# so what can't you burn ?



## jbreland55 (Jan 27, 2012)

ok,

First I've heard all my life  you can't burn pine. Now this site has convinced me that it is ok as long as its dry.

Then I've been told NEVER NEVER burn sweet gum.  Now people on here say its ok to burn also.

I've got lots of sweet gum on my property, but have never even thought about burning it, because people always said no.


So my question is

Is there any wood that is absolutely a no no for burning?


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## Stevebass4 (Jan 27, 2012)

plain and simple..  unseasoned wood


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## Wood Duck (Jan 27, 2012)

Any wood can be burned as long as it is seasoned. I think the only problem with Sweet gum is processsing it- it can be stringy and can be a pain to split. I'd still cut it and split it if that is what I had. For me the problem with stringy woods like Elm and Sweet Gum is that I have split some really easy splitting wood and so I know how good it can be. If I never split anything but Sweet Gum I'd think it was fine. I wouldn't like splitting as much as I do, but I'd still do it.


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## ChuckV309 (Jan 27, 2012)

It is not that you can't burn it, but I would stay away from cotton wood.  There is not a lot of heat energy there.  I think you will spend more time splitting and drying than you get out of burning it. The point I am making is make sure the heat energy you get out is worth the time/energy/money to make it burnable.


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## CTYank (Jan 27, 2012)

jbreland,
I'd suggest that you filter all the stuff you hear, removing the baseless crap. This stuff is not gospel, test it out for yourself.

Calculate whatever you will, but test honestly. You'll likely conclude simply that you can't burn WET wood well. Dryer = better.

Then work out how best you can determine moisture content (MC).


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## 3fordasho (Jan 27, 2012)

jbreland said:
			
		

> ok,
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> 
> So my question is
> ...




This may or may not be obvious but I'll say it anyway-
treated wood, partical board, plywood, RR ties, telephone/power poles.  Any wood that's been processed for construction use and treated with chemicals or glued.

Saltwater driftwood might not be a good idea either.


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## schlot (Jan 27, 2012)

I would also suggest not burning some of the following types of wood:
1) Your neighbor's deck, especially while he is barbequing on it.
2) Your neighbor's front porch, especially while he is painting it.
3) The wood stick you use to prop up the window, especially while you are looking out the window.

You can thank me later for such good advice.


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## Backwoods Savage (Jan 27, 2012)

ChuckV309 said:
			
		

> It is not that you can't burn it, but I would stay away from cotton wood.  There is not a lot of heat energy there.  I think you will spend more time splitting and drying than you get out of burning it. The point I am making is make sure the heat energy you get out is worth the time/energy/money to make it burnable.



Looks like the subject has been covered quite well. However, I do take exception to the above quote. Many, many folks do heat with only cottonwood and they get along just fine. Cottonwood is heavy with moisture when you first cut it but it dries fast. Then when you burn it, it burns hot and rather quickly. We know of a few on this forum who has heated with cottonwood but where one finds the most users of it is in the western states. Wyoming is the first to come to mind because for many out there, that is the only wood they have to burn. It works but, of course, it can't compare to oak.

Also some of the woods that folks say they won't burn, like gum and elm, it is not because of the burning aspects so much as the splitting. It can be rather difficult to split. However, there is a trick to elm to get it to split easier.


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## rwhite (Jan 27, 2012)

Bottom line is that if it is wood it will burn. Now there are some things to avoid...treated, painted etc.. And there are some species that I won't go out of my way to get...willow, cottonwood. But if it shows up in my wood pile it gets burned.


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## WoodpileOCD (Jan 28, 2012)

Never heard anyone say NOT to burn gum before.  Lots and lots of info on how hard it is to split though.   What had you heard about burning gum specifically or was it just a general 'don't burn sweet gum'?


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## sam_j (Jan 28, 2012)

Anyone ever burn any poplar? I have a poplar that I have access to and was thinking about cutting it. I guess once the door  to the stove was closed it could "pop" to it's heart's delight and it wouldn't make any difference, would it?


