Burning wood with latex house paint?

[WizeOne]

Anyone know any reason why it would not be good to burn wood with non lead latex house paint on it, in a woodstove with a catalytic converter.

I've got some old shed doors that I'll either have to cut up and trash or I could cut it into strips and use it for starter wood for my woodstove.

 

[j_martin]

Re: Burning wood with latex house paint?

As long as there isn't any heavy metal, lead, zinc, or something in the pigment, it shouldn't hurt.

The base is rubber, long chain hyrocarbons just like wood.

A little paint with past era white lead pigment will do the cat converter in quickly.

Maybe not worth the risk. It's up to you.

hope it helps
John

 

[eaglejim]

Re: Burning wood with latex house paint?

Being a painter and burning my share of roller screens I personally wouldn't burn painted anything in a house fireplace the paint will make it burn fast maybe to fast,nothing may happen depending how old and how thick the paint is and if it pre 1978 there is a good chance that their is lead you could find a lead test kit to be 100% sure

 

[WizeOne]

Re: Burning wood with latex house paint?

Well, I gave this wood (plywood) it's initial coat of paint in 1988 and there would not be a lot of it being used at any one burning. I cut it into 1 1/2" x 15" strips to be used as starter wood to get the fire started.

 

[MrBigStuff]

Re: Burning wood with latex house paint?

Burning paint is not a good idea, regardless of whether or not it has lead. The paint fumes will coat the catalytic element and reduce its efficiency. http://extension.missouri.edu/publications/DisplayPub.aspx?P=g1733

One of my stoves has a catalytic combustor and a lever to select combustor or bypass. I wouldn't burn anything but clean, untreated wood in it even if I have it on bypass. Too expensive to risk screwing it up...

 

[dr_bowtie]

Re: Burning wood with latex house paint?

for starter wood its fine...

I built my own wood burning water boiler and you really dont want to know what all got thrown in there...all I am going to say is that if it would burn I burnt it...

I called it natures little recycler...lol

 

[j_martin]

Re: Burning wood with latex house paint?

for starter wood its fine...

I built my own wood burning water boiler and you really dont want to know what all got thrown in there...all I am going to say is that if it would burn I burnt it...

I called it natures little recycler...lol

It's called a heat recovery boiler, in the double speak parlance of the environmentalists.

A lot of plastic tends to be rough on the smokepipes, but other than that why not.

John

 

[dr_bowtie]

Re: Burning wood with latex house paint?

It's called a heat recovery boiler, in the double speak parlance of the environmentalists.

A lot of plastic tends to be rough on the smokepipes, but other than that why not.

John

what ever we call it one thing is for sure it works and is CHEAP...I went from heating a 4,500sq ft house at 650.00 per month on natural gas to 45.00 a month on water heat...works for me...

 

[natemoore]

Re: Burning wood with latex house paint?

I can't believe you'd even think about burning that painted wood. Don't you care about saving the planet??? What about global wa---uh---I mean climate change?

If you care about Mother Gia, you'll scrape off all the paint, seal the paint in bees wax (organic of course), mail it to the nearest paint recycling facility (along with your credit card number), then chop the wood up into thin strips (handsaw, not a table saw), then compost the wood along with your coffee grounds, newspapers, and cucumber peels.

Peace be with you, brother.

 

[dr_bowtie]

Re: Burning wood with latex house paint?

I can't believe you'd even think about burning that painted wood. Don't you care about saving the planet??? What about global wa---uh---I mean climate change?

If you care about Mother Gia, you'll scrape off all the paint, seal the paint in bees wax (organic of course), mail it to the nearest paint recycling facility (along with your credit card number), then chop the wood up into thin strips (handsaw, not a table saw), then compost the wood along with your coffee grounds, newspapers, and cucumber peels.

Peace be with you, brother.

He's recycling... he's just cutting out the middle man...

 

[WizeOne]

Re: Burning wood with latex house paint?

