# Burning pine



## Ashful (Apr 22, 2012)

I've seen a few members mention they burn pine, one stating it was all they had available in their locale.  I've always thought this was to be avoided.  The references in this article agree:

http://www.ehow.com/about_5426072_can-burn-pine-fireplace.html

So, what's the verdict?


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## DAKSY (Apr 22, 2012)

Most of the folks here do not burn in FIREPLACES. Most, not all, burn EPA rated woodstoves.
The near complete combustion capabilities of woodstoves mitigate the "dangers" of burning pine
or other softwoods...


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## begreen (Apr 22, 2012)

Most of us west of the Rockies burn softwood including pine, fir, spruce. That's what we have and it is a good fuel. We burned mostly doug fir this year.

I think pine got a bad name because you can burn it greener than a lot of other woods due to it's high oil content. Burn poorly seasoned wood and you are very likely going to have a creosote problem. If you don't clean the chimney regularly under those conditions you will likely have a chimney fire at some point. This is particularly an issue in older airtight stoves that allowed one to shut down the fire to a smolder (aka creosote factory). The problem is not the pine, it's a problem with the person burning the fire. Burn dry wood and don't let it smolder and you will be fine with pine.


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## DexterDay (Apr 22, 2012)

Pine does not start chimney fires. Bad burning habit and techniques start chimney fires.


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## ScotO (Apr 22, 2012)

Dexter nailed it!  I'm a new believer in pine.


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## weatherguy (Apr 22, 2012)

Scotty Overkill said:


> Dexter nailed it! I'm a new believer in pine.


 
Dexter said what I was thinking, I have some pine seasoning right now for next year, Ill use it in shoulder season where I need fast heat but not all day.


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## Seasoned Oak (Apr 22, 2012)

I have all kinds of wood from white pine to red oak to fir. I burn mostly pine,for a quick hot fire and, save the oak for overnight burns. The amount of tar and creosote depend more on how dry the wood is and the type of stove and the draft. I burn mostly EPA stoves,but when i do burn an older smoke dragon i NEVER let it smolder. Burn it hot and fast and as long as the pine is dry you wont have a problem, I NEVER burn wet or unseasoned wood EVER .


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## Backwoods Savage (Apr 22, 2012)

There is a lot of mistaken stories about pine. They are right in that pine can give some fireworks with the snapping and sparks so anyone with a fireplace would need to pay attention to that. But....burn pine with no fear....so long as you season the pine the same as you would most wood and that means to dry it for a year before burning it. Do that and fear not.

The part about chimney fires, Dexter said a lot! Poor burning practices (usually burning wood that has not been dried) will coat the chimney with creosote and then if you burn a really hot fire with pine, yes, that could start a chimney fire. But then, do that very same thing with most wood and you can start a chimney fire. Just remember that no matter what you burn, dry the wood before you burn it and then enjoy the heat, even if it comes from burning pine.


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## kettensÃ¤ge (Apr 23, 2012)

I burnt pine for the first time last week and I am burning it as we speak. Got some last December with the intent to use it in the outdoor campfire. I split it up about 3 weeks ago. It then went to the "shoulder pile" for next fall. Well the recent cold weather and threat of snowy weather over the next few days changed that.

No creosote or other problems except It burns quick compared to oak. Could be seasoned a little more but it is keeping the house warm.
I would not make it my main source or even suppliment my oak firewood with it in the winter, but for times like this it's good.


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## Dune (Apr 23, 2012)

Joful said:


> I've seen a few members mention they burn pine, one stating it was all they had available in their locale. I've always thought this was to be avoided. The references in this article agree:
> 
> http://www.ehow.com/about_5426072_can-burn-pine-fireplace.html
> 
> So, what's the verdict?


Pine-good, unseasoned wood-bad. I season pine for two years before burning.  Underseasoned oak will also cause creosote.
The government guy is an idiot as wood pellets tend to be softwood.


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## fossil (Apr 23, 2012)

Do a search here on Hearth.com. This has been discussed ad nauseum.  Every year.  Where I live, if I didn't have Pine to burn, I'd basically have no firewood whatever to burn.  Lodgepole Pine, Ponderosa Pine, Tamarack (Western Larch), Juniper...these are my fuels...all softwoods.  Yeah I burn more volume, but hey, it's easy to split and lighter to carry.  I haven't frozen to death (yet).  Rick

Here's where I live:

http://beta.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/97701


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## Dix (Apr 23, 2012)

Seasoned pine is your friend.

