I've tried using pallets for kindling but don't like having so many nails ending up in the wood stove. I guess I could split some of my firewood into smaller pieces but I'd rather use some junk wood for kindling. Has anyone tried things like old telephone poles or fence posts or something like that?
kindling
- Thread starter rmihalek
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I use pallets also..I just run the circular saw blade down the sides of the stringers and leave all the nails in the scrap.
The uniformity and ease of processing makes an occasional nail worth it. I've got a couple years of kindling worked up and it fits neatly in a old 36" TV box in the basement.
The uniformity and ease of processing makes an occasional nail worth it. I've got a couple years of kindling worked up and it fits neatly in a old 36" TV box in the basement.
NGaMountains
ArboristSite Operative
I've saved Rubbermaid tubs full of splitter scraps for kindling, and several plastic trash cans full of dried out oak noodles for tinder. Just using stuff I'd have had to clean up, anyhow and it starts the fire every time.
Full Chisel
Slingin' Stihls and runnin' Huskies
I like to use short, straight grained pieces to split up into kindling. Dismantling a pallet seems like a lot of work for kindling and they make great platforms to stack wood onto.
Nasty stuff in those that gets released when burned.
There is so much small wood available for free - most gets chipped or ignored.
Philbert
Na..I can have a skid turned into 25-30 1/2" x 4"x 16" boards in less than a minute with a wornout old circular saw. I'll bust up a dozen skids every couple years and sit and split it all up while watching a football game...maybe 2 hours every 2 years ain't bad.
We get some big white pines that blow down. When they sit a couple years, the branches season and bark falls off, I break up the branches and sort by size in garbage cans. The stuff smaller than a pencil you can light with a match. Then there is finger, wrist, arm, and leg sizes. I only need the small stuff if the fire is dead cold.
Odog
ArboristSite Operative
I got a truck load of 40' power poles for free from Idaho power. We blasted new pole holes when they upgraded to steel poles and they brought the old cedar poles to my house. Only the bottom 10' is treated, and most of those were left in the ground. They're dryer than popcorn and split into kindling nicely. I have a bunch on the deck so my daughter can get a fire going easily when she gets home from school. That's about all they're good for though, not a ton of btus in them
Gypo Logger
Timber Baron
No kindling required here, the stove burns 11 months of the year. If I need to rekindle I just pour methalhydrate on the end grain of a punky round.
The old telephone poles that were untreated cedar are great. The newer ones are treated and not best to burn.
ChoppyChoppy
Tree Freak
Burned some RR tie scraps in the shop, burn for a long time and hot!
Dunno on kindling, never have needed any.
Dunno on kindling, never have needed any.
No one doubts that they burn. But they put crap up in the air that other people breathe.
Philbert
ReggieT
Addicted to ArboristSite
Where do you get the methalhydrate?
I thought that was the stuff in the really deep parts of the ocean. It's frozen methane. There's about a quadrillion cubic meters of the stuff, enough to power the entire earth for thousands of years. I'm just looking for some kindling....Where do you get the methalhydrate?
ReggieT
Addicted to ArboristSite
Fred Wright
Addicted to ArboristSite
Broken up twigs, dry bark make for excellent kindling. Splitter scraps ain't bad neither.
Gypo Logger
Timber Baron
I found four litres of the stuff at the dump.Where do you get the methalhydrate?
I also collect scraps from my woodworking pile. If you really want to re-purpose some junk wood, stop by most construction dumpsters. If you know of a cabinet shop near by, they may let you scrounge. I will burn 2X, trim, molding, etc. But not plywood, particle board, painted or varnished wood.
Philbert
Philbert
