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Can we talk about your wood?

GRADS

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And does it burn?😜
Of course I'm talking about firewood. We've got a local place here that sells damn near every kind of firewood. My question is what kind of wood is the best for a normal fireplace? I know some burn super hot without a lot of flames and some burn super fast with lots of flames. I'm looking for a wood that is somewhere in the middle.
 

FROGMAN524

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I’ve got a half cord of shaggy juniper coming tomorrow for the outside fire pit but that’s too dirty to burn in your fireplace. I would think oak would be the best but it’s also the most expensive.


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DRYHEAT

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And does it burn?😜
Of course I'm talking about firewood. We've got a local place here that sells damn near every kind of firewood. My question is what kind of wood is the best for a normal fireplace? I know some burn super hot without a lot of flames and some burn super fast with lots of flames. I'm looking for a wood that is somewhere in the middle.
Do they even let you have a fire in your fireplace anymore? I thought California banned fireplaces, maybe that was just new builds.
 

GRADS

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The place I go to has Eucalyptus, Almond, Walnut, Oak, Cherry etc...
 

GRADS

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Do they even let you have a fire in your fireplace anymore? I thought California banned fireplaces, maybe that was just new builds.
We live in a county that does not limit burn days. Neighboring Sac County does though.
 

Uncle Dave

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IF you don't know how well its seasoned - Ash. "Ash wheather wet or dry, a king will warm his slippers by. "

IF you can reliably depend on seasoning live oak has a very high BTU content.
 

ElAzul

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We live in a county that does not limit burn days. Neighboring Sac County does though.
No worries.....As a newly practicing liberal I plan on changing that #nodirtyair
 

GRADS

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I've tried Oak and even when seasoned that shit is hard to light and the flames aren't that impressive. We like to sit and watch TV in front of a fire not red coals.
 

GRADS

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Do not burn eucalyptus.


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I'm curious why not because they were kind of pushing that wood last time I was there. I've been picking up 10 sq. ft at a time...I've tried Almond and Walnut so far.
 

JDKRXW

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Birch is the first choice around here. $200/cord if you pick it up yourself. Split but and not quite seasoned for that price and you may want to further split some of the bigger pieces.
Spruce and pine are about $150/cord. They're good if your burning them outside in a firepit.
 

yz450mm

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For your purposes, just buy boxes of the good quality fire logs and throw one or two in a night.

Soft woods like Pine burn nice, but also have sap in them and burn quick. Hard woods are harder to light, but burn longer, and with less products of combustion.

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GRADS

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For your purposes, just buy boxes of the good quality fire logs and throw one or two in a night.

Soft woods like Pine burn nice, but also have sap in them and burn quick. Hard woods are harder to light, but burn longer, and with less products of combustion.

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We did that but we were spending $15+ a night with the boxed grocery store wood.
 

yz450mm

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We did that but we were spending $15+ a night with the boxed grocery store wood.
No, that's cheap dried out Pine that burns quick and leaves you hanging. I mean the Duraflame fire logs, 9 to a box should last you 3 or 4 days

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HocusPocus

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I had a firewood business for over 15 years and my favorite by far is Ash, easy to split, burns great and contrary to it's name is leaves very little ash behind. Since I stopped the firewood deal I have been using North Idaho Energy logs in my air tight stove and love them.
If your burning in an open fireplace or outdoors I would stay away from Euc especially if it isn't seasoned, it can be very smokey and a lot of people have allergies to the stuff. It's very important to always burn seasoned wood and you can get a moisture meter at just about any hardware store that will let you know if you actually have seasoned wood.
Personally I always preferred a mix of hard and soft woods for daily burning.
 

liquid addiction

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I've tried Oak and even when seasoned that shit is hard to light and the flames aren't that impressive. We like to sit and watch TV in front of a fire not red coals.
I think in the central valley you would be good with almond. There always someone selling it. Walnut burns fast and a lot of ashes. Like others said eucalyptus sucks has a lot pitch and n it and will build up in the chimney.
 

GRADS

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I had a firewood business for over 15 years and my favorite by far is Ash, easy to split, burns great and contrary to it's name is leaves very little ash behind. Since I stopped the firewood deal I have been using North Idaho Energy logs in my air tight stove and love them.
If your burning in an open fireplace or outdoors I would stay away from Euc especially if it isn't seasoned, it can be very smokey and a lot of people have allergies to the stuff. It's very important to always burn seasoned wood and you can get a moisture meter at just about any hardware store that will let you know if you actually have seasoned wood.
Personally I always preferred a mix of hard and soft woods for daily burning.
Can you elaborate on the hard and soft woods and what each one is good for?
 

GRADS

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I think in the central valley you would be good with almond. There always someone selling it. Walnut burns fast and a lot of ashes.
I've noticed this with what I've bought so far.
 

yz450mm

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Can you elaborate on the hard and soft woods and what each one is good for?
Softwoods are easier to light, burn more intensely and quickly, and last not as long. Hardwoods are harder to light, burn longer and with less intensely, and produce less products of combustion.

A good combination of hard and soft wood will allow you to light a fire easily, but let you sustain that fire for an extended period of time without a bunch of soot build-up in your chimney.

