If you live in North Carolina or even the south east for that matter you will notice one type of tree we are not short on is pine. Pine is a very a hardy tree that grows fairly quickly and is able to thrive in a wide range of soil conditions. Since pine is so easily accessible in the Charlotte NC area it would make sense that people would want to use it as firewood.
Some people will say pine should never be used as firewood and some will say that it burns fine. We wanted to set the record straight and say that pine does make good firewood when used in the appropriate places. Pine is considered a soft wood and when dried or seasoned properly it burns hot and rather fast. Since it is not a hard wood it does not provide the amount of heat output or the nice coal bed a typical hardwood fire provides. If you would like to try using some pine as firewood we are going to go over how to identify pine trees and places you should and should not burn pine firewood.
How To Identify Pine Trees
Pine trees are probably one of the easiest trees to point out thanks to their unique foliage or pine needles and inevitable presence of pine cones that are always on the ground close by. There are roughly 6 different species of pine tree that are native to NC. It can be quite difficult to spot the differences between the species unless you become familiar with the differences in the bark on tree. All six different pine species grow to heights of 80-140 feet in North Carolina. Below are a few pictures of the bark patterns of the three most common species.
Longleaf Pine
Eastern White Pine
Loblolly Pine
Places It Is Ok And Not Ok To Burn Pine Firewood
Pine firewood should only be used in open air outdoor areas. Pine trees in our area contain large amounts of sap. If you ever cut a pine tree you can actually watch the sap begin to run out of the tree. When the wood is dried or seasoned and ready to burn the pieces of pine firewood are no longer sticky but still contain large amounts of the dried sap. When the firewood is burned the sap is released into the air and can cling to the inside of your chimney creating creosote build up. Creosote build ups are a major fire hazard and can cause your home to be at risk! So if you would like to burn pine keep it separated from your hardwoods so you will remember to only burn it outdoors.
If you have any questions about the article or would like to order some of our all hardwood seasoned firewood email us at Mark@MarksFirewood.com or call 980.579.8655.
