burning lathe

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saichele

Minister of Fire
Nov 18, 2005
545
I'm stripping plaster out of a room, and haappen to have a whole mess o'lathe. Any issues with burning it as kindling? After 100 yrs it should be good and dry.

Steve
 
It may be more of a mess than it's really worth, But I don't think you would have a problem with it. You may want to use only the good "clean" pieces i.e., free of nails and plaster. I really wouldn't want a pile of them full of nails, etc stacked up somewhere if you have small kids or pets (don't want to be making a trip to the ER for a tetanus shot)
 
Lath was typically made from popple (aspen), so it's a low-grade hardwood. I think it would make excellent kindling. Just be careful not to put too much in your stove at any one time. Anything that dry will overfire your stove if you're not careful.

Any plaster or cement that may be left on the pieces of lath will just powder up and wind up in the ash can.

Fun job (not!)
 
i used a bunch of lath that was 150 years old this last season and it worked well. the nails are small and give no problems. the stuff is usally so dry you don't need paper to start a fire. just a couple extra seconds with the lighter. but i does burn up very quickly. so use it with the next size up kindling and your off.
 
the best kindling for a quick start a fire. Almost as good as fat wood better yet if freee
 
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