burning hardwood scraps? I mean molding size. Masonary heater

[arcticcatmatt]

Thinking of going and buying this from someone.
(broken image removed)

I am wondering if I cut it up if it would be great fuel for my masonary heater. They say I need a short HOT fire. Those would certainly do that!

 

[atvdave]

You might want to give this a read.

(broken link removed to http://www.chimneysweeponline.com/homillends.htm)

I know there not mill ends but most finished wood is all processed the same. I would think there where chemicals added to it during it's cutting & drying process.

 

[arcticcatmatt]

^ Thanks for that! Alot of that says they burn hot hot hot, too hot for most stoves. Perfect for my stove.

I am verifying what they are from. I am thinking about giving them a try. 50/50 mix of them and my normal wood. I think they would help get the temps up to 1000 in my heater.

 

[atvdave]

I'd just be concerned about what the chemicals in the wood may do to your chimney liner, and internal stove parts. But doing 50/50 may help.

 

[gibson]

A lifetime supply of kindling....priceless!

 

[savageactor7]

If I had on of those mass brick stoves like you have I'd burn 'em Matt. Sure the pieces may be smaller than splits but its 'hardwood'. After a couple of burns you'll get the hang of sandwiching a handful together ...like you said a 50/50 mix would even be better.

 

[arcticcatmatt]

I am arranging for pick up of 1-2 bundles right now! This should be fun. They are an hour away. Once I get them here I will take a few pictures and report back with some testing.

 

[arcticcatmatt]

Holy crap. This day did not turn out as planed.

They said a bundle was 1,000 ish pounds. They put one bundle on and went for the next. The next bundle was bigger and they could not get it on the trailer all the way. They got it on as best they could and I put 4 straps on it. It was hanging over big time. Not cool. The tire on that side was looking flat! but it wasn't! I wasn't pleased. I was over an hour away from home. I drove 6 miles down the road at 30 mph and stopped in a gas station parking lot. That tire with most the weight on it was hot and melting snow.

I got out some cutters I had and cut the band.. boom, most that load fell back on me and onto the parking lot (as expected). No way could I restack it to fit. I took a picture I will post tommorrow. I told the gas station I would be back. I drove over an hour home and unloaded it in my yard. I went back with my girlfriend so she could help me some. We loaded it all onto the trailer piece by piece and straped it down, drove home and unloaded that.

Whole process - 9.5 hours. What a joke. And its 20 outside.

On a good note, it is dry dry hardwood. Some are 3-4 inches wide, some is a sliver wide. It is all 10-14 feet long. I see oak and some really dark wood. I don't know what it is. The company makes hardwood floors. They kiln dry all their wood then trim the boards down to a certain width. What I bought is the scrap pieces. I seen they have some bigger chunks there, maybe 8"x8"x.5" all seasoned hardwood. They said they would fill my pickup with that for 25 bucks. I passed but might try it someday.

I just chopped up some pieces and did a 50/50 in my masonary heater. My GOD what heat! The sticks burned HOT HOT HOT and gone in about 15-20 mins then my 2 split logs burnt. My masonary heater is super hot. Amazing.

I will get a temperature gauge next week to see just what is going on but so far.. wow. Perfect for this heater.

 

[atvdave]

If it's kiln dryed... chemicals have been added.. I wouldn't burn that stuff in my burner.... regardless how hot the fire gets.. But if you do.. I'd get your liner/chimney inspected at the end of the heating season.

 

[joeleisner]

I have a kiln for hard wood and a friend of mine does too. I am not sure what chemicals you are talking about. Just because it is kiln dried doesn't mean that it is chemical treated. The only thing that I would guess would be on the wood is a water based wax on the ends to prevent checking.

 

[arcticcatmatt]

I emailed the guy again about chemicals and kiln drying. There is no chemicals in the kiln drying process they utilize he stated. I also asked what kind of wood do I have here.. he said oak ,maple,hickory,walnut,cherry,and ash.

I did alot of research on the MHA-NET site and they say do not burn an entire fire of kindling, too hot. But 3 lbs or so in it is fine. I am not even doing that. I did less than a 50/50 mix and wow what a difference. Such a quick fire and I have heat radiating into the house for 12 hrs. Its almost 75 in here 10 hrs later and 27 outside. Nice.

 

[daleeper]

If it's kiln dryed... chemicals have been added.. I wouldn't burn that stuff in my burner.... regardless how hot the fire gets.. But if you do.. I'd get your liner/chimney inspected at the end of the heating season.

? What kiln process requires chemicals? Please educate me. I am unaware of any kiln drying that requires chemicals. Now if it already had a finish applied, then I would be concerned.

Edit: I did read the link you had, after posting this, and see that there could be some concern. The mills here in the midwest that I am familiar with would not have been using saltwater transportation, and are not soaking or treating the wood, and made that assumption that was the case everywhere. I stand corrected, and learned something today. Thanks, atvdave.

That dark colored wood could be walnut or cherry. Either would be good firewood. Sounds like a good score on firewood that should work for your masonry heater.

 

[atvdave]

You might want to give this a read.

(broken link removed to http://www.chimneysweeponline.com/homillends.htm)

I know there not mill ends but most finished wood is all processed the same. I would think there where chemicals added to it during it's cutting & drying process.

I'm no expert on the subject. All I know about it is what I read on the internet. I to wanted to burn dimensional lumber at one time, but after reading the above link, it wasn't worth the risk to me.