Don't pass it up.

Use it & burn it.


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## Wood Duck (Apr 24, 2012)

I like to mix a piece or two of pine with a load of oak. The pine starts faster and gives off gasses faster than the oak, so it allows me to turn down the air sooner and go bac, to sleep. As the pine burns out the oak is hitting its stride and so I get a more uniform burn with a mix than I would with just oak. Yesterday I noticed a couple of piles of free, bucked pine along the streets so I plan to do a little scrounging today.


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## eclecticcottage (Apr 24, 2012)

We LOVE pine.  We have a LOT of it seasoning right now, but have burned a bit of it already (it was standing dead, beetle killed, so it was like it was preseasoned-really light and no sap).  The best part is a LOT of people still believe you can't burn pine so it's easy pickings for us.  We ended up with about 50 scotch pine and after a wind storm another 5-6 random freshly downed pines (THOSE are NOT going into the stove for at least a year, sappy sappy sappy).


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## Wood Heat Stoves (Apr 24, 2012)

I burn quite a bit of Pine along with Cedar and Oak. The Pine burns just as well as any other soft wood and works great in combination with the Oak to get the fire going quicker. Some of the Pine has so much pitch that I can't pick up a piece without getting it on my hands which is a pain. It doesn't produce any more creosote than the other woods given the same moisture content. The biggest factors in creosote build-up in the chimney is how much moisture is in the wood and how hot the chimney walls are when the moisture is being carried up the chimney. If you burn just dry, seasoned wood and burn the stove hot on a regular basis the Pine will work as well as any other wood.


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## jackatc1 (Apr 24, 2012)

Has anyone burned pitch pine?


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## Wood Duck (Apr 24, 2012)

I have burned Pitch Pine. I like it more than Eastern White Pine, which is the only other common wild pine in my area. I wouldn't get too worried about the name Pitch Pine - I think it has about the same amount of pitch, tar, etc, as other 'yellow' pines like Loblolly, Viriginia, or Red Pine. Pitch Pine burns well and is nice to work with if you have trees that grew in the woods. Trees that grew in an open location have lots more branches and are probably knotty and more of a pain to split.


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## Realstone (Apr 24, 2012)

Has anyone burned aromatic cedar?  Is the smell of it burning pleasant or overwhelming?


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## jackatc1 (Apr 24, 2012)

THank's Wood Duck, Ihave not seen any in my area.
Just curious after reading about it,and it's usage.

http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/silvics_manual/Volume_1/pinus/rigida.htm


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## jackatc1 (Apr 24, 2012)

I have burned red cedar power line poles spark's were overwhelming.
Wire's had been removed!


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## firefighterjake (Apr 24, 2012)

DexterDay said:


> Pine does not start chimney fires. Bad burning habit and techniques start chimney fires.


 
But . . . burning pine will cause baldness in some males (it's the only reason I can come up with as to why I am losing my hair) and warmth in the home.


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## PapaDave (Apr 24, 2012)

Poppycock and balderdash.
I've lost patience for a minute. I'll be back later.


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## PapaDave (Apr 24, 2012)

Seems to me the folks who burn nothing but pine because there's no choice would have to disagree with the "experts".
Dry it, burn it. It works.
I burn pine by choice because I can cut it here on the property. I let it get dry enough over the course of about one summer, then in the stove it goes.
Very good for quick warm up fires in the morning and similar situations.


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## chuckie5fingers (Apr 24, 2012)

Realstone said:


> Has anyone burned aromatic cedar? Is the smell of it burning pleasant or overwhelming?


 I have, western red cedar, burns nice, smells good, great in camp fires.
we take some with us when we go camping, throw a bit on every now and then.
chuck


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## Pallet Pete (Apr 24, 2012)

We burn lots of softwoods pine is one. Just be sure it is seasoned and your good to go! Our experiance is that it burns super hot and can actually be too hot If your not carefull. I overloaded my stove the other day on pine ( judged the heat needed poorly ) and got the house to 83 f in no time. Too hot for me anyway lol the wife loves the heat. 

