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04-29-2012, 12:22 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 983
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what to burn in wood stove?
which would you choose? poplar, spruce or pine..
I am lenaing towards poplar becuase its easier to cut. Although it smells, I find it burns better then spruce or pine
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04-29-2012, 12:25 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 3,368
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LacLaBicheNS
which would you choose? poplar, spruce or pine..
I am lenaing towards poplar becuase its easier to cut. Although it smells, I find it burns better then spruce or pine
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Neither. Birch is the ticket! You have lots your way too!
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04-29-2012, 12:30 PM
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Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 5,412
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I use cured birch in the house, poplar or beetle killed pine in the garage. I like the pine better than the poplar.
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04-29-2012, 12:32 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Edm
Posts: 1,299
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Always used birch, followed by pine and sometimes spruce. Poplar is just not good despite its abundance.
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04-29-2012, 12:35 PM
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Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 3,549
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I can get poplar super easy and cheap, so I do. Birch is better, but I don't care.
Poplar is a lot cleaner in the house than spruce.
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04-29-2012, 12:57 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 983
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there is some birch up here.. but its too muddy to get too..!! I just need to get out of the house and do something so I figured I'd add ot the wood pile
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04-29-2012, 01:06 PM
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Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 938
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In order
1) Birch
2) Pine
3) Poplar
4) Spruce
with that said I burn them all
Dog_River
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04-29-2012, 01:07 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Look behind you :)
Posts: 27,799
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I know that poplar is cleaner to have in the house but I don't think it burns cleaner than the other choices....in fact isn't poplar one of the woods that if you burn it a lot you should have the chimney cleaned more often?
LC
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04-29-2012, 01:18 PM
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Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 938
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I have burned poplar for years and think it's a very clean wood to burn. With that said. ALL species should be properly dried and stored. You burn green stuff in any wood and you are asking for trouble not to mention low BTU output.
Dog_River
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04-29-2012, 01:27 PM
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Gone Hunting
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Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: North of Peace River
Posts: 11,343
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When all you have is wood for heat, poplar turns out to be one of the best.
Softwood such as pine and spruce are not good, it produces way too much creosote.
Birch is okay but it`s heavy in relation to the heat produced, hard to split, and hard to find.
Poplar is low creosote, easy to split, readily available and relatively light in relation to the heat produced.
Although different charts show different values, most charts show poplar as producing about the same amount of heat per cubic meter, or chord as Pine and Spruce.
Here are some figures from one such chart.
Million BTUs per chord. Pounds per chord dry
White Birch 20.3 3179
Poplar-Trembling Aspen 17.7 2400
Pine 17.1 2580
White Spruce 16.2 2520
As you can see, poplar produces very nearly the same amount of heat, pound for pound as birch, and considerably more per pound then either Spruce or Pine.
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04-29-2012, 02:02 PM
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Banned
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Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 12,558
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LacLaBicheNS
which would you choose? poplar, spruce or pine..
I am lenaing towards poplar becuase its easier to cut. Although it smells, I find it burns better then spruce or pine
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We used to burn poplar (cotton wood) a lot.
But it needs to dry for a season...nice heat...common...non commercial for lumber and long burning.
Otherwise all 3 choices soot up PDQ.
My favorite is birch or nice dry tamarack
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04-29-2012, 03:09 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Redwater, Alberta
Posts: 892
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I used to burn 12 chords a year as we heated our house with wood. I found a mix between pine and white aspen to give good heat and leave very little ash.
Birch is too much work!!
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04-29-2012, 03:11 PM
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We burn aspen (poplar) just because of ease of access to it. It does burn clean but it leaves a lot of ash so cleaning the firebox often is required. I'd pick birch if I had access to it.
Just ordered a new stove yesterday.....seems a weird time of year but it fits into the reno plans now...lol
Last edited by sheephunter; 04-29-2012 at 03:17 PM.
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04-29-2012, 03:18 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Caroline
Posts: 7,336
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Poplar is all right if you cut it green, split and stack it till it is cured. Seem to get better heat and less ash that way. That said, tamarack is my favorite, gives off better heat than birch. Hard to go wrong with dry pine and spruce either
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04-29-2012, 05:24 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 2,152
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Heat my cabin with wood in the winter and what I found is:
- pine and spruce burn fast and pop a lot. If you like to open the front doors and use the screen there is always a mess of ashes to clean up.
- poplar gives lots of heat and no "popping" , mostly stays inside your stove with door open.
- birch is the best of both worlds but if you are paying for it you are paying for it. Almost twice the cost of poplar. If you cut it yourself it is heavier and harder to find.
In my opinion whatever is close by you can cut down, dry out and burn will be your best bet. If it is dried out (seasoned) enough you should be happy.
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If you can't beat them, arrange to have them beaten.
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04-29-2012, 05:38 PM
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Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Peace River
Posts: 291
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I sell about 150 cords of wood a year. Most people buy/prefer Pine because its cheap. Birch seems to be an open fireplace wood. Aspen (not black poplar) doesn't sell well;people say the bark creates to much ash.
My personal preference is:
Birch for an outdoor cooking fire (bark must be all burnt)
Pine/spruce for a campfire -for the flames
Aspen for home heat- no creosote
Most don't burn Pine/spruce hot enough to burn the creosote in the wood and it builds in the chimney. I cut/split my own aspen green and very wet , That seems to work the best instead of letting it dry in log form.
