# wood stoves and fresh Christmas trees



## bears12th (Nov 29, 2010)

So here the question:

Wife and I have had a fake tree since we put the wood stove in three years ago.  We (read - she) want to have a fresh cut tree this year and have no better place than to put it in our family room where our Jotul Winterport is located.  It can get warm in our little family room - no real open floor plan.  I am wondering what others' experiences are with fresh cut Christmas trees and wood stoves located in the same room.  How long until you start worrying about tree drying out and what not?  How close is too close for a tree/stove relationship?   

Thanks all.


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## Badfish740 (Nov 29, 2010)

bears12th said:
			
		

> So here the question:
> 
> Wife and I have had a fake tree since we put the wood stove in three years ago.  We (read - she) want to have a fresh cut tree this year and have no better place than to put it in our family room where our Jotul Winterport is located.  It can get warm in our little family room - no real open floor plan.  I am wondering what others' experiences are with fresh cut Christmas trees and wood stoves located in the same room.  How long until you start worrying about tree drying out and what not?  How close is too close for a tree/stove relationship?
> 
> Thanks all.



I would keep it as far away as possible.  I have an add-on so my unit isn't even on the same floor as the Christmas tree, but the air in the house still gets very dry when we're burning 24/7, and our tree drank like there was no tomorrow last year.  It didn't turn brown or anything, but it did drop a lot of needles.  I'm going to try using a humidifier in the living room this year.


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## CarbonNeutral (Nov 29, 2010)

Not that you'd have it any where near the fire, but I'll throw this out there:



I would prefer a real tree (apart from the expense), but we resign ourselves to a fake one.....


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## CarbonNeutral (Nov 29, 2010)

This is a better one:


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## katwillny (Nov 29, 2010)

distance is your friend. Keep it as far as possible from the stove. And make sure to keep adding water to it as needed. Those things dry up pretty fast in dry heat which stoves produce.


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## begreen (Nov 29, 2010)

bears12th said:
			
		

> So here the question:
> 
> How close is too close for a tree/stove relationship?
> 
> Thanks all.



Depends on which side of the fence you're on. My stove has a close tree/stove relationship everyday. It loves trees in bite sized chunks.  :cheese:


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## joshlaugh (Nov 29, 2010)

I cut down a pine tree every year for the house(and use the first 6' of it, the rest is split/stacked for next year's stoves).  We keep them in the same room about 15 feet apart.  We keep a pot on the stove with water and keep the tree well watered.  I have not noticed a problem yet.


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## Backwoods Savage (Nov 29, 2010)

Fires with real Christmas trees is mostly a myth! This probably started when in the old days people used candles on their trees. Not a good thing to do!

I hope our friend Firefighter Jake gets to this thread to help set it straight. He had a good thread about this (but I won't search for it) and it seems to me he was invited to speak about fires with real Christmas trees....and he couldn't get it to even burn. 

We've always had real trees and have never had a problem. One thing we do though is cut our own tree, then add sugar to the water and make sure the tree does not run out of water. It should be good for at least a month without losing a lot of needles. That is, if it is not a spruce. Scotch pine keeps the needles well. Spruce are pretty but make a poor Christmas tree.

btw, yes, we have the tree in the stove room and it sits about 12' from the stove.


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## begreen (Nov 29, 2010)

It's an annual topic. Cut at least an inch off the bottom of the tree before putting it in the stand. Keep the tree watered. When it stops taking up water it will start to dry out. Once the tree is fully dry and needles are dropping it's time to remove it. There is probably as much or more danger from the old style incandescent bulbs starting a tree fire at that point as there is from the stove unless it's really close by. (And that would be bad to do at any time, synthetic, fresh or not.)


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## n3pro (Nov 30, 2010)

This is the 3rd year with a fresh cut tree in the same room as the wood stove.  Our clearance is 5 feet.


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## CarbonNeutral (Nov 30, 2010)

Dammit, you people with your real life anecdotes, don't tell my wife, we'll be in for $60 every year now. So, I guess the key is to keep it watered....


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## k9brain (Nov 30, 2010)

Many years ago we lived in a house with a fireplace and had the tree in the same room.  While we were taking down the tree one day in Feb-March, some one threw a branch into the fire.  It was amazing how quick it incinrerated.  

Poof, gone!  

It really hit home how flamable this tree was at the end of the season.  Now that I'm older I have a small artificial tree for reasons other than flamability, money and convienience, mostly.  But I also enjoy one less fire hazard in my house.

Bah Humbug!