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## Hogwildz (Jan 28, 2012)

sam_j said:
			
		

> Anyone ever burn any poplar? I have a poplar that I have access to and was thinking about cutting it. I guess once the door  to the stove was closed it could "pop" to it's heart's delight and it wouldn't make any difference, would it?


Popular, quick, hot fires, don't last very long though. I'll burn anything as long as it is dry. I usually use the junk wood during the day, and better stuff for overnight.


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## aussiedog3 (Jan 28, 2012)

Winter never really got here so Ive been buring pine since I started in October.
Yep, just make sure it's dry.
No railroad ties and no tires!


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## corey21 (Jan 28, 2012)

Dry seasoned wood.

Edit. unseasoned wood. My bad.


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## woodchip (Jan 28, 2012)

Backwoods Savage said:
			
		

> We know of a few on this forum who has heated with cottonwood but where one finds the most users of it is in the western states. Wyoming is the first to come to mind because for many out there, that is the only wood they have to burn. It works but, of course, it can't compare to oak.



+1. 
If cottonwood is all you've got, you will soon become an expert in burning cottonwood  ;-)


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## blacktail (Jan 28, 2012)

Drift wood from saltwater. That's one the one thing I was told not to burn by the shop that sold me my insert. Salt does bad things to chimneys.


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## Dune (Jan 28, 2012)

Pressure treated wood. Supposedly a teaspoon of ashes from PT has enough poison to kill you.


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## woodsmaster (Jan 28, 2012)

Dune said:
			
		

> Pressure treated wood. Supposedly a teaspoon of ashes from PT has enough poison to kill you.



 Don't eat the ashes. ;-P


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## Garand06 (Jan 28, 2012)

Stevebass4 said:
			
		

> plain and simple..  unseasoned wood




I gotta admit I'm sick of seeing that statement

I read alot on here but don't post too much as I'm still a newbie to burning wood.

The reason that comment P!$$es me off is that due to poor planning on my part (I didn't think I'd actually get the stove IN this year) I did not spend any time this summer stocking up on wood.

WELL, long story short:  My furnace has been run for a total of less than 45 minutes since Oct. 1, and ALL I've been burning is unseasoned ash and maple!  I let the stove go out completely and check/clean chimney about every 2 weeks.  So far I've only brushed out probably 3 large coffee cans worth of creosote.

Yes, I know I'm burning more wood and have to work harder to get the stove up to temp, but my house has NEVER been as warm and comfortable!  Last weekend it was 5* F in the a.m. and it was 75* F upstairs and 82* F in the basement were the stove is.  I figure that so far (thru January), my savings on not buying propane have already recouped ~ 1/3 of my total install cost.


*Do I think seasoned wood is better: ABSOLUTELY!* * But, I'll NEVER tell someone that green/unseasoned wood can't be burned.*


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## Realstone (Jan 28, 2012)

Garand06 said:
			
		

> Stevebass4 said:
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Sounds like a call to the local arbor might be in order    ;-) 

I've heard that the smoke from teak can be poisonous.  True?  So how would I get enough teak to burn?  Got a friend that works at a local mill that specializes in exotic woods   :cheese:   I'm hoping to burn $100 fires on a regular basis


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## Wood Duck (Jan 30, 2012)

I think I agree with you, so I will change my previous reply. What would can't you burn? I'd say treated wood and poison ivy are the two woods you should never burn. Burning Poison Ivy occasionally kills somebody, and not always the person who was burning.


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## gyrfalcon (Jan 30, 2012)

Garand06 said:
			
		

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Easy there.  Have you considered switching to decaf?


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## gyrfalcon (Jan 30, 2012)

Backwoods Savage said:
			
		

> elm, it is not because of the burning aspects so much as the splitting. It can be rather difficult to split. However, there is a trick to elm to get it to split easier.



