View Full Version : Where to get used pallets



ChrisHayes
09-17-2021, 04:55 AM
Does anyone know of anywhere where they give away or allow the public to take their old pallets? They don't have to be in good condition. Going to be used for fire wood.

Martin
09-17-2021, 05:56 AM
be careful with that... the wood might be chemically treated to make it pest resistant.

Roger S
09-17-2021, 06:29 AM
Highly recommend not using them for firewood unless you are 110% sure they are not treated or otherwise contaminated.

Treated pallets aren't even supposed to be handled without gloves.

tvkokc
09-17-2021, 09:21 AM
How much fire wood do you need? Also as the others state, 100% don't burn pallets unless you know they're not treated.

oklip955
09-17-2021, 10:51 AM
Wood used for pallets is light weight and usually pine. Does not make decent fire wood. Look for people trying to get rid of some firewood ie because putting house up for sale etc. Look for oak, pecan or other hardwood not softwood. Also avoid lumber. Most cities will not allow lumber to be burnt in burn piles.

ChrisHayes
09-17-2021, 12:04 PM
How much fire wood do you need? Also as the others state, 100% don't burn pallets unless you know they're not treated.

I just need kindling kind of fire wood for the fire pit on my patio. I've already got some logs to burn. I'd like to find a reliable supplier lol

Ward
09-17-2021, 12:58 PM
I'd call a few cabinet shops and ask if you could have their scrap cutoff pieces, stuff way too small to be useful for anything.

I just pitched out a couple of 5 gallon buckets of scrap from my humble little work shop. And I just had big junk pickup loaded with a peach tree I had cut cutdown.

FighttheGoodFight
09-17-2021, 01:39 PM
This will sound weird but have you tried using pellets as kindling? Horse pellets work pretty well and are dirt cheap at Atwoods/Tractor Supply.

Bill Robertson
09-17-2021, 01:57 PM
I'd call a few cabinet shops and ask if you could have their scrap cutoff pieces, stuff way too small to be useful for anything.

I just pitched out a couple of 5 gallon buckets of scrap from my humble little work shop. And I just had big junk pickup loaded with a peach tree I had cut cutdown.This might not help much because I don't have exact locations off the top of my head. But there's a shop no more than a block south of NW 39th somewhere between Portland and Meridian and another on S Portland just south of 29th that do some kind of woodworking and always have piles of scrap slivers lying around. It would make perfect kindling.

oklip955
09-17-2021, 04:34 PM
Talk to some of the tree trimers for lighter ie not as thick pieces for use as kindling. I use dead fall for starting my smoker. I have 10 ac so I have lots that i pickup and use. By the way its oak. Afer the ice storm when people where cutting up branches and putting them out to be picked up, I drove around and loaded up my truck each day of nice oak and hauled it home. I have a few ricks worth that I am letting season out. I still have to take care of what is down in my back pasture. Just a note to others that after an ice storm, recycle trees for your own fireplace or back yard fire pit or smoker.

OkiePoke
09-17-2021, 08:12 PM
I bought a pack of these for a recent camping trip and they did very well. Literally one light and I had a fire going in about 2 minutes.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08X1HP68J/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Ward
09-17-2021, 08:17 PM
^^^^^ Fatwood. You can buy Fatwood at pretty much any place that sells any sort of camping equipment. I have several packs of Fatwood. Pull one piece out, light it, and it goes to town.

catch22
09-17-2021, 09:14 PM
Take a drive through an industrial area. Flooring companies tend to accumulate large numbers of pallets. Landscape suppliers do, also. Unfortunately with the price of lumber pallets are being reused much more right now or being sold for a nominal fee. A pallet recycler near me charges $3 for GMA’s. That’s really not too bad if you just need one.

catch22
09-17-2021, 09:23 PM
I bought a pack of these for a recent camping trip and they did very well. Literally one light and I had a fire going in about 2 minutes.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08X1HP68J/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I get a few finger-fulls of Vaseline and put it in a small zip loc bag with a dozen cottonballs and mash them all together. One or two Vaseline soaked cottonballs will start a fire in a driving rainstorm. And the bag is extremely squishy so it takes up no room in your camping bag.

Bill Robertson
09-18-2021, 06:01 AM
I get a few finger-fulls of Vaseline and put it in a small zip loc bag with a dozen cottonballs and mash them all together. One or two Vaseline soaked cottonballs will start a fire in a driving rainstorm. And the bag is extremely squishy so it takes up no room in your camping bag.
Our survival guys teach this. I had never heard of it before but it works great.