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Most of the time when someone posts free firewood on Craigslist its because they just had a tree taken down and don't want to pay the tree service to haul the wood away. As has already been said, "seasoned" firewood is wood that has been split, stacked, and covered from rain for at least a year. Some very dense hardwoods like oak can take up to two years to really dry out. The name of the game with firewood is being ahead of the curve ie: accumulating more than you will burn in one season that so that you always have some set aside drying for next year.
To answer your other questions, pallets can be had almost anywhere. Almost everything shipped by truck or container is palletized, that is, stacked on pallets so that they can be moved by forklift onto or off a truck or into or out of a shipping container. In New Jersey we have plenty of industrial parks-take a ride through one and if you see pallets laying around, stop in and ask-always ask. Some places return their pallets (if you see pallets that are painted blue and white they're usually the ones that get returned, but you can't burn them anyway since they're painted), so don't be surprised if you get turned down, some also might already have someone they've promised them to, etc...but eventually you'll find a place that wants to get rid of them. I have a company in East Brunswick that I stop by about once a month-I take as much as I can carry and break them down with a circular saw at home.
To answer your other questions, pallets can be had almost anywhere. Almost everything shipped by truck or container is palletized, that is, stacked on pallets so that they can be moved by forklift onto or off a truck or into or out of a shipping container. In New Jersey we have plenty of industrial parks-take a ride through one and if you see pallets laying around, stop in and ask-always ask. Some places return their pallets (if you see pallets that are painted blue and white they're usually the ones that get returned, but you can't burn them anyway since they're painted), so don't be surprised if you get turned down, some also might already have someone they've promised them to, etc...but eventually you'll find a place that wants to get rid of them. I have a company in East Brunswick that I stop by about once a month-I take as much as I can carry and break them down with a circular saw at home.
Maybe a good idea for dry wood, but there's something non-aesthetic about burning 1x6's in a fireplace. Split logs just look SO MUCH nicer, IMO. Also, those kind of boards burn much faster than split logs, which are typically thicker.
Maybe a good idea for dry wood, but there's something non-aesthetic about burning 1x6's in a fireplace. Split logs just look SO MUCH nicer, IMO. Also, those kind of boards burn much faster than split logs, which are typically thicker.
I assumed that OP had a wood stove-I agree, pallet wood would not be very aesthetically pleasing in a fireplace. I heat with an add-on furnace in the basement, so as long as it makes hot air come out of the registers upstairs, I don't care what it looks like Pallet wood does burn a lot faster than split logs, but its good for two reasons-first, it's a great way to get a fire started since the wood is typically below 20% moisture content as long as its been kept out of the rain, and it's great for small, quick, hot fires. In the dead of winter I load my furnace with my best hardwoods (oak and locust) just before bed and by the morning there will be a nice bed of very hot coals, but the house will typically be a little chilly (63-65 degrees) so I toss in a load of pallet wood which easily raises the temperature 5 degrees or so in minutes.
I assumed that OP had a wood stove-I agree, pallet wood would not be very aesthetically pleasing in a fireplace. I heat with an add-on furnace in the basement, so as long as it makes hot air come out of the registers upstairs, I don't care what it looks like Pallet wood does burn a lot faster than split logs, but its good for two reasons-first, it's a great way to get a fire started since the wood is typically below 20% moisture content as long as its been kept out of the rain, and it's great for small, quick, hot fires. In the dead of winter I load my furnace with my best hardwoods (oak and locust) just before bed and by the morning there will be a nice bed of very hot coals, but the house will typically be a little chilly (63-65 degrees) so I toss in a load of pallet wood which easily raises the temperature 5 degrees or so in minutes.
does anyone know which wood pallets are made of typically? i know some woods are worse for chimneys than others (sap content etc, though i can't imagine sap being in the palets).
anyways, i mostly want the palets for storage in basement - to move stuff off the floor in case of flooding. i'll stop by some industrial parks. didn't know if a shoprite or a walmart would give me them...
thanks for the info guys! i'm ahead of the curve now and will just keep adding to my existing stock. hope it doesn't take too long to be ready to burn.
also - let's say it's outside and gets a little wet in a rainstorm - how far back does that set me if the wood is well-seasoned or close to well-seasoned? is that something a week or two of sunshine would fix?
does anyone know which wood pallets are made of typically? i know some woods are worse for chimneys than others (sap content etc, though i can't imagine sap being in the palets).
