What wood to avoid in the wood stove

[kappclark]

I saw a video of a guy who burns 100% Douglas Fir ... I have always burned hardwoods, thinking of the dreaded creosote ... but we have dropped a few fir and spruce trees here, and was thinking they would do well for kindling ... (comments please..)

most of our wood is maple, beech and birch...I will be seasoning about a cord of redmaple over the winter on the south side of house -- I expect it to be basically ready to go in February ...

This got me thinking -- are there woods to absolutely avoid in the woodstove (obviously no pressure treated lumber etc ..) ???

 

[Riverbanks]

Read up on some threads, any wood gives btu's, I burn everything as long as it is dry, right now it's mostly red pine

 

[Riverbanks]

Read up on some threads, any wood gives btu's, I burn everything as long as it is dry, right now it's mostly red pine

 

[ericm979]

Elderberry wood is supposedly poisonous and burning it will produce cyanide. I'm not 100% sure of this, but it's not great as firewood anyhow and the trees are small.

I try to avoid really pitchy Doug fir from some trees as the pitch burns dirty especially when starting the fire.

Some say that Eucalyptus will burn "too hot" and some people here avoid it. Other than needing a long time to dry because it's so dense, I think it's fine.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

The wood to avoid putting in a wood stove is... unseasoned wood. That's the biggest enemy. Pretty much any wood that is properly seasoned is fine.. Iv burned the dreaded pine and haven't had any issues.. again.. as long as it's dry..

 

[Z33]

Any wood that's dry, not painted or otherwise "treated" is a go for me.

 

[Ashful]

This got me thinking -- are there woods to absolutely avoid in the woodstove (obviously no pressure treated lumber etc ..) ???

Many even burn treated lumber in non-cat stoves, assuming it's dry. Maybe not the greatest thing to put into the air, but it won't hurt the stove.

Cat stoves are more limited in this regard, you don't want to putting heavy metals thru the catalytic combustor, stick to un-treated lumber in those.

 

[stoveliker]

Treated, painted, glued, or wet wood, as said above.

 

[Kevin Weis]

For me maples generate too much ash compared to other woods so I avoid them. Other than that as above.

 

[Caw]

most of our wood is maple, beech and birch...I will be seasoning about a cord of redmaple over the winter on the south side of house -- I expect it to be basically ready to go in February ...

Did you just split and stack the wood now? If so it's not going to be ready in February. Maple dries fast but not much over the winter. If it's stacked well in a good spot it'll be ready next to go next winter though.

*And by ready I mean quality sub 20% MC wood.

 

[fbelec]

i have burned pipe in my old stove. because you have to burn it hot i never had a issue. i burned much more pine than hardwood for the same heat in the house. it had much less ash left over. instead of cleaning out the ashes every week it was every month maybe a touch longer

 

[Ashful]

i have burned pipe in my old stove. because you have to burn it hot i never had a issue.

Schedule 40? Just make sure it’s not galvanized, the zinc will ruin your cat.

🤪

 

[gzecc]

For me in the northeast with all the hardwood around I try to be as efficient as possible. Think of the amount of heat vs amount of effort to process different woods. Soft woods require at least the same effort and provide less heat per pound. Therefore I only process a few straight pieces that drop in my yard.

 

[Caw]

For me in the northeast with all the hardwood around I try to be as efficient as possible. Think of the amount of heat vs amount of effort to process different woods. Soft woods require at least the same effort and provide less heat per pound. Therefore I only process a few straight pieces that drop in my yard.

Well said. We are very fortunate that red oak is so plentiful here and splits easily. Best bang for your buck. Sure it takes that extra year to be ready but it's worth it. Use what you have and be as efficient as possible.

 

[fbelec]

i meant to say pine not pipe. i have burnt pine because it was free. all my wood has been free. i'm lucky i guess.

