Bowsnbucks
5 year old buck +
You hit it with this post. I don't burn pine or spruce for my main fires, but knowing how to regulate your fire is key to a clean burn. Easiest indicator of poor combustion - - a chimney belching lots of smoke. Not enough air getting into the fire, or wood that's not seasoned well are the usual culprits.Pine causing creosote is an old myth that won't die. All trees cause creosote if burned incorrectly. Slow combustion, green or semi-seasoned wood, cool fires, lots of smoke, cold flue, poor air intake all cause creosote. Pine and spruce and fir get the blame because they burn very hot. Creosote builds up in the chimney after 4 or 5 years. The homeowner then burns a load of pine which burns very hot and ignites the chimney and the pine gets the blame.
Been burning spruce and fir for 20 years and I've never had a problem.
I use cull pieces of dimensionally cut pine and spruce from a mill source to start my fires. They're dry. Oak, maple, hickory, and ash are my woods for the main, long-burning heat fires. Stay warm up there in the NE sticks!!