Burning Pine

[Roxy]

I'm new to using a firplace insert as a main portion of my heating resource.
I am aware of burning good seasoned (1 year plus minimum) hard wood mix for heat, however I recently was offered fresh cut pine rounds.
My thought is to have them split and season for a year at least.
Would you reccomend burning this soft wood after it seasons? It would be added to a mix of hard woods....never to be burned as a sole specie of pine load within my insert (Hampton HI300).
My concern is the effect of pine as sappy creosote contributor to normal seasoned wood which also contribuites creosote.
I tend to burn at temps between 300 to 450.....basically the safety zone on my tempurature gauge.

Thanks in advance for your kind comments and insights!
Roxy

 

[Pagey]

Creosote is not a byproduct of ONLY sappy/resinous wood. All wood produces particulate matter than can/will condense into creosote if the flue gases cool enough. Think of it this way: when you burn wood, moisture is released along with organic, particulate matter. That passes up into the flue. If the gases are too cool (due to a smoldering fire or too much water vapor from unseasoned wood), the particulate matter will condense inside the flue. This is true of oak, hickory, poplar, ash, pine, fir, ad infinitum. I burn a cord of pine every year for the shoulder season, and it's some of the cleanest burning stuff I put through my stove.

 

[Vic99]

About 1/4 of what I burn is pine. Season it and there will be no issues. Most pine takes 6 months to a year to season, at least here in New England.

For some people out west it's the ONLY wood they have access to.

 

[WayneB]

Out west contingent here. Only pine burnt so far, a couple, and I mean a couple of siberian elm burnt. Pine burns lovely, and the only bad pine is the standing dead that has been pine beetle eaten, it is like punky wood, only dry and with very little btu's left in it. Zero creosote so far, burns hot, the sap/resin has it's own fuel value since it gets burned in the secondary burn. One nice plus for the pine, at least in my case is it is lighter in weight for a given cu. ft. Old body keeps failing at the joints and the light weight is appreciated, don't know that I could handle the nice oak, hickory, etc. from back in WI when I was a youth. Don't be worried about the pine, as they say "it's all good"
Wayne

 

[argus66]

if i doubt clean pipe once a month or so, and u will have no worries at all.

 

[dispatcher101]

I live in Colorado, so not much hard wood for free around here. Haven't had any issues burning pine, the biggest thing is to make sure you burn your stove hot enough. My brother in law has been burning it for the last 5 years in his lopi answer, regular cleanings don't produce very much creosote. I have been burning mainly very dry beetle kill in my T5 for almost 2 months. I plan on sweeping next week, I will let you know what happens.

 

[BrotherBart]

Pine is evil. All pine should be shipped freight pre-paid to the Manassas, VA Fed-Ex Freight terminal c/o Brotherbart. This hazardous material will be properly disposed of by a professional. Do not try this at home.

 

[fossil]

I shipped all my Pine to BrotherBart, as suggested, for proper disposal. Now I have no firewood whatsoever. :-/ Rick

 

[BrotherBart]

I shipped all my Pine to BrotherBart, as suggested, for proper disposal. Now I have no firewood whatsoever. :-/ Rick

But you are a better person for doing it. :lol:

 

[WayneB]

Freight collect right? :cheese:

 

[Dix]

LOL !!

BB, send me some of Ricks pine, and I'll send Rick some of my oak & maple (light bulb moment...I could actually do this, via Eagle Creek, WA), and everyone's happy

Roxy, go with your gut, and do it. You won't regret it.

Welcome to the forums !

 

[gibson]

Old school New Englanders will have nothing to do with pine. I find it to be perfect for shoulder season and kindling. I know it ain't gonna hurt your chimney when half the country burns it.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

Burning pine causes chimney fires.

 

[highmark800]

Yea right and "guns Kill People".

 

[cycloxer]

I burn some pine, maybe a face cord per year. Dry it the same way as you dry any wood and it is fine.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I'm new to using a firplace insert as a main portion of my heating resource.
I am aware of burning good seasoned (1 year plus minimum) hard wood mix for heat, however I recently was offered fresh cut pine rounds.
My thought is to have them split and season for a year at least.
Would you reccomend burning this soft wood after it seasons? It would be added to a mix of hard woods....never to be burned as a sole specie of pine load within my insert (Hampton HI300).
My concern is the effect of pine as sappy creosote contributor to normal seasoned wood which also contribuites creosote.
I tend to burn at temps between 300 to 450.....basically the safety zone on my tempurature gauge.

