Softwood

[pembswoodrecycling]

Agree totally. I burn nearly all softwood as I can get higher prices for hardwood sales per m3. Really needs to be less than 20% MC and then have very good air control on the stove to stop all the heat just roaring up the chimney

 

We're burning softwood and poplar for the same reason, no trouble keeping the house toasty though, hot water and cooking on a Rayburn as well. I do think you have to treat softwood differently to hardwood though. Keep the stove full to the brim I say!

[Al Baker]

What stove are you using Al?

 

It's a big red Tiba, don't remember the model number.

It has an oven and a back boiler and a wall to wall hob/hot plate.

[HCR]

I used to burn a lot of sitka in a little Squirrel stove and in many ways preferred it to hardwood. Firstly my house backed onto a 45 hectare plantation so the supply was unlimited. Secondly it disks up nice and evenly and splits very easily and thirdly you hardly get any ash.

 

I prefer the smell of hardwood smoke though

[StephF]

Agree totally. I burn nearly all softwood as I can get higher prices for hardwood sales per m3. Really needs to be less than 20% MC and then have very good air control on the stove to stop all the heat just roaring up the chimney

 

In complete agreement with above. Had a customer with wood heating boiler, the computerised heat sensor in flue clearly always said the soft wood (15%) gave out much more heat than hardwood. so he said it was an obvious choice to buy softwood, it does burns a bit faster but is a lot cheaper, and is certainly never burns 'colder' on our stoves.

[mendiplogs]

I normally burn Birch, oak, Beech and Rowan.

All hardwoods.

In mid winter I get through 1 wheelbarrow a day to keep the house at about 17'C.

Last year I got my hands on a load of Larch. Pretty good as softwood goes for burning.

I had it stacked and seasoned over the last year and just started burning it.

Now it's been a while since I burned softwood on my stove and now I remember why I quit.

I was a bit shocked actually. Burning 3 barrow loads a day and only just managing to keep the house at around 14'C.

Once again softwood is banned from my log piles. It's a no brainer.

HI AL how good is your stove mate and whats the KWS to size of house we had a cheap hurter stove it was a small 8kw stove we used lots of hard wood and it was not warm now we have a euro heat 16kw it very good on hard wood in the winter we use 10 Felix tubs a week log size 14/20 ins long thanks jon

[Stereo]

Only problem I get with softwood is no ember bed if you leave it too long. Other than that it's fine by me.