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## jharkin (Nov 30, 2010)

Dennis is right. I saw the other threads that Jake gave out the real info.  Bottom line is the only way a tree will burn like that video is if it is totally dried out (as in no water for a month dry).

Just keep it watered and you are fine.

I have our real tree in the same room as the hearth and its nowhere near 15ft away. No issues.  Even the day we take it down in Jan it probably still wont lite if you put a match to it. When I was a kid we always did the same with my Dad's old '79 resolute and Im still here to tell the tale


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## Backwoods Savage (Nov 30, 2010)

CarbonNeutral said:
			
		

> Dammit, you people with your real life anecdotes, don't tell my wife, we'll be in for $60 every year now. So, I guess the key is to keep it watered....




$60. Wow!  Sure makes me happy when every year I walk out behind the house with a saw and bring back a tree. Shoot, we have a neighbor out of work so I invited him to also come cut a tree for his family. Dang, I love living in the country!


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## Jags (Nov 30, 2010)

Backwoods Savage said:
			
		

> Shoot, we have a *neighbor out of work so I invited him to also come cut a tree *for his family. Dang, I love living in the country!



Dennis - your just good people.  It wouldn't matter if you were in the country or on an island.


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## Backwoods Savage (Nov 30, 2010)

Thanks Jags. We just try to be good neighbors. We also like that statement that a famous person once made. It is something like, "Inasmuch as you have done onto the least of these you have done it unto me."


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## billb3 (Nov 30, 2010)

jharkin said:
			
		

> Bottom line is the only way a tree will burn like that video is if it is totally dried out (as in no water for a month dry).
> 
> Just keep it watered and you are fine.
> 
> )



How long ago were those purty store bought trees cut down before they went down the highway at 70mph ?

How many people ( and resellers) do not cut an inch or so of the  trunk to increase water uptake ?


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## Badfish740 (Nov 30, 2010)

billb3 said:
			
		

> How long ago were those purty store bought trees cut down before they went down the highway at 70mph ?
> 
> How many people ( and resellers) do not cut an inch or so of the  trunk to increase water uptake ?



We cut our own at a local farm that's 15 minutes away-even still I always make a second cut immediately before actually putting the tree in the stand just in case.  Sap fills up wounds pretty quickly.


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## laynes69 (Nov 30, 2010)

Wow that tree had some good secondaries going when it went up. Wife wanted a real tree, but I don't want the mess of the needles and such. I'll stick with my fake tree.


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## katwillny (Nov 30, 2010)

Backwoods Savage said:
			
		

> CarbonNeutral said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Your Aces Dennis. Wish i had you as  my neighbor.


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## firefighterjake (Nov 30, 2010)

Might as well post this You Tube special . . . my sole claim to fame.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcuA1v-k208


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## CarbonNeutral (Nov 30, 2010)

firefighterjake said:
			
		

> Might as well post this You Tube special . . . my sole claim to fame.
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcuA1v-k208



Nice! 

Time for me to grow some trees on my property I guess. I do have the room.


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## Jags (Nov 30, 2010)

firefighterjake said:
			
		

> Might as well post this You Tube special . . . my sole claim to fame.
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcuA1v-k208



I always pictured you as...taller.

Good show Jake - an ounce of prevention.....


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## firefighterjake (Nov 30, 2010)

billb3 said:
			
		

> jharkin said:
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> 
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## firefighterjake (Nov 30, 2010)

Backwoods Savage said:
			
		

> Thanks Jags. We just try to be good neighbors. We also like that statement that a famous person once made. It is something like, "Inasmuch as you have done onto the least of these you have done it unto me."



Was that Fossil . . . no, wait a minute . . . it was that guy that Fossil knew when he was hanging out in Palestine, right?


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## firefighterjake (Nov 30, 2010)

Backwoods Savage said:
			
		

> CarbonNeutral said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Just make sure you don't do what my dad did one year when he volunteered to bring a Christmas tree into my elementary school (back when it was legal to do so) . . . ended up cutting down a beautiful Christmas tree with a perfect shape . . . too bad it turned out to be "cat spruce" . . . looked nice . . . smelled terrible . . . like cat urine when it warmed up inside the classroom. Never asked or volunteered to bring a tree into school . . . or anywhere else after that incident.


