Burning Pallets, Battens and More in Wood Burner?

paperclap

Hi all,

Winter will soon be here. Sadly, energy bills are also going up… again. Yay.

Good news. I get to use my wood burner again! Heck yes.

Over the course of this year, I managed to grab a huge haul of wood for free. A local wood surgeon felled some trees and I took full advantage! Granted, I had to chop some humongous lumps of wood. Can’t say I didn’t enjoy it.

Anyway, despite having a fair amount of wood… I know all too well just how fast that wood will go.

What I also have is a number of pallets (some red, blue, some no colour). Old battens. Other offcuts of wood (probably fencing, probably some treated timber, etc). Is it safe to burn these? Or at a minimum, okay to use for kindling or mix in with properly seasoned wood (minus 20% moisture content)?

For what it’s worth, we always get the wood burner up to proper temperature (typical 250°C or so). We never burn at low temps.

Trying to use as much as I can for free!

Thanks in advance.

Bendy_House

Pallets, yes. Treated timber, not so much.

You could possibly argue that old thin treated timber will likely have most of the nasty chemicals washed out of it by now, but it's still not 'good'.

paperclap

Bendy_House said:

Pallets, yes. Treated timber, not so much.

You could possibly argue that old thin treated timber will likely have most of the nasty chemicals washed out of it by now, but it's still not 'good'.

Just read this (very informative) article:
https://forfirewood.com/pallets-for-firewood/

It seems avoid most pallets, bar the ones that have been stamped with “HT” (heat treated). Basically, avoid all the nasty chemicals! Makes sense 

What do you mean by the old timber having the chemicals washed out of it? As in, over the years, it has evaporated?

twopenny

Are pallets made from seasoned timber? 
I thought not but may be wrong. Unseasoned and some timber produces a tar like substance that will glue up the chimney and cost for cleaning at best, fire at worst.

Though some are heat treated and some chemically.
And remove all nails.

Would be interested to know what happens.

paperclap

twopenny said:

Are pallets made from seasoned timber? 
I thought not but may be wrong. Unseasoned and some timber produces a tar like substance that will glue up the chimney and cost for cleaning at best, fire at worst.

Though some are heat treated and some chemically.
And remove all nails.

Would be interested to know what happens.

I’m certainly no expert. But… ironically, I think that because pallets are made from very dry, seasoned wood, people are often reluctant to burn them, because they burn too fast! That’s what I’ve heard at least.

I’ve also read people don’t often bother removing the nails, as they simply fall down into the grate?

sevenhills

paperclap said:

I’m certainly no expert. But… ironically, I think that because pallets are made from very dry, seasoned wood, people are often reluctant to burn them, because they burn too fast! That’s what I’ve heard at least.

I’ve also read people don’t often bother removing the nails, as they simply fall down into the grate?

I don't know anything about log burners, but people always raise issues with things.
Has anyone actually tried burning free wood and it's cost more to clean the log burner than the saving from burning free wood?

Bendy_House

All timber used for burning should be seasoned. Pallets are no exception. That essentially just means having been kept in dry, ventilated storage for an adequate amount of time. As winter apporaches, I take baskets of wood in and stack them on the hearth - they get damned dry sitting them after a few fires...

Yes, the nails will just end up in the grate. If you have a 'riddle' type grate, then they might well interfere with its operation, so don't force it.

Yes, I just meant that thin timber - like the very thin slats used in cheap overlap panels - will 'most likely' be virtually chemical-free after - ooh - 10 years from just being constantly rain-washed and weathered for that time. Actually, even thicker timbers should be too, since the treatment barely penetrates more than a few mm in through the surface. BUT, I don't know.

The general advice is, you shouldn't burn treated timber.

GDB2222

A friend with loss of sensation in his limbs saw in his medical notes "query motor neurone disease". What he actually had was a bad case of burning chipboard and other carp in his wood burner in his workshop. He cleaned up his act with the wood burner, and miraculously his MND improved. 

Bendy_House

Yikes. :-(

FreeBear

paperclap said: Over the course of this year, I managed to grab a huge haul of wood for free. A local wood surgeon felled some trees and I took full advantage! Granted, I had to chop some humongous lumps of wood. Can’t say I didn’t enjoy it.

You have a moisture meter don't you.

If these humongous lumps of wood were felled this year, it could be two or even three years before they are dry enough to burn. Chop to length, split, and stack somewhere dry and under cover. Make sure air can get circulate through the pile, and monitor the moisture content. Once below 20%, they are ready to be stacked in the wood shed to be brought in during the winter months for the stove.

Battens, old fencing, and a lot of pallets will have been treated with all sorts of chemicals - Some nasty, a few, toxic. Think twice about burning stuff like this.

Woolsery

Treated timber, like the timer itself is different nowadays.  Field fencing posts, treated with nice moden eco-carp last about 8-10 years at the soil/air boundary, whereas posts treated with nasty arsenic compounds are still fine after 20+ years. Of course cutting down more trees to save the planet makes perfect sense once you get your head around it.

Anyway,experience suggests there is more active substance in the old posts than the new, and therefore I don't want it up my flue. Modern eco-offcuts do get burned, but only in small amounts as I usually find a use for them.