Pine Tree Advise

[Wingman]

Hello all,
First time poster and soon to be fireplace insert owner(yes just in time for spring.)
I have a ~60ft. pine that was decapitated and delimbed a few years ago in a St. Louis ice storm. Originally ~70ft and full and now ~60ft and 12 branches remain. I am finally getting around to taking it down ($) and was looking for your collective opinion on what I should do with it. Should I have it cut into 14"-16" rounds and split for firewood or pay the extra and have it hauled off. I see that a lot of people on here use pine and that it is safe with routine chimney maintenance.
The base of the tree is between 30"-33". I have done all of my splitting using a maul and wedge and don't mind the excercise but is this just going to wear me out? How do I go about splitting something this large? Should I just rent a splitter? Any rough estimates of how much wood this would garner me?
I am also having a mulberry tree dropped and some large elm branches removed for which I am planning on splitting.

 

[hh3f]

Cut and split it. Season it.Then mix with your hard wood. I mix in pine,fur,spruce and popular with my oak all the time during daytime burns. These are woods most people just don't want to mess with but if its there and you don't have to haul it ,burn it

 

[Dix]

Use it.

If it's cut into rounds, and left to let the sap draw out, then split, you should be good to go.

Atleast that's what we do, but we've got scrub pine, which is not suitable for any kind of an over night burn.

Pine here is ready in 3 - 6 months, and is great for shoulder season.

Caveat * You're pine may be different, but if seasoned, it's still gonna burn.

I wouldn't pass up that kinda free BTU.

 

[smokinj]

I am with split this and dixie eye, I will burn many different softwood..

 

[DBoon]

I took down a pine and a spruce on my property a couple of years ago. They are nice to mix in with denser hardwoods, and they do well in spring and fall for burning. Hand splitting pine is a big pain in the neck (at least my pine and spruce were), so plan on renting a hydraulic splitter to do the job for you.

 

[bogydave]

Sounds like the tree had several limbs,
With that many knots, it's not going to split easy. Let it dry for a few months
& it should split with a maul.
Colder the better, you're gonna generate some body heat.
Try a few rounds, if they don't split, set it all aside, when you get a good pile of rounds, rent a splitter for 1/2 a day.

 

[f3cbboy]

that mulberrry should be good also, that may have a twisty grain, maynot be so easy to split. Once seasoned it puts off a little light show in the stove or insert. kinda cool to watch.

 

[patch53]

My experience with pine is that it definitely needs to be split, it won't dry worth a damn if left in rounds. Its tough to split with a maul, you may need to rent a splitter.

Pat

 

[DBoon]

Yes bogydave, it's all the limbs in the pine that caused me so much trouble when trying to split it. It seems like you don't get anywhere with a round, and then when you finally open it up, there is an intact limb going nearly to the center of the round holding everything together. And the grain doesn't tend to be that straight either.

When I was splitting the pine and Colorado Blue Spruce with a hydraulic splitter, I actually broke a cast iron part on the splitter. This is a splitter that had seen some tough duty with elm and tough hickory crotches, but in the end, the Colorado Blue Spruce did it in.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I agree with renting a splitter and you probably will get enough wood from the tree to make it pay too. I don't have an estimate of how much wood you will get other than to say lots.

 

[Wood Duck]

You would have to pay someone to take away firewood? Seems like an easy decision to me! I'd get it cut to stove length and try to split by hand. Even if you split a couple of rounds a day, you'll have it done in a couple of weeks. If you try and can't split by hand, then you can always rent a splitter. Pine will be nice, hot-burning firewood once it seasons, and in St louis you'll have lots of 'shoulder season' where you want a quick fire to warm things up, but don't need a long burning fire. For long fires, that Mulberry will work great. your lot seems to have a perfect blend of firewood.

 

[billb3]

We have to pay to dispose of pine here.
They have a huge chipper at the landfill transfer station. (they had a fire in the building and had to but a new one)
Landscapers / arborists have outlets that will take/sell hardwood , but no one wants pine. Can't go in the landfill (same with stumps) so it has to get chipped.

When I had someone take down some huge pine trees for me (couldn't be just felled) all the big rounds that his branch chipper would have cost him to dispose of so he was happy that I have a pine tree dump. (If I have time to cut it, it becomes firewood - if I don't it eventualy becomes mulch) - just can't bury it.

Saved a hundred bucks not having to haul the chipped branches off, too.
Tipping fees at the 'dump' (transfer station) are our new taxes.

A fair way to do it, though.

 

[firefighterjake]

Cut it.

Split it.

Stack it.

Season it.

Burn it.

I'm an equal opportunity burner . . . I have access to all kinds of hardwood and yet I still will not pass on cutting up any large pine limbs that break off the white pines near my home. While I dislike the pine pitch . . . gotta remember to wear gloves when handling pine . . . but I always forget . . . I find pine to be useful.

1. Split it up real small and you have a great source of kindling

2. Split it up small and you have a great way to restart a fire that has gone to small coals or to get a cold firebox going on that first fire.

3. Split it up in medium sized pieces to large pieces and you have a great source of wood for the Fall and Spring when you want quick, hot fires to take the chill out of the air.

4. Split it up in medium or large sized pieces and mix in with hardwood to keep up your hardwood supply.

5. Split it up in medium or large sized pieces and burn it during the day when you're home or evening when you're home . . . you'll have to reload the firebox a bit earlier . . . but if you're right there anyways. . . .

Splitting . . . depends. If there are pieces knot-free and your pine is white pine or a similar species you can split it like a hot knife through butter . . . if there are knots . . . your splitting experience may well be like that feeling you got while playing baseball and the pitch came in on the inside and whang-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a . . . that reverberating feeling . . . and seeing that the splitting or hit didn't really go all that well. If you've got enough of it, it may be worth renting . . . me . . . I might try a few pieces by hand at first . . .

 

[Wingman]

Thanks everyone for the replies. You have just backed up what I've been thinking. Unfortunately the tree was heavily branched, so it may not be too fun to split, but it will be worth it.
I really enjoy this website. I have learned so much and yet have so much more to learn.

 

[madrone]

Not sure about your pines, but the pine I've burned splits great when it's dry.

 

[JeffRey30747]

If you are going to have to pay to get rid of it, I 'd say no question about bucking splitting and burning it. I had a fairly tall straight pine fall behind the backyard this past weekend, and I'm deciding between let it lie there and rot, try to give it to someone for the little bit of lumber it might make, cut it in logs to dump elsewhere on the property or prepare it as firewood. I've never really burned much pine before except as kindling. I only wonder if it is worth the effort when I could be cutting oak or beech instead. I'm leaning toward cutting it up just to try it and see how it burns once seasoned.

 

[Wingman]

Well, I had the tree cut down and now I have these monster rounds to split. My wife asked the tree guy how much I saved by not having it hauled away and he said $500. She was shocked. He also took down the mulberry which has already been split and stacked. He trimmed my elms up and stacked the wood in the front yard and I didn't want to move it when I got off work and about 830p I hear a truck pull up. I didn't think much of it but a few minutes later it started up and I thought, "My wood!" As I got to the door he was driving away with some of the nice thick rounds...Oh, I was pissed.

The best part of all, the tree guy told me if I need pine, mulberry or maple just get a hold of him and he will just dump it in my driveway free of charge. All I'd have to do is cut, split and stack.