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Sometimes

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BowEd:
I will burn almost anything myself for btu's.Even low density river maple but not pine or any wood with a lot of pitch in them.I'm lucky I quess to have that choice.They pop and ping a lot and if asphalt shingles or cedar shake shingles are on the house a spark can get those shingles started,plus btu's from them to heat a lot of square footage means chucking wood constantly into the stove.

Marc St Louis:
I'll burn a mix of White Birch and Aspen during the day but it has to be Maple at night or else the wife starts to complain come morning, of course there's always the cuddle factor  ;D.  Even then it gets tough to keep significant heat in the house overnight when it gets down to 40 below.

Pretty tough to gets shingles ignited when there snow on the roof Ed.  Chimney fires are a pain though and dangerous and you a lot more of those when burning coniferous wood.  There's a lot of energy in conifers but it's quick energy

BowEd:
That's good for you but there are times when it gets well below zero with no snow on the roof too.I would think birch would work pretty good in your situation as you don't have hickory or osage locally.I don't burn pine etc. during colder weather as it just does'nt have as much btu's.I will burn lighter density wood with no pitch during not as cold times in what I call a flash fire as to just take the chill out of a house.Other things such as the amount of wind blowing is a very big factor to affect heat loss also.
Chimney fires are a scary unnerving experience that's for sure.I solve that by only burning only dry wood and proper management of my wood stove & pipes.I have 2 wood stoves in this house.Above and below.The usual...clean stove pipes at least once a year also.Not all winters are the same though.I do keep chim fex around too in case.Things have to be done right[ proper buffering air space between stories] in order to get proper insurance coverage with experience operating a wood stove properly.
When I clean pipes I have very little creosote to clean out most times only burning less than 3 cords per year.The amount of wood burned as to the type of winter can contribute to be a factor though too.Burning wood...wood stove and pipe management is something someone has to get a feel for year after year to know what to do when.
Like said before simple does'nt mean easy.Burning wood is more work,but only costs me less than 50.00 US per year bottom line expense.I figure I save at least 1200.00 US per year using it as a heat source.Add that up over 38 years and it is a bit of money.Some peoples life styles can't seem to conform to it being too busy,but most times it's a lack of effort the main reason that I see by some.Access to free fire wood deters many too.I feel lucky in both situations as I don't mind the work/have or make the time and I have access to free fire wood.
I'll burn wood as long as I can get up the hill and get around.It's something that I have always like.Could be I'm just a fire nut....lol.

gfugal:
Who knew there was so much to burning wood haha. You learn all sorts of things on this site. Sounds like crap wood is crap wood, even for burning, which is a shame, unless you just want a fast hot fire.

willie:


--- Quote ---I think there is a standing dead Balsam Fir in that pic.  If I had to start burning Balsam on a cold day I would have to sit in front of the wood-stove and feed it all day long
--- End quote ---

Don't know about fir, but nothing but spruce for my stove in the last 35 years

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