Projectile and Other Metals in firewood

[boomfire]

While sourcing for firewood dead fallen trees or standing trees or firewood from neighbors. I have come across lots of metals in them.
Nails, Pins, Projectiles (both my property and wood from others) etc. The ones I notice, i pick them out and toss em. But if i miss something and they endup in fireplace, would they cause any sort of damage? I live in rural area, people target practicing or hunting in their backyard is pretty common.

This one i found in the firewood that I pickedup locally few days ago.

 

[Riverbanks]

First thing that came to mind is, if it's sharp, take it with you, someone else might not be in sturdy sole shoes

 

[Riverbanks]

Second thought, I sift all my wood stove Ash and spread it on my lawn, it brings up the "k" potassium or potash , so any large pieces get discarded

 

[johneh]

I see no problem burning wood with metal in it
Just be careful where you dump your ash .
If you put it on ice in your driveway maybe a flat tire.

 

[stoveliker]

Should be no problem UNLESS you have a cat stove. Cats get poisoned by metal.

 

[Montanalocal]

Should be no problem UNLESS you have a cat stove. Cats get poisoned by metal.

So the inside of the stove, being all metal, is not a problem?

 

[stoveliker]

No. I'd be careful putting a LOT of galvanized (zinc coated) material in, but the occasional nail is not an issue.

Metal gets coated with other metal all the time (plating)..Of course some metal coatings can lead to corrosion but stoves are not stainless anyway so you want to keep moisture out anyway to prevent rust.

 

[Poindexter]

As @stoveliker pointed out, some metals are poisonous to catalytic combustors. If there is no catalyst in your fireplace, you are unlikely to melt any of the common metals at the combustion temps you can achieve without forced induction of oxygen.

Lead is one. Once the engineers had to put catalytic converters on cars, the lead had to not be in the gas. Lead is good for valve train longevity, but poisonous to catalytic converters.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catal... the,thermal decomposition or physical damage.

Hope the link works...

 

[boomfire]

Thanks. I have a catalytic stove. I will process wood more carefully. But sometimes they seem to get through.

 

[Donk4kyv]

I once wrecked a chainsaw chain cutting through a dead but un-rotted oak tree. Deeply buried inside the trunk was the remnant of a hinge that someone had apparently used on the gate of a fence for which the tree, when it was just a sapling, had served as a post.

 

[stoveliker]

I got an ash tree from my tree company that they had already cut up. One piece had two half cuts in it. After splitting I found a 3/8" hook embedded 8" below the bark. That 3/8" dia steel had a chain-saw width gash in it. Halfway through... And a second one 1/3 of the way through. So they cut through 5/6 of a 3/8" bolt...

 

[Isaac Carlson]

I have found bullets, wire, rebar, concrete, rocks, railroad spikes, squirrels, mice, nails, screws, weather vanes, wrought iron decor, etc... in trees. One oak was plum full of nails. I swear the tree opened and someone put a huge box of nails in and the tree closed back up. You couldn't pack a tree with nails like that if you had a nail gun and an empty afternoon....

 

[Simonkenton]

Sawmills want wood only from the deep forest. They don't want a tree that has grown on the edge of a cow pasture, or, worst of all in somebody's yard.

 

[VC Encore new owner]

Greetings all, new cat stove owner here. Been running it daily practically with no issues whatsoever… except last week. Pungent strong smell, inside the house, outside as well. Super black and stinky smoke. So I let that fire burn out.

Crazy sinus, eyes and taste in mouth, like toxic. The CO detectors did not go off. The dogs both threw up in the house.

The following day, inside of stove had a weird rust like color ash with what appeared to be tiny metal flakes from ? The catalyst? A piece of metal in the wood? If there was a piece of metal in the wood, it was unknown and would not have burned it.

Ran a soot eater thru the pipes, dusted off the catalyst, shop vac’d out the stove and catalyst compartment.

This morning, decided to try a small fire. Same horrible smell, watery eyes, sinuses. Let it quickly burn out and opened the windows.

Thinking the entire catalyst metals reacted with whatever was in a piece of wood, and poisoned the stove.

Awaiting a reply from the dealer, as he’s never heard of this before.

What are your thoughts on what happened and does this entire stove need to be torn down and cleaned piece by piece? I won’t be using it anymore until it’s safe. It cannot be used at this time.

For anyone wondering, yes, it’s been cured and roasted up and got all paint and chemicals burned off right after install in October of this year.
Thanks

 

[johneh]

Greetings all, new cat stove owner here. Been running it daily practically with no issues whatsoever… except last week. Pungent strong smell, inside the house, outside as well. Super black and stinky smoke. So I let that fire burn out.

Crazy sinus, eyes and taste in mouth, like toxic. The CO detectors did not go off. The dogs both threw up in the house.

The following day, inside of stove had a weird rust like color ash with what appeared to be tiny metal flakes from ? The catalyst? A piece of metal in the wood? If there was a piece of metal in the wood, it was unknown and would not have burned it.

Ran a soot eater thru the pipes, dusted off the catalyst, shop vac’d out the stove and catalyst compartment.

This morning, decided to try a small fire. Same horrible smell, watery eyes, sinuses. Let it quickly burn out and opened the windows.

Thinking the entire catalyst metals reacted with whatever was in a piece of wood, and poisoned the stove.

