# Oak is a joke



## schwaggly (Dec 2, 2009)

I hit a scrounge score of Oak with my buddy and I don't want any of it. I split about 1/2 a cord
and I cannot believe how wet it is. I know it will be good but I don't have room for 3 years worth of 
wood. I guess it could be worse. Thank you in advance for offering to take it off my hands but I throw 
it in the back of next years pile.


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## raybonz (Dec 2, 2009)

schwaggly said:
			
		

> I hit a scrounge score of Oak with my buddy and I don't want any of it. I split about 1/2 a cord
> and I cannot believe how wet it is. I know it will be good but I don't have room for 3 years worth of
> wood. I guess it could be worse. Thank you in advance for offering to take it off my hands but I throw
> it in the back of next years pile.



Oak when green has lots of water and takes a year or so to season but makes great firewood.. Send it down to Carver and I'll take care of it for ya 

Ray


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## Adios Pantalones (Dec 2, 2009)

I hear you, but it's most of what I have available here.  I'm lucky to have plenty of space to store wood, too.  I'll take "lesser" BTU woods prerentially just because I'm always behind on stored wood seasoning.  I find that it takes MORE than a year- it dries slower than other woods.  Something about the actual wood fiber structure.


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## rathmir (Dec 2, 2009)

I've got two yr old oak that still sizzles sometimes in the stove...


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## fossil (Dec 2, 2009)

Thank goodness I'm not cursed with much of that PITA hardwood here in the central Oregon high desert country.  Our firewood seasons in our arms as we carry it from where we split it over toward the house where the stove is.  Depending on micro-climate, some need to split a bit further from the house than others.   %-P   Rick


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## Dix (Dec 2, 2009)

We took down the remnants of an oak tree taken down by the tree dude last year (to just under electrical wires). The "stump" was probably 8 feet high. After it hit the ground, we took off the first round, and water poured out of the middle...it's going to take some time to season, that's for sure.


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## schwaggly (Dec 2, 2009)

I'm heading back tomorrow. We are going to load up his trailer 3x and take it to his place. I will CSS what I have and my buddy will have the rest.


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## gzecc (Dec 2, 2009)

I have two large piles of oak thats been stacked for 2 summers and is still 30% mc.  I turn oak down unless it falls in my lap.


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## f3cbboy (Dec 2, 2009)

i'll take any and all that anyone doesn't want!


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## raybonz (Dec 2, 2009)

fossil said:
			
		

> Thank goodness I'm not cursed with much of that PITA hardwood here in the central Oregon high desert country.  Our firewood seasons in our arms as we carry it from where we split it over toward the house where the stove is.  Depending on micro-climate, some need to split a bit further from the house than others.   %-P   Rick



That's pretty funny Rick!! Does it light on its own too? You probably have to wet it down periodically lest it turn to powder and blow away 

Ray


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## Lumber-Jack (Dec 2, 2009)

If I had a chance to get some Oak I would take it no mater how green it was. Just because it is such a rarity in these parts. But I would only take a cord or so and no more. My problem is also one of space. I don't have the room to store years supplies of wood, 3 years ahead!. My wood shed can only accommodate 5 cords. I can, and do, pile a cord or two extra off to the side in my splitting area, but that is wood I either burn right away or it is  some of the stuff that isn't quite seasoned and will be split and stacked once I use up some of the wood in the shed.
I prefer to cut pre-seasoned, standing dead, softwoods like pine mainly for that reason alone (no space to store for years), but also pine is so readily available and cuts and stacks well. 
With out even looking I have been offered other unseasoned hard woods like apple and walnut, these "scrounge" wood are often very branchy trees, lots of crotch wood and irregular shaped pieces that are hard to cut and stack, and usually when they are offered come with the condition that you must take all of it, not just go in and take the nice rounds. In the time it takes me to cut and deal with a half a cord of this green stuff I could have a full cord of the pre-seasoned pine cut, stacked, and ready to burn sitting in my wood shed.
But I'll still take a cord or so of green oak if someone offers, just for the novelty.


