Pallet Grading

I don't know but you need to find someone who buys very large quantities of pallets to find such a specific answer.

What I can tell you is cotton wood has a tendency to retain nails thus limiting shiners(nail heads sticking up) that catch on product.

Sorry I'm not of more help

Brad

They all burn good.

I have about 6 cords of wood split and stacked that I cut and put up in 2007. We have only been in this area (North Olympic Peninsula, Washington) for a few years. I didn't know how much wood I would go throgh in a year so I built and filled two wood sheds which both hold about 3 cords.

Still not knowing how I would go through the wood I hedged my bet and found a constant supply of pallets for free. At any given time last fall and winter I had 30-40 pallets stacked up in back. With me at the chain saw and our sons staging the pallets and stacking them after I rip them apart with the saw we have it down to a science.

I have only burned less than a cord, and a ton of pallets. I think for next year I am going to burn fewer pallets until I find a happy medium.

Someone makes a wood furnace that heats water for radiant heating that is built so you load full pallets into it.

Beyond knowing how they burn I can't help much other than to suggest maybe you contact a pallet manufacturer. I am sure they would have an opinion.

Travis

In the south USA the pallets I see are nearly always some type of oak or other hard wood from the general area. I worked in a pallet/saw mill for a few weeks after high school and it is some very hard work. I worked feeding the band saw and we would cut cants(10' x15" x15" green hard wood squared logs) down into the 1" thick planks for pallets. I would think that in different areas the pallets would be made from what ever hard wood that is available in that area. I do not know how aspen would rate next to red oak because I am not familiar with aspen. The old guy that ran the saw where I worked always said oak made the best pallets and I took him at his word.

pipewelder