# Pine Cones.   Is there any drawbacks to burning them in stove?



## woodsie8 (Sep 21, 2008)

Basically wood and maybe sap.  Can I safely burn them, with no negative consequences?


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## Joey Jones (Sep 21, 2008)

Pine cones are a perfect firestarter as long as they are ripe old expanded suckers....stay away from closed up cones and cones still green.


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## myzamboni (Sep 21, 2008)

The only drawback is they are a bear to stack.


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## begreen (Sep 21, 2008)

I could burn a lot of them, but it's a PITA to have to clean your hands of the sap each time you start a fire.


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## fossil (Sep 21, 2008)

My splitter makes a real mess of them.  Rick


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## Joey Jones (Sep 21, 2008)

True, lot of sap with the cones, but buy a cheap pair of cotton gloves for a buck or 2 and use them only for loading and starting the stove. I have a couple of pair and use one for caulking chores and the other for oil and gasoline handling


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## InTheRockies (Sep 21, 2008)

I use them as fire starters--I have plenty of them in my yard.  I also save some of my pine needles when I rake in the spring and fall.  I put a few pine needles and pine cones in a paper bag along with kindling to get the fire started.  Works great.


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## rich81 (Sep 21, 2008)

i wonder how many btu's are in those pine comes?    and how many it takes to make a cord?


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## gangsplatt (Sep 21, 2008)

The funny thing about the  posting of this topic is that I was at the park with my daughter just a few hours ago and she was picking up pine cones and I thought, hmmm, I wonder if you could burn them and was thinking back as to whether or not I had ever come across the subject on this website.


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## drlbuilder (Sep 21, 2008)

How about acorns,I must rake up 500 lbs. of these things ,unless the rodents beat me to it.  Don


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## WonderingWoman (Sep 22, 2008)

This forum is great, I'm so glad I found it!


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## fossil (Sep 22, 2008)

builder said:
			
		

> How about acorns,I must rake up 500 lbs. of these things ,unless the rodents beat me to it.  Don



You have rodents who _rake_ acorns?  Man, could I ever have used some of those when I lived in Virginia.   %-P   Rick


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## jpl1nh (Sep 22, 2008)

builder said:
			
		

> How about acorns,I must rake up 500 lbs. of these things ,unless the rodents beat me to it.  Don


tough to season them effectively.


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## woodsie8 (Sep 22, 2008)

lol...................


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## Cluttermagnet (Sep 22, 2008)

I had another 'break-in' fire just the other night. Normally, I use tiny wads of newspaper (3x 1/16 of a sheet) to start some small Oak kindling. These are all placed between/ across two closely spaced ~1-1/2 in square Oak kindling pieces. This time I tried an old, dry pine cone, the 'open' type described above. It was at least a year old; I suspect it may have been one that was 5-10 years old, fully seasoned. They'd been stored indoors in the basement for a good while, some that I have. They are White Pine cones. It worked 'OK' as a starter, but I noticed it put out a lot of smoke, way more than the newspaper does. It was also slow starting, compared to paper.  I haven't completely given up on the pine cones yet, but I was definitely not impressed. Next experiment- a little candle wax dripped on or otherwise applied to the cones. Let's see how that improves things.

It appears that if you burned a lot of these, your chimney output would be pretty darned smoky. I certainly wouldn't use them for much more than starters. Just so long as they are fully seasoned, smokiness is probably the only consequence. They might earn you neighbor complaints, however. ;-)


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## karl (Sep 22, 2008)

The next time you're baking, or the misses is.  When you're done.  Turn the oven off and let it cool down to about 200 and toss them in on a cookie sheet.  That will dry them out.  Then dip them in some candle wax.  They light quick, burn great, and don't get your hands sappy.

Chain saw dust is great for this too.  After you dry it put some wax paper in shallow pan.  Then put he saw dust in there and pour wax on top of it.

I buy close out candles from where ever for a buck or two a piece.  I can don't care about the sent.  I just buy the biggest ones they have and melt them on the stove in a old coffee can.


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## donatello (Sep 22, 2008)

SUPER CEDAR's nuff said...
I break them in 1/4 size pieces which works out to approx. 18 cents per fire started  %-P . The time spent drying pine cones/saw dust, melting down candle's and driving to the store/wasting fuel it doesn't seem cost effective...


