Lumber cut-offs

[larryjbjr]

There is a pallet company in my area that is offering firewood for sale. It's mixed hard and soft wood. They purchase it in boards 6"x4" (approximately) and cut them to the size they need. But before they cut them they trim the end off. The ends are anywhere from about 4" long to nearly 18" long.


They sell them for $20/bin. A bin is just under 1/2 a cord. I bought a bin yesterday and split one and it was over 40% MC, so I'll have to let them dry over the summer at least.

Any reason this would not make good firewood once it's seasoned?

 

[begreen]

Should work out ok. Figuring out the best way to burn them may take a bit of experimenting. Is the wood raw or is it treated in any way?

 

[Tar12]

My buddy gets them here. He burns a ton of that stuff each year. As you found out it needs a year at least to dry out. The stuff he gets is not treated in any way. He has a pot belly stove in his shop. This works out great for him!

 

[larryjbjr]

Not treated.




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[larryjbjr]

I figure I'll mix them in with my other wood, once they're dry.


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[begreen]

Sounds like a sweet deal. How do you store them? Will you be building a crib or just stacking them to dry? If stacking you may want to sticker each level to allow air to pass through the stack.

 

[Tar12]

My buddy built a small "open air" corn crib style building for his. It works very well...and he divided it in half so he could rotate out.

 

[begreen]

Good plan. I think that's what I would do too.

 

[larryjbjr]

My buddy built a small "open air" corn crib style building for his. It works very well...and he divided it in half so he could rotate out.

Could you better describe this? I'm not sure what a corn crib is. But I'm already thinking I'll need a way to stack them different than wood splits.



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[begreen]

It's a shed with slats siding that allows air to freely pass through it for quicker drying of the corn or wood. Search google for corn crib images, there are many various ways to make this. You could even build one out of pallets for the sides.

 

[shoot-straight]

I buy similar wood. It's awesome, but yes stacking is a chore. I simply mix it with regular split wood in stacks in my woodshed.

 

[jetsam]

If you don't have free wood, that's a pretty good price. Those pallet companies get their hands on oak sometimes!

Annoying to try to load a stove full with all oddball pieces, though.

 

[Woody Stover]

Those pallet companies get their hands on oak sometimes!

I'm not sure but it seems like almost all pallets were Oak, years ago. Now you see lesser woods used.

 

[jetsam]

I'm not sure but it seems like almost all pallets were Oak, years ago. Now you see lesser woods used.

I see a lot of pallets, and they're maybe 5% oak. I live in oak territory too.

I actually notice them because I always think, Oh, who would make pallets out of that nice oak tree??

 

[mstoelton]

I got a chance to get some really huge pallets 20' x 8' that were used to move large machinery. These pallets had been heat treated (the treatment codes are printed on the wood after the pallet is treated). However, the heat treating did not dry the wood out. It was too wet to burn year one. It is now year 3 for these pallets in my stacks and I'm finding they burn fine when mixed with other woods. They burn better when reduced in size. Much of the wood is 2x6 and 4x6 sized. I split the smaller stuff and it makes great kindling. It is mostly spruce or pine based on the smell when split. The pallets came from Germany!

 

[E Yoder]

Cut offs is all I burn in my G100. As was mentioned you have to be careful to stack the wood so it can get air or it will mold with flat edges. Especially soft hardwood like maple and gum. And I put it in my firebox on edge as it seems to crumble into coals quicker that way and not bridge.
Any wood that is free or cheap is worth figuring out how to burn!

 

[rwhite]

I've burn a ton of lumber cut offs . Same price @$20 a dumpster load. Saved my but for a few years until I got ahead. The stuff I got was kiln dried mixed conifer. My only warning is it tends to burn HOT. So you'll end up loading less wood and have shorter burn times. But the price is right so burn away!

 

[MtnBURN]

Check your local lumber yard. Ours has a big saw out in the yard they cut boards in half with/etc. and there's a large bin next to it...

Anything in the bin is free for the taking. You just have to pick through and avoid the stuff you don't want to burn. (pressure treat, OSB, etc)

happy burning, all.......

 

[begreen]

The folks that work at our local lumber yard grab every scrap for themselves.

 

[MtnBURN]

I was pretty shocked as well when the guy firstr told me to "take what you want".....cus I would have thought at least one of the guys there burned wood for heat. Guess not. In summer the bin is always overflowing. This year I have a good place to store kindling/etc...so..um...that may change! So much easier than cutting up pallets, for sure.

 

[Sodbuster]

I used them one year, mine were all Oak, a pain to stack but they burned well. A word of caution, because they are small pieces, they burn VERY hot start shutting your stove down sooner than you normally would, and experiment a bit, don't start with a full stove.

 

[ValleyCottageSplitter]

I see a lot of pallets, and they're maybe 5% oak. I live in oak territory too.

I actually notice them because I always think, Oh, who would make pallets out of that nice oak tree??

I just picked up a few pallets from the lumber yard. One of them is oak. I need it for stacking though

 

[begreen]

Maybe make another trip and pick up a few more?