The AM Forum

As I was loading another partial cord of wood into the basement, thru my new wood chute that I cut into the basement wall, I was wondering, what everyone else burns in other parts of the country and how much do you burn thru the winter months?

Out here in the pacific northwest, we have lots of Pine, Fir and Spruce. This year I managed to find a clear cut block with lot's of fir and pine left stacked and abandoned. It just had to follow me home on the fllatdeck trailer. I also burn lots of Birch as it burns much hotter and longer than the softwoods, although Fir is pretty close. The Pine lights easily and burns hot for quick heat in the morning. Fir and Birch are our "all nighters".

So what do you have in your area?  Hickory, Oak, other trees we consider "exotics" out here in the west?

Cheers

Paul
VE7KHz

A load of Birch
(http://www3.telus.net/radioboy/DSCN8563.JPG)

And a few Fir logs that followed me home
(http://www3.telus.net/radioboy/DSCN9482.jpg)

Nice 2 year old dried Pine
(http://www3.telus.net/radioboy/DSCN9422.JPG)

Hi Paul,

Nice looking spread you have there in Vernon, BC. We use to burn lots of wood when living on the other side of the Mississippi. Pine was at the bottom of the list, too much creosote, but better than nothing. Black Cherry was the favorite in northern WV, lots of it growing in the forest, straight grain and easy to split, burned well enough to be considered, "all nighter".  Oak and Maple were good, little harder to come by, great hard wood and burned hot n' long. Us West by God Virginians would not cut down a Hickory or Black Walnut for heat. Those two fed the squirrels, turkey, etc., no use ruining hunting season. Beech, Birch, Ash, were few and far in between, more than likely timbered years ago.

Worst tree to tackle was an American Elm, a crossgrained nightmare. Had to have good gas powered splitter, better just to use a chain saw and cut it into chunks.

73's
wd8kdg
Craig

We burn Natalie Wood here.

We burn oak, cherry, maple and elm. Craig you are right. Elm is a hard wood to split, but burns OK.
The woodstove has a mixture of maple and elm burning right now!

Wood consumption is just under a cord (4'x4'x8' split, stacked).

I don't know much about woodstoves but am learning fast. I had heard that you should not burn Pine because it can lead to chimney fires. Is there a way around this?

I burn hickory and oak here.  We have 30+ acres of woodlands and most the trees are the two mentioned, with a few cedars, however I don't burn cedar.  I heat the house with nothing but wood and 4 cords will always get us through the winter with some left over.

Terry said:
That's the kind of wood that doesn't float! ;)

Oak and maple here in North Carolina... The new QTH has a nice stone fireplace. The previous owner left a big stack of wood in the backyard but there's no shelter like you have Paul. (gotta build one). I've been splitting logs the old fashion way with an axe and mallet/wedge and stacking the wood in the basement near the heat pumps to dry. Next season I'm going to look into some sort of wood splitter... Any suggestions on something not too expensive?

Here in CT its mainly oaks of various types and maples. Branch prunings from apples, crabapples, and cherrys have a nice aroma and are in the mix of small stuff burned. Very few burn softwoods iaround here except for kindling due to the cresosote problem.  Pine also throws lots of sparks from an open fireplace or stove that is a concern.  Most of my kindling is from split up pine and fir lumber scraps left over from various projects. 

In 80-82 we we tried to maximize use of our family room VT Casting Vigilant for heating the house and it was very successful.  Didn't turn on the baseboard heat at all until after Christmas.  At the time, I had my main ham station setup (Heath SB Line) in the same room, and it was really nice working DX on CW with the fire going and lighting up the room.  Then we got used to the oil prices, were out of the house more than in, and got away from wood heat.  This would be a good year to get back into it.  Son Dave is using a little VT Casting Resolute in his place and it works out well for heating his 2 bedroom ranch.  Previous house ower left him several cords, so he's set for a while.

Anyone using wood pellets care to comment?

