Is it safe to burn Tanalised wood?

[Graham Orm]

I have masses of decking off cuts that would go in my wood burner nicely. Most of what I can find via Google says that it's OK in a closed wood burner but not an open fire.

Your comments would be welcome.

 

[blackrodd]

I've been burning my offcuts in the Rayburn for years, having been given the same information,
Not to be used on an open fire.
Regards Rodders

 

[woodpig]

I suspect if you knew what chemicals were used in the process you'd have second thoughts. Not something I'd do in my house but it's possible any effects could take years to present themselves.

 

[Sheffield Tony]

I have masses of decking off cuts that would go in my wood burner nicely. Most of what I can find via Google says that it's OK in a closed wood burner but not an open fire.

Your comments would be welcome.

I think this is a case of reading what you want to hear. Most of what I see says not. Towarde the top of the first page of Google hits:

Can you burn treated wood?

Treated wood should not be burned in stoves, fireplaces or outdoors because toxic chemicals are produced as part of the smoke and ash and can be harmful if inhaled. It is legal to dispose of treated wood in the landfill, although it's always best to find a way to re-use it.

Most stove manufacturers will say not in the stove manual. If you have a stainless steel flue liner, there is the effect on that to be considered too (for the same reason, it is a bad idea to burn driftwood).

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I've never had qualms about burning treated timber but I've always put it on a roaring fire (stove) late in the evening, so the smoke and any smells are minimal. Same goes for any sort of rubbish. I suppose technically it's killing the planet, but in the greater scheme of things I suspect China's doing a better job.

 

[Droogs]

Ah phil.p I'm guessing you're a Tescos man - every little helps :wink:

 

[Sheffield Tony]

I suppose technically it's killing the planet, but in the greater scheme of things I suspect China's doing a better job.

Do remember that mostly China is making pollution in the process of manufacturing goods to be consumed by us (amongst others). We have essentially subcontracted our polluting to them. Sorry to digress.

 

[woodpig]

Good point Tony.

 

[Doug B]

Whilst burning in a sealed burner will prevent most of the toxins entering into the room once they have exited the chimney you will be breathing themi in when you go outside,
So while any effect would be fairly immediate if burning on an open fire it could take years for the effects to show up from breathing contaminated air around your home

 

[morfa]

I wouldn't burn it at all. I don't burn plywood or MDF for the same reason. Nasty fumes that will probably have a bad effect in the long run.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I hope some of you never go within a mile of a bonfire - you'd die.

 

[Doug B]

I hope some of you never go within a mile of a bonfire - you'd die.

Just don't change your name to Guy Fawkes before hand then I'm sure everyone will be ok Phil

 

[Graham Orm]

Thanks for the input guys. I've got bags of the stuff and it seems a shame to just tip it....although apparently we're not supposed to do that, so what do we do with it? It'll be burned in my rocket stove in the workshop which will be sealed off from the inside of the workshop and at the other end of the garden from the house. I'll restrict it to just a bit every time I light it, I have stacks of other offcuts as well. The beauty of the rocket stove is the second burn in the riser pipe which re-burns the gasses, so hopefully some of the nasties will be even more diminished. I don't know whether or not this will help save the Earth or not, not really bothered to be honest, the immeasurable difference it would make for a couple of evenings a week would be irrelevant.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Precisely. Put things in perspective, you're not burning tons. The stove in my old house burned so clean you couldn't see from outdoors whether or not it was lit. I know that doesn't mean it was clean, but it wasn't dropping soot everywhere. The millenium fireworks on NYE caused more pollution than a power station in twelve months - people get odd ideas sometimes.

 

[Doug B]

people get odd ideas sometimes.

Yep, like long term exposure to smoking doesn't cause cancer

http://www.gw.govt.nz/assets/RelocatedU ... ochure.pdf

& just as I wouldn't expose myself to a smoking environment I also wouldn't contaminate my living area even if it was only my garden with the toxins released from burning tantalised timber, not forgetting what is breathed in whilst loading & cleaning out a sealed burner.
Just plain odd me I guess :shock:

 

[Phil Pascoe]

We all know smoking causes cancer. I just find people odd when they worry about something on one hand, then happily do something worse on the other. People worry about throwing a bit of treated wood in a stove, then go and stand next to a bonfire, go for ride in a diesel engined car or go really green and take a ride in a decades old filthy diesel engined bus.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Actually, thinking about it, I should move out of the County to get away from the radon. My last house, where I live for twenty years, was 8x over the safety limit. Probably did me loads more harm than any piece of treated wood.

 

[Doug B]

Everything's a risk Phil, weighing up whether it is a risk worth taking when it comes to your personal health is up to the individual.

Standing in front of a bonfire once a year is a risk I'd take, regularly burning tantalised timber isn't but then I have experience of the side effects of this so perhaps my view is skewed.

 

[ChrisR]

You just as well burn what you can get hold of.

As around here you don’t have a choice of breathing fumes in the winter, the air is heavy with the fumes from so called clean wood burners, I don’t have one, I use mains gas, now somebody will comment on how burning gas is bad for the environment. It probably is, but we have gone past the point of no return for the environment, and it is not at the hand of man.

Man is not capable of generating enough pollution or otherwise to damage or save the environment, or to control climate change, much greater forces are responsible.

Take care.

Chris R.

 

[Jacob]

.... we have gone past the point of no return for the environment, and it is not at the hand of man.

Man is not capable of generating enough pollution or otherwise to damage or save the environment, ......

If you know something which the collective majority of the world's scientists and experts have missed, you should let them know immediately! You could be famous!

We burn almost everything in our multifuel but avoid plastic as I wonder if it might set off chimney fires. Stuff that is supposedly toxic will end up in the environment anyway so it might as well go up my chimney. MDF burns brilliantly - just like Phurnacite.