Keeping stove warm with lumber scraps

[JimmiHanz]

Quick question for you all. Burning for the first time this year in a 2013 Super 27 and really enjoying it. It's not cold enough yet that we need it going whole hog the whole day, though - a big load in the morning and evening seems to do it. But we have a ton of cut offs from our home milled lumber (mostly spruce and fir, not pressure treated) and we've been throwing the scraps in the throughout the day to keep the edge off and keep the stove warm for an easier start for the load before bed.

Is this a bad practice? They're bone dry so they seem to burn really cleanly, and it's nice to have something going throughout the day and have some embers for the evening fire.

Looking forward to your thoughts.

 

[rwhite]

It's still just wood. Many people burn cut offs. The only issue I ever had is the amount you can put in and how hot they tend to burn. I had to make sure I didn't overload the stove. When I lived near a mobile home factory I could get a dumpster load of cut offs for $20. Cheap heat.

 

[JimmiHanz]

It's still just wood. Many people burn cut offs. The only issue I ever had is the amount you can put in and how hot they tend to burn. I had to make sure I didn't overload the stove. When I lived near a mobile home factory I could get a dumpster load of cut offs for $20. Cheap heat.

Great to hear, that was my thought as well but I wanted to confirm that by running the stove at a low temp all day I wasn't unintentionally causing some future issues.

Good point about the heat - we milled the lumber last summer so it's bone dry, burns HOT, and takes off like a rocket. We only put a 1-2 eight or 10 inch long 2x6 cutoffs at a time but if you filled the stove with them I could see it being an issue.

 

[firefighterjake]

As long as you don't stuff the firebox to the gills with the wood and let it over-heat you should be fine. The same scrap wood makes for great kindling.

 

[JimmiHanz]

As long as you don't stuff the firebox to the gills with the wood and let it over-heat you should be fine. The same scrap wood makes for great kindling.

Thanks! No issues with us putting a piece in every hour or so to keep it warm though? I've read so much about running stoves in cycles that I'm just a bit nervous about keeping it going constantly at a low temp.

We have the old spruce flooring that we tore up for kindling. Now THAT stuff is dry.

 

[SteveKG]

Overthinking it. Stick some lumber in anytime you want to keep it going. I do it all the time in all three stoves. Friend of mine brings me boxes of cut-offs from his job, 2 x 6s, 2 x 4s, etc. He hates seeing it go to a dumpster. I use it in the fall and spring and saves me some chainsaw work.

 

[Rob_Red]

is it kiln dried? Kiln dried lumber can over fire a stove if its packed full of the stuff just be mindful of not getting the stove to hot by overdoing it.

on the other end of the spectrum if its not kild dried and it's freshly cut make sure youre not burning wet wood that will creosote badly

 

[Ben Stark]

Be careful that you aren’t burning anything with paint or stain on it, plywood, and avoid pressure treated wood. Your old flooring probably has some kind of stain I wouldn’t burn that.

Scraps of lumber such as 2 x 4s are fine. I burn them all the time. I usually just mix them in with other wood because they burn so quickly. They make excellent kindling. All lumber purchased at a big box store is kiln dried.