Here in the eastern part of West Virginia oak and locust are plentiful. I have 3 cords stacked now, about half locust and half oak. The locust has a bit more BTU's than the oak, but I don't care for the smell of it while burning, and if the bark is still on it makes a lot of ashes.
My property is full of pine but I don't use it except for kindling. It makes way too much creosote. I have burnt up huge piles of pine just to get rid of it when clearing the property or getting rid of the ones close to the house.
I used to cut my own wood, but since the kids are all gone and I am getting older, I buy it now. I spend about $120 per cord delivered and I use about 2 cords per year. I can heat the whole house all winter on 3 but I let the heat pump take care of the milder days. I have a nice fire going now..my woodstove has a glass in the door and it is nice to watch on a cold winters eve. Last night it got down to 5 above here.

Happy Hay. Thats wood right?

I have been burning wood to supplement my heating for years. I have electric heat and have to do something to keep the costs down. Besides we loose power abt three times every winter and the old woodalene stove keeps me warm and eating hot food when the power is out.
One thing I am amazed at is what the cost of a cord of wood have gotten to here.
Almost $300 a chord for hardwood! When I first started burning it it was about $100 for a good cord.
I think it is because it has become "fashionable" to burn wood around here this year.
I read in the paper about a big increase in chimmny fires in this area because people who have never burned wood are doing all sorts of crazy things.
My stove will burn coal also so I have taken to burning it in addition to wood. A little messy but a lot cheaper.
I have a chord of wood and 160 lbs of coal so far for this winter. I generally only burn on weekends when people are home.

I burned hardwood for years then switched to coal. Wood costs too much now
I remember paying $30 a cord for long lengths.  You can't beat quality hard coal
Now I'm into insulation...

My system crapped out so i just did oil the past few years. I did about 1000 G when i first moved here. Now I do 750 and the house is 50% bigger. I used to burn 4 cords that also heated the basement. At 300 a cord I don't see any saving now.

A friend put a pellet stove in and he loves it but the price of fuel has jumped there also. The only possible problem is it needs electric power to operate.

My favorite wood for use in a fireplace and the outdoors porch burner
is piñon pine. Very fragrant. Even though it's a pine, it's a dense, slow growing
wood that burns for a long time.  Lots of resin and lots of BTUs.
A real gnarly bear to split, though. Got to use wedges with the maul.

Probably the most common firewood around here is lodgepole and ponderosa
pine, and cottonwood.

I'm surprised that elm was mentioned, I thought they were all wiped out
from disease.

The big thing around here is burning corn. I guess you can get quite alot of heat from a bushel of corn. Plus what the guys tell me, its fairly clean compared to coal. All ashes and you have an automatic stoker, but the hell with that, its very CHEAP.

I can't believe some of you have commented that a cord of wood is $300 !!  Here in Arkansas you can buy 120 cubic feet of split wood for $125.  I have enough timber on my land to keep me from having to buy it, but when I get older, and my back finally gives out, I'll be buying or paying someone to come and cut mine for me. 

I guess up north where it gets really cold, even the firewood guys are price gouging.

Paid $170/ cord for hardwood this year.  Nice windfall profit mark-up for the lumber guys.   Whatever the market will bear.

We mix 1/2 coal and 1/2 wood for years now. A beautiful combo for both ambience and heat.

T

I don't burn wood here but know people who do. You can find a great resource for stove wood in the form of pallets. No body wants them back after shipping and in most cases they are oak or poplar. You can keep warm and help to recycle at the same time.
Most businesses would be glad to rid themselves of their excess.

Wow! Interesting how the prices vary from region to region. I guess it all depends on supply and demand.

Yup. Pine is a PITA for chimney maintenance but it burns hot for a short while (like an 807 on 12 volts).
I only have to drop the tire chains down the flue once per season. I keep the fire pretty hot.
Man!! I am amazed that some of you are burning some of the best furniture wood for heat. Again, it all depends on what's common in your area. Burning Oak out here (for me) is reserved for only the best pork roast or big slab "o" brisket on the big drum Q. And Cherry is like gold out here. We don't have any hickory although you can buy it in chip form for the Q at Walmart. $12/lb. 

