I find Cedar burns hot and quick, maybe too quick sometimes. It is not a wood that I would use to heat my house as it is too valuable, but for a camp fire it would work well. I used to be able to go to a nearby forest and cut the dead but the State has put an end to it. A hurricane knocked most of it down a few years ago and they still won't let you take it.

cedar and redwood burn fast in all circumstances...

but in my solo stove I often use softwood fuel pellets.

There are some bad mouthing “pine,” but there are different species of pine with different characteristics. Avoid Piñon pine for sure; it is pitchy. Ponderosa and especially Lodgepole pine would work great for you. Quaking aspen would also be wonderful for a backyard fire pit; maybe best of all. No knowing where exactly in the West you live, I’m trying to suggest soft woods that should be relatively easy to get and/or relatively inexpensive.

Colton wood, willow and pine in my neck of the woods..

Pretty close to the Tetons. Aspen, juniper, cottonwood, pines of some sorts are all abundant.

My SoloStove weathered through last winter quite well though I won’t leave it out again.

stop by the nearest construction site and grab all the KD scraps.

`I think the Solo stove design is a kind of re-burner that recycles the smoke to burn it, generating maximum qty. heat for any given wood. I don't think there's any good reason to extinguish any burning wood in that type of stove. It's so efficient that there won't be anything left except very find white and gray ash without many chunks left over if any. Putting water in there will create a muddy mess, it will burn pretty quickly because of the special design.

I would add that a good hosing out of the Solostove once in a while will clear any ash beneath the grate and keep it working good. Just do it somewhere the mess won’t be a problem.

Thanks all. Been a while but it does seem smaller sticks of pine work fine. I have a nice Hults Bruks hatchet and that’s made quick work of various small logs.

I’ve been using small chunks of left over 2x4 and such spit down small to start the fire. It now burns more stuff up more completely.

Just a novice I guess. Haha.

A good rinse helped as well.

Ash & poplar burn fast & hot.

Aspen burns quick with low ash and low sap. It also smells good.

quote:

Originally posted by frayedends:
My Solostove burns up everything completely. I never worry about leaving it burning when I head to sleep. If it’s in a safe spot don’t know why a fast burn is needed. Hell I wish mine wouldn’t burn through it t he at fast.

Nevertheless you just want really seasoned wood. I have 2 year old oak that burns up real fast. Nothing but ash I’m the morning even after burning for hours.

Because I’m on my phone and I zoom in on posts I was about to agree with the above post 100%. Then I realize this is my own post from a year ago. I still have the same results. Once I get my solar stove going I can chuck big pieces of red oak into it and they will burn down to nothing, I am surprised you have any issues at all. Unless the wood is completely soaking wet and not seasoned at all, maybe

You need a dry soft wood.... lot's of it out west. Was om Nevada a few years ago and bought a bundle at Walmart and it was the softest driest fastest burning wood I've ever messed with.

But then the idea of dumpster diving at a construction sight is not a bad idea... contractors throw good wood away like crazy.

If you ever ask a good chimney sweep what is the best wood to burn, this is what they will answer:

"Free Wood"

We use yellow poplar for the firepit and save the oaks for inside heat.

Pine is the quickest burning that I've found . I have a SOLO and it's so efficient that even Oak burns quickly .

Poplar. After 2 days of blowing those fokkers leaves into the woods, I have half a dozen big ones you can come have for free.

I have the opposite problem. my solo bonfire plows through the wood. Usually seasoned oak.

I got a Bonfire on sale recently at Kohl's of all places Been burning every weekend, just make sure your wood is dry, as that's the surest way to maintain hot and clean fires. The self-circulating design of the Solo Stoves insures that there's enough heat to incinerate just about anything inside.

quote:

Originally posted by mark60:
Dry pine will burn up pretty quick.

And completely. I burned some in our firepit in the driveway for Halloween, and it was nothing but ash by 10pm.