Broke College Kids Pt. 2

[MT-SEA]

Thanks everyone for their replies in the last thread. Despite replying sparingly, my roommates and I were reading everything (I'm assuming the thread was closed because it turned into a tire burning debate).

To clear up some misconceptions/assumptions:

• We turned the heat off because it was too expensive. We're not actually "broke," we're just trying to save money.
• Our landlord said the fireplace was good to go.

That being said, I took y'all's advice and picked up some pallets. Do I have to take out the nails before I burn them or would it be okay to leave them in the wood? If I do have to take the nails out, is there any trick to do this or just a lot of elbow grease?

Thanks again everyone.

 

[BCC_Burner]

You can leave the nails in there, just make sure you don't scatter those ashes anywhere someone might drive or walk.

 

[MT-SEA]

Any suggestions for disposal? Simply the trash?

 

[tekguy]

Any suggestions for disposal? Simply the trash?

let them cool completely and put them in the trash, get an ash bucket with lid

but I stress let them cool completely - be surprised how long the embers can stay hot when they are all nice and cozy in the middle of that pile of ash

 

[Highbeam]

Many many fires have burned houses to the ground because ashes were put into the trash before they were actually fully cooled. Just be careful.

No need to remove nails. They burn just fine.

 

[Baker_Falcon]

Have your folks or you keep an eye out for an old ash bucket. I picked one up for $3 at a yard sale. It is dented and doesn't look pretty but does the job. I let them cool in the ash bucket for a few days before taking them to my town's dump site. Or in your case, you can put them in the ash bucket, let them cool for a few days, and then put them in the trash. If it wouldn't be for the nails, you could use them to melt the ice around your place this winter so the chicks you have coming over don't slip and fall. Another note- I have read here and other places that having about an inch or so of ash in the bottom of your stove is OK and considered a best practice.

 

[EJL923]

Dont overload the stove either as pallets will turn that stove into an inferno. Does the stove have a thermometer?

 

[MishMouse]

Knocking apart pallets and removing the nails was part of my chores when I was a kid.
Just rest it on a cross-arm (4x4) and pound it with a hammer until they come apart, then take a crow bar to remove the nails.
Store the nails in a old coffee container since you can always use the nails.

 

[BrowningBAR]

Many many fires have burned houses to the ground because ashes were put into the trash before they were actually fully cooled. Just be careful.

No need to remove nails. They burn just fine.

And it can take ash a very long time to completely cool. I know I've dumped stuff nearly two weeks old that still had some heat left in them.

 

[begreen]

You want a metal pail or garbage can for the ashes. Be sure that the ash can does not sit on anything combustible like a floor, porch deck or backyard leaves. If a porch is convenient get a few bricks or cement blocks to set it on.

 

[Rickb]

I actually have a very strong magnet I use to pull nails out of ash. Works great.

 

[MishMouse]

I actually have a very strong magnet I use to pull nails out of ash. Works great.

+1

 

[nayslayer]

God that last thread was good. Careful with the ashes

 

[Highbeam]

If it wouldn't be for the nails, you could use them to melt the ice around your place this winter so the chicks you have coming over don't slip and fall.

Here's agood example of regional differences. Yes, you might get some ice here in Seattle and if you spread ash on it you might get better traction right then but within a day that ice will melt and you will have ash mud. Ash mud is slipperier than the ice was and lasts longer. Then you track the ash mud into your house and make a mess. It's like clay or dog poop on your shoe.

I imagine there are some places in this country where winters get cold and stay cold. Seattle is not that place.

 

[BCC_Burner]

I scatter my ashes on my driveway too, but it has been snow and ice covered since a few days before Halloween. Don't think I'll see it down to bare gravel again until late April. If I'm burning wood with nails in it I dump those ashes in my outdoor firepit. Which reminds, there was one piece with a screw in it that I burned 2 nights ago, have to make sure those ashes don't end up on the driveway.

 

[MT-SEA]

Dont overload the stove either as pallets will turn that stove into an inferno. Does the stove have a thermometer?

It doesn't. Should I get one? Is it that important? Should I only burn in the stove for a certain number of hours?

 

[BCC_Burner]

You should get a magnetic thermometer for it, they're quite inexpensive. You can burn in it for as long as you can keep a fire going, but it seems like you would rarely need to burn 24/7 with a climate like Seattle's. The benefit to a thermometer is to make sure you aren't burning too cool and smoldering the fire, which leads to excess buildup in the chimney, and to make sure you aren't overfiring. If you are burning primarily pallets, that wood is dry and small, so you can jam the stove full and get the unit dangerously hot.

You want to keep your stove top temps under 800 or so degrees.

 

[DMB]

That being said, I took y'all's advice and picked up some pallets.

Hey y'all! I thought we only talked like that around here!

Also, if you aren't doing it already covering windows, installing good doorsweeps, caulking or insulating gaps and cracks, etc goes a long way. Whatever you can do to insulate the house better will allow your wood heat to go further.

 

[BCC_Burner]

Hey y'all! I thought we only talked like that around here!

Also, if you aren't doing it already covering windows, installing good doorsweeps, caulking or insulating gaps and cracks, etc goes a long way. Whatever you can do to insulate the house better will allow your wood heat to go further.

More importantly than insulating a home you're going to move out of in a year, make sure there are functioning smoke detectors and CO alarms in the house before you start burning regularly. My rental cabin (with a wood stove) did not have any smoke alarms or a CO alarm when I moved in. Landlord said he would be up the next day to install them, in September. For under $100, I bought and installed my own. Cheaper than a funeral, that's for sure.

 

[DMB]

More importantly than insulating a home you're going to move out of in a year, make sure there are functioning smoke detectors and CO alarms in the house before you start burning regularly. My rental cabin (with a wood stove) did not have any smoke alarms or a CO alarm when I moved in. Landlord said he would be up the next day to install them, in September. For under $100, I bought and installed my own. Cheaper than a funeral, that's for sure.

Excellent point!

 

[begreen]

I think they are required in Seattle rentals. Check the batteries and test.

 

[EJL923]

What BCC said. with pallets, they're extremely dry and small so you cant usually load a full stove or they will just take off. The thermometer will help you in two ways, keep you from burning too hot and too cool. The too hot we went over. The too cool i suspect you might encounter as youre scrounging for wood. Green or wet wood will burn too cool, causing creosote. Thermometers can be bought at any of the big box stores, just look in their wood stove section.

 

[Waulie]

Check the chimney before burning a load of tiny, dry wood scraps!

 

[Dustin92]

Wouldn't it be a good idea to keep the stove between ~450-750 degrees? It would be to your benefit to keep the glass door clean as well- you get to watch the fire, and you can see how well the fire is actually burning- you want to see plenty of flame in the firebox, and floaty flames up near the top, that is called the "secondary burn", which is actually the smoke burning. This is beneficial in two ways- it creates more heat, and keeps your chimney cleaner.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

And don't burn tires unless your starving!

(I learned that in the last thread.)

Matt