Anyone want to trade some hickory wood for some tubes???

Cheers

Paul

Oak is pretty available here in Fl,several types of them.Prices on level pickup trucks of split wood go for about $125......Glenn,torqued my shoulder 2 winters back splitting without warming up and stretching, looked for a splitter afterwards, settled on a DR brand 4 ton, about 400 bux,they offer a 6 ton also.Does a good job on my stuff, wood to 10 in diameter, dried of course.Spraying the knife end  with  Pam helps reduce the friction.Of course some oak is so hard you have chainsaw it.
                             John,WA2FNS

Forgot to mention that I burn a lot of wood pallets that
would be going to the landfill. I pick them
up every few days from the loading dock of a nearby retail business.
Throw them in the back of the truck on the way home.
Many are made from hardwoods and hardwood scrap.
The stouter ones must have 80 pounds of wood in them.

Taking advantage of some nice wx and been cutting
them up all morning.

The price is definitely right.

Anybody burning dried cow dung?

I don't think my wife would let me even try to burn cow dung, Bill.  That is, unless she didn't know what it was.  Does it really burn that hot and long?

I wonder if anyone here has ever had any serious fire problems with their flue?  I clean mine about every three weeks of burning just to be safe.  The hickory does build up some creosote.  I also have a three walled top section that goes through the ceiling and roof.  The section below the ceiling is a single walled pipe with the damper about 4 feet above the "Kozi" stove.  I've run this configuration for about 3 1/2 years with no problems.

Thanks John;

$400 sounds reasonable... that's a gas powered unit I assume? think they also make a propane powered version.
This spring I have some trees that need to be removed... plan to have a wood shelter and a splitter ready for next season.  ;)

That reminds me, can anyone offer advise on the proper way to clean the creosote out of the chimney?

Glenn,
These are 110/125v Ac powered electric/hydraulic splitters, think they are about 100 lbs.Found others that were similar and a bit less but the DR has service support,came with 3 yr warranty.think if you use good extension cord(10 ga) you could use up to 25 feet away without killing it.More info on there website.
                                          John

Oak and hickory here in Mkissouri. Grew up around a sawmill, so wood for heating was no problem, always plenty of tie spurs, rotten logs to cut up, slabs, ect.

Now I still burn wood, but occasionally work for a tree trimmer, so geting firewood is no problem.

For those of you that are paying for your firewood, try talking tree trimmers into dumping a load of wood on your property. A lot of times they have to pay to dump it and they will gladly give you a load for nothing. Its easier in the summer when the demand for firewood is less.

Thanks John, I'll check it out..... :)

I did exactly this about 4 years ago, only I wasn't looking for firewood, I was looking for BBQ wood. Called tree toppers in the yellow pages and I ended up with about a cord of Oak, 1/2 cord of Cherry and 1/4 truck load of Apple. Mmmm Mmmmm good. That wood now has more than 500 miles on it as I wasn't going to leave it at the old QTH. It was too good a score. That's rare wood out here.

I wonder if anyone here has ever had any serious fire problems with their flue?  I clean mine about every three weeks of burning just to be safe.  The hickory does build up some creosote.  I also have a three walled top section that goes through the ceiling and roof.  The section below the ceiling is a single walled pipe with the damper about 4 feet above the "Kozi" stove.  I've run this configuration for about 3 1/2 years with no problems.

Hi Brian,

Wow! Every 3 weeks?  I check mine once or twice per season then run a set of old tire chains up and down the flue once a year to knock the loose stuff off. I haven't had to really give it a cleaning ever and I burn Pine which is supposed to deposit lots of creosote. It's possible our chimney design, being a flue inside of a cinder block housing, running entirely inside the house (i.e. not exposed to the cooling effects of outside air) until it exits, then it is only about 5' above the roof, keeps the creosote to a minimum. I also try to keep the fire hot so it doesn't smolder.

