Well knowing allot of the history behind this I will say yes many of them were. It was commonly accepted that wet wood was much better because it didn't burn up as fast. And the quantities of wood they were using meant they would burn any and all species they could get ahold of. The pine myth is a relatively new one and pretty much isolated to the middle and eastern United States
This old house segment
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Ashful
Minister of Fire
Agreed. But my implication was comparatively between pine and hardwoods, per pound or BTU. Does pine, being more resinous than most things we burn, have even a slightly higher deposition rate per BTU than hardwoods, in this same cooling and condensing situation? I'd be surprised if it did not.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
Got it. But having not heard many old wives' tails that didn't have some basis in truth, even if obsolete today, I'm having trouble understanding the basis for old recommendations to never burn pine. I can't believe there never was any basis or merit behind this wisdom.
It had been proposed previously that it came from the fact that pine burns pretty well when still wet, and so it was being burned wet more frequently than other species, which seemed reasonable. Burning wet wood -> creosote, simple.
But if it's also being implied all woods were being burned wet, it takes some of the punch out of that theory.
It had been proposed previously that it came from the fact that pine burns pretty well when still wet, and so it was being burned wet more frequently than other species, which seemed reasonable. Burning wet wood -> creosote, simple.
But if it's also being implied all woods were being burned wet, it takes some of the punch out of that theory.
Also pine burns hot and throws sparks meaning it will light off more chimney fires especially in fireplaces or primitive stoves.
The basis was actually in the fellow in the video's statement. He said "it's very soft (so?), very wet (!), and very sappy. Any very wet wood is going to burn cooler and risk depositing creosote. Pine has higher oil content and therefore people get away with burning it green or poorly seasoned. But that does not make pine create creosote by nature. We burn doug fir which has these characteristics and we do not get creosote buildup. The only time we have had significant creosote buildup was when we had to burn damp maple.
"Some people assume the sticky, gum-like resins in pine firewood cause more creosote residues than hardwood. Research has found this is false. The buildup is more often the result of burning wood at relatively low temperatures. Burning poorly seasoned wood favors creosote buildup because evaporating water cools the burning process."
newswire.caes.uga.edu
Efficient fires start with seasoned wood
Safe, energy-efficient home heating fires begin with the right kind of firewood.
newswire.caes.uga.edu
EbS-P
Minister of Fire
And the south. I quit telling all the tree guys I get line from that I burn it in a woodstove. I wasn’t going to change anyone’s mind.
It's not wise any more than not eating pork because it was thought to give you trichonosis. It's how the meat or wood is prepared and cooked that matters.
This took some searching, but you might like this discussion and paper from a decade ago.
Interesting Paper. Creosote From burning Pine and Hardwoods various Moisture contents
The results are contrary to what most have seen and reccomend here. I found this thing about 7 years ago and had printed a hard copy out for me a few years ago. I tried finding it the other night and could not so i made a PDF of my hard copy. Shows that Seasoned Hardwood in most cases produced...
www.hearth.com
I suspect the folks in the NJ Pine Barrens have been burning pine all their lives too.
I hear ya. Trust me, that wasn’t meant to be a knock on anyone. I would probably come to the same conclusion if it weren’t for knowing of other possible explanations.
But, that all said, based on the old wives tale about pine that we know to be false, those old timers did come to the incorrect conclusion. Not all old knowledge is on target.
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Ashful
Minister of Fire
The hardware was the same, but the software (programming) has changed substantially. Whether you consider that an improvement or a regression is a matter of opinion.
Ok i'm still on the fence and the reason is i see black smoke that sticks to my glass when burning imperfect pine and cherry. There is no doubt that both of these produce sticky black tar like residue more than the imperfect hardwoods i have burned. Soft maple does this a bit as well.
mikey
Burning Hunk
One of the main reasons for creosote build up is a cold chimney, those built on the outside of the house and those with more of the chimney exposed above the roof have more build up. If you have ever cleaned a chimney you will notice that most of the creosote is on highest and most exposed area.
You are correct but the most dirt is also typically at the top because no matter what the exhaust will cool more the further it gets from the stove
The light build up I get in my stainless liner up top directly follows the exposure it gets. The first few inches all exposed bc no insulation and no relatively warmer chimney to hide in. The next dividing line is about a foot down the liner where I know the insulation wrap stops. I know the liner manufacturer says it ok to stop the insulation a little below where the liner terminates like that, but I would have liked if it went up a bit further. The added buildup is pretty insignificant anyway in my case.
fvhowler
Feeling the Heat
The only pine I burn is fat lightwood, which is my fire starter. Those little pieces can blacken my stove glass for such a short burn. My assumption is this black tar/creosote attaches to the chimney pipe as well. Pine is very resinous and the black smoke is prolific, so I don't burn it. I have too much better wood available. The oak and hickory eventually burn off the black stuff on the glass.
Nothing wrong with burning pine as long as it's dry. In some parts of the country it's all they have. It actually makes a great shoulder season wood.
I can't believe somebody would grind all that debris without tarping off the fireplace opening. Even if there is a draft going up the chimney. That house had to be a mess when he was done.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
I burned my first load of pine today! We had two large pines in our yard when we moved in, but one of them died by summer 2019. I had forgotten, but apparently I split and stacked the trunk in fall 2019, and that pile came due today! Stacked 3.5 years under a roof, it should be plenty dry.
I'm actually surprised that 8 hours after a 70%'ish full load, cat probe is still showing way hotter than I ever see on hardwood. @Highbeam has alluded to this, as the two of us try to compare and figure out why our cat lives are so vastly different. My cat needle is still in the 1 o'clock position, 7 hours after loading just 8 medium splits. I had expected it'd be winding down toward inactive by now, ready for the next reload.
These were gnarly, knotty splits, as this was a yard tree with about a million branches coming out in all directions, almost like whiskers. So, the density and resin content are both surely much higher than nice straight-grain stuff.
I'm actually surprised that 8 hours after a 70%'ish full load, cat probe is still showing way hotter than I ever see on hardwood. @Highbeam has alluded to this, as the two of us try to compare and figure out why our cat lives are so vastly different. My cat needle is still in the 1 o'clock position, 7 hours after loading just 8 medium splits. I had expected it'd be winding down toward inactive by now, ready for the next reload.
These were gnarly, knotty splits, as this was a yard tree with about a million branches coming out in all directions, almost like whiskers. So, the density and resin content are both surely much higher than nice straight-grain stuff.
I burned about a cord.of pitch pine earlier this season. 13 percent mc or so.
Needle often near 2 pm.
Full box gets 18-20 hrs with the need for BTUs I have around freezing.
Needle often near 2 pm.
Full box gets 18-20 hrs with the need for BTUs I have around freezing.
I'll be making a big pile of pine splits this year. I'm not sure If they're red or scotch pine, but I have 2 to take down on the property along with a larch. They're badly damaged and one is crowding a pair of beautiful shag bark. There's a huge Siberian elm I may mix some of in this pile too. I plan on selling this in cords as camp wood., this coming fall. What doesn't sell I'll have for shoulder season heat. I'm sure I'll bring a little of all this home to process too. Just to add to the pile. All on a base of pallets.