Well, I just moved the strips of wood, in question, up to the start line. Burn they will. Not only will there be only 6 or 8 strips used, per start up, the catalytic bypass will be open until the box temp gets up to 500 deg. By then, all the combusted paint residue should be long up the flue.

Thanks for all the opinions (and humor)

 

[WizeOne]

Re: Burning wood with latex house paint?

for starter wood its fine...

I built my own wood burning water boiler and you really dont want to know what all got thrown in there...all I am going to say is that if it would burn I burnt it...

I called it natures little recycler...lol

dr b, how did you get the heat into the house? I've seen some of those setups that were insulated and burned oil or wood, stayed hot for ages and cycled the water thru radiators in the house.

If engineered well and built good they would seem to be a hot thing. (no pun intended)

 

[natemoore]

Re: Burning wood with latex house paint?

dr b, how did you get the heat into the house? I've seen some of those setups that were insulated and burned oil or wood, stayed hot for ages and cycled the water thru radiators in the house.

If engineered well and built good they would seem to be a hot thing. (no pun intended)

Ya know, if you lived in Florida, you could just turn off the A/C and crack the windows until about New Years Day, then just close the windows until about late January, then crank up a little heat in February.

I love running around in shorts in December.

 

[j_martin]

Re: Burning wood with latex house paint?

dr b, how did you get the heat into the house? I've seen some of those setups that were insulated and burned oil or wood, stayed hot for ages and cycled the water thru radiators in the house.

If engineered well and built good they would seem to be a hot thing. (no pun intended)

Don't know about bowtie, but unpresurized boiler water can be transported with PEX tubing. I use a presurized system, so my piping is all copper. Underground is 1 inch soft copper, in a nest of 2 channels constructed from 2 inch foam foundation insulation. The pipes are isolated from each other so a small circulator pump is adequate for distribution.

Goes to an A coil in the air plenum for heat, a shell and tube heat exchanger for hot water, and a finn coil exchanger for the clothes dryer. Controls look like a pinball machine. One of these days I'll redo it with a PIC controller for logic.

I figure I pay myself about 30 bucks an hour to cut wood. It would be closer to 80 bucks if I was in the kind of shape I was in at 25.

John

 

[LongLine]

Re: Burning wood with latex house paint?

I don't know much about these heating systems but I'd be more leary about the glue in the plywood (formaldehyde) than any paint on it.

Tom B.
(LongLine)

 

[MrBigStuff]

Re: Burning wood with latex house paint?

There's a few people using those outside wood heaters in this area but most towns are banning them as fast as they can. If you've ever been downwind of one, you might understand why. I burn about 6 cords of wood a year in my woodstove. When the fire is running right, it produces very little smoke or smell. Those backyard heaters seem to run too cool and the creosote smell is overpowering. I mean really, really bad. I thought about installing one once but after seeing a few in operation, I'm on the banning bandwagon...

 

[dolluper]

Re: Burning wood with latex house paint?

In an old drum in the back 40 forsure in my house I don't think so ..polute the neighbours thats ok LOL's

 

[dr_bowtie]

Re: Burning wood with latex house paint?

dr b, how did you get the heat into the house? I've seen some of those setups that were insulated and burned oil or wood, stayed hot for ages and cycled the water thru radiators in the house.

If engineered well and built good they would seem to be a hot thing. (no pun intended)

my unit was in the house....in the basement is where it started...and thats where it worked best but I did move it upstair to the living room a year later and then i took it out and moved it to my shop as i moved...

Basically as J_Martin said I used PEX tubing (the blue color) 1/2in tubing...I went with a No Pressure system for safety reasons...there is NO need for a pressurized system unless you plan on having 200degree water temps and there is also NO need for water temps over 180degrees....

I made my unit using 2 sheets of 1/4 in steel and then I made a box within a box the front was the common wall of the boxes...there was 6inches between the tops of the boxes and 2inches around the rest...even the bottoms...the water filled the outer box and circulated the water via a small water circulation pump (80.00 at Menards)

I have several bungs welded to the lower and upper sides of the unit...the lower bung is where the pump and 4 port manifold hooks to and the top is where the 4 port return hooks to...

