Hey guys just wanted to get some quick insight here. I see quite a few people on here burning this stuff and was just wondering how long it needs to be css'd for before i can burn it in my lopi revere stove. Figured i would ask on here because nobody around me burns it! The power company clear cut 20 ft off the road both sides for a few miles near my house. All the oak and ash is gone but there is probably 5 or more cords of pine and hemlock still there I plan on getting sometime today. Pics to follow, i know everyone loves them!
Not sure on the Hemlock, but White Pine or Spruce will dry fairly well in good conditions in just a few months. I'd not plan to burn any of that stuff until next fall if you can wait. Some might be ready by next spring. Might. Get it split and stacked ASAP. I get shocked looks whenever I tell people I burn Pine or Poplar.......except here.......most of the time.
I wasnt planning to use it until next heating season. I just hate to see all that good wood go to waste! You can say ive been bitten by the hoarders bug
Some people say 6 months but I've always waited a year. Some of that time has been in rounds though as I tend to let rounds sit for a while for the sap to dry out. Don't wear your Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes CSS fresh pine.
Good thread and good info! I think I've been guilty of burning pine a little too early and should wait bit longer like billb3 suggested. And yes don't wear anything you truly value, glove up that sap gets everywhere what a pita but I love the smell.
Most people here will disagree with me, but here is my experience. I had a neighbor cut down 5 pine trees about 2 months ago. I have been burning it for the last 2-3 weeks. And it burns super hot and fast. Maybe it's not technically "seasoned" but if it's pine, it burns hot enough that I can start from an empty stove, to being up to full temp, no smoke out the chimney in 10 minutes by burning this stuff. https://photos.app.goo.gl/a4AaWp4EkCBvrapa8 I've seen lots of charts out there showing BTU's and seasoning times, but I find experience is what counts. Every stove is different, every tree is different, how everybody stacks and dries is different. I've seen things in charts that for me aren't close to true, even though I am sure it is for many. Anyway, if you have pine, even fairly freshly cut, it is might very well burn just fine in your stove. If my pine burned any hotter, I'd be afraid to use it. It is already hard to keep my stove from over firing with the damper closed when it get's going, and I fan my blower on full blast. After the fire gets started, I generally mix the pine with other wood.
Think the problem with my pine is while its been sitting over 6-8 months it isn't covered very well and I think some recent rains got into it pretty good. I know most people don't care for it but I like it for the most part. Its readily available in my area, it splits easy, burns super hot which gets my steel stove up to temps really really quick. Yes it don't last long and I don't use it for overnight burns but on days when am home I don't mind feeding it.
I grew up in Oregon and pine was mostly all we burned. I live in the Midwest now and burned all hardwood last year (first year as an adult with my own wood burning stove). I got a few fee chords of pine this year and it's been great. I didn't even have to haul it from anywhere since it was in my neighbors yard. I do wish it burned longer, but for free wood from next door, I'm super happy with it!
I would go along with that statement. Be careful though, once you get it, its hard to cure. Yes we like pics. Ive been debating on taking some big pine right up the street form me. Easy pickings, but im beyond hoarded already. Good luck and keep us posted!
I haven’t burned a lot of hemlock, maybe a cord or so in my fire pit. But I find it dries fairly fast. After several months it burns very nicely in the fire pit with very little smoke. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I cut a dead hemlock tree this summer and it was ready to burn immediately. Generally 6 months should be enough if it is split and top covered.
I've found 2 of what I believe are Hemlock on our little bit of property. Decent size, but I won't cut 'em down unless they look ill.
Here in Southwest Colorado pine and aspen is about all I burn. Ponderosa, Blue Spruce, Lodgepole, Cedar is nice when I can find it. We have really low humidity all summer so it's well seasoned in a year. I usually knock the bark off before throwing it in the stove, not sure if its really necessary. 5 cords, i'd be snagging that for sure
Eastern white pine rots pretty quick dead standing. Once the sap dries up the bugs get in in the Summer and the woodpeckers will start chewing it up pretty good going after the grubs. They can look pretty sad by two years. The bigger they are the longer they stand but the wood starts getting pretty soft. The humidity and wet weather here probably doesn't help much either.
