Is it okay to burn plain non colored, CORREGATED cardboard in the stove i cut them up into small pices to start the fire.
OKAY TO BURN CORREGATED CARDBOX
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Absolutely. It works better for me than just crumpled newspaper, giving longer burn times to get the small sticks going.
Clean Paper Cardboard is OK in NON cat stoves.
Funny story.
My fire chief and Local Meat Market Grocery store owner.
He has been using waxed Card board for 20 years. He claims it Cleans his Chimney pipe and that he has NEVER swept his Pipe. He bought a New Olympic wood stove from us a few years ago because he was afraid his pipe is Week from all the HOT WAXED CARDBOARD FIRES he had me replace ALL of his pipe inside and out.
The problem is that his Mother got a new stove (VC with a CAT from my competitor) He did not tell her NOT to burn the wax cardboard and it burned up the cat in the first month she had the stove.
Funny story.
My fire chief and Local Meat Market Grocery store owner.
He has been using waxed Card board for 20 years. He claims it Cleans his Chimney pipe and that he has NEVER swept his Pipe. He bought a New Olympic wood stove from us a few years ago because he was afraid his pipe is Week from all the HOT WAXED CARDBOARD FIRES he had me replace ALL of his pipe inside and out.
The problem is that his Mother got a new stove (VC with a CAT from my competitor) He did not tell her NOT to burn the wax cardboard and it burned up the cat in the first month she had the stove.
I didn't know there was any other way to dispose of beer cartons other than starting fires in the stove.
i would think that non waxed carboard would be ok for kindling, i dont think i would put any thing wax coated up my chimney, but then again people do weird stuff, a neighbor uses sawdust mixed with kerosene to start up his stove. And i have to admit, it works realy well. The porportions he uses is a large coffie can full of sawdust, and about a 1/4 of kerosene, do you think thats enough kerosene to do any damage to anything? He uses a spoon full for each fire.
MountainStoveGuy said:
In a pinch I use a cat food can with a little kero in it to start the Sierra. For gosh sakes I hope your neighbor keeps the stove door cracked when the kero is burning so that any fumes go up the stack. A little build up of fumes in a stove can create a blast that makes secondary combustion look like mouse farts.
I have a customer who uses the same technique to light her pellet stove. Seems ot work fine and there is no visible corrosion etc. She keeps her's in the garage though.
It shouldn't be a problem if you are using small amounts to get your kindling going. See the ash/creosote thread for my experience with (my wife) burning piles of cardboard. Believe me it won't happen again!
Also, I find it interesting that some use very flammable accelerants(sp) to get thier stove going. I'm wondering if it is for ease of lighting or if there are draft problems that warrant a hot flashy type fire to establish the draft. In my stove...once I get the draft going the kindling takes right off when I light it. The only paper I use is to get some heat on the stainless Tee, and (literally) within seconds of that flame hitting the stainless steel, it's off to the races with the draft.
Also, I find it interesting that some use very flammable accelerants(sp) to get thier stove going. I'm wondering if it is for ease of lighting or if there are draft problems that warrant a hot flashy type fire to establish the draft. In my stove...once I get the draft going the kindling takes right off when I light it. The only paper I use is to get some heat on the stainless Tee, and (literally) within seconds of that flame hitting the stainless steel, it's off to the races with the draft.
jabush said:
The times I have used a small amount of kero were when the stove was out and all of the available kindling was wet. I should probably just use a propane torch at those times.
BrotherBart said:
probably a good idea to prepare a big box of kindling and stick it someplace where it can't get wet. At any rate, I agree that starting with flamable liquids is a pretty bad idea. Using cardboard with glue in it can create toxic fumes, and ANY paper with color on it can also create toxic fumes (newspaper or cardboard). I wouldn't use any of these things.
I built the first fires in my new stove over the weekend (seasoning fires). It was easy enough to start, with a single sheet of crumpled newspaper and some small kindling wood. Lit right up.
minesmoria said:
NO!
I'm reposting what NOT to burn - cardboard (especially corrugated) is NOT OK to burn.
Never burn painted or treated wood, or wood products containing glue. Never burn magazines, gift wrap, or colored paper. They all produce particles that can clog a wood stove's air passages and can also produce noxious, corrosive or even carcinogenic gases. This of course includes cereal boxes!
See: (broken link removed to http://www.cdc.gov/nasd/docs/d000701-d000800/d000706/d000706.html) for more information.
And from the (broken link removed to http://www.epa.gov/woodstoves/healthier.html):
Never burn household garbage or cardboard. Plastics and the colored ink on magazines, boxes, and wrappers produce harmful chemicals when burned.
Never burn coated, painted, or pressure-treated wood because it releases toxic chemicals when burned.
Never burn ocean driftwood, plywood, particle board, or any wood with glue on or in it. They all release toxic chemicals when burned.
Never burn wet, rotted, diseased, or moldy wood.
Only bring into your home the amount of wood needed for a day to reduce the chance of allergy-causing mold spores circulating indoors.
minesmoria said:
For sure. The only danger burning cardboard in a stove is fly ash and overheating the stove. There is a lot more noxious crap in most cordwood than there is in cardboard.
If the CDC had their way you would clip your grass with scissors instead of using a gas lawn mower.
As to preparing a small box of dry kindling, their isn't a wood burner on the planet that hasn't ended up with nothing but wet kindling on his hands sooner or later.
BrotherBart said:
Corrugated cardboard (and probably other cardboard as well) contains glue. Glue, when burned, produces toxins that could potentially cause respiratory ailments or cancer. How much would you have to be exposed to? How much actually leaks into the room vs. going over to your neighbors yard? I have no idea. Maybe smoking only one cigarette a day is OK too. But why risk it when you don't have to? There are plenty of better ways to start a fire.
Dylan said:
I thought I read posts about you burning cardboard. Welcome back.
Do you get any unusual buildup. I vacuumed several cups of fine ash from the top chamber of my stove. I suspect it was from cardboard.
joel
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