Why don't people like burning pine?

[Mustard Tiger]

I had a 100'+ pine that was 48" at the base cut down last September because it was only 15' from the house and leaning over it. Had pros do the job and had them cut the trunk into 48" rounds. Shortly after I split and stacked it all. I live in high desert with very low humidity in the summer and it all has dried out nicely.

The previous winter was my first winter with a wood stove (Sirocco 30.2) and only burned juniper (juniper and pine is what most available in my area). I avoided pine because so many people said it's junk and it will clog up my chimney. Well, I wasn't going to let all the wood from that tree and a lot of other trees that I had to cut down on my property go to waste (beetle kill and trees that came down or snapped from a big storm we had past February). Started using the pine a couple weeks ago and have to say I really like it. First off, it splits uniformly and stacks easier than juniper. I can also load more into the stove and have lead dead space because it's more uniformly shaped than juniper which can be twisted and different, making it harder to really pack the stove to it's full potential.

Sure, juniper burns hotter and I really like the smell of juniper, but the pine just lights quick, and have gotten nearly as long burn times from it and I cannot imagine it creates more creosote than the juniper. I had the company who installed my stove come out and inspect the chimney and clean it in late August. They said whatever I did last winter was perfect because the chimney and stove looked great and if I continued to do what I did last winter I only needed to call them every other year instead of each year.

So why do so many say not to burn pine? It dried out pretty fast, can load more of it into the stove and it seems to light really early and burn well with no issues so far.

 

[webfish]

I burn it quite often. Myth surrounding pine is why many don't. It burns fast and hot so I like it during shoulder seasons or mix it in with hardwoods.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

I think it’s mostly because of the old wives tale that Pine will clog up chimney causing chimney fires. Very many many many good sources have said that this is not the case, and I have burned many cords of pine and have not noticed those issues whatsoever.
Several people know that I burn pine and they all give me that talk about how they heard it was dangerous. I appreciate their concern, but I’ve had to tell people multiple times that it really is OK.

 

[djlew]

I have a lot of pine near me and burn a ton of pine as well. I have friends and family tell me how junk it is. The big misconception is a lot of hobby burners or people not in the hobby who have an opinion don't understand that burning any wet wood is bad, not just pine. It's soft, and burns quickly, but it's great for shoulder season fires and getting a fire going quickly to load up with hardwood for the longer and hotter burns.

 

[Whitenuckler]

I had a 100'+ pine that was 48" at the base cut down last September because it was only 15' from the house and leaning over it. Had pros do the job and had them cut the trunk into 48" rounds. Shortly after I split and stacked it all. I live in high desert with very low humidity in the summer and it all has dried out nicely.

The previous winter was my first winter with a wood stove (Sirocco 30.2) and only burned juniper (juniper and pine is what most available in my area). I avoided pine because so many people said it's junk and it will clog up my chimney. Well, I wasn't going to let all the wood from that tree and a lot of other trees that I had to cut down on my property go to waste (beetle kill and trees that came down or snapped from a big storm we had past February). Started using the pine a couple weeks ago and have to say I really like it. First off, it splits uniformly and stacks easier than juniper. I can also load more into the stove and have lead dead space because it's more uniformly shaped than juniper which can be twisted and different, making it harder to really pack the stove to it's full potential.

Sure, juniper burns hotter and I really like the smell of juniper, but the pine just lights quick, and have gotten nearly as long burn times from it and I cannot imagine it creates more creosote than the juniper. I had the company who installed my stove come out and inspect the chimney and clean it in late August. They said whatever I did last winter was perfect because the chimney and stove looked great and if I continued to do what I did last winter I only needed to call them every other year instead of each year.

So why do so many say not to burn pine? It dried out pretty fast, can load more of it into the stove and it seems to light really early and burn well with no issues so far.

My understanding is that if you are a slow overnight semi-dry hardwood burner that has suddenly switched to super hot pine fires, you soon have a chimney fire. It's all the way you burn and how dry the wood is.

 

[MRD1985]

Burns too fast other wise no complaints for me

 

[Mustard Tiger]

My understanding is that if you are a slow overnight semi-dry hardwood burner that has suddenly switched to super hot pine fires, you soon have a chimney fire. It's all the way you burn and how dry the wood is.

Maybe I don't mind the pine because all I've burned is juniper previously and those seem to act similar in the stove. I bought the Sirocco because I work 12+ hour shifts and wanted a longer burn time and despite not getting anywhere near 30 hour burns, last winter I found I can easily be away from the house for 14-15 hours and still not have my furnace (use it for backup) kick on and still ahve coals when I get home.

 

[Mustard Tiger]

Burns too fast other wise no complaints for me

It does burn fast and hot, but same deal with juniper. Would be nice to burn hardwood instead, but I have so much of it on my property, plus a cord of any kind of hardwood out here cost many times more what I cord of pine or juniper would cost, and aside from theme and labor put into cutting down and splitting those trees that needed to come down anyway, it didn't cost me a thing.

