Gas blew up in my face today

[17 Oaks]

I have been lighting brush piles for years, some are big as in 10 ft tall x 65ft x 80 ft and some if not most are about ⅓ that size and since I am burning volatile wood [cedar] which is near explosive. Here is how I do it:

Check the prevailing wind direction and speed, I don't burn if its gusting or speeds much above about 5 mph and unless I just have a breath of air movement I start my burn downwind. This makes for a slower but more controllable burn.

I stack my hardwoods on top my brush, limbs and cedar as they take longer to burn and need more heat to to a complete burn to ash.

I pick a spot downwind at the furtherest point of my burn pile.

I use a gas diesel mix of about1/3 to almost ｽ diesel to gas.

I pour liberally and quick about chest height and watch to get a drip to ground.

Then I pour a trail of about 25+ feet or so from the pour site.

I take my burn brew can back to my tractor which is about 75+ feet away.

Walk back to where I stopped the trail pour which I marked with a stick or rock and use a butane BBQ lighter to light.

There is enough gas to make it move quick but not so fast that you get caught in the WHOOOOP as it ignites.

We have a water hose on site and one of us stays close in a watch mode as the other begins the brush drag from various piles we have set up to be burned.

KEY POINTS: Always use a mix of gas and diesel or a fast burn and a slow burn

Start the burn downwind so it has to back burn against the wind, this is critical if your are buring cedar/pine and other high resin trees/limbs.

Mark your burn trail so you know where to light

 

[Coyote machine]

I guess it never occurred to me that delaying lighting a brush/burn pile would make the fumes hazard greater rather than lesser. It would seem the idea would be the fumes would dissipate with time, not create a cloud that as it dispersed would envelope the area and increase the likelihood of being fried in the vapor cloud once it was ignited.

So for this guy who survived what could have easily turned way worse, I'm not lighting ANYTHING that contains gasoline, ever. Enough is the 1 time I blew up the fire in my face. I've got nothing to prove, and I like living more than burning or dying.

Upon reflection, and reading some of the horrific accidents that have occurred to my fellow TBN travelers; I strongly urge anyone who has been using gas or a mix of gas and other accelerants to cease using the gas as part of the equation. Even soldier, who narrowly escaped with his life, and was a fire and demo guy in service to our Country, AND he nearly got taken out in an instant of miscalculation. It's just not worth the risk! Not now, not ever.

Many thanks for your service, soldier!

Even he probably decided that the next course in land mines would probably be left to the next guy who comes along! Just kidding about the landmines, BUT I can't stress enough that the one time things go wrong, the wind shifts, the fuse trail isn't exactly where you thought it was, the mix is off by too high a percentage, the can is too close to the fire, or any number of wrong set of circumstances make for the perfect disaster, it could too easily be you in the burn unit, or not making it there and dying. All for what?

I think about other fire starters, like the 'Fatwood' sticks soaked in some sort of fat like substance that will get a fire going along with newspaper or a part of a bale of hay.
Ask yourself, what's the rush? Would you rather spend a little bit of effort and time getting a burn pile going, or laid out on a gurney struggling to live like soldier did?

I'll chose the slow burn method from now on. Once burned, twice, NO THANKS!

Have a question for you guys; what is available to any of us as a means of safe disposal for 'waste' gasoline? I know I can take excess waste oil to my local TSC or recycling center and other places, but what about gas I want to get rid of instead of having it sit around in extra cans, and only presenting a potential hazard to me and others at my home?

TIA for any ideas on this...

 

[JamesHW]

Lots of scary stories, thankful recoveries and good advice here. My aunt ran an Army burn unit in Texas, so have always had an appreciation for the agony associated with serious burns.

I'll share my method for starting brush piles that I switched to some years ago...A older acquantice was helping us and wanted to start a large pile with gas but we found we were out, so he went to buy a can and get us some sandwiches up the road. It had started raining earlier and we started to think we may have to wait until the next day. Putting some tools away it occurred to me that I had chunk charcoal and a metal chimney charcoal starter in the shed. So I grabbed an old shovel blade that I had found missing its handle and placed it in an alcove under the large wet pile of brush. Set the chimney on a stump, lit some newspaper under it getting the coals going in a few minutes and dumped it out onto the old shovel tucked into an alcove under the brush. The old guy arrived 15 minutes later to see flames licking out of the top of the wet pile wondering what the **** I had done. The nice thing about this method, other than being dirt cheap, is the red hot charcoal dries out wet and green materials above it and sets a core for the fire to get going. Many burn piles later it remains a never fail, safe way to start brush piles. Worst case is you need a second batch of burning coals to speed things along. I especially like it because we are on all sand with a shallow aquifer which provides out water, so have never been a fan of pour gas or oil around.

