The Burn

[joefromga]

I use one of these to burn small piles. Stainless steel and doesn't create smoke or embers once it's up to temperature. Incinerator.

Obviously can't burn large piles but is so fast you can toss logs and sticks into it almost nonstop. But it does have a lot of radiant heat.

 

[Xfaxman]

Re: The Burn------ Dead tree caught fire!!!

Great pics and story! I would bet $100 this was not radiant heat, but rather that an ember from the fire had floated over and settled into a portion of the rotting trunk at the top of the tree. We live in a small acreage community and a neighbor down the street had to call the fire department when his small leaf and limb cleanup fire sent an ember up into a 50+ year old Oak on the other neighbor's property line. Turned into a full fledged fire at the top of the tree where dry leaves had nestled into a fork, but the FD was able to put it out quickly. Everyone had a good laugh, but burning is serious business, especially with other trees in close proximity. I have verified the travel distance of hot embers while performing burns after dark. Those big fires look an order of magnitude more impressive when their tracer fire can be seen a hundred + feet in the air and a hundred + feet downwind too at night. Thanks for sharing this cautionary tale!

Don't bet, I was setting there watching for embers (been there, done that). It was not downwind, the tree next to it had some burnt areas on the vertical trunk. The Fire Chief said he has seen it happen a lot.

There wasn't any visible flame, look how big the scorched area is.

 

[Looking4new]

That would make an interesting lawn ornament.

 

[MossRoad]

If it was radiant heat that set that dead tree on fire, why are all the green leaves on all the other trees around it not wilted? They'd wilt way before wood caught on fire, I'd think. Anyhow, fire is dangerous. hahahha

 

[4570Man]

Radiant heat didn't set that tree on fire. I bet you could stand at the base of the tree and barely feel any heat. As another person said the leafs beside it would wilt long before the tree caught on fire. I have personally caught another tree on fire from radiant heat, but it was 15 feet away and a bigger pile.

Is that some kind of monument in your driveway?

 

[Xfaxman]

That would make an interesting lawn ornament.

Too late now:

 

[4570Man]

If you had a chainsaw to cut that thing in half the whole thing would have burned.

 

[Xfaxman]

If you had a chainsaw to cut that thing in half the whole thing would have burned.

I just waited until the next day and used the grapple to consolidate the pile.

 

[4570Man]

I just waited until the next day and used the grapple to consolidate the pile. <img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=453647"/>

But you could have stayed in the house and kept wasting time on TBN if you cut it in half.

 

[dieselcrawler]

As I have tryed to explain to my wife, there is no such thing as "wasting time on TBN." Every moment is or could be educational, enlightening, helpful, or humorous. *grin*

 

[Industrial Toys]

Finally the rain came, enough to make a burn safe.

Not the biggest, but VERY satisfying. It always amazes me, how virtually nothing is left.

 

[jack707]

If it ever stops raining and the wind comes down I have a bunch of pine branches. And other stuff.

 

[Xfaxman]

The Wind Alert Website showed low wind for a few days, so I burned two brush piles.

At the pond before and after:

The north burn pile: