What have you burnt in your OWB.

[stumper]

Another topis has taken an interesting twist, which leads me to ask what have you burnt in your OWB?  I will confess to burning most all my junk mail, and critter carcasses that I do not want in the trash.  I have also burnt brush, sawdust and whatever is dead around my house that I want to dispose of.  I have even knocked appart a dead dresser and burnt it.

[red oaks lumber]

i burn wood only. i guess thats why epa and others are trying to ban owb :(

[Dean186]

Stumper,

I think your setting yourself up for some criticism, but maybe not.  I will occasional burn a small stack of important papers that I don't want to put in the shredder.   Other than that, I only burn wood and would agree with red oaks lumber's comments.

On a lighter note:  I thought all dresser's were dead.   

[doctorb]

I'm boring - only wood

[stumper]

I suppose you are right, but I do not think I am violating any rules with burning the junk mail as I seperate out the plastic and glossy paper.  The brush, sawdust and dead trees around the house are all wood.  The dresser was also solid wood even if it did have a finish on it at one point. 

I would hope that my burning the above or even the bones of the Thanksgiving turkey, or the bones of a chicken would not equate to some who have burnt trash, plastic and even tires.

[Al_Smith]

Oh such a find kettle of fish this could turn into .We had an ongoing discussion of this last year and did they ever fuss .

Turns people have burn everything from the baby's chittey diapers to cat peed carpet .Imagine the aroma that would generate down wind . :D They should have tossed the cat in too just for general principle .

[thecfarm]

Wood chunks smell pretty good,so do porcupine,chickens that are all done laying smell like chicken.  :D Either it goes into the brush pile to be burned,which only makes smoke, or I burn it in my OWB that smokes, BUT I get heat from it too. So no matter what it going up in smoke. I would rather get some heat from it too.

[martyinmi]

I burn almost anything and everything(no paints,solvents,rubber,etc.) In fact, pretty much anything man hasn't invented. I haven't found anything that my little Empyre won't gasify so far. To me it is senseless to throw something in the trash that will end up in a landfill and potentially leach into wells that we consume water from. I will always throw the occasional roadkill rabbit, possum, raccoon, or even a cat that meets it's fate near or in front of my house in my OWB as opposed to tossing it in the garbage. We burn cardboard, newspapers, vegetable peelings, etc., and we get free hot water in the summer and heat in the winter with no discernible odors at all. So I guess I lean toward the side that believes it's OK to dispose of items by incineration as opposed to discarding and filling up our landfills.
   Hope I can still attend the Pig Roast with my attitude that it's OK to get free heat from carbon based products!

   Marty 

[Jeff]

 :D

I've been waiting for Corley5 to jump in and tell about burning bales of hay when he knows the wind is going to be towards a certain neighbor.

[Jim H]

I found a rabid fox dead in the hay field, the game warden said incinerate it, I said "no problem". ;D I also burn my oil filters after I've drained all I can out of them, better than putting it in the landfill.

[Al_Smith]

On that oil just a side note .My buddy heats a 60 by 106 foot building using old crankcase oil .If you get it hot enough the oil doesn't smoke .

The old boy is one of the leading authoritys on Corvettes and Camaros in the country and within that building is perhaps a half million dollars worth of same .---back to the outside burners ---

[Dean186]

I suppose you are right, but I do not think I am violating any rules with burning the junk mail as I seperate out the plastic and glossy paper.  The brush, sawdust and dead trees around the house are all wood.  The dresser was also solid wood even if it did have a finish on it at one point. 

I would hope that my burning the above or even the bones of the Thanksgiving turkey, or the bones of a chicken would not equate to some who have burnt trash, plastic and even tires.

Yes, the items listed above, that you put into the stove, don't seem like a problem to me.  Like you stated, it isn't the same as trash, tires, plastic, etc.  I would burn the wood from discarded furniture if I had some.  I have burned old wood fencing and a pallet or two.

I am just remembering the old thread on this topic.