 Cheers

Paul
VE7KHz

Hi Bill,

Yes, I too collect pallets for the hardwood. Some of the ones I find are exotic woods from overseas. I use them for wood projects, benches etc. I have even found some Mahogany!! I tried burning them once then realized that since we put our wood stove ashes on the garden, it will be full of nails and they aren't too good for the tractor tires.  ;D

Paul
VE7KHz

Anyone have experience with multifuel furnaces?  I've contemplated replacing the existing oil burner with something that can do wood, oil and coal and run it in the existing heating system.

Here in new York City we burn paper, cardboard, garbage, old clothes, old matresses, automobiles...etc.

It's been a while since I was down in NYC.  Took the wife to Manhattan to see Rockafellar Center to see the Christmas Decorations and some other sites.  Met up with my cousin and went out to dinner. We had a good time.  I love NYC.  It's fun place.

I was amazed at all the smoke and steam that comes out of the ground down there. Smoke stacks in the middle of the street.  Seems like a waste of useable heat.  We walked around and when my feet got cold I simply stood on a subway grate for a few minutes to warm them up.

And then or course there's the walk through Central Park and it was nice to see Santa Claus relieving himself next to a nice big fir tree.  Would have made a Christmas nice picture.

Glad you had a nice  time. Yeah, that steam is mostly part of Con Edison's "steam ops.". In addition to suppying electricity and gas in Manhattan they also supply steam. When they vent that steam onto the street on a nice bitter cold day it produces an awesome steam plume. As a kid I was always amazed by that.

Well since we are speaking of burning wood it looks like I am going to have to use the wood stove more this year.
I just received an electric bill for $560! Unfortunately I have electric heat, electric water heater, electric clothes dryer, and electric radios.
I didn't use any more KWH than last year at this time but the cost per KWH went up 36% in that time period with the largest increase (31%) just happening on November 1st this year.
I project January and February bills of $700 at this rate.
I feel bad for people on fixed income in my area.

Q

Living in the country, and heating my house with wood, I had to cut a lot each year so this is what I did:  I burned a lot of elm.  Most of the elm in the midwest only grows about the diameter of your arm before Dutch Elm kills it, so after it has stood dead a couple years, I could fell it, and it would be a good diameter and not need splitting.  (The old English boyers used to make longbows out of elm, because the stuff _wouldn't_ split.)  Standing dead, it is already very dry, so it is ready to burn right away. 

I also burned a lot of locust, which is very dense, quick growing, hot burning.  It is kind of a 'weed' tree, taking over on hillsides or places where the ground has been disturbed.

Every fall I would also survey the woods, and fell any dead oaks.  Oak is just the best - burns well, and easy to split.  I found that if you split your wood after the temperature has fallen into the 20s, the moisture in the wood has frozen, and the logs split MUCH easier.

On the coldest days of winter, I'd throw a couple chunks of Osage Orange onto the fire.  That stuff will burn as hot as coal - get your Franklin stove red hot if you aren't careful.  Osage Orange is incredibly dense, hard stuff - impossible to spit, and will dull your chainsaw pretty quickly.

73 - Dave

Hi Dave,

That's an intersting mix of wood you burn. I have heard Elm is a bear to deal with but like everything, the harder and heavier it is, the more BTUs you can extract. I would love to find Oak locally but it is only available on the coast. None inland where we are. Our densist wood here is probably Apple but that is hard to find as well, even though we have lots of local orchards.

The Fir from our property seems to be burning well so far. I found a half dozen dead standing and dropped them this spring. I have some 3 year old Birch as well and that burns nicely thru the night but leaves LOTS of ash.

