Broke College Kids

Begreen- when you have to make choices about basic needs(shelter or food) moral or ethical concerns will take a back seat. I don't agree with burning treated wood, but then I have that luxury. Lets not be too hasty to cast the first stone when you are not aware of the full story.

Highbeam said:

When I'm cold and in a rented house, I wouldn't think twice about burning treated wood or saltwater driftwood.

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And this attitude is exactly why we'd NEVER have one in a rental we own. It's an example of why so many landlords don't offer nice rentals anymore.

eclecticcottage said:

And this attitude is exactly why we'd NEVER have one in a rental we own. It's an example of why so many landlords don't offer nice rentals anymore.

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Absolutely. I would expect that anything you rent will be abused. Septic systems are another item that will be high risk with renters.

keep a watch on craigslist, I snagged a nice pile of cedar fencing free for the taking. if you have a bike cruise around industrial parks, city alleys, behind stores, really just about anywhere a dumpster would be hidden is a good spot to look for pallets, and shipping crates.
keep an eye out for tree work, plenty of people on here have gotten lucky by just asking about getting some of the wood.
remember it never hurts to ask, the worst that you'll hear is no, even if they can't give you pallets or wood they may know someone who can.

Begreen-OP said their heat was turned off, they didn't have money. Yes tires burn, as does woodwork, if faced with keeping myself or my friends or family warm I would consider burning anything available including tires or woodwork. relax all I suggested was that you might not know the whole story and as such judging someone's actions based on your own moral/ethical standards might be wrong. Kinda similar to the notice I received about the new signature rules...... Should I change now or change when I see the mods change. maybe I don't know your reasons for not changing your signature yet, so should I judge you? Or trust that you have your reasons and not make a big deal out of it.

I count five... But encouraging and telling someone how to survive are two different things

Augie said:

Guys, really read the op's post. They are broke kids and for one reason or another they can't afford heating fuel for their primary system. This is the need for using their woodstove. I am assuming and expense will be to much. The need to scrounge. Pallets may be their best bet. Hammer and a hand saw and you can keep your house warm. Lots of work but, lack of options makes for easy choices

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I did read the OP. I offered free pallets. If (like my daughters house at the UW) has 100 kids living in it, a $5.00 each contribution buys a cord of wood. I have been down there during a football game and I see tens of thousands $ being carried towards the stadium in alcohol.

tfdchief said:

Hmm, me too.

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Interesting, I counted three one time and now there is five

BrotherBart said:

The thread has degenerated from helping the kids out to convincing them that they never want to get old and sit around counting sig lines. FWIW I just see three in Chrome and Firefox.

Let's get back to the subject. In case they ever come back.

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Well, I think they have been given some excellent advise. Pallets, treated wood not the best to burn, free pallets and free Super Cedars, etc. I was once a poor college kid and I had 3 jobs while keeping up my grades. It is tough and I wish them the best.

I just want to add a quick safety note. When you clean out the ashes at some point, it may be tempting to throw them out with the trash. Please be aware that small coals can stay very hot for days in the ashes. Take them outside in a metal bucket with a lid and then dispose of them with that in mind.

begreen said:

What does a rented house have to do with gassing one's neighborhood? This is in the middle of the city. If you have to burn treated wood it's time to get a night job and pony up to pay the heating bill.

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Hope this is going to be a life lesson learned *says the Mom who always told her daughter that "this is NOT a democracy" *

Envi/bio bricks *ties into the getta night job thingy*, mixed with pallets / not so seasoned firewood will help, as well.

I just want to point out that it is illegal to burn treated wood in the state of Washington.(and probably all states for that matter) If they were not in the city being close to the neighbors then I could see it if it was the last resort to stay warm but being where they are I don't think it would be a good idea.

• It is illegal to burn some materials. Illegal materials include garbage, treated or painted wood, particle board, plastics, rubber, waste petroleum products, animal carcasses, asphalt products, paints, chemicals, or anything that normally emits dense smoke or obnoxious odors.

http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/air/indoor_woodsmoke/wood_smoke_page.htm


Keep an eye on CL or just around your neighborhood, you'll be surprised at what you can find when you are looking for it.

begreen said:

Tonight is going to be cold here. Methinks they have already scrounged up some pallets. There are lots of places to get them in the city. Hope that chimney is clean.

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I remember I wasn't even allowed to see the Dixette's first apartment in college, after she left the dorm. She & her room mate moved 3 months before graduation, and then blitzed the new place 1 week before I arrived

begreen said:

My son wanted to go in on a shared apt in his junior year. They too were scrounging for heat when it got cold. He holed up in his room with a small electric space heater and survived.

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They'll survive, BG.

They'll be cold, but they will survive *cue Gloria Gaynor*

I was once in their shoes. I attended Seattle Pacific a long time ago. I lived in a basement apartment under my landlord in Ballard. To keep warm I too turned to heating with wood in a pot bellied stove. Puffs of smoke would come out the chimney joints which turned to black tar coming out. This sealed up the pipe joints until I had chimney fire. Lucky it was put out quickly and my next task was to take the chimney pipe down a clean it out a reinstall it correctly. I learned a lot from that and will never burn without making sure the situation is safe.
I burned pallets, cardboard, broken furniture, any kind of burnable trash, tree branches, pine cones, you name it, anything I could find that would burn.

Check with neighbors, add look for piles of yard trimmings in back yards to the list of places to get wood.

Since the OP has wandered off, I have to wonder, this is only the first part of the school year. College is expensive. If they have already run out of money then I expect that they will be joining the military or moving back home soon. I am a UW graduate but commuted home each day including an hour long ferry ride.

For survival, yep, I'd burn tires. But isn't that a "straw man" argument. Nobody suggested they burn tires in their woodstove and so to suggest that only as a means of having something to shoot down I think makes it a straw man. That whole concept is new to me but funny when you see it.

There are laws against many many things that most of us do. I've even burned OSB scraps and cardboard(garbage) in my outdoor fire pit!