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## InTheRockies (Sep 22, 2008)

Another option for pine cone fire starters is to melt paraffin, pour it in cupcake baking cups (fill about halfway), then put a pine cone in each one. Once they've cooled completely, it's very easy to remove the pine cones with parrafin base from the paper cupcake baking cups. A family member made up some of these and placed them in wood bowls as holiday gifts.  They worked great--it was a great present that everyone loved.


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## Cluttermagnet (Sep 24, 2008)

karl said:
			
		

> The next time you're baking, or the misses is.  When you're done.  Turn the oven off and let it cool down to about 200 and toss them in on a cookie sheet.  That will dry them out.  Then dip them in some candle wax.  They light quick, burn great, and don't get your hands sappy.
> 
> Chain saw dust is great for this too.  After you dry it put some wax paper in shallow pan.  Then put he saw dust in there and pour wax on top of it.
> 
> I buy close out candles from where ever for a buck or two a piece.  I can don't care about the sent.  I just buy the biggest ones they have and melt them on the stove in a old coffee can.


Great tips, I'll remember these. I'll never look at a yard sale candle the same way again. Not anything I'd buy normally- that may change, now. You know, a lot of folks get tired of looking at them and just give them away. Look for them at the end of a yard sale. I bet some will still be there.

Oh, er, ah- I did email for a sample lot of the Super Cedars. Heh! I wonder just how habit- forming they really are? ;-)


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## Jags (Sep 24, 2008)

Cluttermagnet said:
			
		

> Oh, er, ah- I did email for a sample lot of the Super Cedars. Heh! I wonder just how habit- forming they really are? ;-)



After the first little nibble, you will be hooked. ;-)


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## Beanscoot (Sep 24, 2008)

Pine cones are great.  They're also nice in those outdoor chimineas.  One thing to be careful of in the woodstove is putting a bunch in, lighting them and having one roll out.


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## fossil (Sep 24, 2008)

Top-downs using a 1/4 Super Cedar...I'll never go back.  Rick


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## Sheepdog (Sep 24, 2008)

Rick,

  I thought the ferrets worked best?!?!!? Or are they only for cleaning purposes?

-Sheepdog


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## fossil (Sep 24, 2008)

Starting a fire is one thing...maintaining a squeeky clean stovepipe & chimney is another.  I haven't given up on ferrets, but you gotta have a good fire already going to use them to best effect.   %-P   Rick


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## Ithaca (Sep 24, 2008)

All this talk about Super Cedars makes me appreciate my 'PennySaver' fire starter even more.


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## Cluttermagnet (Sep 25, 2008)

I did the 'melt candles in a coffee can on the stove' thing. Lots of candle stubs plus a couple of big candles in a medium size can. Turns out there *is * a reason why I'm such a terrible string saver. Took a bunch of really old, fully open pine cones and dipped them in the hot wax, shook them off well, then set them to harden on a cookie sheet with waxed paper. They look pretty good. I'll let you know how it goes when I have my next fire. Well, there's a couple of hours shot to he**, eh? But it was kind of fun, anyway. ;-)

I have plenty more cones in bags, and will also try the sawdust thing at some point.


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## scotsman (Sep 25, 2008)

woodsie8 said:
			
		

> Basically wood and maybe sap.  Can I safely burn them, with no negative consequences?



You can also soak the old dry cones in kerosene for a few days and then take 'em out and let 'em dry. They'll keep for a long time and the soaked up kerosene stays in 'em for a long time--almost forever if you put 'em straight out of the kerosene into a sealable metal or plastic 5-gallon container. Good long-burning, starters, almost no smoke and very little trouble compared to melting paraffin, candles and all that. PLUS, kerosene will keep the sap from sticking to your hands or take it off if you get some on you.

For those of you living in corn country, this same approach works with old, dry cobs. My grandad taught me both of these starters. Probably not politically correct these days, but then . . . almost anything y'do someone is gonna find fault with. Never been good at bein' PC, so I s'pose I'll just go on doin' it and preserve the best of the "old ways" that work for me. I wonder if the PC police would find fault with the way I coil my garden hose in a figure 8 to keep it from gettin' all tangled up when I drag it out again?  :roll: 

Y'all be good. It's coolin' off right nice down our way.

