Ignition Temps Of Wood

zer213 · 07-04-12, 11:21 AM

So I was baking some wood to put in Lilliths cage and wondered what would be an appropriate temp to bake it. After searching some forums the general consensus was 250*F for 1 hr. So I did 275*F for an hour and was going to crank it up 50*F till I found this chart:

Reactions to temperature exposure

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Temperature (Celsius)

Wood slowly chars*

120°-150°

Decayed wood ignites

150°

Ignition temp of various woods

190°-260°

* wood chars at a rate of approximately 30-50 mm/hour
T.C. Forensic: Article 10 - PHYSICAL CONSTANTS FOR INVESTIGATORS

Kinda scary, but now Im curious. Is this enough to sterilize wood effectively? Ive baked roasts at 325*F for 3 hours and the internal temp hits about 175*F, and granted beef and wood are two TOTALLY different substances, but if thats only a 105* difference from room temp to cooked temp on a roast after 3hrs, what is the internal temp of wood after only an hour? And is that enough to kill deeply burrowed mites, viruses, bacteria and molds?

Ideas?

Im not in favor of boiling (pots not big enough) or bleach (mildew in my shower laughs at bleach). I prefer baking for the ease and what I thought was effectiveness.

infernalis · 07-04-12, 11:28 AM

That seems like really low numbers to be honest.

I was out doing some measurements yesterday and found the rocks in the creek bed that were exposed to direct sunlight approaching 150 degrees, and there is little scraps of driftwood laying all over the place.

If those numbers were correct, then I should have seen lots of smoke and charcoal laying around rather than driftwood.

Ever heard of the novel Farenheit 451? (it was a movie too) This was based on the temperature that paper will auto ignite (burst into flames on it's own)

You are quite safe baking your wood at a couple hundred degrees.

EDIT!!! My bad - we are talking Celcius...

infernalis · 07-04-12, 11:37 AM

HowStuffWorks "How Fire Works"

This seems a lot more accurate.

Terranaut · 07-04-12, 11:37 AM

Yup I was about to say that

zer213 · 07-04-12, 09:38 PM

Well after combing through forums and archived documents it seems that the general consensus is that there are too many variables to make any kind of accurate guess, but auto-ignition occurs between 410*F and 923*F. But Im still wondering how effective it really is. Wood is a horrible conductor of heat, so Im thinking that for less then 2-3" diameter pieces 300*F for an hour or so should be fine but diameters above that would require alot more time.

I wish I had this:
http://www.katom.com/383-1442.html?zmam=29342707&zmas=1&zmac=32&zmap=383-1442&utm_source=googlebase&utm_medium=Adword&utm_c ampaign=CSE&CID=pla&kw={keyword}&gclid=CJvM99_NgbE CFQW0nQod21jA7Q

Id actually be willing to do some experiments.

RandyRhoads · 07-04-12, 09:43 PM

AWw shucks Wayne already caught the mistake. Big difference there.

zer213 · 07-04-12, 09:58 PM

Ok, so this is when inactivity of almost all life occurs. 2 hours @ 320*F in a non-vacuum/non-pressurized environment (stove) of hot air. 2 minutes @ 273*F in a pressurized environment (autoclave) of steam.

So I suppose I need to re-cook my wood, 2 hours @ 320*F, then leave it in the stove while the stove cools, would effectively sterilize it.

LISA127 · 07-05-12, 05:49 AM

I've always just baked my wooden stuff at 250*F for 30 to 60 minutes. So you're telling me that's not doing the job?

infernalis · 07-05-12, 07:55 AM

Maybe I am a nut case, but I have been bringing in logs, driftwood and rocks for years and have never once baked, treated or as much as washed off any of it.

This need for clenliness is a human trait... You have more germs crawling around in your mouth than a hunk of wood could support.

So who sterilizes the wild for these animals??

Come on now, Reptiles eat carrion, swim in stink holes, eat rodents that deficate while being swallowed.... etc.

So worrying about that little bore grub living in a stick is overkill in my opinion.

RandyRhoads · 07-05-12, 02:05 PM

I would agree as far as the "germs" but what about parasites? My albino burm got infested with ticks once after not properly sterilizing a peice of wood I found in the forrest.

Wildside · 07-05-12, 02:24 PM

I've always just done a good hot soak in diluted bleach water

LISA127 · 07-07-12, 02:05 PM

For most things, I use chlorhexidine for sterilizing. For wood I have always just baked it.

zer213 · 07-07-12, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by infernalis

Maybe I am a nut case, but I have been bringing in logs, driftwood and rocks for years and have never once baked, treated or as much as washed off any of it.

This need for clenliness is a human trait... You have more germs crawling around in your mouth than a hunk of wood could support.

So who sterilizes the wild for these animals??

Come on now, Reptiles eat carrion, swim in stink holes, eat rodents that deficate while being swallowed.... etc.

So worrying about that little bore grub living in a stick is overkill in my opinion.

Yeah, most of it is paranoia and youre right about what they put up with in the wild. As soon as poo enters the equation then the tank is teeming with bacteria and viruses anyways. I just like starting decorations off to a good start with cleanliness.

And also because I saw this when I pulled out her branches to clean the tank:

In the center of the photo is some green mold on the branch. So I took it out and cooked it, but now I know that the common 250*F for 1 hour doesnt cut it. Well it might for that particular mold, but it wont sterilize the branch. Now I wonder why we go to lengths to clean with bleach, bake wood and everything else when its probably all for nothing anyways. Maybe just clean with some Dawn and a rag to get the gunk off and go on with our lives. Would certainly cut down on cleaning time.