And even if no chemicals where added, it's not a good idea to burn wood with less than approx. 20% moisture in the wood. The above link was enough to convince me it's not a good idea.

But anyway.. Do what you want. I'm just throwing this out there so you know what some people who have been in the wood burning industry for over 30 years are saying. And there's is not the only web sight saying don't burn it.

But any way.. have fun, and I didn't mean to start a war.

Sorry.
Dave

 

[arcticcatmatt]

"it’s not a good idea to burn wood with less than approx. 20% moisture in the wood"-ATVDAVE

I think you worded that wrong? Everyone knows to burn with less than 20% moisture, preferably less than 15%. This wood I measured has less than 2%.

Dave, no war started . We are all heat nuts. Hey its christmas here in the east, look at that. Merry Christmas!

 

[atvdave]

"it’s not a good idea to burn wood with less than approx. 20% moisture in the wood"-ATVDAVE

I think you worded that wrong? Everyone knows to burn with less than 20% moisture, preferably less than 15%. This wood I measured has less than 2%.

Dave, no war started . We are all heat nuts. Hey its Christmas here in the east, look at that. Merry Christmas!

First off Merry Christmas....

Next.. I did word it right. I have read that burning wood with less than 20% moisture will make creosote also just like wood with over 25% moisture.

one link.. there's more out there.

http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/consumer/your_home/space_heating_cooling/index.cfm/mytopic=12570

From the link, down at the bottom of the page.

Selecting and Storing Wood
Because a lot of energy can be wasted burning wet wood, you should use wood that has been properly seasoned. Properly seasoned wood is harvested in the spring and allowed to dry throughout the summer. Look for wood that is of even color, without any green. It should have a moisture content of just over 20%–25% by weight. Some well-seasoned wood can in fact be too dry for today's airtight modern stoves. If you place wood that is too dry on a bed of coals, it will instantly give up its gases as smoke, wasting unburned smoke and producing creosote buildup.

 

[Martin Strand III]

Hold off. Wait a minute. Not so fast there, bunky.

Sure burning those little trim pieces will give you a fast hot fire; HOWEVER, it will not last very long. Even most neophyte fire makers realize burning a small diameter split or bunch of sticks will be consumed by the fire faster than larger diameter splits.

Especially with a masonry heater, if it is really a masonry heater (heavy heavy heavy thermal mass heater weighing tons), a quick hot fire will not heat the mass of masonry. To heat the mass of masonry in a masonry heater, one needs a HOT fire which lasts 1 - 2 hours, not 15 minutes.

So, if you plan to do some serious heating with those puny sticks, they won't last long and you'll be a slave to the process of feeding the heater.

In short, don't insult that masonry heater with those little twigs. Get some 3" - 5" dry splits, about 50 lbs worth loaded in the firebox, and now you're ready to have a FIRE.

Aye,
Marty

 

[termv]

I have a question about the chemicals added to kiln dried wood. If this is the case, what is going or does happen when these scraps are sold to the pellet companies who in turn make them into pellets and are then burned in pellet stoves? I'm pretty sure cabinet companies around here sell their ground up scraps to the pellet companies but I could be wrong.

 

[savageactor7]

Why would there be chemicals in hardwood flooring that's only to be used indoors? The kiln drying mostly to prevent any future warping...it's not the same process outdoor wood is treated for water proofing. At least that's what I got from watching a 'This old house' episode.

 

[arcticcatmatt]

Hold off. Wait a minute. Not so fast there, bunky.

Sure burning those little trim pieces will give you a fast hot fire; HOWEVER, it will not last very long. Even most neophyte fire makers realize burning a small diameter split or bunch of sticks will be consumed by the fire faster than larger diameter splits.

Especially with a masonry heater, if it is really a masonry heater (heavy heavy heavy thermal mass heater weighing tons), a quick hot fire will not heat the mass of masonry. To heat the mass of masonry in a masonry heater, one needs a HOT fire which lasts 1 - 2 hours, not 15 minutes.

So, if you plan to do some serious heating with those puny sticks, they won't last long and you'll be a slave to the process of feeding the heater.

In short, don't insult that masonry heater with those little twigs. Get some 3" - 5" dry splits, about 50 lbs worth loaded in the firebox, and now you're ready to have a FIRE.

Aye,
Marty

I mix it 50/50. The small bits are gone in 20 mins but the splits last an hour. I am burning 1/2 the wood with these now but still getting the mass to be the same heat (too hot to touch for longer than 2 seconds) as I did loading it with just 5" splits (20 lb load). Now I do maybe 10 lbs of splits and 2 lbs of kindling (if that)

Yes, mine is a true masonary heater.. thousands of pounds of brick mass. The whole goal is to get the brick hot with an efficient burn. On the MHANET site, it says a 20 lb load and mixing with kindling is good.

I will take some pictures when I get home of what I am up to. I am out of town at the moment for the holidays. I will be back saturday. My girl is there doing the fires at the current time. I laid her out piles of wood.

I got a new camera for christmas too so check back here sat/sun. Should generate some conversation.

 

[termv]

Why would there be chemicals in hardwood flooring that's only to be used indoors? The kiln drying mostly to prevent any future warping...it's not the same process outdoor wood is treated for water proofing. At least that's what I got from watching a 'This old house' episode.

From reading the link in an earlier post, it seems that salt is introduced very easily into the process. I'm always reading about corruded/pitted pellet stove pipe. I'm wondering if the pellets contain salt or chemicals that were introduced from the scrap wood they are made from and this maybe a reason?