Pallet nails and wood stoves

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emt1581

Minister of Fire
Jul 6, 2010
523
PA
In a recent thread it was revealed that, so long as it's seasoned, you can burn pine.

Got me thinking about what my neighbor did growing up...burned nothing but pallets. I could never figure out how he did it with all the nails in those thing and the amount of labor it's take to get them out.

But what about burning them with the nails still in? Will it harm as stove/cad. at all?

Do the nails just fall into the ash pan?

Thanks

-Emt1581
 
I don't have a cat stove so I dunno about that. Also haven't used the ash pan ever on my stove (there's been a couple love 'em of hate 'em threads here in the past around using ash pans in general). But my sense is that the nails I see in the old pallets I do scrounge up (for stacking wood) would clog things up in my stove if I did try to sweep them into the ash pan through the kinda small hole. So I guess I'm not much help answering your question, but keep in mind that some folks like to use the ashes out in the yard, or spread on icy driveways, etc. - a bunch of nails would probably be a big problem in those cases. I save any pallet wood that I do need to burn for the outside fire - a pallet that sat under a stack for a couple years and is now half punky gets burned up outside. I might salvage a couple pieces of the skids if they're still solid (to toss in with a stubborn fire maybe), but I'll pull the nails out.
 
Using ashes on the icy driveway...interesting. What does it do...just provides traction right? Or does it melt like salt?

My concern there would be clumping/gathering/staining.

Thanks

-Emt1581
 
I don't have a cat stove but I burn pallets in mine and never thought twice about the nails. My stove has a large ash tray but I pull it out and use a scoop to get the ash from the stove to the tray. Once in the tray I let it all cool down for a long while and when I'm sure it's cold I'll dump it in a trash bag and throw it out. Pallet wood burns great, just make sure it's got HT on it and not chemically treated.
 
kingston73 said:
I don't have a cat stove but I burn pallets in mine and never thought twice about the nails. My stove has a large ash tray but I pull it out and use a scoop to get the ash from the stove to the tray. Once in the tray I let it all cool down for a long while and when I'm sure it's cold I'll dump it in a trash bag and throw it out. Pallet wood burns great, just make sure it's got HT on it and not chemically treated.
Click to expand...

How do you know the difference? How are they marked?

Thanks

-Emt1581
 
emt1581 said:
Using ashes on the icy driveway...interesting. What does it do...just provides traction right? Or does it melt like salt?

My concern there would be clumping/gathering/staining.

Thanks

-Emt1581
Click to expand...
Ashes work great on a driveway.. I've used them for years... sure beats salt!
 
I burn it with the nails as well and spread the ashes under my spruce trees.
 
charly said:
Ashes work great on a driveway.. I've used them for years... sure beats salt!
Click to expand...

I'm guessing you just don't want to use the ashes with nails on the driveway. ;)

So no staining, caking, etc.??....just totally disappears? And what about the effect...just traction or melting to?

Thanks

-Emt1581
 
Years back we had a bad ice storm , our 300 ft drive was a sheet of ice... I was out of stove ashes for the driveway... I had at the time an Outdoor boiler and 30 gallon trash cans of ashes on hand normally, but had ran out.. My neighbor had an outdoor boiler as well... Called him , yes he has ashes. I go next store with my tractor, bring my empty 30 gallon trash can and fill it from an ash pile he has... I said you haven't been burning any pallets have you? He says no just regular firewood... Well I get spreading ashes down my driveway , about half way I happen to look close.... damn ,,,, a freaking nail.. I start waling back up with a close eye,,, more nails! Turns out his kid was burning old framing lumber when he was at work! Ugh,, took me about 2 hrs with magnet bar on wheels to get all the nails up.. Talk about being PO'd!
 
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charly said:
Years back we had a bad ice storm , our 300 ft drive was a sheet of ice... I was out of stove ashes for the driveway... I had at the time an Outdoor boiler and 30 gallon trash cans of ashes on hand normally, but had ran out.. My neighbor had an outdoor boiler as well... Called him , yes he has ashes. I go next store with my tractor, bring my empty 30 gallon trash can and fill it from an ash pile he has... I said you haven't been burning any pallets have you? He says no just regular firewood... Well I get spreading ashes down my driveway , about half way I happen to look close.... damn ,,,, a freaking nail.. I start waling back up with a close eye,,, more nails! Turns out his kid was burning old framing lumber when he was at work! Ugh,, took me about 2 hrs with magnet bar on wheels to get all the nails up.. Talk about being PO'd!
Click to expand...

Man that sucks!!

Unreleated but I keep telling myself that a magnet bar would be really nice to have. Especially when working with small parts in the garage.

Thanks

-Emt1581
 
emt1581 said:
Using ashes on the icy driveway...interesting. What does it do...just provides traction right? Or does it melt like salt?

My concern there would be clumping/gathering/staining.