Pete


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## BrotherBart (Apr 24, 2012)

That two year dried pine kept this joint cozy most of this season. We usually burn white and red oak but a big pine got on my nerves on Saturday afternoon two years ago and down it came. Went in the stove three or four splits at a time this winter. In fact three of them are burning right now. And I expect that the house will still be here tomorrow.


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## Coleman Stove (Apr 25, 2012)

begreen said:


> Most of us west of the Rockies burn softwood including pine, fir, spruce. That's what we have and it is a good fuel. We burned mostly doug fir this year.
> 
> I think pine got a bad name because you can burn it greener than a lot of other woods due to it's high oil content. Burn poorly seasoned wood and you are very likely going to have a creosote problem. If you don't clean the chimney regularly under those conditions you will likely have a chimney fire at some point. This is particularly an issue in older airtight stoves that allowed one to shut down the fire to a smolder (aka creosote factory). The problem is not the pine, it's a problem with the person burning the fire. Burn dry wood and don't let it smolder and you will be fine with pine.



Yeah exactly.. I like burning pine. To me, it smells good.


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## Ashful (Jun 26, 2012)

So, the first load of the aforementioned white pine was dropped in my driveway over the weekend, and I got to cutting and splitting it today.  Golf ball-sized globs of sap oozing out of many pieces, which can really get messy when you grab a round in the wrong spot.  Noodling a few of the pieces to gnarly to split coated me and my saw in sap buggers, and this stuff is not easy to split!  Maul sinks an inch into the soft end grain on a hard swing, and just sits there.  I really feel for you guys out west, who don't have any decent hardwood.  You don't know what you're missing!

You guys sure this stuff is safe to burn?  Seems it's damn near half sap by weight.


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## fossil (Jun 26, 2012)

Well, as one of the "guys out west", I'll say worry not.  There are around 115 species of Pine, and I've never dealt with anything like your describing.  Lodgepole and Ponderosa behave just fine without all that mess you're describing.  The sappiest wood I work with is Juniper, and it's not really all that bad.  Burns good, too, when seasoned...like everything else.  Dunno what sort of Pine that is you're wrestling with, but I'm glad I've never seen anything like it.  Rick

Gonna scoot this thread over into the Wood Shed...


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## Oregon Bigfoot (Jun 27, 2012)

I have a bit of pine from my next door neighbor's yard, I'll burn next winter.  In fact, I just cut two Swedish Candles out of that pine, last night, that I will try soon enough.

Through the years, I have a burned a bunch of Douglas Fir, some hemlock, some pine, some white fir, some grand fir, some spruce, some tamarack, and it all burned hot.  Conifers make great firewood, and start much easier than hardwoods.  I have not burned Juniper that I can remember, but heard that's great firewood.

I burned some pine, maybe 1/2 a cord, a couple years ago from the Deschutes National Forest from another neighbor, probably taken from near fossil's neck of the woods.  It burned hot, split easy, and the smoke smelled great!

Pine and the other conifers are probably one of the best shoulder season woods.  Like that said above, the key is to SEASON the wood until it's dry, just like you season your hardwoods.  Hardwoods burn longer, but pine will get your stove hotter, faster.  Pine will always be welcome in my wood shed.


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## Dune (Jun 27, 2012)

Joful said:


> So, the first load of the aforementioned white pine was dropped in my driveway over the weekend, and I got to cutting and splitting it today. Golf ball-sized globs of sap oozing out of many pieces, which can really get messy when you grab a round in the wrong spot. Noodling a few of the pieces to gnarly to split coated me and my saw in sap buggers, and this stuff is not easy to split! Maul sinks an inch into the soft end grain on a hard swing, and just sits there. I really feel for you guys out west, who don't have any decent hardwood. You don't know what you're missing!
> 
> You guys sure this stuff is safe to burn? Seems it's damn near half sap by weight.


 
Pine works well for exceptionally lazy people such as myself. Tree guy dropped off a pile of log length pitch pine early spring. I will buck it late fall, most of the sap will be hard by then, but I will then leave the rounds where they fall for another 6 months- a year before splitting. Pitch pine splits much easier if it is dry, but needs to be stored horizontal, and off the ground to dry enough for hand splitting, even with a fiskars.


