Treated Canvas Tarps?

[Jager]

Ever since installing my Blaze King Princess (an amazing stove!) I'm very conscious of any "foreign matter" that might get mixed in with the wood... worried that it might damage or hinder the catalytic combustor in the stove.

I've used poly tarps for years to top-cover my wood. Seems they've changed how they manufacture them (or maybe it's just cheap fabrication) but the latest crop of poly tarps I'm using (from Tractor Supply) have shredded, and in so doing have left countless, tiny strands of poly material, each an inch or so long. Since I don't want that material in my stove, I've had to pick them off each split before it comes in the house. I'm done with poly tarps - not doing that again.

Looking at canvas tarps, it seems you can get either cotton or polyester versions. Most are treated to make them water resistant (which is what I want... breathability and some water resistance, not outright waterproofness). Cotton canvas tarps inevitably seem to be treated with some kind of wax. Polyester canvas tarps seem to be treated with some sort of silicone.

My question(s) are... are these canvas tarp treatments - either the wax kind or the silicone kind - likely to impregnate my wood and potentially cause a problem in my stove?

I know you can buy untreated canvas tarps. But they are not water resistant and so it kind of begs the question of why use a top cover in the first place.

Thanks for any advice...

 

[SeanBB]

If they are breathable but water resistant then I imagine they are only treated on one side. So the underside should be wax free.

(broken link removed to http://www.tarpaulinsuk.uk/size/heavy-weight-water-resistant-canvas-tarpaulins-dark-green-21oz/437#fo_c=1482&fo_k=95a24eedb40548f02c8b7b89cf576a95&fo_s=gplauk)

 

[Jeffm1]

Ever since installing my Blaze King Princess (an amazing stove!) I'm very conscious of any "foreign matter" that might get mixed in with the wood... worried that it might damage or hinder the catalytic combustor in the stove.

I've used poly tarps for years to top-cover my wood. Seems they've changed how they manufacture them (or maybe it's just cheap fabrication) but the latest crop of poly tarps I'm using (from Tractor Supply) have shredded, and in so doing have left countless, tiny strands of poly material, each an inch or so long. Since I don't want that material in my stove, I've had to pick them off each split before it comes in the house. I'm done with poly tarps - not doing that again.

Looking at canvas tarps, it seems you can get either cotton or polyester versions. Most are treated to make them water resistant (which is what I want... breathability and some water resistance, not outright waterproofness). Cotton canvas tarps inevitably seem to be treated with some kind of wax. Polyester canvas tarps seem to be treated with some sort of silicone.

My question(s) are... are these canvas tarp treatments - either the wax kind or the silicone kind - likely to impregnate my wood and potentially cause a problem in my stove?

I know you can buy untreated canvas tarps. But they are not water resistant and so it kind of begs the question of why use a top cover in the first place.

Thanks for any advice...

I solved my old tarp problem. 100% now a thing of the past....I built a woodshed.

 

[Allagash350]

Tarps are one of those things that if you spend money on a good one it will last a while. I can go buy a 10×10 tarp for 4 or 5 bucks. Then buy another in 6 months. I spend the extra money and get thick commercial Tarps now when I need one.
Also side note: don't uncover your wood pile and leave the tarp laying on the ground. My dad did that then it got buried and he forgot about it and hit it with the snow blower. What a mess

 

[Jager]

Thanks, guys.

In case anyone else runs into this concern down the road... I posed my question to Blaze King and they replied that most wax-type finishes on tarps are organic and so should pose no problem for catalytic cumbustors in stoves. They didn't speak to silicone finishes, so I suppose that is still something of an open question.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

Tarps are one of those things that if you spend money on a good one it will last a while. I can go buy a 10×10 tarp for 4 or 5 bucks. Then buy another in 6 months. I spend the extra money and get thick commercial Tarps now when I need one.
Also side note: don't uncover your wood pile and leave the tarp laying on the ground. My dad did that then it got buried and he forgot about it and hit it with the snow blower. What a mess

Sounds just like something I would do. Thanks for the warning.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

Ever since installing my Blaze King Princess (an amazing stove!) I'm very conscious of any "foreign matter" that might get mixed in with the wood... worried that it might damage or hinder the catalytic combustor in the stove.

I've used poly tarps for years to top-cover my wood. Seems they've changed how they manufacture them (or maybe it's just cheap fabrication) but the latest crop of poly tarps I'm using (from Tractor Supply) have shredded, and in so doing have left countless, tiny strands of poly material, each an inch or so long. Since I don't want that material in my stove, I've had to pick them off each split before it comes in the house. I'm done with poly tarps - not doing that again.

Looking at canvas tarps, it seems you can get either cotton or polyester versions. Most are treated to make them water resistant (which is what I want... breathability and some water resistance, not outright waterproofness). Cotton canvas tarps inevitably seem to be treated with some kind of wax. Polyester canvas tarps seem to be treated with some sort of silicone.

My question(s) are... are these canvas tarp treatments - either the wax kind or the silicone kind - likely to impregnate my wood and potentially cause a problem in my stove?

I know you can buy untreated canvas tarps. But they are not water resistant and so it kind of begs the question of why use a top cover in the first place.

Thanks for any advice...

Every time I see one of the wooden swingsets that has a tarp roof over it, I think the same thing, Jager. I have a couple of old canvas tarps around, I'm thinking about dissolving some paraffin in something and brushing it on.

 

[Bad LP]

Eastern Trailer Connection dot com has trucker tarps. You won't be buying another for a while. I have a friend who is a rubber roofer. I got a bunch of new rubber I'm saving but that is also an option.

I built a wood shed a few years back and will be soon building another.

 

[Destructor]

On vehicle cats silicon is not good, at least with the sealants with silicon. The fumes can poison O2 sensors and cats.