Salt on wood?

[Ctwoodtick]

was bringing some wood upstairs from basement today. Job was mostly done when realized that some of the wood had been touching the basement wall, which has some efflorescence on surface, which I believe is salt. I know salt is bad for stoves and liners. Not sure which of the wood was touching a which was not. I am thinking that option1 is to say to heck with it and burn it being that this will not be something I will repeat. Option 2 is to bring the wood back outside to get rained on then burn next season. I suspect that damage to stoves liners from salt happens from repeated using of salt laden wood and not was happening in my situation. Why do you all think?

 

[Dobish]

i think you'll be ok if you burn it.

 

[electrathon]

I would burn it. Such a small amount it will not be significant. My Grandpa lived in a cabin on the ocean, he would burn logs that drifted up on the beach.

 

[bholler]

Yes salt is bad for your stove and your chimney. But the amount that is on your wood is so small I doubt it will make the slightest bit of difference. Drift wood on the other hand can cause big problems.

 

[jetsam]

I would take the contaminated splits outside and use them as the ground-contact row in my next woodpile.

I doubt they have enough salt on them to hurt anything in one burn. Still, if it's enough to discolor the wood, I personally wouldn't put that in my stove. Why mess around? Wood's free; stoves aren't- and I always need more footings for my woodpiles.

 

[bholler]

and I always need more footings for my woodpiles.

Use pallets they work much better and provide air flow underneath. And wood is not free it takes time and effort to process and money for the fuel ect to do it. There is no way that there is enough salt in the wood from efflorescence to cause a problem. I would have to question the moisture content of the wood if it is stored in a basement with enough moisture coming through the walls to form much of any efflorescence though.

 

[Fred61]

Use pallets they work much better and provide air flow underneath. And wood is not free it takes time and effort to process and money for the fuel ect to do it. There is no way that there is enough salt in the wood from efflorescence to cause a problem. I would have to question the moisture content of the wood if it is stored in a basement with enough moisture coming through the walls to form much of any efflorescence though.

I suspect that what you are seeing is lime leaching out of the concrete. Happens a lot. I'm sure that you've seen masonry chimneys with a fairly substantial coating of the stuff.


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[Bristlecone]

I suspect that what you are seeing is lime leaching out of the concrete. Happens a lot. I'm sure that you've seen masonry chimneys with a fairly substantial coating of the stuff.


10/4 I'd see if it tastes like salt

 

[bholler]

I suspect that what you are seeing is lime leaching out of the concrete. Happens a lot. I'm sure that you've seen masonry chimneys with a fairly substantial coating of the stuff.

Efflorescence is mainly made up of different salts not much lime at all

 

[mark cline]

I suspect that what you are seeing is lime leaching out of the concrete. Happens a lot. I'm sure that you've seen masonry chimneys with a fairly substantial coating of the stuff.
My thought too. It's not salt, more like lime or calcium. Burn it , it won't hurt your stove.

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[Fred61]

I could be wrong. bholler seems pretty sure of himself.
Get yourself some acid like vinegar or CLR, muriatic acid. etc. and wet it. If it foams it's lime. If it sits there and looks at you, it's salt.

 

[bholler]

If it actually is efflorescence muriatic acid does absolutely nothing to it. Believe me we have cleaned plenty of it and it is very hard to clean.

 

[Fred61]

That's basically what I just said above.

 

[bholler]

That's basically what I just said above.

Yes I know that.

 

[Fred61]

Come to think of it. I'd burn it! Salt isn't very corrosive when dry. You will clean it out of the stove when you vac out all the ashes preparing for summer's humidity. Both salt and wood ashes are about equally corrosive when damp or wet.

 

[bholler]

Come to think of it. I'd burn it! Salt isn't very corrosive when dry. You will clean it out of the stove when you vac out all the ashes preparing for summer's humidity. Both salt and wood ashes are about equally corrosive when damp or wet.

I would burn it to because the levels of salt on the wood will be very low but salt is really corrosive it will destroy the liners in the chimney whether they are clay or stainless. Yes wood ash and creosote are corrosive to but liners are designed to deal with it they are not designed to deal with salt.

 

[Fred61]

I don't think the salt will convert to a gas or go up the stack as fly ash like wood and creosote. It should stay in the ash bed until it is removed.

 

[bholler]

I don't think the salt will convert to a gas or go up the stack as fly ash like wood and creosote. It should stay in the ash bed until it is removed.

Again in this case I would not be worried about it at all. But there have been plenty of cases on the coasts were people either burn allot of drift wood or their wood stacks get salt spray and yes it does get up the stack and yes it will eat up any liner and the stove. It is not common at all though and most people have nothing to worry about.

 

[jetsam]

This page has a bunch of info on burning driftwood and dimensional lumber/mill ends.