western hemlock and sitka spruce for firewood?

[woodrat]

Still alive, still doing wood. Survived my first half season in the firewood business, and have been milling a bit, too, and clearing out more space on my log landing, too. 

Got some questions about hemlock and spruce as firewood.

Doug fir seems to be the premium firewood around here, but I'm still trying to establish a new connection for fir logs. In the meantime, there's a small logging company over the hill towards the coast from me that can bring me mixed selfloader loads of hemlock, spruce and alder for a pretty reasonable price, so I'm starting that process this week. On that side of the hill there's less fir and more of the coastal woods, so he'll be able to bring me fir every now and then, but it's not a common one for him.

Was wondering what people's experience is with these woods as firewood for sale is. I've burned a bit of spruce off my own land in my own stove, and it seems to be OK. I noticed that the sapwood dries pretty slow, but the heartwood seemed to dry out pretty quick for me anyway. I've heard complaints about hemlock drying slow. But since those are abundant and cheap I can't really afford to not use them at all right now. 

In other news, I got the first order of bundled wood about two months before I was expecting it, and didn't have much dry wood left, so I've been running around BUYING FIREWOOD... haha... So I can make the bundles and keep that customer happy.  It sure is easier and faster to make nice bundles out of the Eastonmade campfire wood wedge wood than making it out of regular split "round" wood, but I gotta do what I gotta do to keep that contract filled so I don't lose it. 

I was thinking that the spruce would make good campfire wood since it smells nice, but I was recently told that it doesn't really "flame" the way fir and even alder do. Anyone around the PNW with any input on that? 

Thanks!

[SwampDonkey]

I burn a different kind of fir here, balsam, I have a sea of it. :D I like fir over spruce for the splitting. As far as burning, I see no difference. Hemlock would be the same for me, harder to split, but makes heat. I think it all comes down to the customer. I'd never be able to sell softwood to home owners for firewood, but campgrounds use all kinds of softwood. I live in maple country, so home owners want maple, and it has to be sugar maple, not red.

[stavebuyer]

Here we have folks of limited financial means that are firewood snobs of the highest order. Anything with less BTUs than White Oak and Hickory is snubbed. Doesn't matter if the wood is dripping wet, smokes, and puts out no heat. Those species are desired because the pile takes longer to burn through.

[Ron Scott]

Hemlock and spruce are fast burners and not the preferred firewood species for btu output when compared to the oak, maple, beech, etc. hardwoods, but one has to use the best local species that they have available for burning.

One may need to tolerate more chimney cleaning when using these species.

[jimbarry]

On the opposite side of PNW but I can tell you the hemlock that grows here, I burn in my workshop. It turns to ash, does not produce much heat and burns down quickly (if dry). I say if dry because I've had 12-20 inch diameter hemlock in my yard for the sawmill for up to three years and its just as wet as the day it was felled. Even the slabs off the sawmill hold the moisture in the slab pile for a couple years. Only way to dry hemlock is to get it blocked short, split and out in a breezy spot.

As for choice of burning, just like SwampDonkey, maple is preferred. Oak would be better but there's not much of that around here. 

[beenthere]

Out west, they yearn for hardwoods for firewood. So take what they have available. 

[woodrat]

Yeah, I should clarify that we don't have a lot of hardwoods in the coastal rainforest here. Red Alder is dominant, Big Leaf Maple is the other one. And other than cottonwood, that's about it here.

There is some wild cherry here and there, it's small and gets storm damaged a lot, and it's not everywhere. I have quite a bit of it here at home so I do get to burn that one sometimes, and it's a good one, but it's apparently not important enough for anyone to have published its BTUs per cord anywhere I have found. 

Doug Fir is the highest BTU/cord of our local woods. Hemlock isn't too far behind, sitka spruce a bit below that. Alder is about 75-80% of Doug Fir. Maple more than Alder, a little more than the spruce and a bit lower than the hemlock.

What I have heard about Hemlock is that it takes a long time to dry, but I haven't ever used that much of it personally except as mill slabs which I never had that much of an issue drying.

Besides random mill slabs, I've usually burned mostly alder for years here, because that's what I have a lot of growing on my land. Does leave a lot of ash, but it dries quick in the sun, and I've got lots of it.

"Mixed wood" cords here are usually hemlock/alder/fir, maybe sometimes some maple mixed in, and pure fir cords are the premium choice. Some people do prefer maple so you sometimes see just maple only cords advertised. I don't see spruce advertised much, but I think people do use more of it closer to the coast where it's more abundant. I live right at the very easternmost range of Sitka spruce here. So I have some on my land, but if you drive 10 miles east, you pretty much stop seeing it.

[SwampDonkey]

I've not had any issues with chimney buildup with burning softwoods. That's most likely to happen with any wood that is wet or the air cut short and the chimney not getting warm enough. All I ever get is a handful of soot in a 43 foot chimney. I clean the flu regularly as a routine part of heating with fires. Complacency leads to trouble which creeps up slowly. We've always done it, even burning hardwoods exclusively. Dad's cousin was big time complacent when it come to stoves. He never cleaned his flues and one day his boy inspected the flu and it was a mess. The furnace and flu had already been condemned by an inspector. One day his care giver smelled smoke all through the house. She went down cellar to check, and the pipe wasn't even attached to the stove. : That old stove had a history. It was originally in an old church, it then was in his grandfather's house, then finally his. He was one cheapskate with all kinds of money. Luck was on his side, it's wonder he never burnt himself up or got CO poisoning. Too tough. :D

[jimbarry]

...There is some wild cherry here and there, ...but it's apparently not important enough for anyone to have published its BTUs per cord anywhere I have found.

If wild cherry is same or near the same as black cherry (Prunus serotina), 19.5 mBTU / cord.

[Gary Davis]

western hemlock burns different then doug fir it seems to keep coals better seams to put out plenty heat . When cut it does hold a lot more moisture and once split and dry it will also pick the moisture up if not kept covered

[SwampDonkey]

Black cherry is a bit denser wood than pin cherry. Pin cherry is lighter when green and breaks down fast so have to cover it in a shed or drying rack. I've seen pin cherry sawed and it looks like black cherry. I've seen it piled as firewood in the open and the rings literally separate when sitting there a few months. ;D Pin cherry grows to about 16" around here but not very tall, maybe 40 ft. For a light hardwood it's hard on a clearing saw blade. :D Not very wet when green.