Awaiting a reply from the dealer, as he’s never heard of this before.

What are your thoughts on what happened and does this entire stove need to be torn down and cleaned piece by piece? I won’t be using it anymore until it’s safe. It cannot be used at this time.

For anyone wondering, yes, it’s been cured and roasted up and got all paint and chemicals burned off right after install in October of this year.
Thanks

Suggest you start a new thread
may get more attention

 

[whatyousmokin]

Greetings all, new cat stove owner here. Been running it daily practically with no issues whatsoever… except last week. Pungent strong smell, inside the house, outside as well. Super black and stinky smoke. So I let that fire burn out.

Crazy sinus, eyes and taste in mouth, like toxic. The CO detectors did not go off. The dogs both threw up in the house.

The following day, inside of stove had a weird rust like color ash with what appeared to be tiny metal flakes from ? The catalyst? A piece of metal in the wood? If there was a piece of metal in the wood, it was unknown and would not have burned it.

Ran a soot eater thru the pipes, dusted off the catalyst, shop vac’d out the stove and catalyst compartment.

This morning, decided to try a small fire. Same horrible smell, watery eyes, sinuses. Let it quickly burn out and opened the windows.

Thinking the entire catalyst metals reacted with whatever was in a piece of wood, and poisoned the stove.

Awaiting a reply from the dealer, as he’s never heard of this before.

What are your thoughts on what happened and does this entire stove need to be torn down and cleaned piece by piece? I won’t be using it anymore until it’s safe. It cannot be used at this time.

For anyone wondering, yes, it’s been cured and roasted up and got all paint and chemicals burned off right after install in October of this year.
Thanks

Are you possibly burning wood of an unknown origin? I've seen some firewood suppliers try to sneak in scrap from demolition or construction waste, used pallets etc which could be contaminated with old pressure treated lumber. Some old, aged pressure treated lumber or creosote treated utility poles can be hard to identify. I don't know if it leaves metal flakes when burned though; I would think the metals are microscopic.

 

[VC Encore new owner]

Are you possibly burning wood of an unknown origin? I've seen some firewood suppliers try to sneak in scrap from demolition or construction waste, used pallets etc which could be contaminated with old pressure treated lumber. Some old, aged pressure treated lumber or creosote treated utility poles can be hard to identify. I don't know if it leaves metal flakes when burned though; I would think the metals are microscopic.

Ok so if that’s the case and there was a piece of scrap wood in the stove, how do I go about fixing the rancid smell and be able to use the wood stove again without choking us out of the house?

 

[johneh]

I think the first thing I would want to know is how the
fumes are getting into the house. After all the firebox (stove) is sealed
except for the draft control. Then I would want to know what caused the
mess and how to get rid of it

 

[stoveliker]

Catalyst metal can't poison the stove.

Catalysts can be poisoned (deactivated) by something in the fuel.

Do you have pics of the stuff you found?

What stove is this? Can you burn hot without the catalyst (BK's specifically say not to do that).
The reason I'm asking is because if youy can, I'd take out the bricks, take out the cat, take scrape/brush everything out. If really bad, sandblasting. Brush the chimney. If too tarry, get a sweep to help with some (chemical?) treatment.
Then reassemble, and run a few loads really high without the cat. To burn off anything that may be left. Then put in the old cat. See if it works (run high, get cat hot, turn down to no flame, wait 15 minutes, go outside, observe exhaust, open bypass, go outside, observe exhaust - if the smoke increases significantly, the cat was working). If it's not working, buy a new cat. (Or buy one anyway right now and have it as a space/replacement for the inevitable time when the cat is old and needs retiring.)

 

[VC Encore new owner]

Catalyst metal can't poison the stove.

Catalysts can be poisoned (deactivated) by something in the fuel.

Do you have pics of the stuff you found?

What stove is this? Can you burn hot without the catalyst (BK's specifically say not to do that).
The reason I'm asking is because if youy can, I'd take out the bricks, take out the cat, take scrape/brush everything out. If really bad, sandblasting. Brush the chimney. If too tarry, get a sweep to help with some (chemical?) treatment.
Then reassemble, and run a few loads really high without the cat. To burn off anything that may be left. Then put in the old cat. See if it works (run high, get cat hot, turn down to no flame, wait 15 minutes, go outside, observe exhaust, open bypass, go outside, observe exhaust - if the smoke increases significantly, the cat was working). If it's not working, buy a new cat. (Or buy one anyway right now and have it as a space/replacement for the inevitable time when the cat is old and needs retiring.)

Yes I agree this was a fuel issue. It’s a Vermont Casting Encore. Unfortunately, I guess it’s going to get torn down and cleaned out, but at my expense of course, operator’s error and not paying attention to the wood closely. It will cost a pretty penny as I’m unable to do any of this myself and have asked the dealer to pull the stove and get it out of here and to their shop to work on. (Nowhere here to work on it) thank you for your help and input.

 

[stoveliker]

okay. Yes it sucks.
I would go thru the stacks you have and carefully look if there is more (suspicious) wood in there.

 

[Isaac Carlson]

Take pictures of your wood pile and post rhem here

 

[whatyousmokin]

Take pictures of your wood pile and post rhem here

Yeah, I'd like to see photos of the wood pile too.