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## onetracker (Jun 27, 2012)

in 35+ years of woodburning i've never burned pine in a woodstove, other than as kindling. however based on what i've read here and especially from the folks out west, i've got about a cord of white pine split and cooking now to experiment with this autumn. i have ALOT of pine in the form of storm uproots and the dropping of widowmakers near the house. after getting the hang of how it bahaves in my stoves, i'll have years worth of shoulder season wood.

my plan is to get it bucked into rounds asap and stack it off the ground right where its dropped. then each spring, i'll split up a cord or two and let it season for the summer. its gonna feel real good to not be burning 2 year seasoned hardwood in october and april.

but damn does it have a lot of bugs in it!

OT


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## JP11 (Jun 27, 2012)

Those of us "batch" burning into storage... 

Frankly.. I don't care how fast it burns.  I just want the BTUs out of it.

I'm not trying to light a fire, then choke it down to run as long as I can.  I just want the heat into the water.  The Lambda sensor runs the draft and fans.. Stuff the heat into the tanks, that's all that matters.

Different way of thinking.  Dry wood.. it's going in the boiler.

JP


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## varna (Jun 27, 2012)

I don't have a problem burning pine....I have a problem with all the prep with pine. I feel that it takes as much "work" to CSS a cord of pine as a cord of oak or any other wood for that matter..... Takes up the same amount of space in my wood shed, same amount of work to move to my woodshed, but only a fraction of the BTU's of hardwood. Fortunately, where I live oak is king and for me to mess with pine is a waste of time. If it's all I had.......yeh I'd burn it.....but luckily  I can avoid it like the plague.


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## Ironwood (Jun 27, 2012)

Pine and spruce keeps the shop warm. I've burned both for over 40 winters and no problems.


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## PapaDave (Jun 27, 2012)

I find pine to be a bit less work just due to it weighing less. It does take up the same space, but fortunately, I don't have to worry about that.
Takes less time to c/s/s. Takes MUCH less time to dry, so if you need dry wood pretty quick,....there ya' go. I am glad to have oak though, so I don't have to load the stove in January, 20 times a day.
I hate the idea of using up the oak during "shoulder" weather. Seems a waste.
I have about another 1/3 cord of spruce/w. pine to put in the shed, then that's done for next winter, and I can move on to other things.
It's all about perspective.


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## DMZX (Jun 27, 2012)

I have burned a good deal of pine over the last 35 years. 99% of it was dead lodge pole. I seek out those tall, limbless snags that have been naturally seasoned for several years. Lodge pole pine is a short live species and not fire tolerent, so there is no shortage of standing dead.

On the other hand, Ponderosa Pine can live for hundred of years and through many fires.  Large snags are rare and often old lightening struck trees.  I leave PP pines snags alone as they can stand for a very long time and provide prime habitat for a variety of birds and chippys..


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## PapaDave (Jun 27, 2012)

Uh, pardon my ignorance, but what's a chippy? Chipmunk?


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## Backwoods Savage (Jun 27, 2012)

Joful said:


> So, the first load of the aforementioned white pine was dropped in my driveway over the weekend, and I got to cutting and splitting it today. Golf ball-sized globs of sap oozing out of many pieces, which can really get messy when you grab a round in the wrong spot. Noodling a few of the pieces to gnarly to split coated me and my saw in sap buggers, and this stuff is not easy to split! Maul sinks an inch into the soft end grain on a hard swing, and just sits there. I really feel for you guys out west, who don't have any decent hardwood. You don't know what you're missing!
> 
> You guys sure this stuff is safe to burn? Seems it's damn near half sap by weight.


 
Joful, you have found that white pine really does have a lot of sap. But you will also find that white pine will burn very well. As for the sap, if you get it on your body, some Miracle Whip; just a small amount, will remove it fast. Just get it when the wife is not watching....


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## Realstone (Jun 27, 2012)

PapaDave said:


> Uh, pardon my ignorance, but what's a chippy? Chipmunk?


Small hairy nuisance rodent.  Best spotted on falling trees


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## PapaDave (Jun 27, 2012)

Yep, we've got a couple of those around here. Uh, the property, lest someone get the idea I might be referring to them.


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## Dix (Jun 27, 2012)

I've got 3 decent firewood guys that I can count on for firewood. (I count my blessings on that one!!)

Every time I ask any one of them for pine i get the "WTF is she talking about, she's insane look".

I've dared any of them to bring me some. I think one of them is going to take me up on it (his son has a tree business). We'll see.

It's awesome for shoulder season, and using it will get you through burning some not so perfect hard woods here on the East Coast.

Where are you, Joful???


