A Fire A Day

[John T]

We bought a Jotul Oslo 500 about 12 years ago and love it. Has heated our house every winter since without a problem other then gasket replacement on the doors. It also has the reburner tubes that keep the chimney clean and raise efficiency. Nothing like wood heat if your house layout allows for it.
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side door is a nice feature...
Mine has a top feed.... rarely use it though.

They give you a SS cooking tray to place inside to cook burgers...

I thought it was a novelty thing but it actually works pretty darn good for flame broiled burgers.
smoke goes right up the pipe.... pretty cool.

 

[bbxlr8]

It also seems that there is at least one house fire a day on the local PA news, but this Dec has been extra cold and below average. The ski areas all opened early... House fires are pretty scary stuff!

One of the main uses for my tractor is clean up and firewood and I have burned a Canadian-built Osburn that came with the house, 24/7 generally between Nov - Apr. I decided to do my own chimneys after the first clown that I hired came out. Am on Arboristsite and have become a bit pickier but much more educated. Heard good things about the Jotul as well as Quadrafire

Regarding pine, almost EVERYTHING in the Pacific Northwest is some type of conifer. It's all about the seasoning, as mentioned above.

 

[Mark_BX25D]

Do as you wish, but pine is not a good idea. I can find >1000 sources saying it's not.

Yes, you certainly can. That ignorance is all over the Internet! It's still wrong.

You can take the word of a widespread old wive's tale that has no basis in fact, or you can read some of the many controlled studies that address the question based on science, rather than rumor.

Your choice, of course.

Seasoning (or the lack thereof) is FAR more important that any difference between species.

Wet wood produced more creosote than fire brands. Fire brands with larger piece sizes produced more creosote than the standard brands. Hickory generated more creosote than oak. Oak generated more creosote than yellow pine.

https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/5443195

Additionally, in the early 1980's, tests were conducted to discover which kind of wood created the most creosote in a regular “open” fireplace. The results were surprising. Contrary to popular opinion, the hardwood's, like oak and poplar, created more creosote than the softwoods, like tamarack and pine.

What wood causes the most creosote?

Additionally, in the early 1980's, tests were conducted to discover which kind of wood created the most creosote in a regular “open” fireplace. The results

greenyplace.com

And then right after say that, they repeat the same "pine is bad!" old wive's tale, which shows the power of ignorance over science. /SMH/

It does not matter what kind of wood you burn: as long as it is really, truly seasoned. In the case of some hardwoods, especially oak, it should be seasoned for at least one year! That means last year’s wood – NOT this years wood! If you’re wondering about which wood is really the best, or which wood causes the least creosote to build up, the answer is the same properly seasoned wood produces the most heat, and produces the least creosote! It’s not the kind of wood you burn that really makes the critical difference, but whether or not the wood is seasoned.

https://www.firewoodmanitoba.ca/best-firewood-to-burn/

Pine Causes Creosote?

I've just moved into a new (older) home with a great fireplace that draws and burns well. The previous owner left a large pile of seasoned pine logs (maybe

www.keep-it-simple-firewood.com

 

[WFM]

Going on vacation in Nova Scotia and traveling around up there. Any firewood was pine spruce hemlock fur. I saw no hardwood firewood in anyone's door yard.
I saw several houses where firewood had been dumped, all cut and split. All fur. I know someone also who lives in Utah. He only has soft wood to burn. Nothing else available.
As far as woodstoves go. Jotul is fantastic. I bought a Oslo in 2000 (y2k , remember that ? Everything was good to collapse)
It was recommended by a customer of mine who had the biggest jotul woodstove that had two front doors. I dont remember the model. Its been fantastic. I clean it every fall and every jan 1st. Take the pipe down. Clean the flue. It has a piece of 1/2" ceramic blanket on top of the shelf above the stainless tubes. I pull that down clean it off. Remove rear collar, stick the shop vac in and vacuum the top shelf off. Reach inside vacuum the tubes.
Ive never heard of a Rangley Jotul woodstove. And I've know people who have toured the Maine factor and only sheet metal propane inserts were made there. No USA casting is done for jotul. Thats all overseas. None the less. A good product.