Burning cardboard tubes

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.

oilstinks

Minister of Fire
Jan 25, 2008
586
western NC
I work in a textile mill where cardboard tubes are plentiful. They are like a papertowel or toilet papertube but real thick and hard. They burn really hot. Would it hurt to through one in occasonally to heat things up abit to clean? thanx.
 
Just do not put them on an already hot fire!!!! Otherwise you will learn very quickly what "overfireing" means.
 
I dunno. I'm pretty careful about what I put into my stoves. I'll burn dimensional lumber scraps, old unfinished cedar decking boards, and stuff, but I'll never burn pressure treated wood, plywood, particle board, OSB, painted or finished wood, or anything with glue in it. That includes corrugated cardboard. I don't know how the tubes you're talking about are made, but I'd probably assume they contain some sort of glue, and choose not to burn them in my woodstove. My cousin thinks I'm too picky about it...he'll burn doggone anything in his stove. Rick
 
I would say your truck or car pook wouldn't completely flaten som of them. They are really hard and burn well too. I have put some in a hot fire but just one or two not an arm load. The old sierra stove will roar with them and turn the pipe slightly red.
 
oilstinks said:
The old sierra stove will roar with them and turn the pipe slightly red.

And you need another reason not to burn'em?

Been there, done that. Learned better.
 
Stuff 'em loosly with newspaper and use 'em as starter sticks...
 
Shouldn't be a problem as long as they don't have wax or anything else on them. I use cardboard to start fires whenever I can get it.
 
Clownfish99 said:
Shouldn't be a problem as long as they don't have wax or anything else on them. I use cardboard to start fires whenever I can get it.

Same here, I use cardboard with newspaper as firestarters at home, combine that with kindling and small twigs from my yard I just pick up and there I go. I can get cardboard out the wazoo where I work. I'll remove all plastic packing tape and anything else that is not burnable and then rip them into 16" lengths so i can roll them into tubes and put newspaper in them.

Jay
 
oilstinks said:
I would say your truck or car pook wouldn't completely flaten som of them. They are really hard and burn well too. I have put some in a hot fire but just one or two not an arm load. The old sierra stove will roar with them and turn the pipe slightly red.

AAAaaahhhhh......SLIGHTLY RED!! Thats like saying slightly over fired. Red = no good. If the stove can't control the burn to KEEP this from happening, then don't do it. Or change your ways...or whatever.


Aside from the fact that these may have goofy chemicals or glues holding them together, running your stove that hard ain't good for nothin'. My opinion!
 
They dont work good for starting. It takes a propane torch to light them and yet still takes a while. They are just too hard and dense. I was just curious if one every now and again would help with any creasote build up on my 16ft of single wall on the out side my shop.
 
oilstinks said:
They dont work good for starting. It takes a propane torch to light them and yet still takes a while. They are just too hard and dense. I was just curious if one every now and again would help with any creasote build up on my 16ft of single wall on the out side my shop.

If the pipe is getting red, there ain't no creosote in that baby.
 
It will get slightly red 1 -2 ft from the back of the stove. I have about 16 ft of single wall galv. out side in the cold. Lots of time to condense.
 
oilstinks said:
It will get slightly red 1 -2 ft from the back of the stove. I have about 16 ft of single wall galv. out side in the cold. Lots of time to condense.

With todays stoves we have learned a lot about them and a red chimney near the stove is not very good in my opinion. With the older stoves this may have been common since they had little air control. Your pipe will deteriorate a lot quicker wiht this heat so you should watch it and replace when it starts getting pin holes. A red pipe would scare me now and even with the few chimney fires we have had over the years our pipe didn't get red. It has been many years since we had a chimney fire and sure do everything we can to prevent it. What ever works for you is ok with me but it may not be safe. :)
 
It proabably dont matter but the stove in my shop is a 1979 sierra wood hog with just a steal plate at an angle in front of the exhaust tube with 24 gauge galvinized flue pipe.
 
Pook said:
fill them with grass clippings?sawdust?
...or gunpowder? :bug:
 
oilstinks said:
It proabably dont matter but the stove in my shop is a 1979 sierra wood hog with just a steal plate at an angle in front of the exhaust tube with 24 gauge galvinized flue pipe.

Well, it sounds like you have been running this setup for a while now, and am satisfied with the install, but I doubt if you will find anyone here that will condone that install. It just has too many warnings built into it. Its a loooong ways from code. I am not a code Nazi, but most are there for a reason, safety being the first.

I know how "shop heaters" go, and I am not trying to bust your chops, but if I add up all the posts, with galv. stove pipe here, glowing pipe there, pre-epa stove burning cardboard tubes, and a single wall outside stack, it really does have all the makings of a bad story in the news paper. Dude, we want you to stay with us for awhile. Stay safe.
 
Explain? I have 36" of insulated going through the wall. Are you saying high possibility of flue fire? Except for stove being 18" off of floor and heat shield on eve of shop it is to code (working on heat shield for facia board). I will change the 4 ft of galv. in the shop to black but the connector and elbow off of the stove will have to stay ( no way they are comming out without a cutting torch). Explain warnings? Sorry guys if i seem a little slow. Please help before i burn my new stupidly expensive shop down. With stove running wide open for hours i can still put my hand on the insulated without getting a burn ( it is kinda hot however). Ill be happy to post or email some pics if there is some great concern here. Ive been in a burning house; dont want to recreate.
 
Yes, Yes, PICTURES. It is very possible that I am getting the wrong impression also. Pics should clear up any mis-understanding.

As you can see from my post above, I have highlighted some of the warnings that I am picking up (although possibly not properly). Single wall, outside stacks make me shiver. Hearing of "glowing" pipe makes me scared. Then throw in a questionable fuel source (i.e. industrial tubes) that from the posted description cause uncontrolled burns, makes me even more weary.

I am not a fear monger, admittedly, I have had some questionable stuff go on with my shop heater :red: but would warn anybody (including myself) away from doing it. Add to that, that you basically have an outside creasote factory, you may end up with a jet engine roaring in your shop. Again, It is possible that I am taking some of this out of context and pics would be of help.

BeGreen, BroB, JTP, Stove guy, Craig (and any other wizards) help me dig myself out of this hole. :grrr:
 
Yes that is the unanswered question. Would and occasional tube help keep it clean since their moisture content is prabably less than 5% at a guess. Your not in a hole. It is good to question. Thats how we move ahead. I cant afford 16ft of double or triple or isulated. Just clean more often? I can clean from the bottom since i put a "T" in. The out side flue is accessable from the ground with my clean out cap at the bottom (thinking ahead).
 
With out a doubt, I would check your stack more frequently because of the outside single wall config. Really, without running your stove "superheated" (like you are getting from the tubes), there is probably no other advantage to burning the tubes that you can't get with a properly run stove to begin with.

I got a silly little question to ask. Would you chew on a piece of firewood (or even a toothpick) for say 15-30 min? If you cut a sliver off of that tube, would you be willing to chew on it for 15-30 min? This sounds silly but it is to provoke thought (not action). You may also wish to consider the resins, glue, chemicals that go into making these tubes. Are there compounds used that may turn noxious or corrosive when burned? I don't know the answers, heck they may put them together with flour and water for all I know, but I wouldn't bet on it.
 
Good point man. Guess one shouldnt assume animal glue.
 
here are some pix of our setup


100_2774.jpg

100_2770.jpg

100_2771-1.jpg

100_2766.jpg

100_2765.jpg

100_2764.jpg
 
Status
Not open for further replies.