Burn barrel and diesel fuel

[Sigarms]

Now that I got your attention LOL

Between my wife and I with home office work, we go through a butt load of documents (some mailed to us as well). Paper shredder just gets to be PITA even with a decent $200 one, that may last 4 or so years.

Started using burn barrel for all this paperwork. Honestly though, depending on the size of documents, it can be a pain in the butt time to ensure everything is burned thoroughly.

Had a idea. Soak a big box of paperwork with diesel fuel (outside of course), let everything sit for a good 48 hours, then burn it in the barrel (throwing in the paperwork in "clumps" into the barrel).

Done it twice now, seems to work great. Nice thing is everything pretty much burns 100% and when the fire is out, everything is gone with pretty much nothing sitting half burnt at the bottom of the barrel.

I understand that I need to account for a gallon of diesel fuel which adds to the cost, but it seems like a gallon goes a long time for paperwork, added a new barrel cost me $10 from a neighbor up the road.

I understand the diesel/gas don't mix well with fire, but of course being safe. When my FIL passed away last year, I burned all his paperwork my wife gave me (which was a ton) and it was a long tedious process to ensure everything was burnt.

Am I just playing with fire and sooner or later will get burnt? (excuse the pun).

 

[2manyrocks]

Are you having success at burning multiple pages by soaking them all in diesel? E.g., would this burn something like a phone book or a printed catalog from Northern Tool? Nothing against them...they happen to be the only one sending me paper tool catalogs these days.

Did you do anything to the barrel to make it burn more efficiently? I'd assume you have some air intake holes near the bottom.

 

[Alan W.]

I try to keep up with our document-junk mail shredding.
The times we go through files and purge outdated documents I will burn them.
As you’ve found out stacks of paper burns terrible.
I soak mine with a diesel used motor oil mix.

 

[Sigarms]

Are you having success at burning multiple pages by soaking them all in diesel? E.g., would this burn something like a phone book or a printed catalog from Northern Tool? Nothing against them...they happen to be the only one sending me paper tool catalogs these days.

Did you do anything to the barrel to make it burn more efficiently? I'd assume you have some air intake holes near the bottom.

Other than intake air holes in barrel (very bottom and halfway up), nothing else.

Haven't done a phone book, but magazine type paperwork up to perhaps 100 pages have done very well burning completely (stuff like IRA books for example).

Honestly, I've been impressed with leaving pretty much 0% material laying in the barrel after everything is burnt. Prior to using the diesel, the burnt material was growing in the barrel after time to the point after time I'd have to empty it.

I guess my "safety" measure is to let everything sit for two days before throwing it into the fire.

 

[Bocephous]

I pour used motor oil in my garbage bags before tossing them into my burning barrel, and that works well, too.

 

[RalphVa]

I compost our shreddings. Just need to add some nitrogen: urine usually.

 

[Sigarms]

I pour used motor oil in my garbage bags before tossing them into my burning barrel, and that works well, too.

That would save me a trip to get rid of the used motor oil...

 

[fidowanttobe]

I too keep a 50/50? mix of used oil and diesel out by the barrel. I don't pre-soak tho, a good glug or 2 on top of paper inside the barrel, 1/4 cup or so of gasoline and then a flying farmers match.
After 20 minutes or so, I stir the coals with a bad t-post and let it go out. I also have a steel plate that I rig on top to catch the wind and direct down into the fire. Have always had good luck this way.
We have to recycle/burn everything. I checked probably 10 years ago and they wanted over $900 a year for a once-a-week pickup of a trash can. Some weeks the 2 of us don't even fill a kitchen bag!
I declined.

 

[Sigarms]

We have to recycle/burn everything. I checked probably 10 years ago and they wanted over $900 a year for a once-a-week pickup of a trash can. Some weeks the 2 of us don't even fill a kitchen bag!
I declined.

