Is hemlock good for burning?

[RDabate]

I think it's part of the the 'pine" family, but wanted to see what your thoughts are?

 

[zzr7ky]

Dry pine is fine. Not fancy, just fine. I've burned incidental amounts of pine and hemlock and like hemlock better. It all burns.

The lower heat value/cubic foot is an issue for folks burning small fireboxes. This doesn't seem to be an issue for the EKO.

 

[FLINT]

very nice smell when burning.

also makes really loud popping noise when burning - which can be entertaining!

just make sure its dry and you are all set - weighs very little when dry.

blocks with no knots/limbs will split easy - although the knots seem to be made of iron and knotty pieces don't split for anything.

 

[Highbeam]

It's not a pine. Depends on what you mean by "family" though. It is evergreen and looks more like a spruce than a pine. It is a low density evergreen and is often what you get when you buy something the mills call whitewood instead of actual doug fir lumber. I'd prefer it to poplar and cottonwood. It grows well in wet areas. It is NOT windfirm and will blow over if exposed to wind. When they do a big clearcut out here in the west and the edge of the forest includes hemlocks then you can be sure that some of those will be blown over during the next winter's storms.

 

[firefighterjake]

I can't speak to hemlock on the west coast, but here on the east coast hemlock is part of the "evergreen" family . . . it has needles and is always green . . . hence the evergreen. It is a softwood and when live is pretty easy to cut (knots can be a bugger though, like most other trees with lots of knots) . . . once dry the wood is wicked hard . . . and it's fine for burning. I haven't burned much hemlock myself (some slabwood) simply because around here hemlock is more valued for its lumber . . . as mentioned when it is green it cuts and nails easily . . . but give it some time in the sun and it will harden right up . . . great for sheds.

 

[WOODBUTCHER]

I think it's part of the the 'pine" family, but wanted to see what your thoughts are?

Good stuff to burn, some of the larger chunks made some noise going through the splitter.
It can be knotty, the branches mature deep. Like I said, the whole neighborhood must have heard my splitter pulling those knots out.....ear deafening.
I'll burn anything that's worth my time grabbing, In this case, lighting 2 summers ago took out that hemlock and laid it down for us at my BIL's house.


WoodButcher