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## raybonz (Dec 2, 2009)

Carbon_Liberator said:
			
		

> If I had a chance to get some Oak I would take it no mater how green it was. Just because it is such a rarity in these parts. But I would only take a cord or so and no more. My problem is also one of space. I don't have the room to store years supplies of wood, 3 years ahead!. My wood shed can only accommodate 5 cords. I can, and do, pile a cord or two extra off to the side in my splitting area, but that is wood I either burn right away or it is  some of the stuff that isn't quite seasoned and will be split and stacked once I use up some of the wood in the shed.
> I prefer to cut pre-seasoned, standing dead, softwoods like pine mainly for that reason alone (no space to store for years), but also pine is so readily available and cuts and stacks well.
> With out even looking I have been offered other unseasoned hard woods like apple and walnut, these "scrounge" wood are often very branchy trees, lots of crotch wood and irregular shaped pieces that are hard to cut and stack, and usually when they are offered come with the condition that you must take all of it, not just go in and take the nice rounds. In the time it takes me to cut and deal with a half a cord of this green stuff I could have a full cord of the pre-seasoned pine cut, stacked, and ready to burn sitting in my wood shed.
> But I'll still take a cord or so of green oak if someone offers, just for the novelty.



You don't want oak it'll make u fat cuz it burns 3X longer than pine so u will make less trips to the woodpile for firewood!

Ray


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## mainemac (Dec 2, 2009)

Glad I did not know this earlier!

My first experience with splitting was 2 winters ago when I had 3 oaks taken down from my yard
I thought all wood was soaking wet on the inside!

It has been cooking in the sun for 2 years but the wait is worth it.
It ignites easily when placed on coals and warms the whole 1st floor in no time!

Find somewhere for it you will appreciate it in 2011/12!


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## quads (Dec 3, 2009)

Oak isn’t an impatient wood.  It’s not cut in a hurry, not split in a hurry, doesn’t stack fast, won’t be ready to burn anytime soon,.......  What makes oak a desirable type of firewood, and why many people feel it’s worth the wait, is because of another thing that oak does slowly; it’s not in a hurry to turn into ash once loaded in the stove.  It’s a compromise.  Some people aren’t willing to put up with the extra work and waiting of oak.  And there is nothing wrong with that.  Oak isn’t for everybody.


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## Redburn (Dec 3, 2009)

I just cut it smaller and stack it single row in the sun and wind ...... no sizzle after one year and I'm good to go .


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## Vic99 (Dec 3, 2009)

Red oak (Quercus rubra) takes a long time to season, maybe two years where I live.  Make sure to stack it off the ground or you'll be a lot more likely to get carpenter ants.  They love green red oak.

If you can get it, white oak (Q. alba) is the better choice, I think.  Not only is it a higher BTU (amost 26 million/cord vs 24 mil ) but it starts off with a lower water content.  Pick up two similar sized pieces of each species.  Huge weight difference.

Not sure about swamp white oak (Q. bicolor) or the other oak species.


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## Bigg_Redd (Dec 3, 2009)

schwaggly said:
			
		

> Oak is a joke



Agreed


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## Nic36 (Dec 3, 2009)

I've had experience with 3 oak species so far. White Oak, Red Oak, and Willow Oak (Quercus Phellos).

I agree with Vic, White Oak can be ready in a year. I cut up two storm felled trees and was easily able to burn them after a year of being stored in my barn. They never seemed to have much moisture from the start and I cut them up just as their leaves were starting to turn brown. The Red Oak I cut up was dead for 2 years and it was dry on the outer limbs, but it still held some water in the larger pieces. 

Now, the Willow Oak, it seems to be different altogether. It was a huge tree and fell on my property early this year. It has been sitting for a while. The thing had been quite dead almost since it fell. It is loaded with water and super dense. I split some last week and loaded the truck up like I usually do only to discover it was much heavier than the loads of White Oak and Willow Oak I've hauled. I was scared I had damaged my truck. Fortunately I didn't have to drive far to unload it. It will probably take two years to dry well. I'm betting it burns great though.

(Before posting, I looked up the BTU content of the Willow Oak. 28.2 BTU is what the chart claims. Sounds right. It seems like a denser wood.)


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## myzamboni (Dec 3, 2009)

rathmir said:
			
		

> I've got two yr old oak that still sizzles sometimes in the stove...



I have 8 month sesasoned oak in the stove tonight and not a sizzle or steam.  Gotta love no rain for 5 months out of the year.


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## burntime (Dec 3, 2009)

Wow, it takes just over a year by me to season it.  18 months and its great...


