RedNeckGeek
Super Member
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2011
- Messages
- 8,386
- Location
- Butte County & Orcutt, California
- Tractor
- Kubota M62, Kubota L3240D HST (SOLD!), Kubota RTV900
Lots of good advise so far, ghyrax. You don't say how clean your stumps are. If the root ball is full of dirt, the exposed parts will burn but the roots covered by dirt will not. I found that lifting the root ball with the FEL and letting it fall a few times will knock a lot of dirt out, but there will still be some and that may mean you'll find remnants after the fire. I went through many piles clearing this place, and some root balls went through three or even four fires before they were reduced to ash. That meant significant time driving the tractor through the ashes, consolidating the unburnt debris and fishing out the unburned root balls for more tossing to shake out the dirt. I really had to stay on top of the tractor's air filter to keep it clean. Pushing ash with the FEL can also put a lot of it into the air, so think about wearing a dust mask or respirator, and plan your path because you may not be able to see where you're going. Always be ready to hit reverse if you need to get out of there fast.Also found that there were deep pockets of embers that could cause trouble for tires and paint on the bucket, so move slowly and get ready to hit reverse if you feel a tire sinking or hit a really hot spot.
I used the box scraper to clean a 10' circle around my piles down to bare earth, and waited for a calm day. Since your piles are covered, timing the burn for a clear day after a couple days of rain will reduce the chance that a stray ember will catch something else on fire, but keep your hose handy just in case and walk around the fire during the flaming stage to make sure it's not spreading outside the ring. Also keep an eye on where the smoke column is going, as it will be hot enough to catch nearby trees on fire if it is allowed to blow on them. We have restrictions on smoke, both the amount and where it goes, and can be fined if neighbors complain.
If your ground isn't flat, you might consider stretching a length of fence across the down hill side of the burn pile to catch any stumps that roll out. The pile will shift and settle during the burn and that can cause a stump to roll. It's pretty exciting to see a smoking, ember laden stump head down hill into dry wood, and a few T-stakes and 40' of horse fence will head that possibility right off.
60' is a pretty fair amount of space, but how much heat your barn sees pretty much depends on how big you let the fire get and how successful you are at limiting that size. I had pretty good luck controlling the fire temperature and spread with just a garden hose, but I poured on the water early and kept it going during the burn to prevent huge flames on the piles that were close to things I worried about damaging. As others have mentioned, pick the pile farthest from your barn and light the side down wind/up hill, as that will cause the slowest spread. Much better to need to speed things up with a leaf blower than have the fire get away from you and not have enough water to slow it down.
I read a thread here on TBN a while back about pine stumps that contained concentrations of sap. They were highly sought out as fire starters and mention was made of how hot and big the flames were when piles of these stumps were lit. The names for these stumps escapes me now, but it varied by region. But I suspect your problem may well be getting the dirty root balls to burn at all, and you'll know a lot more about what to expect after the first pile is burned. I start my piles by soaking rags in #2 Diesel fuel, then draping them over a stick and using it so shove the rag a couple feet into the pile in an area where there's good kindling. Three or four are usually enough if the wood is dry, but sometimes a bit of used oil spread over the wood is needed, especially if the wood is wet or hasn't had time to season. One of those Harbor Freight propane torches used for burning weeds is real handy for getting things going.
Around here the Air Resources Board sets burn days according to the amount of pollution in the air as well as weather conditions. CalFire also will set no burn days or even ban burning altogether, so I have to check with both agencies to make sure it's OK to light a fire. Both have web pages and phone numbers to make that a fairly easy process. You might also want to let your local fire company know what you're up to just in case one of your "helpful" neighbors calls in a fire alarm. In fact, it wouldn't hurt to tell your neighbors what you're up to in advance as well. Maybe even make a party of it after the first time or two, like an old fashioned bonfire.
I used the box scraper to clean a 10' circle around my piles down to bare earth, and waited for a calm day. Since your piles are covered, timing the burn for a clear day after a couple days of rain will reduce the chance that a stray ember will catch something else on fire, but keep your hose handy just in case and walk around the fire during the flaming stage to make sure it's not spreading outside the ring. Also keep an eye on where the smoke column is going, as it will be hot enough to catch nearby trees on fire if it is allowed to blow on them. We have restrictions on smoke, both the amount and where it goes, and can be fined if neighbors complain.
If your ground isn't flat, you might consider stretching a length of fence across the down hill side of the burn pile to catch any stumps that roll out. The pile will shift and settle during the burn and that can cause a stump to roll. It's pretty exciting to see a smoking, ember laden stump head down hill into dry wood, and a few T-stakes and 40' of horse fence will head that possibility right off.
60' is a pretty fair amount of space, but how much heat your barn sees pretty much depends on how big you let the fire get and how successful you are at limiting that size. I had pretty good luck controlling the fire temperature and spread with just a garden hose, but I poured on the water early and kept it going during the burn to prevent huge flames on the piles that were close to things I worried about damaging. As others have mentioned, pick the pile farthest from your barn and light the side down wind/up hill, as that will cause the slowest spread. Much better to need to speed things up with a leaf blower than have the fire get away from you and not have enough water to slow it down.
I read a thread here on TBN a while back about pine stumps that contained concentrations of sap. They were highly sought out as fire starters and mention was made of how hot and big the flames were when piles of these stumps were lit. The names for these stumps escapes me now, but it varied by region. But I suspect your problem may well be getting the dirty root balls to burn at all, and you'll know a lot more about what to expect after the first pile is burned. I start my piles by soaking rags in #2 Diesel fuel, then draping them over a stick and using it so shove the rag a couple feet into the pile in an area where there's good kindling. Three or four are usually enough if the wood is dry, but sometimes a bit of used oil spread over the wood is needed, especially if the wood is wet or hasn't had time to season. One of those Harbor Freight propane torches used for burning weeds is real handy for getting things going.
Around here the Air Resources Board sets burn days according to the amount of pollution in the air as well as weather conditions. CalFire also will set no burn days or even ban burning altogether, so I have to check with both agencies to make sure it's OK to light a fire. Both have web pages and phone numbers to make that a fairly easy process. You might also want to let your local fire company know what you're up to just in case one of your "helpful" neighbors calls in a fire alarm. In fact, it wouldn't hurt to tell your neighbors what you're up to in advance as well. Maybe even make a party of it after the first time or two, like an old fashioned bonfire.
