Yeah. It’s amazing. I live in one of the harshest climates in the US during the winter. I burn mostly pine. And somehow, my family stays warm - and my house stays upright. Here’s my driveway last winter. When I took this pic it was 19 degrees below zero.
They’d probably say something equally as stupid like it doesn’t get cold there. Then I whip out weather.com and put in Pine Colorado and show them how ignorant they are
With that idiot, the 3 year plan would not work! Can you imagine the wood piles and the amount of work a new guy would have to do to get 7 years worth of wood ready? No wonder so few burn wood.
Sounds like I am asking a dumb question here (newbie so pardon my ignorance) - so what is the story with pine? I have also always been under the impression to never burn it in a fireplace or woodstove. Is the moral of the story to just make sure it is fully dried and seasoned before you use it?
Ive tried doing the same Watched my landlord load his stove on Sunday with these massive beech chunks from the tree felled by Isaias in early August. It was mostly green. They just processed it in September. "its not throwing ant heat cuz its too green" The cedar shingle kindling i gave him "was the best kindling ive ever had" to quote him. Ive tried to tell him and teach him even as much as pulling out the moisture meter. He does hardwood floors and knew of one. I give up!!!
Old wives tale that burning pine, or any other softwood/conifer, causes chimney fires as its got too much creosote. Creosote is created by burning wet and/or green wood regardless of hard/softwood. I was a believer of this until FHC taught me. Yes moral is to be sure its dry enough to burn regardless of wood type. The generally accepted fact is the internal moisture content to be considered "seasoned" (we prefer dried) is below 20%.
Yes you have it correct. Like any other wood just make sure it is fully dried before burning. There are a lot of us in the west that burn cords of pine every year with any problems at all. I clean my wood stove only once a year and all I get out of it is a little ash and no creosote.
I’ve got some blue spruce going right now and I’m loving it. I’ve had maybe 15 fires this year so far and haven’t cleaned out any coals/ash yet so it’s starting to build up. Conifers burn nice and hot and are perfect for vaporizing the growing bed of coals in the firebox.
Can i ask a serious question, i am well aware of the pine burning crap on the net and the creosote issues that have been debunked so bear with me please. Not enough pine here to burn in the stove but had a couple die on me and burnt some in fire pit now and then, it gives off a dark smoke when burning. Does it burn dirtier then other woods but can easily be overcome by good practices? It was probably a Scotch Pine.
It probably wasn't that dry...and that smoke becomes fuel for the secondary burn in a modern stove...burns hot!
Fatwood definitely smokes up a bit.....but I only use 2 sticks to start the fire in the fireplace. I could probably get by with 1 stick.......but I like even lighting left and right.....Not that I'm anal retentive or anything....but I do enjoy some symmetry in my life. Speaking of fatwood a UPS delivery guy in a brand new Alfa Romeo just dropped off a 50lb box of fatwood. I had probably 1/3 of a box left now from my first box......so now I feel safe knowing I can use 2 sticks without running out. Heh heh. That guy can't be delivering for the money. He must be bored out of his mind and is doing it for fun and something to do. I'm guessing it's the sap that is smoking it up a little too but I don't think it's anything to worry about. From HERE:
The funny thing is......that the spruce I have........is the quickest drying wood I've ever c/s/s........It was a live tree in March 2019 and it's already at 12% MC. If it wasn't for that huge score of spruce I might be in some trouble this year....but I know that by next year I'll be ahead of the game........
