Wildwest and I communicated some on burning myths and she suggested I start a thread with myths (and perhaps explanation of why it is a myth) some time ago. My apology to her that I still have not got that done. So, today I thought we'd just start a thread and let several folks chime in so I'll just start off with a few. But first, some by WW. Green wood gives a longer burn. Pine will catch your chimney on fire. Burning Hedge will melt your stove. Cut in the fall burn in the winter. (wet wood) The chimney cleans itself, once or twice a year with a big boom (chimney fire/creosote). Thank you Wildwest. How about that green wood giving a longer burn. Well, it certainly can if it sits there and smolders. It reminds me of a video on youtube (actually a couple by the same guy) where these folks had bought a new stove and just could not get any heat from it. Well, they no doubt got a long burn, but not much heat. Until we learn how to burn water, it still is best to get your wood dry. On the pine catching the chimney on fire. We believe that started many, many moons ago when folks knew no better and in the fall they would go out and cut the winter's supply. Many of them did not even split the wood until just putting it into the furnace. I remember a neighbor who used to do this and when I'd visit, we'd sit in the basement and chat while splitting wood (with sledge and wedge). Somehow, that basement was always damp... But when folks did have chimney fires they claimed was from pine, they were mistaken. What happened is poor burning practices caused creosote. Then they'd put a load of pine in to "clean out the chimney." Pine can burn really hot so it did light that creosote on fire but it was not the fault of the pine. It is a shame that even today that myth goes on and on. Hedge melting stove? I doubt that. Most folks seem to love it. We've never burned it here so have no experience with it. Cut in the fall burn in the winter. (wet wood) See above with the pine causing fires. Cut in fall and burn in winter, there is no way that wood can dry that fast unless it has been in a kiln or the wood was all dead. However, from experience we know that so called dead wood can indeed have lots of moisture, especially that bottom third of the tree. The chimney cleans itself, once or twice a year with a big boom (chimney fire/creosote). For sure it can! Not a good practice though as those who do that risk burning their home. It is amazing also that at least one manufacturer (don't remember which one right now) still recommends burning a hot fire every morning, leaving the draft wide open in order to "clean the chimney." For sure if we did that, I think we could perhaps start a house fire within about 15 minutes or less, depending upon what wood we burn and how much. Don't do that! Once again, thank you wildwest. What about those who get excited and think their wood is dry when they see the cracks in the ends of the logs? No, it does not mean the wood is dry. What it does mean is that the ends have started to dry. Later on, those cracks tend to close up again. And this also is the reason we split wood so as to dry it sooner rather than hoping all the moisture will evaporate out of the ends. So anyone who wants to burn rounds, be sure you give them extra time to dry. Another good reason to be on the 3 year plan. You can cut an ash tree and burn it right away. Ha! That myth just continues from year to year and seems there is no let-up. Well, you can burn it right away if you want or absolutely have to, but you won't get good fires nor will you extract all the heat you could have if you'd let that wood dry. Ash does tend to be the lowest or one of the lowest moisture woods but it will still come in around 35% when freshly cut. That is too high of moisture for a good burn. Or wood will rot in the pile even if you cover it. If the wood is top covered, it won't rot. However, I've seen some people completely wrap their wood stacks. How is the moisture to evaporate? If top covered only, you get the assistance from Mother Nature with air circulation. That air moving through the wood stacks will do as much or more than sunshine will. Many times we've stacked wood in the shade and it dried just fine. We know of some folks who have burned wood that has been in the stack more than 10 years. I know personally one party who burned 15 year old wood. It burned really nice. So top cover that wood stack. It's not good to have a large wood pile because it will draw rats and mice and all sorts of crawling things. I suppose in some areas this could be true with crawling things. For example, in the south they have a lot of snakes and for some reason (I think warmth) they tend to get into a wood pile. Rats? I highly doubt that unless someone leaves wood uncovered and it sits there for many years. btw, just yesterday I was getting wood from the barn to move to the burning area. I ran across what was a mouse nest. We've been stacking wood in that barn for several years now and this is a first. We do find them sometimes in the wood that is stacked outdoors but only a few and I think the coyotes do a grand job of thinning out those mice. If not, then the foxes will. So there you have it. Please contribute a myth or 2 along with an explanation. If done right, this could really turn out to be a good thing for all. Thank you.
No myths to add at the moment, but thought I'd say I come across many mice nests, as well as garter snakes in the Spring. They like to sun in the woodpiles. Also tree frogs...probably same reason. Not too nice when the snakes and the frogs meet....Also, chipmunks and red squirrels. A regular menagerie.
My FIL says as long as the barks loose from the round it's dry. I found that's not true my first year burning. Pops and sizzles like fresh cut.
Like this? Tree frogs also love to sit on propane tanks. Not sure why though because they do it even in the shade. They'll get under the cover; maybe they don't like rain or just feel safe there.
"If you let it sit too long, it will rot". I've heard this one a few times, as a justification for the burn-as-you-cut "method". I always ask, "isn't your house made out of wood? How do keep that from rotting? You keep the wood off the ground and out of the rain."
Myth you have to have a mix of green and dry wood to burn I'm having to do that now but not by choice and no it's not better than good dried wood
Myth-- Scotty Overkill 's stash is visible from the moon. It is, however, visible from high-Earth orbit.
