cardboard

[fbelec]

i remember from last year that there are a few that burnt cardboard. i tried it the past few mornings. it got the stove nice and hot for a short time just to take the chill off. bring the house up a degree or two. but i did notice that is does smoke alot. will that smoke build up in the chimney?

 

[Jags]

I think you will find that a "small" amount used as kindling will not be a bad thing, but a larger amount (say, enough to warm up your house a couple of degrees) will be a bad thing as time goes on. The glue and chemicals in that stuff is why it smokes. Smoke = creosote. Creosote = frequent chimney cleanings. Probably not a good choice for real fires. Heck, if all else fails, walk around the yard and pick up small branches or out to the splitting pile and grab a few handful's of the splinters. That will do the same thing (small fire) without the whole "sticky" issues.

 

[fbelec]

hi dylan

what stove are you burning?
not that the stove matters i thought you were running a old vc. that's what i have but i thought i would try burning some cardboard i have and i remember how well it worked for you.
my stoves air is full open and unless the door is cracked open it smokes. alot of smoke.

 

[martel]

As someone who has derived at least twenty-five percent of each heating season's warmth by burning cardboard, I respectfully disagree with Jags. Like any carbonaceous fuel, burning cardboard will result in smoke IF the fire is starved of oxygen....give it adequate air and it burns exceptionally clean and HOT. Further, I submit that glue is a tiny component of most cardboard. And, chemicals, schmemicals...what the hell do you think wood is??

NO FUEL IS PERFECT. Cardboard has its place. It's clean, consistent and readily available....during the heating season, I can easily acquire a week's worth on each week's trip to the grocery store. Get whatever is uniform in size. It can remain in the trunk of the car with no concern of bugs, etc.

25%?!?! Are you serious? Okay, now I am interested. I know there have been threads about this in the past- but Dylan spill it- what's your method? big piles? mixed in? all alone? etc. And this is brown corrugated? No print or coloring?

25%?!?!
Wow.

 

[Roospike]

25% cardboard for heating ! I know wood is a little high up there in Connecticut but 25% cardboard , Damn! Dont know if anybody else is in but i will donate some wood to help you out . :bug:

 

[DonCT]

Heck, I've got about 4 cord of cardboard at work

 

[propguy]

i remember from last year that there are a few that burnt cardboard. i tried it the past few mornings. it got the stove nice and hot for a short time just to take the chill off. bring the house up a degree or two. but i did notice that is does smoke alot. will that smoke build up in the chimney?

Hmm......................... tag for details

 

[Jags]

Dylan - with all due respect, if fbelec is burning cardboard and in his own words "it smokes alot", this ain't a good thing no matter how you cut it.

 

[paulgp602]

A little off topic, but I use those drink holders you get a fast food drive through windows to start a fire. I put newspaper in the cup holder part then put the smaller wood on top of it. It burns hot and quick and gets the fire going nicely.

On topic, I burn cereal boxes or any other cardboard I come across in the kitchen. I have a non cat stove with full liner. I burn just about anything that I can-pine, cardboard, old unfinished wood furniture.

 

[recppd]

Not to get off topic, but has anyone tried rolling newspaper logs? I know they make hand-crank machines to create paper logs from newspaper, and I'm guessing you wrap them in some sort of wire to keep them together, but do they really burn well and give off much heat?

 

[elkimmeg]

What Dylan is not telling you he has an old VC Villigant where the connecting rods are no more. Could that be a chemical reaction with the glues.? Plus if you had a stove that is old and should be replaced IT's not like burning junk in a very expensive new stove. the cardboard he burns in the stove owes him nothing. Don't do that ina cat stove the fly ash will plugg that combustor quickly. I supose he has learned over time how to control overburns too bad the connecting rods sufferd first. I mean what is left of them

 

[fbelec]

connecting rods

sounds like your talking about a nice big block V8

 

[elkimmeg]

Vermont castings have 4 1/4" rods that thread into the top and and nut and washered under the bottom plate
they are positioned in the 4 corners That is how one removes the top and starts the dissesembly. One could use stainless steel 1/4" threaded rods to replace them

 

[Dave_1]

connecting rods

sounds like your talking about a nice big block V8

Vermont castings have 4 1/4" rods that thread into the top and and nut and washered under the bottom plate
they are positioned in the 4 corners That is how one removes the top and starts the dissesembly. One could use stainless steel 1/4" threaded rods to replace them

Fbelec,

With 4 ¼ “ rods it definitely is a small block opposing 4 cylinder with very little bore. Sort like a VW, corvair, etc

But with a fuel injected 454 & dual overhead cams, Dylan would be definitely “smoking”, with or without any "cardboard".

Dave

 

[Dave_1]

connecting rods

sounds like your talking about a nice big block V8

Vermont castings have 4 1/4" rods that thread into the top and and nut and washered under the bottom plate
they are positioned in the 4 corners That is how one removes the top and starts the dissesembly. One could use stainless steel 1/4" threaded rods to replace them

Fbelec,

With 4 ¼ “ rods it definitely is a small block opposing 4 cylinder with very little bore. Sort like a VW, corvair, etc

But with a fuel injected 454 & dual overhead cams, Dylan would be definitely “smoking”, with or without any "cardboard".