Cheers

Paul

Yeah, I admit once every three weeks is probably way overkill but it's a good chore for my 15 yo son who likes to get on the roof anyway.  Fortunately, the roof is not steep and it only takes about 5 minutes to run the sweeper up and down the pipe a couple of times.  We used to do it only once a year until the flue caught fire one year.  The roar was incredible, and we thought the house was coming down.

Brian

We used to burn wood in a big Ashley airtight stove and did the once a year chimney cleaning.  Then we had a chimney fire.   Brian, you're right about the roar.  It sounded like a jet engine going full blast and it scared the hell out of us.  We expected any moment that the fire would breach the flue tiles and ignite the house. 

I called the fire department.  A couple of them went on the roof, dropped a small package of powder down the chimney and slapped a tarp over the flue.  The fire went out instantly.  I think I then took the first breath I'd taken since the fire started.  We'd built the chimney well and thankfully there was no damage.   It was the end of winter and I'd been stretching our wood supply by mixing in a bit of green wood and some old juniper and pine.   Stupid of me.  We burned oak which is prolific here, taking some from our woods and augmenting it with a few face cords from a nearby farmer on whose land I used to hunt. 

There was an article in the local paper recently saying that people with  wood pellet stoves are in a real bind.  Pellets are in scarce supply -- evidently the manufacturers hadn't anticipated the demand when they started the run for this year -- and when pellets are available, the price has gone sky high. 

All of this really reminds me of what was going on during late 1970s when we had the last oil crisis.

That was the first flue fire I ever witnessed Paul, and it scared me something terrible.  It was about 3:00 AM and my wife woke me from a sound sleep, which made it even more horrible.  First thing I did was get into the attic to see if anything was getting breached, but I saw nothing.  It went out on it's own within minutes, thank God. 

Yeah, this reminds me a lot of the 70's fuel crisis.  I've got electric central heat, and only used it a few times last year.  This year, I plugged up all the floor vents and plan to heat with wood only.  So far we've gotten by fine, but it doesn't get real cold down here.  We see some single digits two or three times during an average Winter.

Well my oil Co. raised the price 10 cents since yesterday if we pay cash. Send a bill and pay in two weeks and it is 20 cents higher. Wook is going for $200 a cord last i heard. Pellits, you can't buy them. none around. Makse me want to add more wall insulation in the new place. HMMM maybe R40 in the walls?

Electric heat is looking better every day. At least there is some price control

Although one can buy commercially-made firelogs [Duraflame, et. al.]...I wonder how a "homebrew" one, made from sawdust and diluted Elmer's Glue, would burn?  Does Elmer's go toxic under combustion?  ???

When Iburn wood its usually Locust or Hickory,it is plentiful here on the mountain and there are many deadfalls just waiting to be cut up. The trade off is running through chain saw blades abt twice as fast as especially with locust you will see the sparks fly. Not for nothing called "Iron Wood".
In the past few years I have gone back to coal. A ton of Pa. Anthracite has more heat than two or so cords of seasoned oak and I also get the benifit of Cinders for the road.
I use wood mainly for backup now or for the fire pit and outdoor oven.

Interesting. I was just thinking today of asking who here burns coal in their wood stove or furnace. I have been contemplating it but am hesitant due to the potential heat output. Somewhat more than wood.

Hickory, nice fire wood. i bet you could stand outside your house all day and smell that wonderful BBQ aroma.

Has anyone else burned coal in your wood stove and how does it work mixed with wood?

Cheers

Paul

Coal burns a LOT hotter than wood ....coal burners are made from cast iron...You can melt down a steel plate wood stove using coal..