[woodmills1]

we did cremate the dead pet rat in the dead of winter when the backhoe could not make a grave


the pile of horsechestnuts from the raking with leaves made too much smoke for me


just wood

[JJ]

I once cut up a large christmas tree with loppers, and stuffed the e-2300 with it.
Big mistake, as the boughs were too springy to settle down onto the coals, so every time I opened the door, big fire ball and inferno.
finally had to leave open the bypass, and watch flames come out of the top of stack until it burned up.

cleaned out the stove pretty well.

      JJ

[stumper]

I have also burnt a christmas tree.  I did cut is small enough so and took long enough there was no problem.  Probably took 3 days, load in the limbs then the regular wood on top.  I will say that I did need to work quick as the limbs wanted to catch and roar before I could load the regular wood in.

[Corley5]

:D

I've been waiting for Corley5 to jump in and tell about burning bales of hay when he knows the wind is going to be towards a certain neighbor.

That neighbor's gone and I like the new ones  ;D :D   Not sure if the hay, empty hydraulic oil buckets, diapers, inner tubes etc hastened them moving out but I like to think it did  ;D

[sprintfan11]

Wood...mostly of the hard variety with the occasional chunk of soft thrown in from time to time.. ;D

[Dean186]

I would be guilty of burning a lot of sticks that were picked up off of the ground last year.  Last year (2010) was one of the driest on record and we loaded and burnt a wheelbarrow of sticks and misc a day for 70 days until our first big snow.  Then we started on the stacked firewood.  We became very good at loading a wheelbarrow to max capacity.   See photos



We also burn the un-stackables as seen in the lower portion of this photo.  This stuff was not an option with our inside fireplace insert.  See photo

[sparky1]

I agree with the comment if it will burn, burn it. well to a point.. I just purchased mine, so i cant totally say what i will and wont burn. I wont burn plastics, rubber and other crap that will make a horrible smell and tick off the neighbors. If its paper, cardboard, or anything else that will create heat and burn up. well consider it burnt!

[Randy88]

If it can burn it goes into the out door wood furnace, last year we tore down an old corncrib and cut it up with chainsaws, small enough to fit it in one piece at a time, old lumber we are sorting out is going in as we speak, household trash is a must to toss in, we did some remodeling to a barn and the left overs went in as well.   I'm also not too specific as what kind of wood we burn, or how bad of shape its in either if it can be fed in and will burn it gets burned and used for heat.   

We also keep it burning year round and during the summer months heat the hot water with it, so my fire never goes out and during the summer we burn all the odds and ends to clean up around the place, also helps keep the timber clean by burning the junk wood as well.    Around here it either goes into the furnace or onto the iron pile for recycling at the local scrap yard are about the two avenues of use here to keep it simple. We refer to it as recycling or going green by using the wood furnace to turn waste into heat.   

[SwampDonkey]

On that oil just a side note .My buddy heats a 60 by 106 foot building using old crankcase oil

Heck Al, don't need to OWB to burn off used motor oil. I know a couple fellas with stoves in the shop and a reservoir of burnt oil on tap and line to the stove. They run hobby auto shops and have all this oil to dispose of, no one says a word apparently because it's going to be hauled off and burnt some place else anyway regardless.

[RickF]

I've been reading up on modifying a wood burning stove to burn used vegetable oil and there is also mention of using other used oils like motor oil. I know vegetable oil is pretty clean when burning at the right temperature except for the occasional smell of fries in the smoke. But I wonder how clean used motor oil and other oils can burn? I would think they are a little dirtier and bad for the environment but that's just a guess.  

[beenthere]

How are you thinking of delivering the oil to the wood stove combustion chamber?

Drip system? Pressure system?

[stumper]

Now that would be an interesting add on to my eclassic.  I have 2 trucks, a van, 3 stump grinders, chipper and tractor all generating used motor oil and sometimes hydraulic oil.  I would be nice to get some heat out of them. 

I am sure this would violate my warranty. 

I wonder what temps are needed to burn synthetic oil cleanly?

[timbuck2]

I burned my woodshed!  Time for a new one.