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## Wet1 (Dec 3, 2009)

You guys that claim a year or less to season red oak must be splitting it like toothpicks and leaving in sitting in the sands of the Sahara!  I've lived all around the US and I'm yet to see any reasonably sized (~ 4"x5"x18") splits of red oak season well in under two years... and white doesn't season much quicker.  If possible, I like to let oak sit for 3 years before it sees the stove...

With that said, White oak is still one of my favorite woods to burn (and split), with red near the top of the list as well.  If you have the room to let it sit, oak is w/o a doubt a premium wood for splitting and burning.


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## twitch (Dec 3, 2009)

This is my second year with my boiler, and I have mostly red oak on my property.  I split fairly small, split end about the size of a playing card, and it seems to season pretty well in a year.  It's a little more work, but my gassifier burns a lot better with smaller splits.


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## Nic36 (Dec 3, 2009)

Wet1 said:
			
		

> You guys that claim a year or less to season red oak must be splitting it like toothpicks and leaving in sitting in the sands of the Sahara!  I've lived all around the US and I'm yet to see any reasonably sized (~ 4"x5"x18") splits of red oak season well in under two years... and white doesn't season much quicker.  If possible, I like to let oak sit for 3 years before it sees the stove...
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> With that said, White oak is still one of my favorite woods to burn (and split), with red near the top of the list as well.  If you have the room to let it sit, oak is w/o a doubt a premium wood for splitting and burning.



Well, I do have a small stove, so I do have to cut it and split it small. Up until the last year, we have been in a drought for the last two years, so it has been very dry down here. I also have a large barn I can store my wood in, so rain never touches it. Under other circumstances, I can see it taking over a year to get good and dry.


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## Backwoods Savage (Dec 3, 2009)

Hey, nobody has mentioned that oak is heavy stuff to lift! Dang that stuff weights up. 

It is bad that it usually takes so long to season well, but I'd trade any wood I have even up for oak. I'd gladly lift all that stuff right into the stove....after 3 years minimum seasoning.


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## quads (Dec 3, 2009)

Backwoods Savage said:
			
		

> Hey, nobody has mentioned that oak is heavy stuff to lift! Dang that stuff weights up.


Me me!  I did!  *"doesn’t stack fast"*


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## billb3 (Dec 3, 2009)

Another red oak fell here in the  wind last night.
Weakened by carpenter ant condos. (they just don't know when to stop building)
Probably another half cord to 3/4. Hard to tell just how many stories tall those ambitious little buggers got to until you starting rounding.

Between the  death blight and carpenter ants and dearth of time , I'm having a hard time keeping up.
My weeding out cherry project is now 3 years behind.
I'm never gonna get to that pine.
At least the wood peckers shouldn't be eyeing the trim wood on my house.


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## Dune (Dec 3, 2009)

Don't know about you all. Oak is where it's at. I burn whatever comes along except willow, but it is oak that gets us through the long winter nights.


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## raybonz (Dec 4, 2009)

A coworker mentioned he had a red oak fall down from a recent storm and told me to come get it.. He said it is ready to burn.. Hope he is right.. Personally I think is great firewood.. Burns hot and long and when free even better!

Ray


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## Wacky1 (Dec 4, 2009)

myzamboni said:
			
		

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I have been using 1yr old red oak tops this season,so far, I have 7 more cords of tops to haul, split and stack for next couple of yrs. We are getting some kind of blight that is killing them off at an alarming rate, so we had the 16" chest-high ones timbered and hope the others survive. It is truly a shame to see 100 yr old tree that was beautiful the prior year and the next season dead.


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## iceman (Dec 4, 2009)

just about all my wood is oak... i know the pain, i split in the fall and either stack it in the fall or the spring (this year it got stacked...  i have some stuff going on 2 yrs and it will sizzle for a couple of minutes but then after that it does burn well... when it doesnt sizzle and is completely dry.... there isnt a better wood that can be easily had around these parts... (not saying its the best...) outta locust, hedge, white oak, ash ... it seems around my way oak and maple are the easiest to get ...... oh well it heats the house....
and, if time is an issue make real small splits.... they will dry quick and pack in your stove, you wont notice the difference!