 

[Murray01]

I’m a pine burner because that’s what readily available to me.

 

[SteveKG]

Nothing but pine and spruce [bit of aspen] growing here in the mountains so I've been burning those for over 50 years with zero issue. I can only figure that a bunch of people know pretty much zero about burning pine, or who knows.

No issues with "clogging chimneys." Really? Pine clogs chimneys? Oh well, I haven't had a heating bill in a half century anyhow.

I have a catalytic Woodstock, an air-tight Aga, and an air-tight Rais Wittus [relegated to my greenhouse now] and my "nothing burger" experience with pine firewood is the same for all my stoves.

 

[MRD1985]

Maybe I don't mind the pine because all I've burned is juniper previously and those seem to act similar in the stove. I bought the Sirocco because I work 12+ hour shifts and wanted a longer burn time and despite not getting anywhere near 30 hour burns, last winter I found I can easily be away from the house for 14-15 hours and still not have my furnace (use it for backup) kick on and still ahve coals when I get home.

I’m spoiled in New England with plentiful hardwoods available. I burn various species of oak, white ash, hickory, maple, beech and mulberry.

 

[EbS-P]

It’s low ash, low coaling. If you want to ouch a stove hard pine can output more BTUs per hour than hard woods.

Dense souther yellow pine is great firewood.

You must keep it covered and all the rain off.

 

[bigealta]

Depends on what "pine" you are talking about. My white pine here in NJ can be very sappy. I don't like to burn it, but if i do it needs to be well seasoned and very Dry. If not, it quickly blackens the glass with it's thick black sticky smoke. Of course all splits of all species need to be seasoned and dry but the white pine can be especially smokey if it's not.

If you have uncovered stacks like i do, Pine will absorb rain and stay wet much longer (many days) than the hardwoods, especially the oak i usually burn. So that also can be why some people have the soot problems with some "pine".

Dry Seasoned Pine does burn great in my f400 with the secondaries firing hard, but i prefer the longer burns and coaling that oak, locust provide.

And yeah cutting the white pine here gets sap all over the chainsaw and that's a huge PITA to clean up. So i'm still in the old school camp to go mostly for the hardwoods.

But by all means feel free to be a pine burning hero.

 

[bikedennis]

I have the same stove (30.2). Some years I burn pine only. Must be dry. No problems.

 

[Eightball1313]

all i burn is pine and other softwoods. on purpose!

in northeast pa and everyone around here believes in the BS fairytale that you cant burn pine in the house... so i do it on purpose. Its amazing to me what people will believe.

but i like it cuz it dries super fast, is light and easy to handle, and you can pretty much light it with a match.

 

[weee123]

Depends on what "pine" you are talking about. My white pine here in NJ can be very sappy. I don't like to burn it, but if i do it needs to be well seasoned and very Dry. If not, it quickly blackens the glass with it's thick black sticky smoke. Of course all splits of all species need to be seasoned and dry but the white pine can be especially smokey if it's not.

If you have uncovered stacks like i do, Pine will absorb rain and stay wet much longer (many days) than the hardwoods, especially the oak i usually burn. So that also can be why some people have the soot problems with some "pine".

Dry Seasoned Pine does burn great in my f400 with the secondaries firing hard, but i prefer the longer burns and coaling that oak, locust provide.

And yeah cutting the white pine here gets sap all over the chainsaw and that's a huge PITA to clean up. So i'm still in the old school camp to go mostly for the hardwoods.

But by all means feel free to be a pine burning hero.

My experience is the same with the white pine that I have as well. If kept dry it’s great but a real sponge for moisture if not.

 

[bigealta]

My experience is the same with the white pine that I have as well. If kept dry it’s great but a real sponge for moisture if not.

Yes i feel that even on our very humid days it absorbs moisture from the air? It's not easy to keep very dry here near the coast.

 

[begreen]

It's a myth, mostly from the east coast where hardwoods are so plentiful. Some folks there have burned pine because it will burn even when poorly seasoned due to its higher oil content. That is a recipe for creosote buildup and chimney fires. Properly seasoned, pine is fine.

 

[bigealta]

It's a myth, mostly from the east coast where hardwoods are so plentiful. Some folks there have burned pine because it will burn even when poorly seasoned due to its higher oil content. That is a recipe for creosote buildup and chimney fires.

So you just proved it's not a Myth.
Because, in reality most people do Not season their firewood properly, and many still burn green wood. This is, in my opinion, a disaster. Of course it's not good to do that with any wood, but i see the thick smoke from our white pine and it is very nasty indeed.

We here are a very small fraction of the wood burners. Almost everyone i know does not season their wood properly and most times not at all after they get it delivered by wood sellers.

I would take a wild guess and bet less than 1 in 20 wood burners properly season their firewood. It's probably even worse than that so in my opinion it is not a bad thing to hesitate promoting "its fine to burn pine". Same is true with "wet" wood.