Thanks in advance for your kind comments and insights!
Roxy

Roxy, 300-450 does not sound like you get much heat. But that perhaps depends upon where you are placing the thermometer. We regularly burn over 600 degrees but not above 700. Stove likes it, chimney likes it and people do too.

 

[stihltheone]

Out west contingent here. Only pine burnt so far, a couple, and I mean a couple of siberian elm burnt. Pine burns lovely, and the only bad pine is the standing dead that has been pine beetle eaten, it is like punky wood, only dry and with very little btu's left in it. Zero creosote so far, burns hot, the sap/resin has it's own fuel value since it gets burned in the secondary burn. One nice plus for the pine, at least in my case is it is lighter in weight for a given cu. ft. Old body keeps failing at the joints and the light weight is appreciated, don't know that I could handle the nice oak, hickory, etc. from back in WI when I was a youth. Don't be worried about the pine, as they say "it's all good"
Wayne

I hear you. Pine is about it around here, unless you want russian olive or cottonwood. Every once in a while I come up with some siberian elm. I notice that there is not a bunch of difference in any of the wood that we burn as far as what is in the chimney. One thing to maybe consider is that out here, wood dries, I mean it really dries. We have very low humidity, high temps in the summer, and very little rain. Maybe that is why many people do not like pine is that theirs is not really, REALLY dry. Just a thought.

 

[PapaDave]

Yea right and "guns Kill People".

Forks and spoons make people fat, too.
I'm learnig SOOO much on this forum. :lol:

 

[madrone]

Roxy, 300-450 does not sound like you get much heat. But that perhaps depends upon where you are placing the thermometer. We regularly burn over 600 degrees but not above 700. Stove likes it, chimney likes it and people do too.

I was thinking the same thing. I don't use a stove thermometer, but I understand that the temp ranges on a Rutland aren't for the stovetop of an EPA stove.

 

[SteveKG]

Pine and spruce about all we have here....well, a bit of aspen. Been using it for decades and have been cozy and warm all that time. I have virtually no creosote issues in my stovepipes. In fact, when I hear that pine caused this or that problem, I never know what the heck anyone is talking about.

Beetle kill; right now, that's 90% of what is here, too. Good as any other wood. If it's been standing for a year after death, it is almost seasoned when I fell and buck it. Some of it needs a few months, that's all, to be ready to burn. Over a year standing dead, it can be used perfectly immediately after cutting it down. If it's been standing for 15 years, it is beginning to rot in place, but any of the trees around here do that, whether beetle killed or whatever.

 

[firefighterjake]

I'm new to using a firplace insert as a main portion of my heating resource.
I am aware of burning good seasoned (1 year plus minimum) hard wood mix for heat, however I recently was offered fresh cut pine rounds.
My thought is to have them split and season for a year at least.
Would you reccomend burning this soft wood after it seasons? It would be added to a mix of hard woods....never to be burned as a sole specie of pine load within my insert (Hampton HI300).
My concern is the effect of pine as sappy creosote contributor to normal seasoned wood which also contribuites creosote.
I tend to burn at temps between 300 to 450.....basically the safety zone on my tempurature gauge.

Thanks in advance for your kind comments and insights!
Roxy

If it's free and you've got the room, take the pine.

Don't believe the hype about pine causing chimney fires . . . if it were true quite a few members here would be reporting issues with pine and creosote. As you noted, just make sure it is seasoned before using since any unseasoned wood can result in excessive creosote production.

That's not to say pine is a fantastic wood . . . up here in Maine the most common pine, eastern white pine, tends to burn pretty hot and fast which means I tend to use it mostly in the shoulder season and for kindling rather than using it during this time of year. I also don't tend to stuff my whole firebox full of pine and let it rip.

The other negative issue is that it is sappy and can be messy to handle . . . but the sap is not an issue in terms of creososte production.

 

[CarbonNeutral]

If it's free and you've got the room, take the pine.

Don't believe the hype about pine causing chimney fires . . . if it were true quite a few members here would be reporting issues with pine and creosote. As you noted, just make sure it is seasoned before using since any unseasoned wood can result in excessive creosote production.

That's not to say pine is a fantastic wood . . . up here in Maine the most common pine, eastern white pine, tends to burn pretty hot and fast which means I tend to use it mostly in the shoulder season and for kindling rather than using it during this time of year. I also don't tend to stuff my whole firebox full of pine and let it rip.

The other negative issue is that it is sappy and can be messy to handle . . . but the sap is not an issue in terms of creososte production.

Whenever someone tries to start a topic with the words "pine, softwood, burn, sappy, or combination thereof" I would like the system to popup a warning saying: "This has been covered countless times before: here is the answer to your question:" and then give FFJ's answer..