What Kind of Pine/Evergreen Do You Burn?

[svk]

Just curious for those who burn the "red headed stepchild" of firewood, what species do you burn?

I've burned lots of jack pine and norway. Norway is real good stuff, on par with black ash. Long burn times if you keep it in large splits. Jack is ok, a far cry better than aspen.

White spruce isn't bad, again a lot better than aspen. Really messy stuff though, the bark falls off everywhere.

White pine goes quick, it's really light once dry.

I scrounged up a dead tamarack this fall for testing's sake. Had to carry it out of a bog so won't be doing that very often. Should be a hot sauna next fall when I fire it up.

Balsam is not really worth the work to process it. A full load in my boiler during heat demand lasts 45 minutes. To get a good hot sauna it takes at least 2, sometimes 3 loads to equal 1 load of hardwood.

When at all possible I try to process any evergreen in the winter to avoid the sap problem. If the tree has been dead at least a year you can cut in summer without problems.

 

[jrider]

Pitch, white, yellow is what I get around here. None of them are very high in the btu department but my owb doesn't mind.

 

[Big_Al]

Not sure that tamarack is an evergreen or pine. I burn mostly tamarack & Doug fir in the cold months and lodge pole pine as shoulder season wood. Not much white pine around & white fir burns really quick.

 

[Cerran]

Just curious for those who burn the "red headed stepchild" of firewood, what species do you burn?

I've burned lots of jack pine and norway. Norway is real good stuff, on par with black ash. Long burn times if you keep it in large splits. Jack is ok, a far cry better than aspen.

White spruce isn't bad, again a lot better than aspen. Really messy stuff though, the bark falls off everywhere.

White pine goes quick, it's really light once dry.

I scrounged up a dead tamarack this fall for testing's sake. Had to carry it out of a bog so won't be doing that very often. Should be a hot sauna next fall when I fire it up.

Balsam is not really worth the work to process it. A full load in my boiler during head demand lasts 45 minutes. To get a good hot sauna it takes at least 2, sometimes 3 loads to equal 1 load of hardwood.

When at all possible I try to process any evergreen in the winter to avoid the sap problem. If the tree has been dead at least a year you can cut in summer without problems.

I use white fir as kindling and usually cut down one small standing dead tree a year for that purpose. What doesn't get used for kindling gets burned outside in the fire pit by the kids.

I generally burn about a cord of lodgepole pine which amazingly is very good wood. Much better than white fir and makes a good beginning/end of the season wood.

The other 2.5 cord a year I generally burn is Doug Fir and Western Larch (tamarack). Most of the time it's fully red fir unless I find a good standing dead or blow-over tamarack.

I very rarely burn much hardwood unless I come across someone who has a downed tree.

 

[jrider]

Tamarack is considered a deciduous tree and is part of the pine family.

 

[svk]

Pitch, white, yellow is what I get around here. None of them are very high in the btu department but my owb doesn't mind.

I had to google pitch pine. Looks very similar to our Jack pine, but grows in the northeast. I have actually cut some of it on my friend's land in NY, just thought it was jack at the time.

 

[mn woodcutter]

I've only ever burned white pine and it's great for kindling or for a quick hot fire. The smell of burning white pine is one of my favorites! Mostly it gets used in the fire pit.

 

[svk]

I've only ever burned white pine and it's great for kindling or for a quick hot fire. The smell of burning white pine is one of my favorites! Mostly it gets used in the fire pit.

Pine does smell great, especially when freshly lit. If I close my eyes I'm immediately transported to my aunt's dock with their sauna blazing with a load of pine in the stove.

 

[Big_Al]

Tamarack is considered a deciduous tree and is part of the pine family.

I wasn't sure since it loses its needles every fall.

 

[maine]

King pine

 

[zogger]

Dang if I know, I get them confused. I think we have three kinds around here, white, yellow and loblolly?? Not sure on the last one, short needles..maybe.

 

[Cedarkerf]

Out here Doug fir is quite popular if you get into the older stuff burns great

 

[svk]

Dang if I know, I get them confused. I think we have three kinds around here, white, yellow and loblolly?? Not sure on the last one, short needles..maybe.

Is yellow the one they make "fatwood" from?

 

[Bullvi22]

With the exception of a few sycamores all I have on my property is pines and tulip trees, and for the life of me I can't decide if I've got loblolly pines, southern yellas, virginia, or pitch pines. Google pics look so similar. Haven't tried burning any yet, indoors anyways

 

[NHMike]

Of the pine family on my property it is mostly Eastern White pine and some Hemlock sprinkled in. I just started burning the white pine this year and love it.

 

[Cerran]

Out here Doug fir is quite popular if you get into the older stuff burns great

Actually it doesn't even have to be the older stuff, just stuff that has been growing more slowly and has pretty dense rings.

 

[El Quachito]

I burn a lot of Doug fir. Old growth or tight grained fir is great, and I'd put it up against anybody's Tan Oak. Tan Oak being a common firewood in my region. The high end of the btu ratings from the Calfornia Energy Commission show that good fir is not too shabby. I just don't have too many pine trees where I live but I do have the occaisional stick of Ponderosa now and then.

 

[mn woodcutter]

Pine does smell great, especially when freshly lit. If I close my eyes I'm immediately transported to my aunt's dock with their sauna blazing with a load of pine in the stove.

You've mentioned saunas a few times on here. That is something I would love to build and put a small wood burner in it! It's perfect outside right now to be sweating in a sauna!

 

[svk]

You've mentioned saunas a few times on here. That is something I would love to build and put a small wood burner in it! It's perfect outside right now to be sweating in a sauna!

Hmm perhaps a dedicated thread?

 

[zogger]

Is yellow the one they make "fatwood" from?

Yes, I believe it is. the most prominent one anyway.

Any of the juicier species will have a fatwood heart and stump system, you see them all over the woods here from way way back when they logged off the big pines. I've pulled some out of the ground, smells like pinesol, burns great. I tried it, yes, it lights when wet with a lighter.

It's just hard to get them out of the ground, only the very smallest ones can you kick and pull out, anything with some size to it has to be yanked out with the tractor or hand dug out, shovel, pick, axe you don't care about, etc.

Back before linkbucks, I had some pics up in some thread.