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04-29-2012, 07:23 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Vulcan
Posts: 781
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Good wood
Spent many a year growing up in the the bush, actually had to cut the stuff at 7 years old. Spruce or pine was what we used for the kitchen stove , but when it came to throw some heat it was always birch, more heat than oak, and smelled a lot better. Pine, Spruce in NW ONT has all of the creosote that will cause chimney fires in every day use, if not cleaned regularly,or if nor properly seasoned.If you know what your doing use the trees with needles for heat and the trees with leaves for cooking,unless you have an abundant supply of birch for heat. That would be my way to go but can't speak for everyone.
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Not that old,but been around a long time
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04-29-2012, 07:29 PM
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Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Central Alberta
Posts: 5,062
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Tamarac.
We burn several cords a winter and there's way less ash than either poplar, spruce or pine. Easier on the chimney than birch. Very hot, too. It's a bugger to split, though, so unless you have access to a hydraulic splitter, I'd go with something else.
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Make Alberta a better place. Have your liberal spayed or neutered.
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04-29-2012, 07:33 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Sherwood Park Ab
Posts: 6,304
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My exwifes parents. When can i stop by with em????
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04-29-2012, 07:35 PM
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Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: parts unknown
Posts: 213
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The nice thing about poplar is if its seasoned at least one year the bark comes off in large peices when you chop and you can break it up easily by hand and use it for kindeling.
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04-29-2012, 07:40 PM
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Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 849
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Pine, nothing beats the sound of pine burning
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KCCO from a loyal Chiver
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04-29-2012, 08:11 PM
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Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 1,390
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LacLaBicheNS
which would you choose? poplar, spruce or pine..
I am lenaing towards poplar becuase its easier to cut. Although it smells, I find it burns better then spruce or pine
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The local Scouting organization has a swack of seasoned, split birch for sale at $280./cord picked up. Call Ken Yakimec if you are interested.
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04-29-2012, 08:22 PM
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Join Date: May 2007
Location: WMU 303
Posts: 8,508
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KegRiver
When all you have is wood for heat, poplar turns out to be one of the best.
Softwood such as pine and spruce are not good, it produces way too much creosote.
Birch is okay but it`s heavy in relation to the heat produced, hard to split, and hard to find.
Poplar is low creosote, easy to split, readily available and relatively light in relation to the heat produced.
Although different charts show different values, most charts show poplar as producing about the same amount of heat per cubic meter, or chord as Pine and Spruce.
Here are some figures from one such chart.
Million BTUs per chord. Pounds per chord dry
White Birch 20.3 3179
Poplar-Trembling Aspen 17.7 2400
Pine 17.1 2580
White Spruce 16.2 2520
As you can see, poplar produces very nearly the same amount of heat, pound for pound as birch, and considerably more per pound then either Spruce or Pine.
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I agree with your order. I won't burn coniferous inside my house because it's dirty, sappy and it throws sparks. I don't care how much wood weighs when I burn it and it isn't sold by weight.......just sayin' that weight isn't any factor that concerns me. The more it weighs (dry) the more heat you are going to get out of it.
Used to burn nothing but maple, beech, oak and ash back in Ontario.
Green wood will produce less heat and more creosote.
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04-29-2012, 09:53 PM
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Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 3,549
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TheKi
Pine, nothing beats the sound of pine burning
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Everytime it pops my wife acts like a bullet went off. Makes her nervous, always worried somethging is wrong.
Women
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04-29-2012, 10:16 PM
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Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: In the woods
Posts: 8,933
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I'm gunna go out on a limb and say wood? sorry,, I couldn't help it. Personally I like Birch, Oak, Maple and Ash. Unfortunately you don't find much of those woods out west so I stick with mostly pine. I can't stand splitting poplar or the ash it leaves.
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04-29-2012, 10:30 PM
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Join Date: May 2007
Location: Central Alberta
Posts: 21,399
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fordtruckin
I'm gunna go out on a limb and say wood? sorry,, I couldn't help it. Personally I like Birch, Oak, Maple and Ash. Unfortunately you don't find much of those woods out west so I stick with mostly pine. I can't stand splitting poplar or the ash it leaves.
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Whatever is close by and well dried. Brother in law is one of those wood snobs. On our Alberta elk hunt, I finally handed him the axe and sent him off to find me some oak, maple or walnut.
Grizz
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04-29-2012, 10:31 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: grew up in Alberta moved to SK, sure miss Alberta
Posts: 2,332
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dog_River
1) Birch
2) Pine
3) Poplar
4) Spruce
with that said I burn them all
Dog_River
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X2
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04-29-2012, 10:33 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: grew up in Alberta moved to SK, sure miss Alberta
Posts: 2,332
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Burn Black poplar
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04-29-2012, 10:41 PM
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Gone Hunting
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Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: North of Peace River
Posts: 11,343
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rocky7
Tamarac.
We burn several cords a winter and there's way less ash than either poplar, spruce or pine. Easier on the chimney than birch. Very hot, too. It's a bugger to split, though, so unless you have access to a hydraulic splitter, I'd go with something else.
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Everything you say about Tamarac is correct from my experience.
We used it for cooking, in the old cook stove, when we could get it.
Problem is, there isn't many places where one can find good firewood size Tamarac. Harder still is finding dead Tamarac and green Tamarac is a bear to cure.
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04-30-2012, 05:50 AM
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Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Peace River
Posts: 291
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KegRiver
Everything you say about Tamarac is correct from my experience.
We used it for cooking, in the old cook stove, when we could get it.
Problem is, there isn't many places where one can find good firewood size Tamarac. Harder still is finding dead Tamarac and green Tamarac is a bear to cure.
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I left a couple logging truck loads of Tamarak out in the bush to dry last winter. The mill didn't want it. I figure if it sat a summer in log form then a summer split I should be ok. There was even some double cut stuff (over 24").
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