Outdoor Wood Furnace Info
All-Purpose OWF Discussions => Fire Wood => Topic started by: agriffinjd on January 30, 2015, 11:01:12 AM
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By junk wood, I mean big tooth aspen (most call it poplar) and pine (white, red, jack).
I've been burning hardwood almost exclusively (hard maple and oak). Even with sub zero temps, I can load a small amount compared to the size of the firebox (with a good bed of coals) and get 12 hours burn time. I sometimes throw in a couple junk wood pieces on top of the hardwoods, but when I do, it's only about 20% of the total amount I put in.
My question is this. If I were to be burning just junk wood, would I have to basically stuff the firebox full of it to get a 12 hour burn time? Seems like if I put just junkwood in and used the same quantity that I use for hardwoods, I'd have to load it about every 4-6 hours.
Thoughts?
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When I burn those species of wood alone i can't keep a bed of coals it just turns to powder. so I just mix them in with the hard woods or burn them in warmer weather + 30℉
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When I burn those species of wood alone i can't keep a bed of coals it just turns to powder. so I just mix them in with the hard woods or burn them in warmer weather + 30℉
When you burn junk in the warmer weather, do you find yourself putting in more wood than you did in the cold weather using just good stuff? Similar burn times?
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My boiler seems to do fine with lesser quality wood-for a while when we were in the 30's all I burned was poplar and mulberry. I almost didn't even bother with that wood, but I figured since I already had it I might as well try it. I was getting 12 hour burns no problem-sometimes the draft door wasn't even open when I came to fill it. As far as proportions I'm not sure, this is my first year with this boiler and I'm still figuring it out. All I know is that if it keeps my house and water warm I don't really care what the species is, I just need heat. I've got hardwoods (ash, locust, beech) but why burn those when it's warm out? Until I'm in single digits and below I'm not planning on burning 100% hardwood. Even when it's in the teens and 20's I'll at least mix a few softwoods in there.
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Fill it up with your junk wood and try it out. Way too many variables for someone else to answer your question.
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i burn 75 percent junk and i mean junk
rotten, softwood, poplar,bambagilia,tamarack,you name it ,i`ll burn.
just fill her up and get what you can get out of it
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Right now most of my junk wood is buried under a tarp with 3-4' of snow on it so I was wondering if I should dig it out or just keep cutting the hardwood logs up...I'll probably wait for some snow melt and see how it goes then.
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My boiler seems to do fine with lesser quality wood-for a while when we were in the 30's all I burned was poplar and mulberry. I almost didn't even bother with that wood, but I figured since I already had it I might as well try it. I was getting 12 hour burns no problem-sometimes the draft door wasn't even open when I came to fill it. As far as proportions I'm not sure, this is my first year with this boiler and I'm still figuring it out. All I know is that if it keeps my house and water warm I don't really care what the species is, I just need heat. I've got hardwoods (ash, locust, beech) but why burn those when it's warm out? Until I'm in single digits and below I'm not planning on burning 100% hardwood. Even when it's in the teens and 20's I'll at least mix a few softwoods in there.
Mulberry is good stuff. Pretty high on the btu charts.
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I have a pile of pine that has been stacked for 4 years since I usually just use it for bonfires. I have been burning it in the owb now but only when it is real cold out. I have a hard time keeping the fire going when it gets warm out since my boiler is oversized for my current house. So I keep the good coaling hardwood for when it gets warm out and burn through the "junk" when it is cold.
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I mainly burn any junk wood during the fall time and early winter.. After that I burn the hard wood..I might mix it with some pine if I have any. S**t wood as I call it.. doesn't last long like the hardwood in sub zero and below zero weather..
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I use that stuff for the fall and spring seasons and it seems to work out to almost the same times as the hardwood in the cold part of the year
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Anybody have any concern at all with sap/tar/pitch from burning pine? I've never done so , just curious whether it has any negative effect on the stove. Thanks.
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I burn pine year round this was a tough winter and I got easy 12 hr burn time the only trouble I had was the real green rounds would not fall rite and it would burn it self out. next winter I will burn more season pine!