I would burn all the yellow birch I could get.I get mostly maple,beech.Years ago an elderly gent from a family of 12 told me his father brought home railroad ties.It was the kids job to saw them up and burn them in a barrel stove in the living room.Now there is a hot fire!...Lee

Hello VE7KHZ.
I must agree that Cast Iron is the choice for coal burners. There are sheet metal and plate steel stoves for coal, but they must be lined with Fire brick. Completly!
To burn coal in a wood stove you will almost always need to add a cast Iron Grate of some kind, and only bituminus (soft) coal can be used. Anthracite (hard) coal requiresw tremendous amounts of air to burn an can get hot enough to melt through an improperly tuned stove.
Here in This part of Va. wich is close to W.Va and Pa. finding good clean, used coal stoves at bargin prices are never a problem. Our parlour stove was picked up at a flea market for $15.00 becauae the gent said it burned wood to fast, coal stoves will do that ::).
Our main heater is a Wondercoal made by US Stove company. We bought it new 3yrs ago and is a sheet metal stove lined with Firebrick and will hold up to 50lbs of coal and burn all day.
New they sell for around $600.00 but are worth it.
There are several companies making new Coal Stoves, heaters and Cooking Ranges.
Check out Lehman's Hardware on the internet, they supply the Amish and Mennonites and carry a varity of stoves.

Question about creosote.
Does anyone know if those Chimney Sweeping Logs work?

I bought one and burnt it cause it says it has chemicals in it that help remove creosote.
Regards
Q W1QWT

Paul, I've tossed a few chunks of coal in my woodstove in the past, but I gotta tell you, it smells awful. on a calm night the stink coming out the chimney will singe your eyebrows.

   at my Adirondack shack upstate i burn mostly maple, as 90% of the trees on my property are maple, and dying off due to a blight. i don't have to worry about angering the Adirondack Park Commission (you can go to jail for cutting down trees there) because they just uproot and fall over. i prefer birch but it's not very prolific on my side of the mountain. once things are burning real hot i dump some hard coal in there and it gives nice heat until morning. the Adirondack summer is very short and i burn a lot of wood even in May and late August. say Terry- do you still burn your furniture on a really cold night?

Like Chris, at the cabin we burn all deadfall.
Mostly Oak and hickory. Some maple, apple and an occasional cherry tree.

Mahogany, ebony, rosewood and spruce mostly. I have a bunch of old, priceless guitars I needed to get rid of.

I just about fainted until I read you were only burnign priceless guitars. Man, having Rosewood and Ebony growing in your backyard must be great.  ;D

Cheers

Paul

Mostly maple here with some ash, beech, yellow birch, and occasionally oak mixed in. I prefer the rock maple over the softer maple because it burns a lot longer. Right up there with ironwood, dense stuff. Fill the stove at night and forget it.

White birch is nice for the fireplace, smells good and makes purty green flames when the bark burns. Just doesn't last long.

I avoid softwoods like pine or hemlock because of the creosote problems. The last thing you want on a cold Janurary night (or any night, for that matter) is a chimney fire.  :o

Actually, I just got about a cord and one-half of oak and hickory. Now I have to stack it!

For the last ten years I have been burning nut coal.
The electric heat I have sucks and looked for a cheaper way to do it.
I tried a wood stove for two winters but that was labor intensive.
The tree guys sell wood they cut down in the summer and tell you it's seasoned.
Hard to light ,risk of a chimney fire from the sap.
You got to stuff six logs in every three hours or it would go out.
Then deal with the ashes.
Pellet stoves are easy but that's a big reach around because it's a man made specialty fuel.
You can't burn other fuels in the stove. You need it , they have it , and you pay the price.
I wanted to use a heat source that was local to me and plentiful so the price would be stable.
1995 a ton of chestnut coal was $119.00
November 2005 I paid $156.00 delivered to my coal bin.
I burn about 2 1/2 tons a winter November thru March.
The stove is a Stratford brand imported from the U.K.
It holds 100 lbs of coal and has a blower to extract the heat from around the fire box.
Once every 24 hours I shake it down using the handle on the side of the stove.
Put one five gallon plastic bucket of coal in.(30 lbs my guess)
Empty the ash pan and it's done.
The average temp is 75 F all winter long.

 :o

That's just wrong, Steve!

--Thom
Kilowatt Amplifier One Zero Grid Current