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## Ashful (Jun 27, 2012)

Doing The Dixie Eyed Hustle said:


> It's awesome for shoulder season, and using it will get you through burning some not so perfect hard woods here on the East Coast.
> 
> Where are you, Joful???


 
Not far from Philly, Dixie.

At least in the short term, I can get all the free hardwood I am able to retrieve (more limited by my free time than anything). So, burning up this pine is more a favor to the friend who wants to get rid of it, than anything else. I'll plan to go ahead and use what he brings, but I do hope he doesn't bring me too much more.  Every hour I spend splitting this messy pine is an hour less I have for retrieving something better!

Thanks!


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## DMZX (Jun 27, 2012)

Realstone said:


> Small hairy nuisance rodent. Best spotted on falling trees


 
Exactly.  The term is all encompassing.


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## StihlHead (Jun 27, 2012)

Joful said:


> You guys sure this stuff is safe to burn? Seems it's damn near half sap by weight.


 
If this thread were not so long I would say you have got to be kidding. I dunno WTF the goons at the DOE are talking about. I have burned pine all my life, all up and down the west coast. Burns fast and hot, has a great smell to it when burning, and I never had any problems with it burning in fireplaces, wood stoves, OWBs or in open campfires. It is not on my top 5 list of firewoods, but it is not on the bottom 5 either. Some drawbacks are that most species are light and have less heat than most hardwoods or doug fir, it can get sappy, and when you cut some species of pine the terpentine fumes will knock you over. But other than that, it cuts and splits easy, and burns good. I would rate it 2x better than cottonwood. I do not know how much Monterey/Knobcone/Bishop pine I have burned, but it is a lot. I have about a dozen 40+ foot black pines on my property, and they are a nice store of future firewood.

You should see the size of some of the Jeffery and Ponderosa pines in the Cascades and Sierras. They are some HUGE trees. BTW, Monterey pines are the most common/abundantly grown trees in the world. Some pine species are as dense as hardwoods and have the same or more heat as well, like Pinyon pine (same heat value as most oak and hickory). Pine rules! The DOE sucks...


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## firefighterjake (Jul 9, 2012)

Backwoods Savage said:


> Joful, you have found that white pine really does have a lot of sap. But you will also find that white pine will burn very well. As for the sap, if you get it on your body, some Miracle Whip; just a small amount, will remove it fast. Just get it when the wife is not watching....


 
What if my wife only buys mayonaise?


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## RORY12553 (Jul 9, 2012)

There is a show not sure which channel it is but it is called Mountain Men. One guy who lives in Montana went out and cut what might have been a dead standing pine. Basically he cut it down and stacked it next to the house to use in the next month. I am very new to wood burning but I wouldn't do that.

I have enough soft wood due to when I first started scrounging I was "Lucky" enough to get a willow tree. I use the word lucky in a very sarcastic manner.


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## thewoodlands (Jul 9, 2012)

This will be our first year burning White Pine in the shoulder season, with the hot weather we've been having it looks like it will be ready to go by the end of August.

We have 1.24 cord stacked for this year with another .62 that might be ready. Next year we have just over 2 cord of White Pine ready to go.

zap


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## ethanhudson (Jul 9, 2012)

RORY12553 said:


> There is a show not sure which channel it is but it is called Mountain Men. One guy who lives in Montana went out and cut what might have been a dead standing pine. Basically he cut it down and stacked it next to the house to use in the next month. I am very new to wood burning but I wouldn't do that.
> 
> I have enough soft wood due to when I first started scrounging I was "Lucky" enough to get a willow tree. I use the word lucky in a very sarcastic manner.


 
Where I live (Black Hills, SD), and in many other parts of the west there is a Pine Beetle epidemic.  There is literally thousands of acres of dead standing Ponderosa Pine in the Black Hills alone.  I routinely fell/split/stack dead standing ponderosa pine that is less than 12% MC.  So in an ideal world I'd agree with you that the stuff should be left to season in lieu of burning right away; but I have burned my fair share of dead standing pine within a month of hauling it out of the forest with no ill effects.


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## Lumber-Jack (Jul 10, 2012)

ethanhudson said:


> Where I live (Black Hills, SD), and in many other parts of the west there is a Pine Beetle epidemic. There is literally thousands of acres of dead standing Ponderosa Pine in the Black Hills alone. I routinely fell/split/stack dead standing ponderosa pine that is less than 12% MC. So in an ideal world I'd agree with you that the stuff should be left to season in lieu of burning right away; but I have burned my fair share of dead standing pine within a month of hauling it out of the forest with no ill effects.