 

[peakbagger]

Red maple just cut will not be dry by spring unless it gets put in a kiln. Split it real small and it will burn but most of the heat will go up the stack as water vapor and creosote. Dry pine is better than wet maple. Consider buying pallet of compressed sawdust/shavings like Bio Bricks and then supplement with your partially dried wood. About the only thing not to burn is pressure treated and painted wood as they can put out toxic fumes into the neighborhod and your yard.

 

[GrumpyDad]

Red maple just cut will not be dry by spring unless it gets put in a kiln. Split it real small and it will burn but most of the heat will go up the stack as water vapor and creosote. Dry pine is better than wet maple. Consider buying pallet of compressed sawdust/shavings like Bio Bricks and then supplement with your partially dried wood. About the only thing not to burn is pressure treated and painted wood as they can put out toxic fumes into the neighborhod and your yard.

The bio bricks idea is not a bad idea for someone that just doesnt have the wood available to burn!
Will it be as pleasant of an idea, eh - wood is wood and nothing beats the look/feel of chucking pieces of wood into a fire. But these do the job for sure it would seem. People have tested them quite extensively.

Rural king seems to be the cheapest - however forget about shipping. I checked, and their freight costs are like $500 for the equivalent of a cord of wood in weight of these bricks shipped. SO definitely go to the store if you have one near and ask them to order them for you as they likely wont have a full pallet. Theirs are 38 pounds per package at $6.50 / so, 17 cents a pound. You would need 65 packs at $453 (inc 6% tax). That would be about equal to a cord of wood in weight. ~2500 pounds.

Tractor supply - eh I see alot of people saying the stuff you get vs what is advertised online is different, and people are kinda pissed about it. Their product description is screwy, but basically you get 20 pounds per package for $4.49 so theirs are 22 cents per pound. So 125 packs to make 2500 pounds or 596 (inc 6% tax) for a cord of wood at harbor freight.

$150 savings if you go to Rural king and get them there.

To me, I would call around to see who has SEASONED ready to burn low moisture firewood at that point. Even if I had to go a bit away to get it. I like the idea and storage ability of the bio bricks so they have a perk, but if you could find a cord of truly seasoned firewood for $350 from somewhere,...that would be better than paying $450.

 

[stoveliker]

But the 2500 pounds of sawdust bricks will provide more heat than 2500 pounds of wood. Because it's drier. So the cost per BTU is less than what your numbers suggest.

 

[GrumpyDad]

But the 2500 pounds of sawdust bricks will provide more heat than 2500 pounds of wood. Because it's drier. So the cost per BTU is less than what your numbers suggest.

Very true of course! However is that optimal? In other words, if I put pine in my stove, it's going to burn hot and fast...but it will be gone much much quicker than if I put mixed hardwoods in correct? Or would i just simply adjust my 'throttle' to accommodate for the different wood type?

 

[stoveliker]

The drier the better, as long as your stove can control the fire. You can dial in mixed hardwoods to give the same BTUs per hour, it will just last longer. Bricks therefore will last longer (at the same output) than most wood splits. Moreover, you can fill the box more (tetris), because of their shape, meaning you will have a longer reloading schedule.

So yes, it'd be optimal, imo. Just as long as you control the fire properly.

 

[GrumpyDad]

The drier the better, as long as your stove can control the fire. You can dial in mixed hardwoods to give the same BTUs per hour, it will just last longer. Bricks therefore will last longer (at the same output) than most wood splits. Moreover, you can fill the box more (tetris), because of their shape, meaning you will have a longer reloading schedule.

So yes, it'd be optimal, imo. Just as long as you control the fire properly.

Im going to have to give a shot at stacking my stove half full of 5 year old seasoned pine, and see if I can keep the temps moderate. Im still new to my VC dauntless. Ive had a few yikes moments whereas it seems like my control all the way down isnt having an impact and isnt doing anything, then it finally holds back and controls the fire.

 

[stoveliker]

I have no experience with your stove, or its abilities, and possible overfire risks.

Just be sure to dial down soon enough; once you're late, it's that much harder to control a stove.

 

[fbelec]

it might be that the fire gets going to much before you turn it down. try turning it down a little sooner and see how that does.