Burn Piles for Beginners

[ragkar]

Using a grass and leaf blower to intensify a blaze works well. but I don't like to use it because it throws sparks into the air.

 

[Ken45101]

If you use the loader to work the burning pile, be careful! If a hydraulic line on the loader bursts, you will be spraying flammable fluid on the fire! If you have a hydrostatic transmission, you might not be able to move!

I read one situation where a dozer was pushing up on a big burn pile. It threw a track Fortunately, it had a winch on the rear and he was slowly able to winch the dozer off of the pile.

 

[powerpace]

Thanks for reminding me about burn piles. I gotta do that soon. Pine beetle kills several trees around here every year. Most are 50' to 60' tall. Three trees so far this year. I always burn after it has rained. That doesn't include all the rest of the stuff that accumulates. The property was logged off 12 years and they cleaned most of it up. The stumps are starting to rot faster now but a 3' to 4' stump is still a challenge the the BH.
I was a Training Officer in a Fire Department years ago. Part of the duties was to inspect burn piles if over a certain size. No roofing material, treated wood products, tires or plastics. Stumps could be burned if they weren't covered with dirt or still in the ground. I have responded to stumpfires that were set the previous year.

 

[Patriotic Stabilist]

We have a burn pile out back. Since remodeling the house we have burned all kinds of stuff out there. Hubby and I intend to clean it up and haul what remains there are off to the dump. Hope to do that soon. It sure is handy to keep stuff cleaned up, I don't know how people in a city function, we are definitely country people.

 

[alchemysa]

When building the pile try to keep the heavier logs and thickest branches all together and preferably on the downwind side because the downwind side burns much hotter and longer. If youve got heavy logs on the upwind side you may have trouble keeping them alight or they may take forever to burn.

 

[Patriotic Stabilist]

My husband has one of those burners like they use on a construction site. You hook it to a tank of propane, the hose is probably 15 foot or longer so you keep it far away. Light that sucker then go in under the pile all around. Unless its really wet it will get that burning but good. Then hotdogs, marshmallows and things are nice especially if its still burning in the evening. We have had to cut some fair sized trees down here after storms.

Yes, I use it too.

 

[RobertN]

Good point. I have been on the engine and had to tear apart a few "burn piles" that were full of trash. Stinky nasty burn pile. Plastics are real stinky.

Neighbor two properties down got busted, not by Fire Dept, but by Air Resources for burning construction debris, old insulation, old flooring. BIG fine, not allowed to burn again for something like 5 years. To make things worse, he was an old volunteer FF who knew better. They thought I turned them in, since I am volunteer at our local station, but I was not home at the time.

Around here, you need a permit to burn, lasts 3 years and is free. If you have large burn piles though, you need an additional permit and as you mention, inspection.

I was a Training Officer in a Fire Department years ago. Part of the duties was to inspect burn piles if over a certain size. No roofing material, treated wood products, tires or plastics. Stumps could be burned if they weren't covered with dirt or still in the ground. I have responded to stumpfires that were set the previous year.

 

[Mousefield]

Our property and the surrounding ones are all heavily treed so one has to be careful when burning. I burn late November or early December only after we have had weeks of rain. I may do one more next week as rain is forecast and then that痴 it for the year. Not worth the risk burning at other times of the year. I try and do a few smaller ones rather than one large one to minimize the risk as our burn area is only about 100 feet from the barn. I use a tiger torch to start a hot fire going and then will add to it after it has burned most of the original pile. Pics: The burn area is close to the tree line just to the left of the barn, compost pile is just to the left of the burn pile. Tiger torch and propane tank.

 

[SPYDERLK]

For controlling a burn pile of some size and having a lot of varied size and BIG stuff, I consider the irreplaceable tool to be a heavy 30+HP 4WD diesel loader tractor with a bushog for counterweight. This lets you push the pile around a little as it burns and control the perimeter as the area around the fire dries out and grass becomes a fuel. [The bushog discharge toward the fire.] The "after rain" suggestions are very good to counteract the flying embers that are very prevalent at the beginning and sometimes when you stir with the loader or add material using it. As said, watch how close you go. Be sure you are in a low enuf gear that stall is very unlikely. 4WD is a must to be assured of traction in reverse - - esp if something of weight gets hung in the bucket.
larry

 

[Egon]

For controlling a burn pile of some size and having a lot of varied size and BIG stuff, I consider the irreplaceable tool to be a heavy 30+HP 4WD diesel loader tractor with a bushog for counterweight.

How about a 988 loading into a sled burner with a D6 relegated to pushing up piles and dragging the burner along.?:thumbsup:

 

[boxygen]

I sometimes tarp my piles and then burn on a day when it is pouring out. Works perfectly, the pile is bone dry and burns really well, I dont worry in the least bit about catching anything on fire, and what else are you going to do on a day that its pouring out? Tarping and burning during the winter when there is snow on the ground is even better.