Which is??

I like elm a lot for shoulder season-- seasons fast, burns well, and like beech, each split comes with its own kindling attached.  :snake:   But in a land full of easy to split rock maple, red oak and ash, it hasn't seemed even close to being worth the trouble.  The stuff I've had that won't fit my small stove I've ended up just giving to a neighbor rather than fight with-- and lose.

So what's the secret?


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## HighHeat22 (Jan 30, 2012)

I heard all my life the same thing as you. You can not burn pine. I guess we are learning new things all the time.


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## Garand06 (Jan 30, 2012)

gyrfalcon said:
			
		

> Easy there.  Have you considered switching to decaf?



NOPE!!


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## Adios Pantalones (Jan 30, 2012)

There are some tropicals that are a pain in the keester- like ipe- almost fire resistant until you get really hot.

Pressure treated wood- bad idea.

Salt water driftwood- could cause corrosion long term.

Unseasoned wood- you're asking for creosote.

Watch out for thin split pine from a bundle of edgings or 2x4's as you could overfire if not careful, but they can be burned as well.


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## Stevebass4 (Jan 30, 2012)

Garand06 said:
			
		

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:D  tell you what - get ahead a few years on your wood  and them come back and talk to me..  

Yes ash burns when it's fresh... would i burn it?  nope.  no need.  i am burning  buring three year old wood now and the stuff is plain awesome in my EPA stove.. 

if you wanted  a non helpful answer - EVERYTHING BURNS....


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## HighHeat22 (Jan 30, 2012)

I do know one thing. This is my second year burning and last year my wood supply was not seasoned enough and I never want to have that happen again.

This year its seasoned good and it is night and day burning compared to last year. 

To Garand06 there is no reason to get pissed off. Just state your opinion everyone has one. There is a lot of years of experience on this forum and most are just trying to help the burning world learn and get better. I know this forum has been so helpful to me I can not describe.  If you want to or recommend burning un-seasoned wood so be it. I know I will never never ever ever again go thru that. 

I used to get upset about little things and I have learned finally its not worth it.


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## firebroad (Jan 30, 2012)

Garand06 said:
			
		

> Stevebass4 said:
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Don't feel like the Lone Ranger.  I also didn't stock up on wood, I wasn't sure the install was going to take place due to finances, etc., so most of my really dry stuff is gone, too.  I just have to write this year off as a light burning year, and do what I can to plan for next year.  Who knew that what the dealers call seasoned wood is really quite wet for optimum burning?  And if you are like me, it is impractical to climb on the roof and clean your own chimney every month, let alone remove the baffle or move the stove out.  But it is still cheaper  than oil.
As far as wood to burn, I think pretty much anything is burnable as long as it not treated in any way.  I am working on getting the nerve to ask a neighbor for some downed pine.  I know he will give me strange looks, as "everyone" knows you don't burn pine.  I am not going to educate him, though, I don't want my secret out or all of the discarded pine will be disappearing from the landscape


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## Garand06 (Jan 30, 2012)

HighHeat22 said:
			
		

> There is a lot of years of experience on this forum and most are just trying to help the burning world learn and get better...  If you want to or recommend burning un-seasoned wood so be it... I know I will never never ever ever again go thru that.




Yes, the first statement is true, however if you read MOST of the comments, they are sorta calling you a moron if you do/have to burn unseasoned wood.


Never said I _recommend_ it, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do!


AND, yes, if I can at all help it, I'll never be in this situation again.  


Just trying to make the point that it IS doable.


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## firefighterjake (Jan 30, 2012)

Driftwood pulled from the ocean . . . due to the salt content and possibility of messing up the chimney, stove, etc.

Telephone poles and railroad ties . . . unless you want to throw a whole bunch of bad stuff into the air and see what an atomic bomb explosion looks like in your living room.

Petrified wood . . . rumor has it that this wood is too well seasoned.