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## firefighterjake (Nov 30, 2010)

jharkin said:
			
		

> Dennis is right. I saw the other threads that Jake gave out the real info.  Bottom line is the only way a tree will burn like that video is if it is totally dried out (as in no water for a month dry). [b*]Yes . . . it's funny. Folks -- even here -- preach about the need to season wood for months to get the wood to burn easily . . . and yet when it comes to Christmas trees suddenly they think these things are like crumpled newspaper and are against them even if they're only inside for a few days or a few weeks. Don't get me wrong. There is a danger . . . if you allow them to dry out . . . just keep them well watered.*
> Just keep it watered and you are fine.[/b]
> 
> 
> I have our real tree in the same room as the hearth and its nowhere near 15ft away. No issues.  Even the day we take it down in Jan it probably still wont lite if you put a match to it.* . . . or a plumber's propane torch as I did once . . . on live TV . . . back in my younger days*. When I was a kid we always did the same with my Dad's old '79 resolute and Im still here to tell the tale


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## firefighterjake (Nov 30, 2010)

k9brain said:
			
		

> Many years ago we lived in a house with a fireplace and had the tree in the same room.  While we were taking down the tree one day in Feb-March, some one threw a branch into the fire.  It was amazing how quick it incinrerated.
> 
> Poof, gone!
> 
> ...



I think the issue here is of time . . . generally we do not recommend keeping a tree up this long . . . I mean February or March??? Why so long?


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## firefighterjake (Nov 30, 2010)

CarbonNeutral said:
			
		

> Dammit, you people with your real life anecdotes, don't tell my wife, we'll be in for $60 every year now. So, I guess the key is to keep it watered....



Yes . . . keep it well watered . . . after making a fresh cut after you buy the tree.


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## firefighterjake (Nov 30, 2010)

BeGreen said:
			
		

> It's an annual topic. Cut at least an inch off the bottom of the tree before putting it in the stand. Keep the tree watered. When it stops taking up water it will start to dry out. Once the tree is fully dry and needles are dropping it's time to remove it. There is probably as much or more danger from the old style incandescent bulbs starting a tree fire at that point as there is from the stove unless it's really close by. (And that would be bad to do at any time, synthetic, fresh or not.)



As a matter of fact you are dead on BeGreen . . . the cause of most Christmas trees catching on fire is from the lights . . . in fact it is the lights that are the issue . . . and of course if you have an electrical problem even an artificial tree can present a problem. 

Incidentally . . . sounds like you remember the 1970s vintage light bulbs that would burn you if you touched them for a second or two . . . the 1970s vintage lights that could heat a small apartment without any other form of heat . . .


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## firefighterjake (Nov 30, 2010)

Backwoods Savage said:
			
		

> Fires with real Christmas trees is mostly a myth! This probably started when in the old days people used candles on their trees. Not a good thing to do!
> 
> I hope our friend Firefighter Jake gets to this thread to help set it straight. He had a good thread about this (but I won't search for it) and it seems to me he was invited to speak about fires with real Christmas trees....and he couldn't get it to even burn.
> 
> ...



Fact: Less than 1% of all fires are started by Christmas trees . . . but let's face it . . . us firefighters grew up seeing these same videos of trees going up in flames and figure it's very dramatic . . . and a whole lot sexier than talking about how many more fires are caused by cooking fires, heating equipment and electrical problems. Of course, we try not to let the fact that many of these fires are caused by trees that haven't been watered for days . . . or even weeks.

Fact: 2.5 deaths are attributed to Christmas tree fires. Not to trivialize this number since I hate to see anyone die in fire . . . but the number of people dying from fires caused by just about every other cause of fire you can come up with is far, far greater -- cooking, electrical, heating equipment, candles, arson, etc. I guess my belief is that we tend to lose focus on the facts.

As stated there can be a fire hazard . . . but then again . . . not maintaining your woodstove can also be a pretty big hazard . . . and truth be told . . . your woodstove is a far, far greater fire hazard than a Christmas tree ever will be. That said . . . cut an inch off the butt of the tree . . . water it every day . . . sometimes more frequently if you have pets or high heat . . . keep it as far away from heat sources as you can to minimize drying. Technically, you could just have it at the minimum distance from the stove for combustibles . . . and to be safe have it farther away in case it accidentally tips over . . . but the best thing to do would be to locate it as far away as possible . . . again to minimize drying . . . the tree will not spontaneously burst into flame -- much like the fact our wood piles do not spontaneously burst into flame when they season.

As for the videos all showing trees going up in seconds . . . the questions to ask yourself are these . . . 1) how long was the tree not watered? and 2) did the folks doing the shoot "help" the fire at all -- one video out there actually has a firefighter dumping gasoline into the tree stand to really make the fire more impressive.

One more fact . . . and no offense to Dennis who is usually right on the mark . . . except for when it comes to how he splits his wood . . . sugar doesn't do anything for the tree . . . but it also doesn't hurt things.


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