Burning wood with bullets in it

[sksmass]

I have a small woodpile that I use as a backstop for airgun target practice. It just occurred to me that I might have made that wood unburnable by filling it with lead. If I have a catalytic stove like a Woodstock, will burning wood with lead in it destroy the catalytic converter? If so, that seems like a real downside to cat stoves. Lord knows how many trees out in the forest have lead in them from hunters and plinkers over the decades. I'm sure all of us have some lead in our piles and don't even know it.

 

[ANeat]

Why would it be unburnable??? Just curious

 

[CountryBoy19]

Why would it be unburnable??? Just curious

Put out lots of vaporized lead...

And leave a lot of lead in the bottom of the stove.

 

[ANeat]

Why would it be unburnable??? Just curious

Put out lots of vaporized lead...

And leave a lot of lead in the bottom of the stove.

No, lead doesent vaporize untill over 3000 degrees so it would take a pretty hot fire, but yes it could leave a mess in the bottom of your stove.

I dont think it would harm a catalytic stove but it may make a mess out of your firebrick

 

[sksmass]

Well, I was actually thinking it would destroy the cat in the same way burning leaded gasoline would destroy the cat in a modern car. But perhaps they work in entirely different ways. Automobile cats use small amounts of precious metals like Platinum and Palladium that get gummed up by lead.

 

[ANeat]

If I had a log that I used for a backstop that was really riddled with bullets I dont think I would throw it in the wood stove just for the fact like CB19 mentioned that you would have lead running all over your firebrick that would be a real PITA to get out.

I would burn it somewhere to re-claim the lead, but not in my stove

 

[CountryBoy19]

Why would it be unburnable??? Just curious

Put out lots of vaporized lead...

And leave a lot of lead in the bottom of the stove.

No, lead doesent vaporize untill over 3000 degrees so it would take a pretty hot fire, but yes it could leave a mess in the bottom of your stove.

I dont think it would harm a catalytic stove but it may make a mess out of your firebrick

While it doesn't boil until over 3,000 degrees, it will still give off vapors just like water will give off vapors well below it's boiling point. No, it's not giving off tons of vapors, but the presence is still there, and once it gets in your firebrick the vapors will be there for a long time.

 

[Pagey]

Send the lead to China so they can paint some toys to export to the US. :lol:

 

[boatboy63]

May sound crazy, but FYI anyway...I know it's a longshot that you will, but don't ever spray water in your stove if the lead is molten. It can/will cause an explosion. I used to reload bullets years ago and had my friend to tell me this. He said that 1 drop of water dripped into a cup of molten lead will cause it to violently splatter or explode all over the immediate area. He said he had a friend who was melting old tire weights to cast into bullets and a drop of water hit the molten lead and ended up nearly blinding him and coated the whole room in lead.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Lots of trees have lead, nails, spikes and all sorts of things in them in them. I'd probably just burn it. I'd make sure there was a good, compacted ash bed first.

Matt

 

[mtarbert]

Years ago a Friend of mine gathered his wood from a bombing range. The amount of schranel that would end up in his ash pan was mind boggling. Buckets full of it. He burned this wood for ten years and we couldn't find any problems that the metals caused.

 

[benjamin]

I think I'd burn something else if I had to sneak into a bombing range to scrounge wood, but hey, if that's what he likes to do for kicks, who am I to talk.

 

[ANeat]

May sound crazy, but FYI anyway...I know it's a longshot that you will, but don't ever spray water in your stove if the lead is molten. It can/will cause an explosion. I used to reload bullets years ago and had my friend to tell me this. He said that 1 drop of water dripped into a cup of molten lead will cause it to violently splatter or explode all over the immediate area. He said he had a friend who was melting old tire weights to cast into bullets and a drop of water hit the molten lead and ended up nearly blinding him and coated the whole room in lead.

There is some truth to that, water on the top of molten lead will just sit there and sizzle like on a hot skillet. If any water gets under the surface of the lead, then the trouble starts. Basicly you get rapid expansion of the water and a steam "eruption" Similar to hot oil or any other "liquid" that is above the boiling point of water.

I shoot/reload/cast my own bullets and have processed tons of lead from various scrap. With the proper percautions, safety and "hygene" its no problem handling it or casting with it.
Just treat it with the proper respect that you would give any 700 degree liquid

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Because it was used as a backstop, that means there is a lot in that wood and I would not burn it. This is must more than just finding one or two bullets in a tree log, which I would not worry about.

As for the lead, I've found it in inside particular area of the anatomy on more than one person....

 

[boatboy63]

As for the lead, I've found it in inside particular area of the anatomy on more than one person....

Your name isn't Quincy, by any chance or you live in Miami (CSI)?

 

[LLigetfa]

Because it was used as a backstop, that means there is a lot in that wood and I would not burn it. This is must more than just finding one or two bullets in a tree log, which I would not worry about...

+1

 

[firefighterjake]

Send the lead to China so they can paint some toys to export to the US. :lol:

 

[Skier76]

If you're using an airgun, I'd imagine pellets have a lot less led per "round" than a traditional gun powder bullet. I'd also wager that there's a lot less of them "stuck" in the wood. And if they were, you could probably pick them out pretty easily.

 

[Captain Hornet]

Gentlemen, I had a backstop made from a large Red Oak round that was on it's side. It was over three feet across and about 20 inches deep. We used it to collect lead from our practice shoots, mostly 38 special with some 44 cal also. After a couple of years, the wood was all split and broken up from the shooting so I burnt it in our wood stove. I found that there was a large amount of lead in the stove but it had all rehardened after melting. It was on top of most of the ashes with none on the firebricks. I was able to just lift it from the stove with no trouble at all. I remelted most of it and recast them for more reloading and shooting. The recycled lead worked very good and I would be happy to cast more from old lead. David

 

[midwestcoast]

If any real significant amount of lead in it I'd leave it alone. +1 on taking a look to see how many pellets penetrated the surface.
We all are exposed to lead in the air & dust throughout life. Too much has rather nasty effects on the brain. If I had kids in the house or any nearby neighbors had kids, I'd pass entirely.
Switch to stainless pellets?

 

[firefighterjake]

Plenty of wood left in this world to scavenge, cut or buy . . . if we're not talking about much wood I wouldn't burn it . . . but that's just me personally.