Unseasoned wood . . . most modern woodstoves do much better and are safer when fed good fuel. Garbage in, garbage out . . . in other words you can burn unseasoned wood, but you will find it more difficult to get a fire going, will waste a lot of potential BTUs in getting the fire going and will have to keep a closer eye on the chimney as it can get gunked up quickly.

Household furniture . . . simply because your spouse really is partial to the dining room set that they inherited from their great grand mother.

Painted, stained, pressure treated and plywood/OSB, etc. . . . again for the gunk this could toss up in the air.

As for particular wood species . . . I haven't met a single species of wood yet that I haven't liked . . . all wood is good . . . in its own time. I burn poplar and pine regularly . . . but I don't rely on them for those long, overnight fires . . . but they're perfect for shoulder season fires or when I'm just relaxing at home and don't mind filling up the woodstove a little more often.


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## HighHeat22 (Jan 30, 2012)

Garand06-- Sorry, I guess I misunderstood. thanks for clarifying. 

Boy, I do not want to get in that situation of burning unseasoned wood again also. 

Happy Burning !.


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## Garand06 (Jan 30, 2012)

firefighterjake said:
			
		

> ... Garbage in, garbage out . . . in other words you can burn unseasoned wood, but you will find it more difficult to get a fire going, will waste a lot of potential BTUs in getting the fire going and will have to keep a closer eye on the chimney as it can get gunked up quickly...



Your three statements above are quite true, *but my garbage has saved me almost $1000 on propane so far this first year of wood burning compared to what I spent by the same time last year.*

Not to mention, I'm keeping the house a whole lot warmer than the 67-68 F that I used to keep the thermostat at!


Until I get ahead next year, I'll *happily* burn "garbage"!


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## firefighterjake (Jan 30, 2012)

Garand06 said:
			
		

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And just wait until next year when you burn truly seasoned wood . . . I thought I did pretty well burning semi-seasoned wood in Year One . . . until Year Two and I was burning wood that was cut, split and stacked for over a year. Holy crapola . . . I couldn't believe how much more heat my stove put out -- in fact the first time the secondaries really got going I was a bit nervous. 

Get by this year . . . and then fall in love with your stove all over again next year when you have very good wood.


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## firebroad (Jan 30, 2012)

Wow, I can't wait until next year!!
Seriously!


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## Garand06 (Jan 30, 2012)

firefighterjake said:
			
		

> Get by this year . . . and then fall in love with your stove all over again next year when you have very good wood.




That's the plan!


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## Lumber-Jack (Jan 30, 2012)

The firewood I burn is well seasoned, in fact almost too dry, so I don't have any reason to burn unseasoned wood. But I still break one of the cardinal rules by burning scrap wood that might be stained or painted, and I even burn OSB once in a while. I'm only useing this stuff for firestarter scraps (kindling), I don't heat with it, so I don't use much and it always gets burned in a hot fire.
I do a lot of reno work around home and cutting these scraps up and burning them saves me throwing it in the landfill, and provides me with some firestarter fuel that I'm gona need anyway. What doesn't get used in the stove usually gets burned outside.
I do however have my limits, I won't burn preserved wood because of the aresnic fumes, and I won't burn (almost wood) products like laminate flooring for basicly the same reason (man that stuff smokes and stinks bad, don't ask me how I know  :red: ). I won't even burn these things outside, it goes in the landfill.


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## Realstone (Jan 30, 2012)

firefighterjake said:
			
		

> ...Petrified wood . . . rumor has it that this wood is too well seasoned...



 :lol:   :lol:


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## ruserious2008 (Jan 31, 2012)

Witches! You can't burn them anymore but maybe you can build a bridge out of them    (sorry old Monty Python reference for those that have denied themselves that humor


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## WES999 (Feb 1, 2012)

> So my question is
> 
> Is there any wood that is absolutely a no no for burning?




Um, morning wood. ;-)


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