I do the same except I'm cutting lodgepole pine (no big knots to deal with like Ponderosa pine, and it is higher in BTUs)
It's really nice to be able to fall, buck, stack and burn, all in the same day. Saves on space too, because you don't have to store wood for three years before you can burn it. That seasoning wood for years has always been the biggest detractor for people wanting to heat with wood.

BTW, pine is no good, I always try to dispose of it as quickly as possible by burning it in my wood stove, but only when I'm cold.


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## Puffins (Aug 11, 2012)

I have a few dead pitch pines I took down this year. They are already hardened, hollow sounding and dry. I have every intention to burn them up in the shoulder seasons. No problem with pine, especially in today's EPA stoves and inserts.


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## Seasoned Oak (Aug 11, 2012)

I burn about 70% pine, year in and year out. I do have seasoned oak, but so much pine i dont know what to do with it, so i turn it into BTUs. Great for shoulder season


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## clemsonfor (Aug 11, 2012)

dont they use pine in the EPA tests?


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## onetracker (Oct 18, 2012)

been burning mostly pine this fall, about 1 cord, dropped 2 years ago, bucked, split and piled (not stacked) on pallets in june. covered it in the occasional rains we had this summer. i don't know the moisture content, but its mighty low. the splits are feather-light.

burns plenty hot. zero tar on the glass. meanwhile, it feels real good to not be burning ANY primo 2 year seasoned hardwood. it does pop alot so it's important to not leave the door open. i can live with that.

so i guess it's official. i'm a convert


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## Jack Straw (Oct 18, 2012)

I've been a wood snob for years now. I am gonna start processing Hemlock and who knows maybe some popple.


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## TimJ (Oct 18, 2012)

Jack, I wouldn't waste the space for any of the chit


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## Monosperma (Oct 18, 2012)

If anyone out there has a few truck loads of clean pine they don't want to burn, whether logs or cut to length, you can always bring it to me and I'll take it off your hands.


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## Ashful (Oct 18, 2012)

I'd never cut a pine for the purpose of burning, as we have ample hardwoods from which to choose. But it has shown up on my doorstep for free, delivered!  After starting and reading this thread last summer, I have no problem taking it, if I don't have to move it.


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## TimJ (Oct 18, 2012)

Sounds like something a pine snob would say


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## fossil (Oct 18, 2012)

clemsonfor said:


> dont they use pine in the EPA tests?


 
Douglas Fir.


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## bryan (Oct 18, 2012)

The person who wrote that article works at Argonne National labs.  While I've been there and run experiments there I doubt they know much about about burning wood.   I must have missed the part where they power their particle accelerators using hardwood.

http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/scicorps/suermann_j.htm


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## James02 (Oct 18, 2012)

I burned some pine last week...Got it in March maybe, split it about the same time....19% on a freshly split split for the mm to read....i still had some oozing on the ends....I'm not real worried, as I'm diligent about sweeping....Is this normal?


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## onetracker (Oct 18, 2012)

James02 said:


> I burned some pine last week...Got it in March maybe, split it about the same time....19% on a freshly split split for the mm to read....i still had some oozing on the ends....I'm not real worried, as I'm diligent about sweeping....Is this normal?


 
no oozing here. no smoked glass. just clean heat.


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## Bacffin (Oct 18, 2012)

I have been burning it all month.  Seasoned 1 year, but it was standing dead when I cut it down.


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## Backwoods Savage (Oct 18, 2012)

Monosperma said:


> If anyone out there has a few truck loads of clean pine they don't want to burn, whether logs or cut to length, you can always bring it to me and I'll take it off your hands.


 
You should have been here last year when we cut many thousands:


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## JOHN BOY (Oct 18, 2012)

Burning pine, you'll do fine.
If you dry it in due time !

Burning wet. You'll regret
Cause it'll clog your Duravent.

Pine burns hot and really fast.
We all know it just dont last.

Pine gives heat.
Thats for sure !
So get out there and get a Score


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## Realstone (Oct 18, 2012)

JOHN BOY said:


> Burning pine, you'll do fine...


Did you just come up with that?


