softwoods

[drobbins]

Hi Folks,

I've had an open fireplace for a long time and I'm about to place a freestanding stove in front of it.
Already been through the discussions on upgrading the flue.
I'm wondering about fuel.
In the past I've always avoided softwoods (around hear you spell that PINE) because it supposedly causes dangerous creosote buildup. Is this going to hold true if I get a catalytic stove?
Will either a cat or a stove with a re-burner (is that the right terminology?) going to take care of cleaning that up?
I've seen people who live in areas where softwoods are about all that's available post on here and it sounds like they burn softwood.
I can get oak around here and I know it's preferable because is has a higher energy content but pine is really easy to come by.
Do I continue to avoid it?
My guess is yes but I gotta ask

Dave

 

[begreen]

Pine is all a lot of folks burn out west. The most important point is to season the wood before burning. Pine is sappy and high in oil content therefore it will burn green, but that is what causes the creosote. Let it season for a year and it should be good to burn.

 

[drobbins]

I know in a lot of locations pine and other softwood is all that's available.
That's great to hear it's ok to use if it's seasoned, folks basically give it away around here and I have a couple acres with a bunch of large pines I'd like gone

Thanks,
Dave

 

[Wood Duck]

Pine will season nicely in a year. When pine is dry it will burn faster than oak, so you have to get used to it. A full load of pine in my stove will be pushing the limits of the stove's temperature tolerance in about half an hour, whereas with oak it generally takes more like an hour to really get out of control (I could be off on the absolute numbers here, but I am making a point). The point is that with pine the stove behaves a little differently and I can see how somebody used to oak could overfire the stove using pine, and perhaps ignite a chimney fire. I think that is where the old wives' tale about pine being dangerous comes from.

 

[Mag Craft]

I burn almost nothing else but pine and cottonwood. No creosote problems here, but all my wood is dry and no smoke coming from the cap.

 

[Poindexter]

If I need to heat the house quick, I load up with spruce and let it rip. When i want to keep the house warm overnight I load up with birch and turn the stove down.

My cat stove LOVES spruce smoke, just gobbles it. I am guessing you might could turn a stove way down low and get a good long burn out of spruce, I don't have enough nights at temperatures that mild to get good at it.

Wood is wood, same BTUs per pound. Besides the terpenes, softwoods weigh less per cubic foot that oak, so they both dry quicker - good for a new bunrner, but don't put out as many BTUs per stove load as oak does, which is a two edged sword.

When it is really really really Alaska cold, I intentionally load a box full of spruce when I get home from work and run it wide open to get the house warmed up before my wife gets home.

Short version, yes its good stuff; get it split now so you can burn it this fall. Long version, its complicated.

 

[blacktail]

 

[Seanm]

All I burn is softwoods, well not entirely, I do have some birch but mostly its pine and larch. All day long and all night for me and many, many others. Burn away brother burn away.

 

[drobbins]

I guess if you think about it with my current open fireplace there's very little ability to choke a fire down so as someone said easy to get a runaway.
So cool, another reason to get a proper stove installed

Dave

 

[j7art2]

I burned a bit of pine last year, and ran out, having to stick solely with hardwood. I missed it. Pine made starting fires so much easier. Here in MI, the rumor runs rampant as well, and I was told that if I was going to burn pine, it had to be seasoned for at least 4 years to get the sap out. The creosote horrors!

Anyway, this year I decided since I missed the pine I DID have last year, I'd get more. Here she be, two rows deep. All pine. Hoping to burn it in the fall.

 

[Knots]

I burned soft maple and white birch this winter, which is on the soft side for around here with what's available. The fire might not last as long or put out quite as much heat per load, but it kept my house warm during a cold winter and my chimney is clean.

If it's dry - burn it.

 

[j7art2]

I've been heating this last month's shoulder season strictly with tulip poplar if that makes anyone feel better. Lots of ash, but gives off heat.