 

[begreen]

The myth is that pine is unsafe to burn. That is not true. By that same reasoning, aspen, oak, gum, etc. are also unsafe to burn - if poorly seasoned. The only time our chimney has gunked up was burning poorly seasoned maple one year. We normally burn Doug fir, almost exclusively, without issue, because it is at around 17%mc.

 

[bigealta]

The myth is that pine is unsafe to burn. That is not true. By that same reasoning, aspen, oak, gum, etc. are also unsafe to burn - if poorly seasoned. The only time our chimney has gunked up was burning poorly seasoned maple one year.

Yes i agree as i've stated, and i understand your reasoning.
I guess the real question is what's the worst wood to burn unseasoned. As that is the real problem.
As fresh cut oak won't burn and fresh cut pine might burn, if you are cold you will burn the pine and maybe think "hey pine is fine", "i got to do what i got to do to keep warm".
People usually oversimplify and just accept the simple slogans.
"Pine is fine if it's seasoned and dry" should be the slogan
But it gets shrunk down to "pine is fine" with no caveat in peoples minds
That's how i look at the "pine is fine", "debate"

"All Fire wood is fine if it's seasoned and dry" maybe this should be the slogan.

 

[John Lehet]

I might turn my nose up at pine and also poplar because I’ve also got hardwood. The softwoods take the same handling and splitting effort (maybe easier to split than some) and storage volume for about half the heat of hardwood. If my effort, and a place to store it, are the only costs (cutting my own), then pine is the same cost for half the benefit. That said, if I’ve got some, I’ll burn it. Big pines close to the house have to come down sometime, and also some poplars that will grow up into the solar panel autumn afternoon sun block zone.

My woodshed is sized just right to hold this years (very dry) and next years (drying) wood for heat content for a winter. If I put a lot of pine in there, I’ve got less heat stored.

 

[Mustard Tiger]

Depends on what "pine" you are talking about. My white pine here in NJ can be very sappy. I don't like to burn it, but if i do it needs to be well seasoned and very Dry. If not, it quickly blackens the glass with it's thick black sticky smoke. Of course all splits of all species need to be seasoned and dry but the white pine can be especially smokey if it's not.

If you have uncovered stacks like i do, Pine will absorb rain and stay wet much longer (many days) than the hardwoods, especially the oak i usually burn. So that also can be why some people have the soot problems with some "pine".

Dry Seasoned Pine does burn great in my f400 with the secondaries firing hard, but i prefer the longer burns and coaling that oak, locust provide.

And yeah cutting the white pine here gets sap all over the chainsaw and that's a huge PITA to clean up. So i'm still in the old school camp to go mostly for the hardwoods.

But by all means feel free to be a pine burning hero.

The line I’m referring to is lodgepole out in southern Oregon. Even though I’m in the PNW, I’m in “high desert” and it’s very dry here. I split that tree that I had cut down last September and it’s been drying out since in a large covered carport that I use as a woodshed.

 

[djlew]

Yes i agree as i've stated, and i understand your reasoning.
I guess the real question is what's the worst wood to burn unseasoned. As that is the real problem.
As fresh cut oak won't burn and fresh cut pine might burn, if you are cold you will burn the pine and maybe think "hey pine is fine", "i got to do what i got to do to keep warm".
People usually oversimplify and just accept the simple slogans.
"Pine is fine if it's seasoned and dry" should be the slogan
But it gets shrunk down to "pine is fine" with no caveat in peoples minds
That's how i look at the "pine is fine", "debate"

"All Fire wood is fine if it's seasoned and dry" maybe this should be the slogan.

That last slogan should definitely be the one! I can't tell you how many times I have had to tell my FIL that oak rounds sitting out won't season in a year only to have him split and burn them and there I am watching them sizzle, then being told burning pine is the worst thing you can do! I do get a chuckle but need to also make sure they get their chimney cleaned. I agree, the norm is probably burning subpar seasoned wood for a lot of people and with that in mind, can definitely see why folks would say burning pine is "bad" compared to oak or other hardwoods that might not even light. Then you get into conversations about blaming the stove instead of the wet wood. Just a mess overall. Not sure where, why or how but the norm from firewood sellers here is split, stacked, uncovered same year and selling as seasoned. This is where a lot of wood burners I know are getting their information and trusting it. Either way, I love my pine, I just let it go and season until I feel like using it (which is often when I am cold and want a fire going quickly).

 

[begreen]

The line I’m referring to is lodgepole out in southern Oregon. Even though I’m in the PNW, I’m in “high desert” and it’s very dry here. I split that tree that I had cut down last September and it’s been drying out since in a large covered carport that I use as a woodshed.

It'll dry down to below 20% pretty quickly once it's split and stacked. Doug fir will go from green to 17% in about 6 months in dry conditions.