I guess you're referring to pine. Pine is perfectly fine to burn as long as it's seasoned-it doesn't take as long to season as hardwood because its less dense, but it still must be seasoned just the same. If you burn it green it will end up depositing a lot of creosote in the chimney, but the whole "don't-ever-burn-pine-it-will-cause-chimney-fire" thing is nonsense. Just ask anyone who owns a wood stove or fireplace in the Pacific Northwest-that's all they have to burn! That being said, most pallets are made of hardwoods like oak for strength, but I have seen all pine pallets before.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bradykp
anyways, i mostly want the palets for storage in basement - to move stuff off the floor in case of flooding. i'll stop by some industrial parks. didn't know if a shoprite or a walmart would give me them...
In my experience chain and big box stores typically deal with companies that want their pallets back. Check small manufacturing companies, etc...I get mine from a company that does commercial construction-they get things like roofing shingles and other building materials shipped in on pallets and they sit until someone picks them up.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bradykp
also - let's say it's outside and gets a little wet in a rainstorm - how far back does that set me if the wood is well-seasoned or close to well-seasoned? is that something a week or two of sunshine would fix?
Rained on wood isn't as bad as green (unseasoned) wood, but you still want to keep it dry. Keep your stacks covered enough just to keep the rain off. Don't try to wrap them in plastic-all that does is trap the moisture in. You just want the top covered in case of rain. Before I built the woodshed on rainy days some of the wood covered with a plastic tarp would inevitably get wet so I would just bring it in and set it in front of the furnace (which was already going) and wait until the piece looked dry to put it in.
thanks badfish. i just covered my excess wood (wood that didn't fit on my covered rack) with a plastic tarp. still breaths. i wont leave it on when it's not raining. but the storm yesterday freaked me out since it was already difficult to burn. so i guess "seasoning" green wood is much more important than if the dead seasoned wood gets a little wet.
Hello, this is the first time I'm getting someone to do a chimney cleaning and I was also going to use one of those flyer coupon ads - National Chimney and Masonary Or Accomplished Chimney Has anyone used them. I'm in Essex county. Thanks
Hello, this is the first time I'm getting someone to do a chimney cleaning and I was also going to use one of those flyer coupon ads - National Chimney and Masonary Or Accomplished Chimney Has anyone used them. I'm in Essex county. Thanks
i just used a guy recommended by my realtor. seems really knowledgeable and honest. he came by today. charges $85 for a cleaning and also looked over the whole setup and gave me his thoughts. DM me if you'd like his info.
We burn 4-5 cords in our wood stove every year, and here's who we use:
Certified Chimney Service in Denville -- 973-361-1783
Firewood -- Bob Carpenter, 201-400-4799. He's in Morris Plains, but might deliver to Essex. Not sure. Tell him Tom sent ya.
so Bob delivered the wood. they were thorough and walked us through the measurements. but i'm very unhappy at how green the wood is. it's 100% unburnable right now. it doesn't seem like it will be ready to burn for at least 8-12 months.
does he usually deliver green wood when asked for seasoned wood?
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Pallet wood does burn a lot faster than split logs, but its good for two reasons-first, it's a great way to get a fire started since the wood is typically below 20% moisture content as long as its been kept out of the rain, and it's great for small, quick, hot fires. In the dead of winter I load my furnace with my best hardwoods (oak and locust) just before bed and by the morning there will be a nice bed of very hot coals, but the house will typically be a little chilly (63-65 degrees) so I toss in a load of pallet wood which easily raises the temperature 5 degrees or so in minutes.
