Burning pallets observation

[chugbug]

I can't get over how much smoke I get when I burn pallets , there not treated with any kind of wood preserver that I no of but man do they produce the smoke . Anybody else burning pallets and getting alot of smoke ?? Good thing I don't have any close neighbors !!!! Any ideas why they smoke so bad ???

 

[Rookie1]

I burn pallets and crates and assorted junk wood and havent noticed any more or less smoke than burning split oak or maple. I like to run my burner on the hoy side though. It only smokes when I first load it.:greenchainsaw:

 

[husky455rancher]

ive been burning pallets for a good week straight. i was out splitting wood most of saturday and i saw absolutly no smoke comming from the chimney. yes the fire was lit lol. its all about the stove temp once its good and hot your golden.

 

[chugbug]

My furnace is set to turn the blower off at around 180 and on at 165 but I still get a ton of smoke , it will fill up my 4 acre field easy and more , and I get very little smoke with regular firewood , I can't figure it out !! I even through some good seasoned oak on top of the pallets and it still smokes . I'm wondering if there full of moisture from being outside , I'll try keeping some under roof and see what happens .

 

[habanero]

...I'm wondering if there full of moisture from being outside , I'll try keeping some under roof and see what happens .

I think it might be the opposite that's causing the additional smoke. Since lumber is usually extremely dry compared to normal firewood, the volatiles come off more quickly. If the amount of volatiles coming off overwhelm the amount of oxygen being fed to the fire, you're going to get a smoky burn.

 

[chugbug]

If that was the case wouldn't wouldn't everybody burning pallets get a bunch of smoke like I am , Thats what I wanted to find out , there must be something different I'm doing .Sawed lumber can really suck in the water with the open grain. Also pallets burn very hot , you would think that would help with a cleaner burn ??? Any other ideas ???

 

[Scootermsp]

All depends on the temp.

When I first load pallets they smoke like crazy. within about 10-15 minutes it diminishes to invisible. They sure are wonderful for this time of year though. I really like not going to the good stuff and saving it for next winter,:rockn:

 

[blakey]

Chugbug, when you load them are they just making a heap without much air space? I find when I burn slabwood it smokes like a steam engine. It's kind of embarrassing, I don't have any close neighbors but people driving by sometimes slow down.

 

[habanero]

If that was the case wouldn't wouldn't everybody burning pallets get a bunch of smoke like I am...

Not necessarily. Different firebox configurations and operating parameters could greatly affect how much oxygen is getting into the combustion process. The hot burn you're talking about is part of the reason I think they smoke so much at loading. The reason they burn so hot is the wood is flashing to vapor quickly, but if that vapor doesn't get enough oxygen it becomes smoke.

I end up burning a lot of lumber cut-offs in my stove in the shop, and I notice I have to be careful to feed them slowly and steadily rather than just throwing in a big pile at a time. If I put a bunch in at a time, you can see the firebox fill with that dark yellow flame and see a bunch of smoke coming out the stack. Put in a few at a time, though, and the flame stays nice and bright and there's no smoke.

 

[Kansas]

I can't get over how much smoke I get when I burn pallets , there not treated with any kind of wood preserver that I no of but man do they produce the smoke . Anybody else burning pallets and getting alot of smoke ?? Good thing I don't have any close neighbors !!!! Any ideas why they smoke so bad ???

Yup me too, we would sometimes cause traffic to slow down out in front of my shop when the wind held the smoke down from the initial light of my stove at 7:30 AM.

Fact the fire marshal came screaming down the driveway once and drove around back where he saw the smoke stack and realized the shop wasnt on fire.

I burnt 4 whole pallets at a time in it fwtw. I was always under the impression they were oak and were treated with something is why they were so smokey but who knows?

Quite honestly the real reason is probably because they burn so fast and hot they actually burn so rich because the in coming air and the stack cant keep up with the burn so you really have a smolder but thats just a guess.

Kansas

 

[troy3300]

Mine smokes bad the first time the fan comes on after I load the pallets. After that I don't get too much smoke at all. It sure doen't take long for the water to heat up when you are burning pallets.

 

[KsWoodsMan]

I think it might be the opposite that's causing the additional smoke. Since lumber is usually extremely dry compared to normal firewood, the volatiles come off more quickly. If the amount of volatiles coming off overwhelm the amount of oxygen being fed to the fire, you're going to get a smoky burn.

:agree2:
Had it happen before with extremely dry wood that couldn't get enough air.

 

[Paso One]

Mine typically smokes when first loading. However sometimes it just bellows the smoke out. After 10 minutes its clear as a bell.
I burn all types of pallets, hard wood and soft.

 

[sunriseturf]

From my experience pallets burn real hot and it burns off the creosote inside the chamber which causes a lot of smoke.