Burning free pallets

[1treeguy]

Are the pallets you can get for free from many companies treated with anything that I should worry about?

They seem like a good, cheap (free) source of scrap wood for a heater.

Those of you that do this, do you just knock them apart and toss them in the heater? Do you cut them, clean them? What do you do with the nails?

 

[stumpy75]

Most pallets are not treated. I use a chain saw to slice them up, just avoiding the nails, then throw them in the stove. I take the nails out of the ashes with an ash shovel that I put a rare earth magnet on. Just run the shovel through the ashes, and then let it cool before handling the nails... Some pallets are oak, and many are maple.... just pieces too small or deformed to be lumber.

 

[1treeguy]

Can you dump the nails in buckets and sell them as scrap steel?

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Can you dump the nails in buckets and sell them as scrap steel?

Sure, but scrap right now is about $5/ton. Not even worth it.

 

[Jakers]

Sure, but scrap right now is about $5/ton. Not even worth it.

going for about $100/ton around here. Cleaned out some junk earlier this week just because it was sitting around. I was surprised when the guy told me he was actually paying me for it

 

[Bwildered]

I wouldn't burn any timber inside a house that couldn't be identified as 100% treatment free, as some treatments when burned turn to dioxins which are highly carcinogenic, some are just fumigated for export & are usually stamped so they shouldn't be burnt either.
Thanski

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

going for about $100/ton around here. Cleaned out some junk earlier this week just because it was sitting around. I was surprised when the guy told me he was actually paying me for it

Never seen it that high here. Couple years ago it was $50 or $60 a ton. We got rid of about 40 tons of junk.

I called around a few weeks ago, had a few engine blocks, trannies, etc we missed on the big cleanup.
Best rate was $5/ton, others either I'd have to pay or was free to drop off.

Been putting a bit in the dumpster here and there.

 

[Little Al]

Are the pallets you can get for free from many companies treated with anything that I should worry about?

They seem like a good, cheap (free) source of scrap wood for a heater.

Those of you that do this, do you just knock them apart and toss them in the heater? Do you cut them, clean them? What do you do with the nails?

If the wood is tinged blue or green these are treated & the fumes from burning are TOXIC recommended to not inhale the smoke/fumes the plain wood ones are usually OK although the burn characteristics differ widely due to the wood use in manufacture lot of cutting for not much burn time But if it's free it can't be bad

 

[dave_dj1]

Never seen it that high here. Couple years ago it was $50 or $60 a ton. We got rid of about 40 tons of junk.

I called around a few weeks ago, had a few engine blocks, trannies, etc we missed on the big cleanup.
Best rate was $5/ton, others either I'd have to pay or was free to drop off.

Been putting a bit in the dumpster here and there.

I wonder if it's because they have to ship it all out to be processed? Seems like it would be at a premium up there since anything is expensive up there.

 

[sb47]

There are a lot of variables when it comes to pallet wood. Do you feel lucky? Well do ya?.......punk!!! lol....I love that line.

 

[LondonNeil]

If it's gone international then it should have an IPCC wheat sheaf Mark with treatment code (db- debarked, or ht- heat treatment are safe to burn, other codes are chemical treatment and not safe to burn) . If it's been used locally it may not have a wheatsheaf, and thus you don't know, but likely its just debarked or heat treated.

 

[tnflatbed]

It is tempting but personally I wont burn them. Even if a pallet is not marked as being fumigated it could have been. The main product used is methyl bromide which is nasty stuff, not to mention what could of leaked on the pallet during shipping.

 

[Mustang71]

I burn pallets. They are great starting wood. They burn out fast but get nice and hot and get those logs going. The pine ones start faster but the oak burn better. My neighbor heated all winter this year on pallets. That seems a bit extreme to me. The top of his chimney is black now lol.

 

[stumpy75]

All of these negative posts about burning pallet wood sure flies in the face of many other posts on this forum telling new woodburning people to go find some pallets... I use it all the time as kindling and even some shoulder season burning. If I think there is a chance that it's treated, I won't burn it, but most pallets I find are not treated. I find oak, maple and poplar pallets around here, and a local recycling place has a mountain of them. All untreated. They put the treated ones in a much smaller pile...

 

[Mustang71]

I'm always excepting free scrap lumber and pallets. It all burns but if I were to burn straight pine pallets and cut offs I would be loading the furnace every half an hour. I gather pallets all summer and have a few stacks that I use for starting wood. I have nothing negative to say about burning pallets or cut offs.