I had 4 zones (4 separate pex runs) that went to 4 different coils... and I used the AC condensers for cars/trucks that I robbed from the scrap yards...I used these in the beginning because they were readily available and built to handle 400psi so I know they wouldnt leak...even though I run no pressure....

I also welded a 6in 1/4 steel round pipe for the flue/stack and I used an automatic damper..these things are great...

now I did NOT line the inside of the unit with fire brick and the fire was built right in the steel...reason is brick robs the heat and there is no need for that...brick acts as an insulator and in a typical wood burner you'll want this to keep from getting teh steel too hot and warping and/or busting...but in my unit the steel doesnt get that hot as it is water cooled...

I divided the main box into 2 halves and I welded my own style grate in between the upper and lower doors...the top was used for larger whole logs and the bottom was for the starter wood...my theory was start a fire on the bottom and as in burns it will catch the wood on top and burn it all and it lasted about 4 hours...I could fit 3 logs on top as it was 20in x20in bottom was a tad smaller...also as the bottom burned you made a amber pile of hot coals and you get alot more radian heat from the hot coals than you do the actual fire at times....and as the top burnt it added to the coals...just give them a little stir once every hour or 2 and they burn to nothing...

I only had to clean ash once a week or so...and I only got a max of about 4 inches of ash...enough to fill a 5 gallon bucket and this was used for fertilizer known as pot ash...works well on the yard and the garden...so all is used...

Now I had a 12in x 12in box welded on top as a water fill point with an automatic water valve to keep the unit filled and when in use the steam coming off the water made a good natural humidifier...

I normally had a stack temp gauge and my stack temps just off the unit were about 450 degrees..this kept the water at 180 degrees very easy...so in the room you got a radiant heat off the unit which also warmed the house...the circulation pump was always on and I wired in a line switch from a line heater to control the furnace fans...I had 2 furnaces and 2 cores in each furnace...

I also used hot water heater control switches for safety switches...if by chance the water temp hit 185 degrees the switch would activate the line switch and turn the blowers on and relieve the heat....worked very well...

I tested teh unit to 210 degrees and it was way more heat then you could use...160degree water temps worked the best....used the least amount of wood and was easy to maintain....

My units fans ran 10 minutes on and 30 minutes off and this was at 0 degrees out side and the thermostat set at 74 degrees... and it ran on a wheel borrow amount of wood a day...very small amount...and when it was 20 degrees outside it used half that amount...

this was a 4,500 square foot home built in 1860 with double brick and no outside insulation...

Total cost involved...from buying the steel, all welding supplies, renting the lift and sleeving teh chimney (for safety) and all pex and plumbing supplies all installed and working.... $800.00 and I welded it myself and I am not a trained welder I am self taught....

I will say I could have gotten by with about half the size of this boiler...er I mean water heater...

 

[Tim Frank]

Re: Burning wood with latex house paint?

I only had to clean ash once a week or so...and I only got a max of about 4 inches of ash...enough to fill a 5 gallon bucket and this was used for fertilizer known as pot ash...works well on the yard and the garden...so all is used...

My units fans ran 10 minutes on and 30 minutes off and this was at 0 degrees out side and the thermostat set at 74 degrees...

Nice job!!

Be careful with that ash on the garden. There is SOME potash content, but it is also very alkaline and can screw up the pH of your soil really quickly and it is a pain to readjust.....been there, done that etc.
If you must use it, spread it widely and thinly!!

Good performance at zero degrees outdoor temp, but how does it cope if it really gets cold outside?....

 

[dr_bowtie]

Re: Burning wood with latex house paint?

I am sure fine...it never got that cold when in use...got down to -5 degrees once and it does fine it just uses more wood...the unit itself holds 45 gallons of water so there is plenty of reserve...

it's not a perfect system but pretty close...I needed another sensor that wouldnt let the fans come on if the water temp was under 100degrees or turn the fans off if it got to that mark...would be easy enough to do but I havent done it...the lower cut-out switch from and electric water heater would do this easily....