 

[3930dave]

Don't know the resources in your area CM, but assuming there is at least a small volunteer firehall nearby, I'd start there.

They may know some disposal options, or if they have the appropriate training grounds, they may take it for their own training exercises.

Boat mechanics are another option, having had to deal with this b4..... many boats sit for years with big tanks of corrupted fuel.

Rgds, D.

 

[Coyote machine]

Don't know the resources in your area CM, but assuming there is at least a small volunteer firehall nearby, I'd start there.

They may know some disposal options, or if they have the appropriate training grounds, they may take it for their own training exercises.

Boat mechanics are another option, having had to deal with this b4..... many boats sit for years with big tanks of corrupted fuel.

Rgds, D.

Thanks! Those sound like two good places to start. I want all excess gas gone and now. My days of complacency are OVER.

 

[Soldier415]

Thanks for your service, and you got a great sense of humor!

My wife was not a fan of my sense of humor that day. She arrived at the ER right after all the adrenaline wore off and I started going into mild shock and the burns were looking angry and terrible. She comes through the curtain and sees me, i'm shaking like a snitch at a gangster party, and the first thing I say is "See honey! I finally trimmed my eyebrows like you wanted!"

If looks could kill...

 

[3930dave]

Lots of scary stories, thankful recoveries and good advice here. My aunt ran an Army burn unit in Texas, so have always had an appreciation for the agony associated with serious burns.

I'll share my method for starting brush piles that I switched to some years ago...A older acquantice was helping us and wanted to start a large pile with gas but we found we were out, so he went to buy a can and get us some sandwiches up the road. It had started raining earlier and we started to think we may have to wait until the next day. Putting some tools away it occurred to me that I had chunk charcoal and a metal chimney charcoal starter in the shed. So I grabbed an old shovel blade that I had found missing its handle and placed it in an alcove under the large wet pile of brush. Set the chimney on a stump, lit some newspaper under it getting the coals going in a few minutes and dumped it out onto the old shovel tucked into an alcove under the brush. The old guy arrived 15 minutes later to see flames licking out of the top of the wet pile wondering what the **** I had done. The nice thing about this method, other than being dirt cheap, is the red hot charcoal dries out wet and green materials above it and sets a core for the fire to get going. Many burn piles later it remains a never fail, safe way to start brush piles. Worst case is you need a second batch of burning coals to speed things along. I especially like it because we are on all sand with a shallow aquifer which provides out water, so have never been a fan of pour gas or oil around.

Charcoal..... great point.

Back when (I still like charcoal bbq....), I used an electric resistance element starter - bury it in the coals, and plug it into 120vac. Never failed, no boom.

I used a basic one (single loop, it's in the basement somewhere...), even a bigger 600watt one is not big $$$ now....

Amazon.com: NutriChef Electric Charcoal Lighter - BBQ Grill Starter, 6 Watt Black (PKCHALT5): Kitchen & Dining

Back then, not easy to use remotely, but with how ubiquitous small gas generators are now, doable in the field today. Still uses gasoline, but only in the generator. Never tried an electric starter on wood, but I suspect that 600watt one would get most dry wood going - leaf blower would be nice pairing, unless you like pre-fire smoke for bugs. Obviously couldn't be left in the burn-pile, but should work as an edge-starter.

I've never had a problem tenting up dry kindling to get a fire going naturally, but recognize not everybody has the patience for that. Yes, wet days are a pain, but do make for safer burning later in the day. On Grandma's old farm, all field brush burns were done in the dead of Winter; hard for fire to spread anywhere it shouldn't with a couple of feet of snow down....

Rgds, D.

 

[17 Oaks]

I only use oil and diesel fuel to start my fires. Gasloline is way to volatile

My wife was not a fan of my sense of humor that day. She arrived at the ER right after all the adrenaline wore off and I started going into mild shock and the burns were looking angry and terrible. She comes through the curtain and sees me, i'm shaking like a snitch at a gangster party, and the first thing I say is "See honey! I finally trimmed my eyebrows like you wanted!"

If looks could kill...

So sorry, but be thankful you had pain. Pain means your nerve endings are there along with a lot of skin layers. I was in an accidental explosion many years ago. I had no pain and in fact thought everything was ok except what is this stuff on my face...little did I know it was skin, burnt skin. I asked someone to look at me and tell what is it, they gasped. I ended up in the hospital for a long time and by the Grace of GOD and some odd family genes I am without scars...as it turns out my skin does not scar, if it did I would be one scary person. That said my face is very sensitive to sunlight and aftershave feels more like gasoline that anything else, which is why I have never used it and I ALWAYS wear a hat.