 

[teg]

...I'm just 100 yards from the volunteer fire department...

Would suck to burn the fire dept. down

Statewide Burning Ban | Local Burn Restrictions | Virginia Department of Forestry |

reason I bought a chipper...

 

[6string]

I burned 3 large brush piles last week while on "vacation".I got up early and there was a heavy dew and very light wind. I have been wanting to build a PTO sprayer(100 gal.) to mount on the tractor in case of grass fires in the summer,buttt...SOMEDAY. I have the tractor and disc and shovel on site when I'm burning a brush pile though. This time of the year the ground is plenty wet but the grass is like flash paper and all it takes is one spark.

 

[Pilot]

So much of what has been said is valid for one area or type of brush and not another. I burn a lot and have no problem getting stuff to grow where the piles were--actually they grow better because competition is reduced--seeds & weeds burned up--and nutrients, except nitrogen, increase from ashes of the burned stuff. The nitrogen goes into the air. This has been true in NW Oregon where I live now as well as in western Montana. Actually the heat doesn't go very far into the soil, just an inch or two.

Cedar and cut Scotch broom burn like a torch.

I like using a sprayer to put fuel on the fire because you can put a film over almost everything and have little waste. If you throw it on from a bucket or fuel can, a lot just washes down to the ground.

Never, never, never use gasoline to start your pile. The fumes will drift and if you start the fire from downwind or downhill, you will be inside the explosion area. It's just a quick whoosh, but you don't want to be there. A mix of 1/3 gasoline and 2/3 diesel works OK.

A fire line around the pile isn't a bad idea, but if the area around the pile is wet it may not be necessary. The line doesn't have to be very wide--I have fought forest fires where we dug a line only a few inches wide because there wasn't much fuel. The more fuel, the wider the line. Just have to get down to mineral soil. If you put your line next to the pile, you'll want a wider line. Go out 10 feet and the line can be pretty narrow--unless you have a monster pile.

If burning anywhere near a building, be sure the gutters are clean or wet.

Propane burners use a lot of propane.

You can take a toilet paper roll, dip it in diesel and put it under a tall and dense part of the pile and light it. It will burn for quite a while, but most of the heat goes straight up, which is why you put it under a tall part of the pile. Or as someone mentioned, use a newspaper.

Big stuff burns best if close together to radiate heat back & forth.

You want fines--little stuff, twigs and needles in abundance to start the fire. Here I can start a fire easily if I have a lot of dry Doug fir needles. But hardwoods with no leaves? No way. The have to dry a very long time compared to the DF.

 

[955er]

I have many pines on my acreage that have been dying over the last 7 years. I have lit many large piles and prayed (I have one out there right now I am worried about).

Wait another month or two, get up before dawn when there is much dew on the ground and zero wind, and burn away. If these conditions are not met, I will not burn.

As the member said earlier about his neighbors barn, you need to worry more about flying embers than a ground fire. I have found that a heavy morning dew greatly reduces that problem.

 

[ShenandoahJoe]

Well, the burn went off without a hitch on Saturday. Amazing thing: a tractor and two chainsaws means free teen-age labor shows up without my even asking! By my calculation, I got 33 hours of work out of those guys.

We got rid of 30 stink-trees, about 15 cubic yards of vines that were strangling my riparian forest, and all kinds of random lumber that mysteriously appeared all by itself once word got out.

I took Boxygen's advice and arranged for it to rain all Friday night, stay clear all day Saturday, and then rain another quarter-inch around midnight. The weather bureau made me promise not to give out that particular phone number, though.

As kindling, I recommend the pizza boxes that held lunch for the work crew.
Thanks again, y'all!

 

[czechsonofagun]

We are burning this Friday. It is Czech tradition to burn witches - or evil spirits of the winter - on the 30th of April and the huge pile comes handy. We can burn anything after 4PM unless there are wind or dry conditions. The pile is in the middle of a pasture, no danger there unless the wind goes off the chart.

Walpurgis Night - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Lacal]

I have 5 acres of overgrown mesquites, sage and other brush to burn and had a slash pit dug that is 15' deep, 15' long and 5' wide. I still require a calm day and fire must be out an hour before sunset. I had to get a burn permit from the state and must notify the closest fire station before starting. And no I don't waste the mesquite wood.

 

[MNBobcat]

When I burn I keep spraying water on the fire. That way I have total control of how hot the fire gets. I keep the fire in check and don't let it get too hot.

 

[studor]

When I burn I keep spraying water on the fire. That way I have total control of how hot the fire gets. I keep the fire in check and don't let it get too hot

If you want less fire, add less fuel. Spraying water on it means a less complete,longer burn with more pollution. The water may also result in a lot more airborn particulate (flying embers) which is not good

Propane burners use a lot of propane

. Dollar for dollar the propane torch will work better and last longer than petroleum distillates like diesel or gas
JMHO