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## lexybird (Dec 4, 2009)

oak burns hot ,long and coals excellent ,its well worth the trouble compared to alot of other species ,its top notch firewood IMHO 
on a frigid tundra- like  january evening  its what i would grab up first to keep my family toasty through the night


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## North of 60 (Dec 4, 2009)

Ive never felt like waisting my time dealing with oak either.  I can heat my home just fine with spruce and pine. I need some reason to add wood to my stove once in a while when it gets a little chilly outside.


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## Tony H (Dec 4, 2009)

raybonz said:
			
		

> A coworker mentioned he had a red oak fall down from a recent storm and told me to come get it.. He said it is ready to burn.. Hope he is right.. Personally I think is great firewood.. Burns hot and long and when free even better!
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> Ray



Not a chance it's "ready to burn" I have a number of oaks and have seen a few standing dead for several years that are not ready to burn. From my trees it seems to run about 12 - 18 months for the dead trees to be seasoned.
I love burning oak and have space to let it season but I also have alot of other types of wood and mix in oak as needed to get the burn times based on the current temp expected.


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## quads (Dec 4, 2009)

Tony H said:
			
		

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I agree, not a chance.  You might be able to burn it and produce some creosote, but there is no way that it's ready to burn.


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## schwaggly (Dec 4, 2009)

I was moving my oak splits to the back of next years pile and something happened. As I held it in my hands and gazed lovingly into it's amber colored grains I could feal the warmth it will provide me. I then lovinly placed each piece into it's place like I was tucking a child into bed or placing a fine wine on the shelf to enjoy later. Ok it didn't really go down like that but that wood looks real nice and will do the trick.


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## raybonz (Dec 5, 2009)

Tony H said:
			
		

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Tony I have dropped white oaks about 8" dia. at the trunk in the wooded part of my property that were so seasoned the bark fell off and the tree was checked top to bottom and tossed it right in the stove and it burned without a sizzle.. They were so dry the saw chain needed extra oil to cut them lol .. It may not happen often but it does happen...

Ray


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## Dune (Dec 5, 2009)

raybonz said:
			
		

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+1


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## quads (Dec 5, 2009)

Dune said:
			
		

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I have too, but a red oak that fell from a recent storm doesn't sound like a good candidate for ready to burn.  Now, on the other hand if it's like every tree I cut, it tipped over because the roots rotted off and had been standing dead with the bark off for many years, then maybe.  At least the limb wood anyway.


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## FireaddictSC (Dec 5, 2009)

99% of the wood i burn is red oak it does take a long time to season but once it is man does it put off some heat.  I have two more dead red oaks that i need to take down.  This should put my wood stock into 2013.  Been burning all morning here and my house is a nice 72 degrees thanks to red oak!


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## Jeb1heat (Dec 5, 2009)

I was splitting oak yesterday that was recently felled and on some splits the water was literally squirting out. Especially in the center of the thicker/trunk parts...alot of moisture there. Came with a bunch of locust so that will be ready sooner.


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## jaybird396 (Dec 6, 2009)

About 3-4 years ago here (south coast Massachussets) the caterpillars came bad 2 years in a row.  2 out of every 3 oaks are now dead.  I cut two trees, 16" dia. and 24"dia  on my property(red oak) that have been standing dead 2 years.  The wood is just as green as if it had been cut from a live tree.  These are trees that the bark was falling off and all the small twigs were long gone.  

Pretty much all the wood for sale as: "seasoned firewood ready to burn" around here is these trees just cut and split a few months ago.  

The white oak burns great but the red oak which is the dominant species around here needs a solid two years of seasoning (cut, split, stacked under cover) before it is great firewood.  

After seasoning properly its great, but if not perfectly seasoned you'll be sizzling and fizzling.


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## SmokinPiney (Dec 6, 2009)

I have about 6-7 cords of red,white,black,chesnut,and pin oak stacked out back. At least i think that covers em all haha. It's pretty much all we burn round here and it seasons just fine in the southjersey sun and wind. We've been hit so hard by gypsy moths and blight the past few yrs that just about anywhere you look, there's dead oaks standin. There's about 20 more on our property to come down and at least another 30-40 on another lot we've been clearing. I'll take all i can get!


