Burn pile maintenance

[dmccarty]

Re: Don\'t use gas!

Dang, RobertN, you are GOOD! LOL! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

I was wondering when I wrote up my note if someone would get me about the Polypro. I normally wear either wool or cotton. Period. I'm sure I have some underwear and socks that are not natural but my shirts, pants, and jackets are wool or cotton. Its very hard to find wool long johns I did find some in the last year or so but its Polypro is easier to find.

You are absolutely correct about the plastic clothes. I hear that the Navy got away from polyester back in the 70's since they were having such horrible burn casualties due to the clothes. Some admirals wanted to stick with the old poly uniforms because the looked better but common sense prevailed. Or so I have heard.

I don't understand why law enforcement agencies still use the plastic clothes. The stuff is uncomfortable and dangerous. I guess it looks good...... /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

You don't want to wear your nice Goretex jacket near the burn pile! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Later...
Dan

 

[theboman]

In Kentucky you can only burn now from dusk to dawn and on non-windy days. I think you must actually have to be present when burning. I think you have to be at least 100' from any forest. Check local laws and use common sense.
The ashes, if it's wood it shouldn't hurt lawns or gardens if it's worked into the soil.

Bluegrass, Pick It Up!

 

[bgott]

Re: Don\'t use gas!

The last time I burned I had a pile about twenty feet in diameter and 8 feet high. I used about five gallons of watered gas I had to get rid of. I let it soak in for a while and then used a gallon of good gas to give it a little oomph and to run out a gas trail to light. I lit it and hauled ass so I was heading the wrong way to see it but my brother told me that when it blew it lifted the whole pile three feet into the air. Not really a good idea but I did get rid of the gas without dumping it on the ground.

 

[TerryinMD]

Re: Don\'t use gas!

Whoa!!!!

I hope you don't do that to light your charcoal grill. /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif

But, I think a lot of us have had similar past experiences. /w3tcompact/icons/blush.gif

Terry

 

[Richard]

Re: Don\'t use gas!

As I have twice had the fire department bring out 6 trucks and a dozer to help quell my creations, I too have a method. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif I'm not sure they like my methods though. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

With a perfect fire, I hope to have rain day before or drizzle day of. I use kerosene in garden sprayer (pump type) so I can continue to "suggest" to the fire that it keeps burning until becoming self sustaining. I am in fact on first name basis now with my Forrestry dudes and they not only know where I live, they (sometimes) come out BEFORE I burn to be absolutely sure all is ok. In SPITE of this, I have still had a fire get way out of control (see above aforementioned 6 firetrucks & dozer). My smallest fire (after lumber dudes gone) has been roughly 30 feet diamater and (guessing) 12 feet +/- high. My LARGEST fire was probably 100 feet long, 40 feet wide and at peak, 20 feet high. Again, all numbers +/-

Joe (Forrester) had been out, cut fire breaks and I waited until rainy day to light. Was the most behaved fire I have ever seen (if you can accuse one of being "behaved")

I have also thrown one of those fireplace burning logs into a pile to start the fire. I acquired some and thought they would make a nice starter which they did.

Richard

 

[mikim]

I burn big brush piles while it's raining. If I can get a nice slow steady rain - perfect. Normally there's no wind with that and the rain keeps any hot ash that does go up from coming down hot. I use diesel to start it and it starts slow and burns at just about the right rate regardless of the material or size of the pile. The rain controls it for me - I don't have a source of water nearby so I let mother nature provide. I also like to let a pile "mature" for a year or two before I burn it. It's a lot smaller and compact then.
mike

 

[Alan L.]

Re: Don\'t use gas!

Gas is BAD stuff. My brother is now 54 but he almost didn't make 12. He was burning trash in a barrell (thats what we did back then). He had poured the gas out of a gallon jug and backed away form the barrell, then lit it. Somehow the fumes had gotten into his pants leg and he caught on fire. After several months in the hospital and several skin grafts, he survived. He has huge scars that take up his entire legs and stomach area (where they grafted skin). So an empty gas can is even more dangerous because of its explosiveness.

I was only 4 at the time so I don't remember it.....

Alan L., TX

 

[Tdog]

Re: Don\'t use gas!

Gas, kerosine, diesel? Jeez, guess I'm more patient. I have 2-3 or more fires a year of mess we accumulate from fighting Mother Nature. We've always started the fire with several [4-6] wads of newspaper stuffed into strategic places around the perimeter. We never burn on windy days, & not unless we've had rain in the last week or so. Never had a problem getting a good burn.

 

[Henry]

In Pennsylvania, where I've got my country place, we always wait until we've got snow on the ground before we do any burning. In our neck of the woods we get those nasty combinations of rain, freezing rain, and snow... so during this time of year, the underbursh and fallen leaves are wet / frozen and covered with snow.... no way there going to burn! We also wait to consolidate the piles of brush or junk or what ever we've gotta burn until winter to eliminate the critter factor... you don't have to worry about snakes and spiders when it's only 20 degrees outside!

We also call the fire department, just to make sure there isn't a burn ban, but mostly as a curtoursey call ... the neighbors will likely see the smoke and call the fire department anyway!

 

[Bird]

<font color=blue>wait until we've got snow on the ground</font color=blue>

Excellent idea, but of course, if I waited for snow, my grandkids might not even get to burn it./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif However, about 1/6" of rain yesterday, 52 degrees this morning, very heavy dew, thick fog (visibility less than 400'), so my little pile of brush and the old oil from the last oil change went up in smoke this morning.

Bird