Texas Boy


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## Cluttermagnet (Sep 26, 2008)

I have some 'stale' kerosene, maybe 10+ years old. I'd never use it in a kerosene heater. I did think of using it for cleaning up grease when working on the car, also parts cleaning etc. But would this stale stuff work as well as fresh stuff, for the purpose of the fire starters you describe?

Oh, also a more general question to everyone who might know this- in connection with burning various stuff in an oil burner (likely mixing in small proportions with fuel oil), would stale kero work near as well as fresh? Or might you expect some additional problems with fouling of the the filter and nozzle?


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## scotsman (Sep 26, 2008)

Cluttermagnet said:
			
		

> I have some 'stale' kerosene, maybe 10+ years old. I'd never use it in a kerosene heater. I did think of using it for cleaning up grease when working on the car, also parts cleaning etc. But would this stale stuff work as well as fresh stuff, for the purpose of the fire starters you describe?
> 
> Oh, also a more general question to everyone who might know this- in connection with burning various stuff in an oil burner (likely mixing in small proportions with fuel oil), would stale kero work near as well as fresh? Or might you expect some additional problems with fouling of the the filter and nozzle?



As long as the container has been kept closed and there are no other chemical contaminants (dust and dirt and stuff like that is okay, but you don't want any other solvents in the mix), it should be just fine for soaking pine cones, corn cobs and most anything else that you'd use for a fire starter. In fact, that's what my Grampa kept the used kerosene for. He would use it for cleaning up something and then pour the leftovers into a small 15 gallon open top drum and toss in corn cobs, pine cones, smaller wood scraps (i.e. kindling) and then put the lid on and let 'em soak. When he'd need something to start a fire, he'd take a three pound coffee can out to the shed and pick out two or three pieces and take 'em in. He said HIS grandpa used to do this to get the fire started in the wood cook stove when he (my great-great-great grampa) was a little kid. I figure if it worked for them for that many years, it would probably work for me.

*One precaution:* If you're using this method to start a cooking fire, choose a small piece of starter so all the kerosene will burn out before putting the food on. 'Course you're s'posed to cook over a bed of coals, not a flame fire, and all the kerosene will be gone way before you get to a coals fire. But for starting a heating fire, most anything will do fine. Pine and cedar soaked in kerosene will give you a long-burning starter. No real need to BUY fire starters if you just go back to the "old days" ways of doing things. Those folks made do in some very ingenious ways 'cause they didn't have money to throw around like we do now.

Holler if you need more info. Let us know how it works for you. REMEMBER--nothing but kerosene, no other volatiles--they could flash and explode, which could mess up your whole day, body, stove, house and possibly the whole darned neighborhood. PLEASE don't make THAT mistake, it may be your last!

Ol' Texas Boy


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## Cluttermagnet (Sep 27, 2008)

Thanks- all interesting information. Yes, I kind of knew that kerosene is unique (lower volatility?). We have a kerosene heater here, but it's a pain to work with. You never run into any 'gasoline heaters', etc. I wonder why? Heh! ;-)  Anyway, I would never start messing with just any old solvent. They are toxic and can be very explosive indeed.

That's good news that you think my old, stale kerosene still has some value. I hate to waste anything. I'll play with this a little- I have plenty more old pine cones here. So I'll try a few of 'em done up your way. Eventually, I'm going to post my experiences with several starter types that I'll try this season.


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## Bamawood (Nov 2, 2008)

I use kerosene to start my fires in my fireplace. I keep some in a dishwashing liquid bottle and squirt a little on my kindling and lighter up. Works every time.


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## billb3 (Nov 2, 2008)

You're gonna have some really angry squirrels.


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## Cluttermagnet (Dec 16, 2008)

An update about firestarters in use here- I always use small Oak tinder and kindling, well seasoned, over various starters. I've tried fatwood, the wax/sawdust starters (small pieces shaved off), Super Cedars (pieces cut off), crumpled newspaper alone, and pine cones. I've tried pine cones 'plain' as is, pine cones dipped in candle wax, and pine cones soaked for several days in old kerosene. Each method has its plusses and minuses. I have quickly become a fan of pine cones, however. They work as well as the other methods and I get them free, in return for a little effort to dip them in wax or soak them in kerosene. The wax dipped pine cones are my top choice, with kerosene a close second.

All of the starter types I tried performed well. The Super Cedars were impressive. For me, it shook down to which method is lowest cost- but I can well understand why fatwood and Super Cedars are so popular.


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