On 11/17/2017 9:31 AM, Steve wrote:

in addition to the above comments (non-treated, non-painted, non-coated, non-primed) I would also advise sticking to hardwoods and against burning pine (no SPF, no softwood at all.) Pine releases creosote, though in small amounts, I'm sure there's less risk. There are also ways to mitigate that risk (e.g., creosote burning logs, full stainless liners, etc.) but for my money, I just avoid it altogether.

I'm interested in others' takes on the softwood burning, especially in homes.

Also, I tend to use my smaller hardwood scraps in my smoker, as opposed to my fireplace. Whether oak, maple, or cherry, it never hurts the brisket or pulled pork!


Burning soft pine sucks because it's light (less BTU's/cubic foot, and
burns fast. This makes it perfect for starting a fire. Shop scraps,
generally kiln dried wood, has little to no creosote/tar/nicotine (might
have some nicotine) so is no big threat to your chimney. All smoke has
stuff that will coat your chimney if cool and burned slow, so a
fireplace, which usually burns hot and fast compared to a wood stove
that often gets throttled down so burns cool and slow, happily coating
your chimney with soot and creasote.

I use all my scrap wood as kindling to start fires in my fireplace. I
also burn all my sawdust in my fireplace. I don't burn pine logs,
because they take just as much work to process and get into your
fireplace as hard wood, but burn fast with far less btu's.

As far as painted wood, I burn it too. Treated wood I wonder about, I
know they say not to, but not sure if it's better or worse than sending
it to a landfill. I know I don't like breathing shop dust from treated
wood, and would think burning it would be bad, but who really knows,
lots of bad science/info out there, so I'm always skeptical about this
stuff.

--
Jack
Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions.
http://jbstein.com