We pay like a $65 tax to use the multiple county transfer stations to take most of our garbage. Before that, it was like $400 for a year for trash pick up, but that was like 16 years ago.

What I found funny was everyone was up in arms in the county for the tax fee to use the transfers stations. Seemed like a bargain IMO.

 

[Alan W.]

We pay $15 a month for weekly pick up. The lady and her son that picks ours up took it over after her husband died. He had ran it for years.
The county judge negotiated a four pickup loads a year freebie for county residents at the landfill.

 

[bdhsfz6]

Our township hosts a "shred event" 2 or 3 times a year. A professional shredding truck is brought in which reduces whole piles of documents to a pile of small squares. Sometimes it's free and sometimes there is a nominal fee.

I use this service for a large number of documents but mostly I use a burn barrel. I got sick of replacing the rusted 55 gal drums every couple of years and cut the top off a 100 gal propane tank. With air holes in the bottom & sides, it does a pretty good job of burning things completely. I'll occasionally mix a bit of used motor oil to speed things up.

 

[turnkey4099]

Now that I got your attention LOL

Between my wife and I with home office work, we go through a butt load of documents (some mailed to us as well). Paper shredder just gets to be PITA even with a decent $200 one, that may last 4 or so years.

Started using burn barrel for all this paperwork. Honestly though, depending on the size of documents, it can be a pain in the butt time to ensure everything is burned thoroughly.

Had a idea. Soak a big box of paperwork with diesel fuel (outside of course), let everything sit for a good 48 hours, then burn it in the barrel (throwing in the paperwork in "clumps" into the barrel).

Done it twice now, seems to work great. Nice thing is everything pretty much burns 100% and when the fire is out, everything is gone with pretty much nothing sitting half burnt at the bottom of the barrel.

I understand that I need to account for a gallon of diesel fuel which adds to the cost, but it seems like a gallon goes a long time for paperwork, added a new barrel cost me $10 from a neighbor up the road.

I understand the diesel/gas don't mix well with fire, but of course being safe. When my FIL passed away last year, I burned all his paperwork my wife gave me (which was a ton) and it was a long tedious process to ensure everything was burnt.

Am I just playing with fire and sooner or later will get burnt? (excuse the pun).

Save the cost of fuel. My burn barrels back when where cut open BOTH ends. set on a grate of scrap iron, filled about 1/2 full and touched off. Nothing left in short order and even burns thick books. What little ash remains is shoveled out from under the grate. The drawback? The scrap iron grate and barrel don't last lopng. I could get about 2 years out of them and replace. No more. Washington state banned burn barrels and was even paying a bounty to people who reported their being used.

 

[m1garand762]

We throw everything in the burn barrel and light it a couple times a week with our trash. We haven’t had trash service in 10 years. If the county recycling dumpster doesn’t take it we burn it

 

[RSKY]

There are a couple posts on TBN about how to make a burn barrel burn efficiently. I followed the instructions (kinda) of a guy from Tasmania and mine burn everything completely. While cleaning up my late mother's estate I sometimes had two barrels going every day for six days straight (she had fifty year old paperwork and quilt pieces). The fire would swirl out the top pulling fresh air in at an angle. Complete combustion.

 

[TheMan419]

Our township hosts a "shred event" 2 or 3 times a year. A professional shredding truck is brought in which reduces whole piles of documents to a pile of small squares. Sometimes it's free and sometimes there is a nominal fee.

I use this service for a large number of documents but mostly I use a burn barrel. I got sick of replacing the rusted 55 gal drums every couple of years and cut the top off a 100 gal propane tank. With air holes in the bottom & sides, it does a pretty good job of burning things completely. I'll occasionally mix a bit of used motor oil to speed things up.

Yep. Same kind of events held here every so often. Usually for a donation to some charity or the other. I figure the $10 or whatever they are asking for I donate goes to a good cause and the time saved by not having to tend the fire or shredder is worth more than $10 anyway.