Pallet Wood can be used as kindling to start new fires, or mixed with wood that is not fully seasoned to improve your burns.

Start by collecting some pallets, they can be obtained for free form many businesses, drive around and see what you can spot, ask for permission before taking them. Cut them into usable pieces (a circular saw or chainsaw can be used, but be EXTREMELY careful when using a chainsaw as it is easy to hit a nail and derail your chain).

Mix in a few pieces of pallet wood (top or bottom) with the wood you are having trouble burning (wet, unseasoned wood). The extra dry pallet wood will burn hot and help drive moisture out of your wet wood and increase your stack temperatures.

Moisture robs the firebox of heat and also promotes creosote formation in your chimney. A clean chimney is paramount especially if you have issues with your wood.

A strong retrieving magnet can be used to remove the nails from your ashes upon removal of ash from your stove.

Another way to break up pallets is with a sledge hammer. stack the pallets up to a convient hieght & lay the pallet you want 2 bust up on top & upside down, with 1 or 2 cross boards sticking out beyond the end of the pallet stack.I use the position & guided gravity drop method. I position the sledge hammer about two feet above the board and drop it. “taps” break board free or 4 powered swings. This is the senior citizen method, no hammer swinging.

A neat trick that i came across in breaking up pallets for firewood is to save 2 of the shorter 4 inch x 4 inch
x 5 or 6 ft long pallet “runners” to use as pallet busters. Instead of leaning a pallet against a stack to get the two end boards knocked off the runners, set the whole pallet down on two “pallet busters” (4×4×6) that you salvaged from a previously broken down pallet.
It is easier to set the pallet down on two 4×4 boards than setting it down on another pallet & having to fight it into its proper position so that it can be hammered on. (eernest4)