.
Another attribute is that you can make larger splits because of the quick drying time.
Jay106n
Minister of Fire
EXACTLY. I've tried explaining this several times to people. Brick walls listen better.
MissMac
Minister of Fire
I burn Jack pine because it’s what we’ve got up here. I had a bunch of freshly cut green trees that i felled in September, bucked/split/stacked in October, left over winter, allowed to dry all next summer, and am now burning it after drying out for the one whole summer. On a fresh split of my biggest rounds the highest MC i’ve read is 16.1%. I stuff my blaze king full of it, and for the most recent cold snap we had where temps were in -40*C territory, i was burning full throttle full boxes of Pj no problem. For days, on high. No issues. Just checked my chimney for build up, and i have the tiniest bit of flaky coating - barely anything. Burn the pine !