Thanks

-Emt1581
Click to expand...

Like Charly, I have a long driveway that gets pretty interesting in winter (no ice storms like that, but a couple freeze / thaws can do some nasty things). I don't spread a lot of ash around due to big dogs that spend a lot of time outside - they can track some mess inside. But it works great. I believe I've seen posts from others who also like to use ashes for traction in the driveway. Nails obviously are bad in that scenario. I sometimes use the ash to fill in some low spots out on the back part of the property - but again me and the dogs spend lots of time out there so I don't want any metal in the mix.

If I recall certain trees such as pine / spruce like the acidity of the ashes. Guessing Holiday that's why you throw them out there? Good idea, something for the OP to keep in mind, if you got such tress on the property.

Guess it all depends on what you plan to do with the ashes.
 
bag of hammers said:
Like Charly, I have a long driveway that gets pretty interesting in winter (no ice storms like that, but a couple freeze / thaws can do some nasty things). I don't spread a lot of ash around due to big dogs that spend a lot of time outside - they can track some mess inside. But it works great. I believe I've seen posts from others who also like to use ashes for traction in the driveway. Nails obviously are bad in that scenario. I sometimes use the ash to fill in some low spots out on the back part of the property - but again me and the dogs spend lots of time out there so I don't want any metal in the mix.

If I recall certain trees such as pine / spruce like the acidity of the ashes. Guessing Holiday that's why you throw them out there? Good idea, something for the OP to keep in mind, if you got such tress on the property.

Guess it all depends on what you plan to do with the ashes.
Click to expand...

Actually I've got 6 large Blue Spruce trees out back and I've been piling the ash BEHIND one of them for years. Then again, I don't burn pine...yet, so it's not as big of a waste. As for the ash itself...sounds like it's a good substitute for dirt/earth.

Thanks

-Emt1581
 
The nails are bad for a stove with a cat, non cat you can burn nails without issue.
 
emt1581 said:
Why are they bad?

Thanks

-Emt1581
Click to expand...

Not 100% sure but I've read somewhere that the metal can screw up the the substrate on the cat or something along those lines. Some nails may be galvanized and some may have coatings containing lead which is no good for a cat.
 
emt1581 said:
As for the ash itself...sounds like it's a good substitute for dirt/earth.
Click to expand...


Maybe - but hoping others will sanity check the acidity thing - I know I killed some grass by leveling a small area out with ashes - but certain trees (or other plants) might not have any issue or actually like the ash content.

charly said:
wonder if the galvanizing on the nails gives off a gas the attacks the cat coating ?
Click to expand...

Interesting. I've seen some pallets with nails, staples, even a few screws stuck in them. Wonder if it just takes a few "special" nails etc. to do some damage..? No idea...
 
Ashes, lye, soap...I think ashes are basic, not acidic.

I use ashes only when it is deathly slippery//icy out...as in one cannot stay on one's feet...because there is so much filth associated with the ash. Has to be worth the hassle of the mess that can come in the house on boots and dog paws...a few days a year it is. The ashes to work wonderfully. Anyone tried boots on their dog? I tried them last year ( a hand-me-down pair) on an icy day when I had ashes on the ice. Somehow the dog managed to walk without putting his paws down...funniest darn things I ever saw. The experiment didn't last very long, the dog is more stubborn than I, and that is saying something. If you want a good laugh, try it with your dog.
 
Yes, ash is alkaline so it neutralizes acidity. I guess the needles from the trees create acidity so it's fine under these trees or if you have acidic soil anywhere. If you have alkaline soil it would make the condition worse and stuff would probably stop growing. Or some plants also like acidic soil so making the soil more neutral wouldn't benefit these either.
 
rideau said:
Ashes, lye, soap...I think ashes are basic, not acidic.
Click to expand...

Holiday said:
Yes, ash is alkaline so it neutralizes acidity. I guess the needles from the trees create acidity so it's fine under these trees or if you have acidic soil anywhere. If you have alkaline soil it would make the condition worse and stuff would probably stop growing. Or some plants also like acidic soil so making the soil more neutral wouldn't benefit these either.
Click to expand...

Holiday and Rideau - thanks for sanity checking and correcting my post. I knew there was something about ashes that trees liked. Its the trees that are acidic. A brain fart on my part - not the first time.....==c

Rideau I did try dog boots on my golden a couple times when he was young, on the really frigid days. He managed to walk in them, but then mysteriously he also managed to leave them behind in the deepest snow way out in the sticks. I think it was his way of telling me "f^%# you and your dog boots", so I gave up.
 
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Not sure about cat stoves . . . have read here cat stove owners generally do not burn wood with nails, screws, etc.

If I burn wood with nails in it, the ash goes out back in to a pile where no one will drive or step on it.

Most of the wood I burn is nail free -- that goes on my driveway. It gives traction and the dark gray colored ash helps with the melting.
 
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