Spruce Scrounge?

Made a trip to the next town to scrounge some shoulder season wood. Never tried burning soft wood but have been convinced here to give it a shot.
I think it’s spruce. Fella told me it was one of the standing trees in the picture below. The wood I grabbed was felled and cut in the fall of 18. So I’m thinking should be good to try this fall. I might even toss a piece in today with the hard wood.
He was nice enough to load his pick up and follow me in the Jeep.
Measure just short of half a cord.

 

Compared to other species you've cut, that must have felt like a hot knife through butter.

 

It was pretty cool!

 

I've been burning some and it takes off like it's been soaking in gasoline. I'll pick it up again given the chance.

 

Good to know
There’s plenty left and the guy give me his number to let him know when I want to come back.
He also told me he’s got a couple of maples and an oak he’s going to drop.
Told him to let me and I’ll give him a hand.

 

I cut up a 70-75 yr old Colo Blue Spruce from my front yard and it has been a bear to split (still have about half the rounds, mostly from the bottom part of the trunk) and really haven't been all that impressed with the burn. It wasn't top covered so I didn't exactly treat it all that well I suppose. A lot of the splits are also on the large size due to it being such a bear to split so might be more effective in a larger stove ?

 

Noodled the big rounds to quarters. I did split some of those.
They split pretty easy when I went for the sap wood on the edge and that’s pretty near frozen. The fiskar just sank into the heartwood.
I can use the splitter for the rest.

 

Hopefully mine's an outlier.
I have some norway spruces that were planted as a sound barrier/view blocker in the fifties that could come down as they've gotten horribly tall and don't block much view any more but not unless I have to. Maybe slabs ?

 

I took a Colorado blue out of my yard about 3 years ago. Yep, real pain in the ash to split even with hydraulics. It burned though

 

I find the same with white pine. Softwoods definitely let me know when they're not dry! Had a few fires go out in the owb when we were starting out and wood was always unseasoned. do you find the same with pine? I know you burn plenty! (Like me.)

For splitting, give it a go when the rounds are frozen. ...If it gets cold enough for that before winter ends. 20's and 30's forecast here for the next ten days - gotta be 5-10 degrees warmer in your corner of the state I'd imagine..

 

I've burned no pine before its time.

 

Something is better than nothing.

 

Mix it with Oak/Beech/BL/Ash...or even Birch.

 

Spruce is split and ready to be stacked. I cleared the side of the wood shed of stuff leaning against and made a spot for the shoulder wood.




I also grabbed this White Pine that’s been down for a few years nicely just touching earth in a couple spots, and those were rocks. That’ll get mixed in the stack with the spruce. Guessing it’ll measure a little over a cord between the two.

 

Shoulder wood stacked.
Competing for the ugliest stack.
Almost exactly one cord, Spruce and White Pine.
Now to figure what cover it with.

Might be the beginning of an addition to the wood shed.

 

Exactly the same experience and results I had with a blue spruce that my BIL fell and bucked up at my MIL. I had the hydro splitter but it was still a PITA!!

Using it when we go camping and it pops a lot so have to be careful about that as well.