I was always taught that snakes seek out the wood piles because that's where the mice, rats, and insects are. I had a huge black snake that sunned itself on my wood pile an entire summer, almost every day. The snakes always disappear when it gets cold though, I never find one when getting wood to bring into the house. BTW I love having snakes around as they eat many pests. I also find many mice nests in the wood pile every winter. This explains why my cats like to be out so much at night and then why I find a dead mouse on my doorstep every other morning in the summer.
Myth: Scotty Overkill's stack is visible from the moon. Fact: Scotty Overkill's stack is visible from Mars.
Awesome post! My dad is so bull headed with the pine myth along with the FIL he's having trouble finding firewood and i told him I'd bring him a whole pick up load from 90 miles away no charge just for him to burn even mix and he will have none of it! I keep telling everyone you can burn anything from pine to eaucylyptus to bamboo as long as it's dry it's the only thing that matters! One myth that does make me curious is another pine myth. Here it is Pine pitch burns much much hotter than the pine wood and will warp your stove. My dad's been on that rant since i can remember. Anyone else hear this? Im sure it won't warp your stove but idk about the pitch part, dad loves the pine myth and such because when we moved into the old farmhouse there was a old stove that was warped to beat hell and there was loads of pine firewood in the basement. I was only 10at the time but for all i know that stove was 80years old! Any help on the pine pitch?
Well I don't know what you can say, it's pretty hard to argue with that evidence. Unless of course the reason the basement still had all that pine in there was because, like your dad, they were afraid to burn it and they burned up all their hardwood first, and that's what warped the stove. Seriously, though, there is a bit of truth to the fact that pitch can be quite flammable and pockets of it could get your fire burning pretty good, but to manage the heat you just do the same thing that you do with very dry wood or a load of small splits,,,,,,,, close the air draft! Cut the oxygen supply you control the fire, whether it be a load of dry kindling, or pitchy wood. I had a couple cords of firewood once that I got from a big old douglas fir tree that had been hit by lighting. Fir has a lot of pitch at the best of times, but when they get hit by lightning it can fracture and split the tree from top to the bottom and it literally bleeds (sap) to death. Even though the fir had been dead for many years it was full of pitch, and the longer I dried the tree the more the pitch would ooze out, especially when I brought the splits in the house and left them close to the fire. That wood had oodles of pitch, but the flare ups from the pitch were easy to handle by turning down the air draft on the stove. What I really didn't like though was the pitch that would often ooze and drip on the floor or get on my hands while handling the wood. In fact I don't even bother to cut douglas fir anymore because I don't like handling the wood and getting pitch all over, instead I only burn Lodgepole pine now (it has no sticky pitch). And contrary to Dennis's 4th myth, old dead beetle kill lodgepole pine is the only wood I know of that I can reliably do that with. And yes I know Dennis, you made a point of saying (wet) wood. And I agree you are correct that in most cases even old standing dead trees will still have wet wood (>25% MC) near the trunk, but beetle kill lodgepole pine seems to be the exception, at least in my semi arid climate anyway.
Great input. That does make sense i suppose. I have the owb so i throw everything in it so long as it's dry. Pine is actually one of my favorites! It's so light so easy on the chainsaws no-one else that goes to the wood dump wants it so it's always waiting for me it's super light once even half dry it's super easy for my splitter to open up and the pine that's popular here, (red flakey bark) is usually dead when i get it and already mostly dry never really oozes sap or pitch live or dead. I love burning it!
I've been burning tons of the red pine and most of its dead with holes everywhere in it any idea what it's from? Is this the pine beetle i keep hearing about?
I suspect the myths about pine and pitch came from a time when stoves were not truly airtight and they could run away with no way to stop them. As for pitchy (fat) wood, I cherish it. I split it very small, cut it in half lengths and use it for starters.
Some yes but a few splits this week revealed something i haven't seen before tunnels our pockets of long thin wood shavings i think some kind of grub but i haven't a clue. Have only seen ants in a couple pieces but no grubs or beetles of any sort yet
I recently learned the aspen I am familiar with from the rocky mountains is different than aspen out east. We have burned lodgepole pine for 20 years (not familiar with the other kinds of pine referred to here as red and white), but we have never warped a stove, seen it red, or had a chimney fire. There are instances where pitch has popped...........but very few times has it come out of the firebox. I just shut the doors when that happened...... I don't know if pine out there is different? The pictures of trees I see here from out east are MUCH bigger than the trees we ever burned. That said we recently bought a different home with an existing old stove that was really gummed up with creosote (that stove ~~40 years old). Who knows what the previous occupants here burned, but it obviously wasn't seasoned. I have never seen anything like the chunks of creosote that came out of the chimney Thank goodness I found FHC to help us do the rehab of everything to get the new install done right We had the home inspected, AND I hired a chimney sweep to clean and inspect, poor kid was wrong on several accounts FHC helped us clean it up and get it right this time. I burn much less wood since the addition of a pellet stove but we still burn pine, everything is safe and clean here and warm here tonight To the west of you, that is definately a myth.
Just FYI, the words wet and dry wood are mine, he was quoting me, I think he prefers the words seasoned and unseasoned. Guess the difference in words is a product of our upbringing or regions, go figure lol.
Oh dear, has the pine beetle traveled out there? Small holes that weep sap, and "tunnels" between the bark and trunk? I have been hearing the EAB is out east too, wonder if something similar?
