Clearing old burn piles with a mulcher

[horsinaround]

Once you get it going, don't stop until it is gone. Restarting is a pain. It needs to get good and hot. Liquid encouragement (used oil mixed with diesel) always helps. Be careful though.

 

[MarkV]

Might check and see if your local fire department would be interested in a practice burn.

MarkV

 

[PBinWA]

Wait for a good rain...have your tractor ready to move the pile, and burn the suckers.

They should be nice and dry, so if you light it during a nice light rain/drizzle, you should have no problem.

I'll second that. Use some diesel to get it started. Burning on a rainy day is a lot less stressful. Of course, in the Northwest we get used to doing a lot of stuff in the rain.

 

[KentT]

2 years ago I had about 5 acres cleared in to 4 rather large piles. We attempted to burn one, and let's just say, with the winds coming and going, it was more than I want to procede with.

WIth that being said, I got a few bids for contractors to come in and mulch the remaining dry burn piles that would leave me material to til into the ground. The bids ranged fron 5k to 8k with a time frame of about 3 days from piules to planable pasture land.

My question is, has anyone rented a mulcher from a heavy equipment rental shop and used it? I seem to be havign a difficult time finding a place willing to rent me one.

Thanks.

I was in a similar situation three years ago. Ended up paying a contractor to bring in a large grinder and an excavator to feed it. Paid $425 an hour for that combo and in 10 hours (meter time) they ground up a huge brush pile. To make the most efficient use of their time, I also paid $75 an hour to have a small dozer keep the debris pushed up to the excavator so time wasn't wasted while the escavator was "hauling" the next "bite" to go into the grinder, and to spread or pile the mulch coming out of the grinder. Total bill came to $5000.

More pics and a brief writeup are here, if you're interested.

Making Mulch May 5 & 8

I've spread mulch for the last three years from that, and it is now starting to decompose nicely into rich topsoil. Meanwhile, I spread it and used it to keep weeds and undergrowth down around the remaining trees and around the edge of the clearing. Seemed very expensive at the time to get it done, but looking back, I'm now glad that I did...