Softwood slabs

[DenD]

I saw an ad today in my local paper for "Free Softwood Slabs, 3 cord loads". Being new to wood burning, I was wondering what exactly are "slabs"? Are softwood slabs suitable for burning in stoves? Is this worth persuing?
Thanks.

 

[BrotherBart]

Slabs are the flat on one side, rounded on the other pieces where the outside of a log has been milled to make lumber or other wood products. They mill off the outside to get a square log with no bark. The rounded side of the slab will probably still have the bark on it.

As to burning softwood you will find people are all over the boards, pun intended, on the issue. Myself I have a few cords of pine and poplar softwood racked right next to my oak stack. On days when I am home all day I burn softwood. Well seasoned pine or poplar burns hot and clean but does not last as long or leave residual coals for restarting a fire like hardwoods. On occasion I have gotten decent overnight burns from pine. Some people claim that pine creates more creosote than hardwood. It just ain't so. Well seasoned pine burns fine. In fact for a large part of the Western U.S. Ponderosa pine is THE firewood.

Of couse the rule around here has always been "If it will burn in the presence of sufficient heat and oxygen it is going to get burned.".

Management Summary: Grab that free wood and get it to drying. Ya won't even have to split it. It is already split for you.

 

[Sandor]

Slabs are the flat on one side, rounded on the other pieces where the outside of a log has been milled to make lumber or other wood products. They mill off the outside to get a square log with no bark. The rounded side of the slab will probably still have the bark on it.

As to burning softwood you will find people are all over the boards, pun intended, on the issue. Myself I have a few cords of pine and poplar softwood racked right next to my oak stack. On days when I am home all day I burn softwood. Well seasoned pine or poplar burns hot and clean but does not last as long or leave residual coals for restarting a fire like hardwoods. On occasion I have gotten decent overnight burns from pine. Some people claim that pine creates more creosote than hardwood. It just ain't so. Well seasoned pine burns fine. In fact for a large part of the Western U.S. Ponderosa pine is THE firewood.

Of couse the rule around here has always been "If it will burn in the presence of sufficient heat and oxygen it is going to get burned.".

Management Summary: Grab that free wood and get it to drying. Ya won't even have to split it. It is already split for you.

Nice reply. Next issue!

 

[wg_bent]

I second Sandor's response. We covered this a couple months ago...I posted a wood burners delema..."Free cut and delivered Pine" and no one thought it was a delema at all, more like a "no brainer", so I have 4 cords of it in my back yard split and stacked. I plan on using it to do weekends and morning "get the stove hot fast" burns.