Burning plywood? Scrap 2 x 4's, 4 x 4's....etc..

[Drifthopper]

I read some old topics and searched “plywood” but nothing came up that could answer my question.

Anyone on here burn large amounts of plywood scraps?

I have a snowmobiling buddy who runs a pallet and shipping box place, and he lets me pick thru the scraps of wood: plywood pcs, 2 x 4’s , 4 x 4’s , 4 x 6’s ,,,,,etc…..all basically small stuff, drops from what he cuts and can't use.

Either someone takes it to burn, or he pays to have it disposed of.

Its great for camp fires, just wondering about any ill effects from burning it in a wood stove thru the winter.

From burning it when camping, it burns right down to a dust, very little ash. Smokey though, probably the glue and whatever is there holding it together.

Any input is Appreciated

 

[jqgs214]

I'd shy away from plywood, burning that glue cant be good gor anyone. As far as 2x4 etc only burn in small doses because lumber is extremely dry and can burn very hot and overfire your stove. Its great for getting a fire going again though.

 

[Highbeam]

My stove and I believe most all of them specify that only cordwood be burnt since the glues can be corrosive and the kiln dried wood makes too much heat. That said, many many people have heated their homes from mill ends which in my area is all of the little end pieces of 2x4s that the mill chops off to make perfect 8 footers. You buy the scraps by the truck load.

Not in my stove.

 

[wg_bent]

Well, to give you perspective on over fire, I blew out some fireplace doors when I tossed a rather small piece of plywood on a fire once. That's what prompted me to start looking at wood stoves... I also learned from that. Not only is kiln dried lumber something to be careful of, but just the fact that it's pine is something to be careful of. 2x4's have a lot of surface area, combined with how dry they are, combined with the fact that their pine is a recipe for disaster unless you use them mixed with other wood and in small amounts.

Plywood is something that should never go in a stove, same with many other things like cardboard with lots of glue, cereal boxes (color in the cardboard) old furniture, etc... Those items have chemicals that can cause problems in the stove and chimney, and really foul up a CAT stove.

I wouldn't pass on some 2x4's but I wouldn't burn them as a single source of heat. There is one exception...If you have a masonry heater, I think you could burn 2x4's. I don't own one, and don't have any experience... (Calling Marty)
A masonry heater can take extreme heats and is designed to burn even hotter than a wood stove. They burn wide open and fast to transfer lots of heat, but I still wouldn't burn plywood.

I hope this helps.

 

[keyman512us]

I read some old topics and searched “plywood” but nothing came up that could answer my question.

Anyone on here burn large amounts of plywood scraps?

I have a snowmobiling buddy who runs a pallet and shipping box place, and he lets me pick thru the scraps of wood: plywood pcs, 2 x 4’s , 4 x 4’s , 4 x 6’s ,,,,,etc…..all basically small stuff, drops from what he cuts and can't use.

Either someone takes it to burn, or he pays to have it disposed of.

Its great for camp fires, just wondering about any ill effects from burning it in a wood stove thru the winter.

From burning it when camping, it burns right down to a dust, very little ash. Smokey though, probably the glue and whatever is there holding it together.

Any input is Appreciated

I would echo the sentiment that burning plywood is ill advised at best...

I'm not "overly familiar" or such with the 'exact science' of making plywood (i'll leave that for someone else to chime in on)... but as anyone out there can attest to when cutting plywood it "has a distinct smell all its' own' from (technically speaking it's not glue but 'resin' ) which as far as I knew.. contained formaldehyde.

Unless you got a wish to "dry clean your lungs" sitting around thee campfire... I would refrain from burning plywood in any amount.

 

[keyman512us]

...Just for S&G;'s, out of curiousity??? Just how much plywood are you talking about (having access to)????

 

[Harley]

I'd definately stay away from the plywood. Some of the other scrap pieces... smaller cuts of non PT 2X4's etc should be OK as long as you just mix them in, and not burn those exclusively - you could run into an over-fire situation pretty quickly. Probably the best thing to do is use that stuff for kindling - split it up small, and use that to start the fire.

 

[Gooserider]

Will echo the don't burn plywood sentiments - the chemicals in the glues are NOT healthy to breath, and may mess up the cat in a cat stove.

Lumber and other Mill Ends are more of a mixed bag - The cautions about overfiring are well mentioned, but in addition there are chemicals used in treating and cutting lumber - blade lubricants, anti-checking compounds, and possibly salt exposure from when logs are floated to the mill (if they were) - All stuff that isn't the best for breathing, and possibly some or all might be corrosive and cause your stove to rust out faster than it should. Tom Oyen, from The Chimney Sweep has some stuff in his Sweep's Library on this where he definitely frowns on it.

That said, I wouldn't be opposed to burning small amounts of the stuff in combination with cordwood, but I wouldn't want to use it as the primary fuel source.

Gooserider

 

[R&D Guy]

I'd shy away from plywood, burning that glue cant be good gor anyone. As far as 2x4 etc only burn in small doses because lumber is extremely dry and can burn very hot and overfire your stove. Its great for getting a fire going again though.

Agreed - stay away from the plywood. I use to hit the reject bin in the pallet building area at my work. I use to use the 2x4's for kindling since they split pretty easy. I'd also use 1x4's for kindling. The 4x4's I thought worked great as the first load of wood. I'd stack them starting with 2 - 2x4's going front to back, then 3 - 4x4's side to side, and 3 - 4x4's front to back. I'd space those 4x4 about 3/4 of an inch apart. Like most people mine was a quick glace from the TV so I was able to keep a close eye on it. Awesome coal bed when it was done.

 

[Drifthopper]

Keyman…..if your following this thread……..it depends on what they’re making and cutting. When we’d go camping and I needed wood, some weeks I could fill up the back of my pickup, other weeks, maybe only a ¼ or ½ a load, sometimes lots of 2 x 4's and 4 x 4's, other times, just plywood pcs.,……other guys would grab it too…..so a lot would depend on when I could get there.

As for the others, Thanks for replying,,,, I can understand about the plywood, cuz even at camp, if the wind blows the wrong way, it smells bad.

For now, just have a basic wood stove in the basement, a simple boxwood heater that came with the house, eventually I plan on getting a “add-on furnace” type of set up.

My current stove is pretty “burnt” up….for lack of a better word, don’t know how to describe it, but it is old and has been well used (and abused….Are they really suppose to glow red like that?) so hopefully I’ll get this winter out of it, and in Jan. or Feb., I’ll look around for a “furnace” type stove on clearance.

 

[MrGriz]

My current stove is pretty “burnt” up….for lack of a better word, don’t know how to describe it, but it is old and has been well used (and abused….Are they really suppose to glow red like that?) so hopefully I’ll get this winter out of it, and in Jan. or Feb., I’ll look around for a “furnace” type stove on clearance.

Nope, a nice rosy glow is something you should develope slowly with the aid of a few cocktails in front of the fire; it's definitely not a good shade for the stove itself. If your stove is showing that much wear, you may seriously want to evaluate it before burning season kicks in. If you can post some pictures and a better description of "burnt", maybe we can help evaluate its safety.

As far as the scrap is concerned, definitely stay away from the plywood (everyone else hit it, so enough said). I have good access to long narrow cutoffs from a shop and use it all the time to re-light the fire in the morning. Just a handfull of strips on a nice bed of coals with a small split or two on top does the trick every time. You just have to be careful of how much you put in at one time; it goes back to the red glow bad idea.