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Uncle Dave

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Once you figure out your soft and hardwood starting combination then you graduate to the difference between split and unspilt but sized whole or half logs which burn longer than the splits.
 

JB in so cal

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Just dump one of your rubber dicks into the fireplace once a day. Plenty of BTU's
 

GRADS

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Just dump one of your rubber dicks into the fireplace once a day. Plenty of BTU's
Funny story....Back when I was 21 I lived on big piece of property with a couple other dudes. One night we had a huge bonfire and were burning anything in the house we didn't want. I'm talking dressers, a ping pong table, etc. We threw a bean bag on the fire....holy fuck, it left a cloud over the city.:eek::eek: I had backed my truck up to the fire so we could sit on the tailgate only to find the next morning that my taillights had completely melted.😂
 
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SKIDMARC

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I have had the same issues. Now I just go with duraflame. Last Long time and if I want a bigger fire throw in two. I tried hard wood and shit got hit!!! Started to leave burn marks in the glass.
 

GRADS

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831D6604-F783-477F-BC1D-C2AC8D7C0C4D.jpeg
 

Carlson-jet

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Who's signature is on the Interstate Batteries hat?
Your fire place is so inefficient just burn fir. Have some cedar to make it smell nice.
You are not going for the BTU's but the effect.
Throw a question like this in the midwest thread. You will get real answers from people who actually heat their houses etc. with wood. It's a thing out here.
 

BajaMike

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The place I go to has Eucalyptus, Almond, Walnut, Oak, Cherry etc...

Almond, Walnut, Oak and Cherry are all excellent if properly cured.
Eucalyptus is ok for fire pits and campfires but is very bad for chimneys.
 

SixD9R

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Softwoods are easier to light, burn more intensely and quickly, and last not as long. Hardwoods are harder to light, burn longer and with less intensely, and produce less products of combustion.

A good combination of hard and soft wood will allow you to light a fire easily, but let you sustain that fire for an extended period of time without a bunch of soot build-up in your chimney.

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This right here is your answer.
I have been burning a wood stove every winter for over 20 years now and that’s exactly how I use it. Softer woods to get the fire going then hard wood for the long burn.
 

BingerFang

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Who's signature is on the Interstate Batteries hat?
Your fire place is so inefficient just burn fir. Have some cedar to make it smell nice.
You are not going for the BTU's but the effect.
Throw a question like this in the midwest thread. You will get real answers from people who actually heat their houses etc. with wood. It's a thing out here.

Cooper Anderson signed the interstate hat.
 

Sleek-Jet

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I've been cutting down spruce trees on my lot as they die (fungus infection). Way smoky with all the sap. I wouldn't burn it in a fireplace inside but probably would burn it in a wood stove.

I always like starting a fire with aspen (birch) then switching over to a hard wood after it gets going.

Now I have a gas insert, looks pretty no muss.
 
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Gramps

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I use twice burnt wood................southern Utah mountains has A LOT of Juniper (aka as local cedar) pretty dirty and hairy bark BUT................if you can get it from an area that had a fast fire go through its a different story. First the hairy bark is pretty much gone AND second the chemistry of the wood changes with the burn over. It becomes very hard, damn near like oak. I use 2 - 4 cord a season to heat the main part pf our home.

20201121_075533.jpg
 

Gelcoater

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Orange, mostly because I get as much as I can burn free.
Ever had a chimney sweep out to look at it?
My wood guy told me not to burn citrus or Euc in the fireplace. Too much build up.
 

DavAlf04

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I start mine with cedar. Its very easy to light and doesn't leave a lot of ash. After I get two of those going, I use oak. We do not use our heater, we only burn to heat the house.
 

SoCalDave

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I normally get about 2/3 oak and 1/3 pinion pine. The pinion pine is in between the hard and soft wood and makes it much easier to get the fire going. The smell of it also makes the women get a little more romantic. Your results mat vary.

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Gelcoater

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I normally get about 2/3 oak and 1/3 pinion pine. The pinion pine is in between the hard and soft wood and makes it much easier to get the fire going. The smell of it also makes the women get a little more romantic. Your results mat vary.

View attachment 944756
It almost looks like she’s giving someone the bird.😂
 

dribble

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I’ve used oak, almond, walnut and eucalyptus. The best firewood is Tony’s on Auburn Blvd. I prefer the oak to everything else.
 

KevinR

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Softwoods are easier to light, burn more intensely and quickly, and last not as long. Hardwoods are harder to light, burn longer and with less intensely, and produce less products of combustion.

A good combination of hard and soft wood will allow you to light a fire easily, but let you sustain that fire for an extended period of time without a bunch of soot build-up in your chimney.

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Exactly.
Start each fire with one or two pieces of pine under one of the many hardwoods listed. Feed the slow, hot burning hardwoods through the evening.
 

TexasJet

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The place I go to has Eucalyptus, Almond, Walnut, Oak, Cherry etc...
In central Texas we burn mostly seasoned oak. The key is wood well seasoned. If it is difficult to burn it's not seasoned. I have some in the wood shed that is 3 or 4 years old and it burns hot as hell in the fireplace or camp fire. Pecan and mesquite is good also.
 
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