Wood pallets - are they worth burning?

[fabsroman]

I have the opportunity to get a regular supply of broken wood pallets right around the corner from me. However, I am wondering if they are worth burning. I am talking about truckload/trailer loads of these things and about 2 miles from my house. If they are worth burning in my furnace, I might have hit a gold mine. They will even deliver them if I agree to accept a bunch of them on a continual basis.

Any of you guys try burning scrap pallets for heat? If so, what is your opinion?

 

[SolarAndWood]

Seems like you are going to put a whole bunch of steel in your firebox or spend a whole bunch of time cleaning them.

 

[fabsroman]

Seems like you are going to put a whole bunch of steel in your firebox or spend a whole bunch of time cleaning them.

Is it a bad idea to put the nails, etc. in the firebox? I am just getting started on this endeavour and have no clue about how bad it would be to have nails in the firebox. I can probably cut the pallets in a manner to get some boards out of them without any nails in them.

 

[woodchip]

The best way to burn pallets is to make sure you have a magnet, you can easily remove the nails from the ashes.
Nails won't do any harm to a woodburner, they will do more harm to you if you don't handle the pallets carefully....

Main things to think about are making sure you are able to feed your fire frequently, pallets burn pretty quick.
Pallets look ugly, so you will need somewhere to store them out of sight.
Don't cut pallets with a chainsaw, hidden nails will wreck the chain, the wood is easy to cut with a bowsaw.
Just cut the corners, and most pallets just fall apart.

A couple of years ago, I burned pallets for a whole winter, between a palleta and 2 pallets a day.

Like you, I had a free supply of pallets from someone who would have had to pay of get rid of them ;-)

 

[DiscoInferno]

Nails are harmless. I've burned plenty. The bigger issues are: 1. It's a pain in the you-know-what to break down pallets for a stove. 2. They are typically small/thin pieces and quite dry, so they may burn too hot and fast. If they are sturdy oak pallets, then maybe. Flimsy pine pallets, no.

 

[MasterMech]

Nails are a PITA if you compost or spread your ash around your property because they have to be screened out. I have a co-worker with a OWB and he spends an awful lot of time sifting his ashes.

 

[woodsmaster]

If I had a nice supply of pallets I'd look into getting a pallet burner / boiler. Just throw the whole thing in and walk away. I couldn't imagine trying to heat my load with pallets with my current set-up, all I'd get done is tearing pallets apart and loading.

 

[firefighterjake]

Pallets and standing dead elm got me through my first year of burning . . . and I truly think pallets are useful for the first year burner who may have semi-seasoned wood as pallets are good for starting fires and bringing the temp in the firebox up enough to "dry" out any semi-seasoned wood -- not exactly the best thing to do when it comes to burning wood, but you do what you have to do to survive in that first year.

Nowadays all my pallets are relegated to being used to stack firewood on to season . . . I don't bother with them for wood as . . .

1) They're a pain to process. I've always used my chainsaw and had no problems . . . but it's time consuming to rip through them and cut them up.
2) They don't stack well unless you break them down completely . . . me, I just ripped through them and had sections attached to other sections.
3) They tend to burn hotter due to their size and the way I processed them . . . great for kindling and for getting the temps hot . . . not sure I would ever just load up pallets in my woodstove though.
4) Due to the way I cut them up they never "packed" the firebox . . . lots of void space = quicker burning time.
5) Nails -- All ash had to go out in the woods vs. nowadays my ash goes on to my driveway, lawn or garden.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

The problem with nails is that invariable you're going to hit some with the saw. Even if you try to miss them- they'll be driven at angles, used for some temporary patch someone put on a pallet, or randomly stuck in the wood for who knows what reason. You can live with this, but will have to take some extra care on your chain (I know some that use a circular saw instead.

 

[billb3]

I've done it. (free no chemicals pine pallets )
It's a lot of work.
I first tried busting them apart, even smashing them with a fork truck.
Way too much work, too much mess and splinters.
Cut the slats along the 2x4 with a circular saw and even a sawzall.

Lots of nails in the ashes, a magnet will leave behind all but the steel ones.

Not too much different than feeding pine boards or sticks into a backyard fire. If you don't keep at it the fire goes out pretty quick.
It'll keep ya busy and out of trouble that's for sure.

Busted up oak pallets with a big maul. They're more like firewood.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Besides the pain to cut them up, the biggest concern will be the possibility of overheating the stove. Mixing the pallet wood with other wood could work out much better. Another thing to consider is how your place might look. Pallets can be an unsightly mess and after cutting them up, how will you stack the wood? I predict you will have a very messy yard if you go the pallet route.

 

[pybyr]

I've used pallets both for kindling and when short of good wood. Especially if they are hardwood pallets, they make great heat. The problem is in cutting them up. They don't break apart easily due to ringed nails, and cutting them up, it is really hard not to nick your chain.

I saw something on youtube where someone had taken several junky Skilsaws and rigged them to a jig so they ran simultaneously in a row, and since all the pallets this guy had access to had uniform dimensions and spacing, he could just take one run down one side, then another run down the other, and Done! Trouble is, any pallets I've ever had access to are all sorts of random dimensions and spacings

 

[CTYank]

Never, ever had problems with overheating, burning pallets. Just adjusted primary draft a/r. And avoided stuffing stove.

Cutting them up is quick & easy with cheapie circ saw & Harbor Freight (cheapie) blades, or sawzall with demolition blade. Made a simple fixture to hold multiple partially disassembled bits. Thin bits made excellent kindling; oak frame excellent fuel- generally quite dry, no 3-yr wait.

If somebody wanted to deliver them to me, just drop them right there, thanks.

 

[cygnus]

All pallet topics are covered so far except 2.

1) Some pallets are pressure treated. It can be difficult to tell after a few years of service, wear and grime but you do not want to burn treated wood.
2) Pallets are used for storing and transporting just about everything. It's not commonly a big issue. However, I wouldn't want to burn pallets used for years under leaking chemicals or petroleum products.

Are these pallets from a single source? Been used for a single type of product?

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I did it my first year. You can break them down with a sawzall. I always thought they were supereasy to stack. Everything was cut into a square! They make nice, tight, stable face cords! Since you have a truck I'd pick them up myself. That way you can control the flow into your yard. I kept my ash separated pallet/not pallet. Pallet stuff went into a bag with the trash once cooled off.

Matt

 

[n3pro]

Dittos, I burn quite a few wood pallets, free, great for those "just to take the chill off" fires, and if you got a small firebox like me they are great for low coal bed starts. I use a circular saw cut the slats, then the rails. First year as others said I tried breaking them up big PITA. Got a discount on a circular saw and much easier.

 

[xman23]

I don't think all the work to cut them up is worth the heat you get. But that's me, I don't even like cutting them up to burn in the fire pit. But that said if you don't have another source of wood and you come up with a way to rip them up with the chain saw, maybe it works. Be careful. Cut up and burn a few before you get a trailer load.

Tom

 

[fabsroman]

Alright. After reading all the replies, I think I am going to stay away from the pallets. I already have 3 cords of decent wood, one of which has been seasoned for a couple of years, and have access to more. I also have enough other stuff to keep me busy and out of trouble, that I don't need to spend what little time I do have cutting up pallets and cleaning up after them. I am going to concentrate on finding a tree service in the area that is willing to dump logs off in my backyard. That will be a better use of my time.

 

[NordicSplitter]

As far as weight is concerned........30 pallets is roughly 1 face cord of wood. I plan on using pallets the same way I use cottonwood...Shoulder wood and stretch fires until my all night burn. Using a circular saw worked good for me.