How do you burn piles?

[N80]

Rich, I don't know what your situation is or how much room you have or how much debris you have. But most of the time I just shove mine up in the woods in small to moderate piles and let nature take its course. It might seem like a long time, but pine debris rots really fast. Usually about a year and the pile is more or less flattened out.

With a grapple you should be able to distribute around in discrete places fairly easily. Its a bit harder just with the bucket.

The piles are also good for rabbits, quail, etc.

 

[SCRich]

I got some room but not enough to do the piles I have fully. It has been 16 months now and nothing has decomposed enough to even notice. The only thing you can see now is a lot of grass and weeds growing out of the piles and around the pile.

Distribution to various areas is difficult at this moment since I have few trails into the woods but if I can find someone who can clear the logging trails I can get further but it will not help much. We are wall to wall trees, most of the logging was just thinning so I have a few spots but not many large ones. With the price of diesel today if I got to go very far with a grapple full and do that all day long hauling it away is a bit more appealing. I got 2 spots where a full size trailer can pull up and the piles will be no further than 30 or so feet away. Yes piles are good for small game but I got enough of those, probably 5-10 of them in various locations now for who knows how long. When the hunting club leased this land I think they cleared what we used as the staging area and really old small and large piles dot the land. Interesting thing is they have not had a lease here probably in 10+ years, the piles are still large, not much decomposing as everyone claims would be happening. Stumps, got hundreds of them, some I can drive over and some I can not, been 16-17 months now and none of them show ANY signs of age let alone decomposing. I was told 3-4 years and they would be gone, not at this rate.

Most of what I have are stumps from construction, tree tops from the logging and a lot of branches burried with everything else from the logging and a bunch of small trees that were torn out with all the other work. I got some birch and a bunch of wimpy cedar trees tossed in the mix also. Probably 4 truck's worth depending on how well it get's packed, I am talking 40ft open trailers like we would use down in Florida in the orange groves.

I really knew this would be a mess late this spring. In the logging staging area when I went to drive to a far corner I started slipping and sinking. I backed out and scraped the top and what was dry, brown and apparently solid at top was a mattress of a few decomposing branches, but mostly bark and pine needles. Yes decomposing but several feet deep and becoming mucky by holding a ton of moisture, it would take a LOT of years before it became hard packed ground to drive over regularly and not very good soil to grow on since the bark and pine needles would make it real acid.

If you ever plan on driving by Todd's place send me a message, love to have you over and take a look. I am about 5 minutes or less down the street from the dealership.

 

[N80]

Man, that sounds tough. I'm out of ideas. I wonder if anyone with those machines that make mulch would be interested in doing the job for the mulch? Or even a fee?

 

[RonMar]

I made up a small portable blower using a 4" 12V electronics box fan from radio shack, RadioShack.com - Computers: Components & parts: Cooling systems: 4" Cooling Fan or Surplus Center, Surplus Center Item Detail and a piece of 4" X 48" metal duct pipe from just about any home/hardware store. Those little fans will run off a 5-7AH 12v gel cell for 24 hours. I set this down under the pile and push the pipe way into the center. Rags soaked with motor oil, lit, and pushed into the center of the pile near the air pipe get the show rolling, then I turn on that little fan. This constant air supply creates a VERY hot core fire that roars like blast furnace. This heat at the core has to exit thru the other material on the pile above it and it quiclky breaks the pile down, even when wet. I will every so often push the edges in, or dump more material onto the middle with the FEL. I pretty much only burn when it is raining.

 

[Richard]

Some meandering thoughts

I usually try to start my fires with diesel that is held in a garden pressure can. As already stated, this way I can boost a flame or walk it to a new location. I can spray a stream INTO a hole of the debris and try to stoke a hot spot deeper inside the pile.

My piles usually accumulate over several weeks/months so I dont have the luxury of stacking things. Usually, someone (my wifes cousin) dumps things on the pile out of their pickup or I pile things on using my front loader.

When stirring the fire, or otherwise maintaining it, I use my backhoe. (I cheat because it will dig to 15 1/2 feet I dont recall what its reach is)

Anyways, I'll use the backhoe to consolidate the fire while keeping myself at more of a distance.

I've had some doozy fires. Attached is a picture showing way in the background, my full sized JCB 1550 backhoe and one of the slash piles left by the logger guys. (this is NOT my typical sized fire)

The day I burnt this fire, it had rained for the prior 2 days, the morning OF the fire. I had my fire permit, my backhoe, my cellphone with me. I'm supposed to stay with the fire until its out

At about 2:30 A.M., it was pretty much embers when I saw some lights coming up the road. Seems someone across the lake called the Sheriff thinking that our side of the lake was on fire. (I actually liked the fact that they called). Anyways, he approached me and I said Hi

He asked what I was up to and I said I was burning a slash pile (duh)

He then asked "How are you going to put it out?"
I said "it rained today, I've got my burn permit, cell phone AND backhoe..." (in other words, I have ZERO intention of putting it out)


He then said with a bit more of a redneck attitude "You DO know you're supposed to STAY with your fire until its out don't you?"

I looked at him and said "yes...it IS 2:30 and I'm here aren't I ?"
He paused and then finally said "yeah...have a good evening and got in his car to drive away.

Truth be told? About 30 minutes later, I went home & went to bed.

 

[dmccarty]

Man, that sounds tough. I'm out of ideas. I wonder if anyone with those machines that make mulch would be interested in doing the job for the mulch? Or even a fee?

Getting a mulching machine was my idea as well. We have a pile of wood from timbering and building the house. The pile was the size of a two story house but it has settled so its 1.5 story house.

I saw a guy running two excavators that were filling a tub grinder from a pile of wood similar to what we have on our land. I stopped and talked to the owner for 15-20 minutes. They had reduced the pile by half in that time. In went trees, stumps, etc and out came mulch. The owner was heming and hawing on a rough qoute but he was around $2-3000. This was back in 2004 ish. 3K is alot of money. But we have spend a good $1,500 for mulch. We just need to save up and to get our pile mulched. Two bangs for the buck.

Later,
Dan

 

[PineRidge]

A empty can with the top cut off (beer, pop, soup etc.) fill half way with diesel and stuff a small rag in the top so it hangs in the diesel. Build your pile around the can starting with the smaller drier wood and pile it on bigger as you go.

After you light the torch add air with a leaf blower if you have one after the smaller wood starts to ignite. Once the fire is hot you can add most anything. Works every time.