# Safe to burn books?



## Brian Combs (Jan 3, 2015)

I have access to possibly thousands of library books. I have been burning them from time to time in my outdoor fire pit and they work pretty well as long as I stack them so they don't fan open. Would it be safe to burn them in my stove?


----------



## clr8ter (Jan 3, 2015)

LOL, you're probably going to catch hell for this one... Mmmm, books have glue in them, I don't know. Other than that, most everything SHOULD go up the chimney. Though, I have never had very good luck burning large chunks of paper....


----------



## SKIN052 (Jan 3, 2015)

No. Aside from the multitude of ashes you would create, you would certainly over fire your stove. So many NO's to even mention so, No!


----------



## CenterTree (Jan 3, 2015)

*Safe to burn books?*



Didn't Nazi Germany already try that?

----------------------- ---------------------

I'd be afraid of too much ash going upward.  That's a lot of LOOSE stuff floating in the box, if the pages "peel" away.
Plus a tight, compressed book may get too hot.

Try burning wood.


----------



## XJcacher (Jan 3, 2015)

Fahrenheit 451?


----------



## Typ0 (Jan 3, 2015)

I have burned them in the back yard .... that's a lot of ash!


----------



## PA. Woodsman (Jan 3, 2015)

I wouldn't do it, but you do what you want. You should get together with that fella that wants to burn bowling pins, you'd have a helluva good time! 

I can't find any BTU'S ratings on books or bowling pins, but you guys can tell us how it works out !


----------



## clr8ter (Jan 3, 2015)

Ahhmmm, aren't bowling pins covered in some sorta plastic nowadays?


----------



## PA. Woodsman (Jan 3, 2015)

clr8ter said:


> Ahhmmm, aren't bowling pins covered in some sorta plastic nowadays?



He was planning on stripping it off somehow, although someone told him there's no way he could do it. 

I'm not knocking these guys or making fun out of them, a question asked is worth asking; I just wouldn't want to try burning either of them. These guys probably thought they were on to something good, but I don't see either one working out.....


----------



## Typ0 (Jan 3, 2015)

I can understand if a plethora of it is there and it's going to waste burn it....but not chemicals, glues and plastics.


----------



## Applesister (Jan 3, 2015)

I remember a boyfriend once down on his luck who burned a whole set of very old encyclopedias. He tore out all the lithograph plates for me and I still have them in a box.
He had no money to heat this old farmhouse he had rented. I remember sitting there with him as he ripped sections out at a time and threw them in the stove. 
I say go for it. But keep in mind the added risk of chimney fires.


----------



## clr8ter (Jan 3, 2015)

> He was planning on stripping it off somehow, although someone told him there's no way he could do it.



You've GOT to be kidding... The negatives to that plan are many...


----------



## ewdudley (Jan 4, 2015)

In NY these days I think it's probably illegal.

But years ago I had a bushel of papers that needed to be shredded, so instead I tried adding some to the firebox on top of the fire, which made a mess. 

Then I hit upon the idea of stacking them densely at the far end of the firebox and then burning wood normally in the front.  It took a couple days, but it worked pretty well as the face of the pile would burn completely to ash and fall away as the burning progressed.


----------



## peakbagger (Jan 4, 2015)

Book paper is generally at least 50% clay and fillers to make the paper opaque. Sure the cellulose in the paper will burn but the ash is very light and will get carried up into the chimney. If the stove has secondary burn chambers or small passages, they will need to be cleaned more often. Conventional newspaper is actually a much higher percentage cellulose with far less filler and will burn cleaner. The printing ink in newspapers used to have some contaminants but for the last 20 plus years the inks are vegetable based.


----------



## Ram 1500 with an axe... (Jan 4, 2015)

I have a lot of leaves at my house but I wouldn't burn them either in my wood stove..... So I am on the No side.....


----------



## Cascade Failure (Jan 4, 2015)

Sell the books. Buy wood.


----------



## Fred Wright (Jan 4, 2015)

I don't recommend doing this. The risk of overfire and chimney damage is high.

Had this happen when I was married. The missus got it into her head to burn a bunch of old paperbacks in the stove one day. I was at work and didn't find out 'til I got home later.

She'd apparently stuffed the stove with those books and overfired it. Most of the stove paint had been burned away, the stove top was bowed and cracks were obvious in the masonry chimney.

We divorced that fall and I moved to a bachelor apartment. Dunno what became of the stove and didn't care but the chimney had to be replaced. Just glad it wasn't my problem.


----------



## jatoxico (Jan 4, 2015)

Fred Wright said:


> I don't recommend doing this. The risk of overfire and chimney damage is high.
> 
> Had this happen when I was married. The missus got it into her head to burn a bunch of old paperbacks in the stove one day. I was at work and didn't find out 'til I got home later.
> 
> ...



Take away message, don't mess w/ Fred's stove !


----------



## Brian Combs (Jan 4, 2015)

Thanks guys. I'll keep em out of the stove. It's kind of a moot point anyway because the library card I was using doesnt work anymore so unless I find another one, I'm out of luck.


----------



## clr8ter (Jan 4, 2015)

Unless you're joking, what a dick. This after all that discussion...


----------



## firefighterjake (Jan 4, 2015)

Not sure if this was a serious question . . . or a troll.

In any case . . . assuming it could have been serious . . . or someone might stumble on to this thread one day and wonder if they could safely burn up their 1988 set of Encyclopedia Americana .  . . I would not for the aforementioned issue with burning so much paper and its effect on the chimney, the clay filler in the paper and the fact that I cannot imagine they would burn all that great.

-- Guy Montag


----------



## Trktrd (Jan 5, 2015)

Books, bowling pins, Railroad ties ??? What't this world coming to ?


----------



## PA. Woodsman (Jan 5, 2015)

Trktrd said:


> Books, bowling pins, Railroad ties ??? What't this world coming to ?




Times are hard.....I blame it on Obamacare and his "affordable" healthcare


----------



## area_man (Jan 5, 2015)

jatoxico said:


> Take away message, don't mess w/ Fred's stove !



Takeaway #2 - Teach your wife how to use the stove properly


----------



## Fred Wright (Jan 6, 2015)

area_man said:


> Takeaway #2 - Teach your wife how to use the stove properly


I tried....

In my experience, you can't teach someone who already knows it all.


----------



## peakbagger (Jan 6, 2015)

My friend used to old stove in his garage, on occasion he would mention that it was "hot enough to burn baby diapers"  I never witnessed him doing it and don't think he ever did.


----------



## Jags (Jan 6, 2015)

I don't see any useful reason to let this one continue.... RIP.


----------