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## jpl1nh (Dec 6, 2009)

Oak is a Joke? I've got a sense of humor ;-) It is my favorite wood. I love the smell of it. In the fall my beagles come in at the end of the day smelling like oak from being in the leaves in the woods. Pretty to look at, splits reasonably, burns n burns n burns, great coals, so much heat I only use it in the coldest weather, even the smoke smells great. Black Locust gives great heat too but doesn't have the smell and oak starts burning readily, even dry black locust is like trying to set concrete on fire. My neighbor who's burned for decades uncharacteristically bought some wood last winter. Supplier told him he was "into a stand of oak" at the time. My neighbor doubled his order. Yeah a couple of years at least to season well, but I'll do that any time. Great things are worth working and waiting for.


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## raybonz (Dec 7, 2009)

Stopped at my co-workers house and chopped up that red oak and he had me drop another but this one was white oak about 10" at the trunk... I ended up with about 1/4 cord total and most of it is bone dry.. Hell all the oaks in his area are dead as a doorknob! This was dead standing with NO bark and checked one end to the other.. I am here to tell you if it didn't have 2" of snow on it it could be burned rt. away.. Brought it home and split it up and that lil splitter worked great and split it all easily.. Well worth the 15 mile trip and with more to come in the future and all oak too!

Ray


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## CrawfordCentury (Dec 7, 2009)

quads said:
			
		

> I have too, but a red oak that fell from a recent storm doesn't sound like a good candidate for ready to burn.  Now, on the other hand if it's like every tree I cut, it tipped over because the roots rotted off and had been standing dead with the bark off for many years, then maybe.  At least the limb wood anyway.



Yup. I just bucked up a good few loads of tops from a logging operation that went down 2 years ago. Still had the rich salmon color as though it'd been dropped yesterday.

Not to mention the "oak whiff." Just as pungent as if fresh felled.  (Since I like the aroma, this was a positive. Smelled like free heat to me


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## raybonz (Dec 7, 2009)

CrawfordCentury said:
			
		

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I love oak... great firewood.. Can't believe people don't like it here.. Excellent firewood with loads of btu's.. There is loads of dead oaks here I think due to the gypsy moths a few years back... Most of mine survived... 

Ray


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## CrawfordCentury (Dec 7, 2009)

raybonz said:
			
		

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Also too - it rots real slow. I'm cutting mostly these says in a huge woodlot. I like dropping trees, but there's so much dead and down oak - 10+ years. The kind with the bark and sapwood gone but with the heartwood as solid as when the tree was alive and standing.


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## quads (Dec 7, 2009)

CrawfordCentury said:
			
		

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I love oak too.  It's almost exclusively what I have burned my whole life.  Cherry is my favorite wood, but I don't have a lot of big stuff to choose from.  I've never burned pine, even though we have a lot of it, but Dad used jackpine for kindling.  I don't even use that for kindling, I use oak for that too.


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## raybonz (Dec 7, 2009)

quads said:
			
		

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We're like that with oak here too and I like Cherry and maple too.. Never burned any pine until this year as everyone here say it is safe to burn as long as it is dry but I only use it to start fires and find it works fine for that.. You can't give pine away here and it just rots on the ground...

Ray


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## burr (Dec 8, 2009)

damn good cookin' wood too;  hot, long burnin' coals.  That's a 3+ foot one behind the tractor that I use for shade and whitetail lure.


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## Wet1 (Dec 8, 2009)

I'll take oak any day of the week... those that don't like it are just jealous because they don't have access to any.  :cheese:


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## CrawfordCentury (Dec 8, 2009)

quads said:
			
		

> I love oak too.  It's almost exclusively what I have burned my whole life.  Cherry is my favorite wood, but I don't have a lot of big stuff to choose from.  I've never burned pine, even though we have a lot of it, but Dad used jackpine for kindling.  I don't even use that for kindling, I use oak for that too.



We go through a lot of pine in our Crawford Century cookstove. Plus a lot on the margins of heating season when a hot and fast quickie is in order.

Owing to the fact white pine and red oak often times comprise mature stands, there's a saying I've heard in relation to heating with them. "Burn it as it grows," with the fast fire pine igniting the heat holding oak.

We have 2 types of cherry in cantral NH. Pin cherry is very light and goes to punk about as quick as white birch. They even look a little similar, excepting the bark color. Then there's black cherry. Like oak, it rots from the outside in and has a longer shelflife if you're hunting dead and down stuff.


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