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## eclecticcottage (Oct 18, 2012)

Backwoods Savage said:


> You should have been here last year when we cut many thousands:
> 
> View attachment 77796
> View attachment 77797
> View attachment 77798


 
If you were anywhere near us, I'd have been all over that.  As it is, we've been scrounging it from a local source, standing dead beetle kill.  Probably over 100 trees so far-glad for the wood, sucks that it's beetle kill.


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## Agent (Oct 18, 2012)

Joful said:


> I'd never cut a pine for the purpose of burning, as we have ample hardwoods from which to choose. But it has shown up on my doorstep for free, delivered! After starting and reading this thread last summer, I have no problem taking it, if I don't have to move it.


 
Back in my day* we had to drive an hour uphill both ways just to cut our own pine, and we were dern glad for it!


*Last year, this year, more years to come.


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## Realstone (Oct 18, 2012)

Agent said:


> Back in my day* we had to drive an hour uphill both ways just to cut our own pine, and we were dern glad for it!


Luxury!


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## Seanm (Oct 19, 2012)

Lots of people here seem to like pine, im one of them. My wood pile is 80% Lodgepole pine and 20% Larch (Tamarack) I picked up a 1/2 cord of larch within a 5 minute drive from my house today after work (next year or late winters wood). The pine was taken from the park land behind my house. Birch is the only good hard wood around here that I know about but I would burn up lots of gas in my truck just to find a bit. Larch has about the same BTUs as my larch according to the wood btu charts. Funny though.... if you look at 5 different charts you get different results, I dont know why this is. I would think there would be a national standard of wood btu. Ive split a bit of Birch in the past and it seems a lot harder to split compared to my lodgepole.


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## Seanm (Oct 19, 2012)

Jeesh! I meant birch has about the same BTUs as my Larch


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## Lumber-Jack (Oct 19, 2012)

Seanm said:


> Lots of people here seem to like pine, im one of them. My wood pile is 80% Lodgepole pine and 20% Larch (Tamarack) I picked up a 1/2 cord of larch within a 5 minute drive from my house today after work (next year or late winters wood). The pine was taken from the park land behind my house. Birch is the only good hard wood around here that I know about but I would burn up lots of gas in my truck just to find a bit. Larch has about the same BTUs as my larch according to the wood btu charts. Funny though.... if you look at 5 different charts you get different results, I dont know why this is. I would think there would be a national standard of wood btu. Ive split a bit of Birch in the past and it seems a lot harder to split compared to my lodgepole.


I'm a lodgepole pine fan too. It has lot of good qualities for me, it's abundant around here, it sits high on the BTU chart, it splits easy, and because of the pine beetle and the way the trees die they dry very well standing up and seasoning time is rarely necessary.


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## onetracker (Oct 19, 2012)

TimJ said:


> Jack, I wouldn't waste the space for any of the chit


 
good point tim. it wouldn't make sense to go out of your way to scrounge pine, or to store it in lieu of hardwood if you have limited space. unless of course you live in some parts of the west where that's all they burn.

for me its just that there is tons of it fallen in the forest, or dropped widowmakers near the house. i'd have to cut it and haul it off anyway. so, as has been already said here....

'why not turn it into BTU's' !


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## Ashful (Oct 19, 2012)

It does seem to burn, and if it's all you got, then I guess that's what you use. Around here, I'm surrounded by walnuts, ash, and oak, so there's no way I'm wasting any time on felling or scrounging pine.

The pine I have been given (two occasions this summer) is so sappy it sometimes has baseball size globs of sap hanging from the rounds. It's also not particularly easy to split, being so soft the maul almost bounces off the end. Splitting and handling pine is drudgery compared to ash or walnut, the latter two being a pleasure to split, and putting off many more BTU's!


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## Seasoned Oak (Oct 19, 2012)

onetracker said:


> no oozing here. no smoked glass. just clean heat.


Thats what we have EPA stoves for, to turn that sap into BTUs. Only time i get soot on the glass is after a slow overnight burn,dont matter if its pine or oak burning. A hot fire quickly cleans it up.


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## Realstone (Oct 19, 2012)

Seasoned Oak said:


> Only time i get soot on the glass is after a slow overnight burn,dont matter if its pine or oak burning. A hot fire quickly cleans it up.


Same here.  The ash trick works pretty good too for cleaning soot off of glass.


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