# Hemlock and Spruce as firewood



## Gunks (Jun 5, 2010)

How's hemlock and spruce as firewood?   How are they compared to pine?


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## pybyr (Jun 5, 2010)

Gunks said:
			
		

> How's hemlock and spruce as firewood?   How are they compared to pine?



Depends on a lot of things, including what you plan to burn them in and how long they've been drying.  Also, when you say compared to pine, the heat content of pine varies a lot.  I've found that it's harder to get red (Norway) pine to light than white pine, but it seems to yield considerably more heat than white pine.

here's some info that may help you

http://www.mountainfirewoodkilns.com/firewood_ratings.pdf


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## Lumber-Jack (Jun 6, 2010)

I've never burned hemlock, but the pine I burn (lodgepole pine) is far superior to the spruce we have around here. Both in BTU content and ease of splitting. Pine splits so easy when it's dry, but the spruce is pain whether it's green or dry. It's a shame too because there's lots of dead spruce just up the hill from me. 
Actually if you were to factor in that wood will warm you twice, first when you *split it*, and again when you burn it, and you were to add them together then spruce would probably have a higher BTU rating than oak.


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## geoxman (Jun 6, 2010)

great shoulder season wood!.....but I burn anything that is seasoned. Split it and it should be good too go by Oct. good luck


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## North of 60 (Jun 6, 2010)

geoxman said:
			
		

> great shoulder season wood!.....but I burn anything that is seasoned. Split it and it should be good too go by Oct. good luck



 YA,  What should I burn when it gets cold out after the shoulder season? :cheese:


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## Pagey (Jun 6, 2010)

north of 60 said:
			
		

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55 gallon oil drums!  :lol:


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## LLigetfa (Jun 6, 2010)

north of 60 said:
			
		

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Birch.


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## Wood Duck (Jun 6, 2010)

Both hemlock and spruce can have a lot of knots, and the knotty sections are tought to split. Lower trunk sections may not have many knots and are nice to split. I'd burn it is you have it. I think, like pine, they burn hotter, faster, overall fewer BTUs than many hardwoods, but the heat that is there comes out faster.


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## North of 60 (Jun 6, 2010)

LLigetfa said:
			
		

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400 mile round trip for the Birch to get any decent amount.  Need the 55 gallon drum of oil to get there and back though. :-/


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## Frostbit (Jun 7, 2010)

Ya burn what 'cha got. In my case, spruce. Arctic Alaska is considered a desert. We're lucky the North Pacific and Bering Sea currents and storms bring us trees disgourged by the mighty Yukon during breakup. 

The only hardwood I ever see is the occasional pallet.


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## Bigg_Redd (Jun 7, 2010)

Gunks said:
			
		

> How's hemlock and spruce as firewood?   How are they compared to pine?



It all burnz


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## Wood Duck (Jun 7, 2010)

Both Hemlock and spruce seem to crack and pop a lot more than oak when burning. I burned a bunch of Eastern Hemlock in the campfire this weeknd and it made a nice, lively fire.


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## firefighterjake (Jun 7, 2010)

Folks have pretty much answered the question . . . as Pybyr mentioned it depends on the species. In the northeast I believe you will find hemlock and spruce to be comparable to pine in terms of fast, hot heat . . . not a lot of lasting power.

I don't burn a lot of this wood . . . some softwood slabs in the spring and fall for those quick, take-the-chill-off fires . . . and I don't go out of my way for this wood . . . but if it's in the way or has blown down I'll take some . . . as mentioned it's good for the shoulder season burning . . . or you can split it up for some decent kindling . . . also good for summer campfires.


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## FLINT (Jun 7, 2010)

I've burned hemlock.  It smells SOOOOO nice when it burns - we almost want smoke to come into the house.  It definitely does POP!! when burning though.  

Hemlock splits easy as long as there are no knots - but the knots are harder than any hardwood i've ever encountered - and even on a clear section of trunk, the branch stubs/knots remain within the tree, so they are always in there waiting for your maul to not be able to split them.  

Hemlock makes more heat than white pine.  I think white pine might be similar to spruce in terms of heat output.  and i think yellow pines (pretty much anything that isnt white pine in the east) are better than white pine.  

thats all i know.  I mix it in with the hardwoods.


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## PapaDave (Jun 8, 2010)

north of 60 said:
			
		

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Dangit, another pop quiz.


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## geoxman (Jun 9, 2010)

PapaDave said:
			
		

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burn what seasoned you have. good luck and it all burns


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## LLigetfa (Jun 9, 2010)

FLINT said:
			
		

> I've burned hemlock.  It smells SOOOOO nice when it burns - we almost want smoke to come into the house.  It definitely does POP!! when burning though.


Isn't Hemlock in the same family as Balsam Fir?  I used to have a neighbor that took all the Balsam Fir that I didn't want cuz the stuff popped like firecrackers.  I just couldn't have sparks flying across the room.

The neighbor ran a sleigh ride service and had open fireplaces in the cabins.  How they never burned down the place, I'll never know.


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