Burning Brush

[HillStreet]

We may get some rain in the next few days so I may burn some of my brush piles. The piles are dry, stacked since fall. My question is how should I light the piles? The actual brush is small with some larger limbs 4 inch or so. One pile is about 16 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 5 feet high. I have good clearance and will have a hose out there, and will have a permit.

 

[jeff9366]

Waste oil or diesel fuel is good. Light one or two locations, let it spread. Do not create a conflagration.

I burn frequently. I use a propane torch.

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[smstonypoint]

A roll of toilet tissue dipped in diesel works for me in getting a brush pile lit.

Steve

 

[HillStreet]

That's a good idea, thanks Jeff. By the way, will it light if I try to do that in a light rain. Or should I tarp it before it rains?

 

[HillStreet]

Good idea, I have the stuff.

 

[Deere Dude]

I start my piles by using what I start my fireplace fires with; little wood chips soaked in a diesel. Throw a handful in it and light with a small torch.

I would just start in one spot and watch it. It shouldn't get that big. You can always start on the other side also if you get bored. I always push the pile together with the tractor bucket as it starts burning down. The garden hose is a good safety feature in case you think it is getting to hot.

If you push burning coals to the center make sure you have a plan in case your tractor kills and can't get it started. It is a Kubota you know.

 

[jeff9366]

Never approach a flaming burn pile in HST/High. It is too easy for pump momentum to push you in a little farther than you anticipate.

Use HST/LOW.

Not only the rain but the pile constituents and per cent of moisture in the pile determine it burn ability.

I would not tarp a pile. Just wait a few more days.

 

[Code54]

I normally just save some old news papers and crinkle them all up and stuff them in the bottom of the pile, mix a little diesel and old oil together and sprinkle it over and light with a grill lighter.

 

[Creamer]

Wow! Is brush that hard to light? I guess I have been doing it wrong with a little piece of paper and stuff it down inside the pile and in about five minutes I have flames roaring out the top.

The OP lives in Maine which means the brush is probably a lot of pine - that stuff will light quickly and burn hot.

 

[Industrial Toys]

If it's good and dry, I just burn my burnable garbage and that is usually enough.

I grew up throwiing (then cheap) fuel on a fire. We never had a loader to compact a pile and that makes a big difference. Now I use a hand held leaf blower for manipulation.

 

[Wagtail]

Wow! Is brush that hard to light? I guess I have been doing it wrong with a little piece of paper and stuff it down inside the pile and in about five minutes I have flames roaring out the top.

The OP lives in Maine which means the brush is probably a lot of pine - that stuff will light quickly and burn hot.

C'mon Mate. The bloke is just asking a question of our collective TBN knowledge to see if there's an alternative way to light the pile.

Heck, the reason I even looked into this thread was to see if there were some new ways of doing it... I may try Steve's 'bog-roll soaked in diesel' method the next time I burn and my trees are predominately eucalyptus variants.

 

[JFoy]

I have a routine / ritual with my brush fires. First, I mow a low cut circle around the brush to keep the fire contained. I wait for one or two days following a decent rain. Same day should also be low wind so as not to blow embers too far. I plan to light on the side facing the oncoming wind so the wind will blow the flames into the pile. To start the fire, I take some diesel and used motor oil, mix and distribute in my intended ignition area. Let set for 5 mins to soak. Then cram a section with newspaper and twigs and then light it up. If the pile is dry enough since the rain and the wood is dried out, it should be fine. Now that said, since I personally don't like burning piles with the possibility of there being wildlife in it, my vet said the best time of the year is following the first frost. Great idea but that usually means I have to wait a while since the rain comes less frequently that time of year.

If you run into a situation where it just won't stay lit, a leaf blower can do wonders. Remember that the more oxygen you feed a fire, the hotter it gets. So, if you have trouble, Get as much wood burning as you can and use the leaf blower to crank it up.

 

[JRobyn]

I second the propane burner! I've got an inexpensive Harbor Freight one with the piezo lighter. Had a non-lighter one for a while, but someone decided they needed it more than me. Anyway, I have NO more issues with parts of a burn pile that are a little too loose or damp to get started easily. Works awesome on all size piles from campfire to several acres worth of slash. Way less smoking while a damp pile is just feebly starting, so neighbors are happier too.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

Around here we always burn in the rain. Piles are usually wet but a propane burner, leaf blower plus some accelerant and we quickly get a fire storm going. Rain keeps the smoke away from the neighbors and makes sure nothing else gets burned. Seldom do be have an inversion during rain around here. BTW were talking light rain/mist not a downpour.

Ron

 

[4570Man]

Once you have a decent fire going a leaf blower helps it spread.

 

[bcp]

It was over 60 years ago, but I remember a farm boy, when brush that was too loose to burn, who would build a small fire of sticks, then place a pint+-, capped bottle of gasoline a couple of feet in front of the fire. He would then go back 20 yards or so and shoot the bottle with a 22. It made a great fireball, and the brush burned.

Bruce

 

[turnkey4099]

Stacked since fall it will be dry and easy to light. Even in a rain just s spash of diesel will get it going. Stuffing paper well into the pile also works but is slower.

Getting a pile of green brush going is a whole other problem. There repeated applications of diesel plus a leaf blower is a good answer.

 

[om21braz]

A roll of toilet tissue dipped in diesel works for me in getting a brush pile lit.

Steve

+1 On a larger scale, starting with a bale of straw soaked in diesel fuel works well too. A backpack blower will get things hot enough to keep even green brush burning.

 

[TemporaryKubotaOwnerMark]

A backpack blower will get things hot enough to keep even green brush burning.

For those times when I have large pieces of wood to burn (logs, stumps) especially if it's punky or not-quite-dry, I use a length of 4" pipe (heavy wall, not thin conduit) and build the pile over the opening. A cheap electric blower goes in the other end. Really speeds things up.

Gets hot enough to melt the occasional screw. I do a stack of pallets that way and wind up with a ball of melted-together screws and nails when it's all done.

 

[Tomtint]

I would always have trouble getting a pile going. Our burn season here is Jan15-Apr 1. Typically the brush is soaked. Last couple years I have driven down to the local Home Depo and grabbed 3 or 4 old pallets from their scrap pile, cut them up and tossed a gas soaked old T shirt under them. Then lit it with a bbq lighter. Those old oak pallets burn fast and hot. Gets the brush going good.