Question for you softwood (pine) burners - seasoning time

[jmhpsu93]

I just had a pine tree that fell down in one of the blizzards earlier this month, bucked down to stove lengths and heaped in a pile, somewhere between 1/2 and 3/4 cord worth. Question is: how should I continue the processing? The tree was alive when it fell so it is sappy as heck right now. Should I leave it as is for a bit to start drying or split it down now and stack it. Also, would it be ready come fall, or should I wait another year? Not much experience with burning the softwoods...until I found this site I thought your were never supposed to do that.

 

[trailrated]

I'm a new wood burner this past winter, so I'm no expert. If it were me, I would split it now and stack it. Good chance it will be ready to burn for the 10'-11 winter. Now, if your ahead on your wood and you don't really need to burn it next winter, it won't hurt to leave bucked until you feel like messing with it. Just remember wood dries faster split up.

 

[zzr7ky]

Hi -

If you don't mind sap on you or your gloves split right away. I let is sit untill sap is dry/hard then split and stack. I don't get much pine so It's not a big deal. If I needed wood for next winter I'd split now.

ATB,
Mike

 

[smokinj]

Hi -

If you don't mind sap on you or your gloves split right away. I let is sit untill sap is dry/hard then split and stack. I don't get much pine so It's not a big deal. If I needed wood for next winter I'd split now.

ATB,
Mike

+1

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I agree with the letting it set unless you need it next fall, then split right away. Have you tried that little splitter to see if it can handle the pine?

 

[Vic99]

Split white pine is ready to burn in 6-9 months. Split sooner rather than later.

 

[jmhpsu93]

I agree with the letting it set unless you need it next fall, then split right away. Have you tried that little splitter to see if it can handle the pine?

Hey! You makin' fun of my poor, little splitter? It gets very sensitive about its size!

Seriously, though, I haven't tried yet. I've gone through some pretty big maple and oak rounds, and even some stringy stuff like hickory, with it. Sometimes you just have to work the edges in and work around the knots. I'd rather have a 27-ton beast but I don't really have anywhere to put it and the wife will wonder why my wood splitter cost more than my first car.

Thanks!

 

[dispatcher101]

Split it, and stack it. It will be ready by next season, and don't believe all the nay sayers about pine. It burns very well when seasoned.

 

[billb3]

I tend to let it sit in that pile for 3 to 6 months until the green bark (younger parts of the tree) turn brown.
Less sticky sap that way. Then split it .

However, splitting it right away seems to attract fewer of the bark borers.

The knots can make it a pain to split.


I'd burn it long before I paid to get rid of it. Plus, it's free and you appreciate hardwoods in comparison.

 

[r_d_gard]

I'd burn it long before I paid to get rid of it. Plus, it's free and you appreciate hardwoods in comparison.

aint that the truth. I just put my first oak in the stove the other day. After 5 hours of not tending the stove I wondered what was happening and why I still had wood in there. It only occured to me after a lot of thinking that it was because of the oak. Yet I'm a scrounger and only burn what I can get. Poplar has been the choice this year. Yet I would be int +1 catagorey for splitting pine and letting it dry. I have bundles of the stuff and if you can get it dry it will take off like a rocket. Split now, you'll be ready by december.

Ray

 

[Lumber-Jack]

I just had a pine tree that fell down in one of the blizzards earlier this month, bucked down to stove lengths and heaped in a pile, somewhere between 1/2 and 3/4 cord worth. Question is: how should I continue the processing? The tree was alive when it fell so it is sappy as heck right now. Should I leave it as is for a bit to start drying or split it down now and stack it. Also, would it be ready come fall, or should I wait another year? Not much experience with burning the softwoods...until I found this site I thought your were never supposed to do that.

Looks like you got all the advice you need about processing that pine, but I wanted to comment on your last remark.
Until I found this site, I didn't know people burned anything other than softwood. I thought oak was just for making furniture and kitchen cabinets. And when I first heard the rumor here that you can't burn pine,,,,,,,,,,,, well frankly I thought you Easterners must all be a bunch of idiots. Fortunately a few of you have managed to redeem yourselves in behalf of your faction. ;-)

 

[Wood Duck]

Splitting fresh cut pine can be messy, but I usually don't wait. You'll have to wait a long time before the inside of the wood isn't sappy.

 

[uggabugga]

Looks like you got all the advice you need about processing that pine, but I wanted to comment on your last remark.
Until I found this site, I didn't know people burned anything other than softwood. I thought oak was just for making furniture and kitchen cabinets. And when I first heard the rumor here that you can't burn pine,,,,,,,,,,,, well frankly I thought you Easterners must all be a bunch of idiots. Fortunately a few of you have managed to redeem yourselves in behalf of your faction. ;-)

I can completely identify with what you're saying here. I always burned nothing but pine before moving to the midwest [and then further on east], because.. well, that's all there was to burn, except maybe a little cottonwood here and there. The first time I burned some nice oak and cherry in Indiana, I almost felt like a criminal - it just seemed way too nice to go up the chimney. But I got used to it

After moving to MD, the first time someone looked at me in horror when I mentioned burning some pine in my fireplace, it was really odd - the prevalent line of thought around here seems to be that burning so much as a single pine log is an almost-guaranteed chimney fire.

 

[RNLA]

Oh to see the crap we burn in the PNW!

 

[maplewood]

Split it, and stack it. It will be ready by next season, and don't believe all the nay sayers about pine. It burns very well when seasoned.

+1