Dave

That's high-test gasified cardboard, Dave.

:lol:

Just be certain that it is "lead free" EPA approved cardboard or Elk will see to it that your posting is from prison. :coolsmile:

 

[fbelec]

connecting rods

sounds like your talking about a nice big block V8

Vermont castings have 4 1/4" rods that thread into the top and and nut and washered under the bottom plate
they are positioned in the 4 corners That is how one removes the top and starts the dissesembly. One could use stainless steel 1/4" threaded rods to replace them

Fbelec,

With 4 ¼ “ rods it definitely is a small block opposing 4 cylinder with very little bore. Sort like a VW, corvair, etc

But with a fuel injected 454 & dual overhead cams, Dylan would be definitely “smoking”, with or without any "cardboard".





Dave

That's high-test gasified cardboard, Dave.

:lol:

Just be certain that it is "lead free" EPA approved cardboard or Elk will see to it that your posting is from prison. :coolsmile:

you can tell it's a old machine. it's got no catalytic converter

 

[Dave_1]

connecting rods

sounds like your talking about a nice big block V8

Vermont castings have 4 1/4" rods that thread into the top and and nut and washered under the bottom plate
they are positioned in the 4 corners That is how one removes the top and starts the dissesembly. One could use stainless steel 1/4" threaded rods to replace them

Fbelec,

With 4 ¼ “ rods it definitely is a small block opposing 4 cylinder with very little bore. Sort like a VW, corvair, etc

But with a fuel injected 454 & dual overhead cams, Dylan would be definitely “smoking”, with or without any "cardboard".





Dave

That's high-test gasified cardboard, Dave.

:lol:

Just be certain that it is "lead free" EPA approved cardboard or Elk will see to it that your posting is from prison. :coolsmile:

you can tell it's a old machine. it's got no catalytic converter

Right! :lol: Thereby enabling him to crank out an extra 500 rpm, since there is no additional EPA exhaust restriction, producing yet another 5,000 btu's from the heater.

 

[spot]

To everyone that burns cardboard, rolled newspapers, and whatever else that isn't an ordinary stick of wood...

You all have been burning a lot longer than I, and therefore I have no place telling anyone what to (or not to) burn.

However I humbly submit my opinion on this subject:

I have found that burning cardboard is, in general, a bad idea. It burns too hot and too fast to be of any real use in a stove or fireplace. It also leaves behind way too much ash to clean up. Seasoned wood is a much better fuel for heat...it burns slower, gives more heat with fewer flying embers, and it is much easier to control the level of flame and heat.

If you have been burning cardboard for years with no problems, then I say "Keep on truckin'."

Burning anything has its dangers, you seem to have found a way to burn cardboard just as safely and effectively as the guy who only burns wood - so keep it up, keep it safe and stay warm by the fire of your choice.

"The Homeowner's Guide to Wood Stoves" (Sunset Books, 1979), recommends burning only seasoned hardwood (i.e., wood from deciduous trees that has been drying for at least 12 months).

>From Sami Izzo, Greater Upper Valley Solid Waste District, Norwich, VT:

A local country store owner has been heating this Vermont store (a wonder of
an old country store) with wood. He typically burns his cardboard boxes in
the wood furnace in winter, after carefully removing plastic, etc., and then
in warm months he recycles it. Vermont regulations make his wood furnace an
incinerator as soon as the cardboard is put in; it is illegal at that point.
Vermont also says that incineration is never, at any point, recycling or
reuse.

To avoid chimney fires, the Chimney Safety Institute of America recommends having the chimney inspected and cleaned on a regular basis; using only seasoned woods; building smaller, hotter fires that burn more completely and produce less smoke; never burning cardboard boxes, wrapping paper, trash or Christmas trees as they can spark a chimney fire; and installing stovepipe thermometers to help monitor flue temperatures where wood stoves are in use.

 

[jabush]

In another thread I was talking about the ash buildup in my upper chamber from burning cardboard, but the more I think about it, the buildup may have just been because that part of the stove was never cleaned. The previous owner(s) didn't take great care of this place and I wouldn't be suprised if the stove never had a good cleaning.

I don't know...just to be safe I'm sticking to wood only.

 

[Dave_1]

Spot,

Thanks for the warning since Dylan is right next door to Vt.

But if you read carefully I think you will see Dylan’s remarks were more tongue in cheek then fact. ;-)

(But then I could be wrong. :gulp: )


I use cardboard to start a fire & probably most wood burners do as well.

So surely the good people of Norwich, VT are smarter than to jump on those who do the same.

If not, then e-mail your congressperson asking that our president declare martial law immediately in Norwich, VT,
because the benzene contamination a few decades back did far more brain damage than was initially realized if they think starting a fire with cardboard is a major pollutant. :wow:

Have a good one,

Dave