I hope you recovered and learned from your exper...

 

[turnkey4099]

I guess it never occurred to me that delaying lighting a brush/burn pile would make the fumes hazard greater rather than lesser. It would seem the idea would be the fumes would dissipate with time, not create a cloud that as it dispersed would envelope the area and increase the likelihood of being fried in the vapor cloud once it was ignited.

So for this guy who survived what could have easily turned way worse, I'm not lighting ANYTHING that contains gasoline, ever. Enough is the 1 time I blew up the fire in my face. I've got nothing to prove, and I like living more than burning or dying.

Upon reflection, and reading some of the horrific accidents that have occurred to my fellow TBN travelers; I strongly urge anyone who has been using gas or a mix of gas and other accelerants to cease using the gas as part of the equation. Even soldier, who narrowly escaped with his life, and was a fire and demo guy in service to our Country, AND he nearly got taken out in an instant of miscalculation. It's just not worth the risk! Not now, not ever.

.

Same here but I do use diesel out in the boonies where I cut wood. I do NOT understand why people think you need straight gas or even gas mixed with some oil. I see no benefit to it. Help starting the diesel? Nope, I can start diesel with one match at 20 below.

 

[civilian]

Dad and I start his burn piles after the first snow fall. Snow on the ground, and some on the pile, maybe not. We use waste oil and used hydraulic oils from logging equipment. He lifts me up over the pile on the forks, and I dump the oil into the pile. Small amount of diesel is poured down on the side we want to light it on. We tie a rag on the end of a 12ft= stick. Pour some diesel on the rag and light the rag. Then we light the diesel/oil to get the pile burning. Pile is created over the spring and summer from dead sticks dropping, trimming pines and cedars branches hanging over the drive, wood splitting debris, etc.

Glad the stories related above turned out for the good, but I realize there are others unheard of going the opposite way. Jon

 

[gwstang]

After reading all the threads/horror stories on here about gas igniting and knowing that I have gotten away with it several times...God watches after little children and fools like me. I don't think my bung hole will ever
un-clench, after reading/seeing in my mind all this stuff.

 

[JamesHW]

Charcoal..... great point.

Back when (I still like charcoal bbq....), I used an electric resistance element starter - bury it in the coals, and plug it into 120vac. Never failed, no boom.

I used a basic one (single loop, it's in the basement somewhere...), even a bigger 600watt one is not big $$$ now....

My MIL made my Dad get one of those after he singed his eyebrows one holiday and it worked well. The thing I like about metal charcoal starter chimneys are is you just need a match, the chimney (can easily be homemade or cheaply purchased) some crumpled paper (soak in some vegetable oil is best, but not necessary) and charcoal (another item easily homemade). Quickly started many a pile of damp camp wood on a chilly night to warm shivering guests.

 

[muddstopper]

While in high school I went to a pep rally/bonfire. They had piled up a bunch of old pallets, cardboard boxes and other trash to make the bondfire with. A couple of older guys, propably 20somethings at that time, started pouring 5 gal cans of gas on the pile. Even way back then I knew that was a bad ideal and told everyone around me that we needed to move back. Some listened and some didnt, but I moved way back. To start the fire they poured a trail of gas a few feet fro the gas soaked pile and threw in a match. You guessed it, big whoose and the pile exploded sending burning piles of trash everywhere. It flattened the burn pile. Lucky, no one was hurt, but the bon fire turned into a bust.

I replied to a continuation of this thread over on arborist site. I see some here also start brush piles in a similar method as I what I use. I have a propane weed burner with about 20ft or so of hose. I simply light the burner and place it under the pile of brush. I then take a backpack leaf blower and aim the air blast at the flame. This will start any brush pile, no matter how wet in just a few minutes. No danger of explosions, no petroleum byproducts left soaking in the soil. I dont know how long a 20# bottle of propane will last using it to start brush piles. I just borrow the bottle off my gas grill when I need to burn a brush pile. The weed burner cost me about $20 at Harbor freight several years ago. With the price of gas, I suspect buying a weed burner would be a cheaper method of starting brush piles than pouring out gallons of gas, diesel or oil mixes, I know its a lot safer.

 

[Soldier415]

After reading all the threads/horror stories on here about gas igniting and knowing that I have gotten away with it several times...God watches after little children and fools like me. I don't think my bung hole will ever
un-clench, after reading/seeing in my mind all this stuff.

If just one person reconsiders using gasoline, the sharing of our misfortunes is worth it

 

[k0ua]

If just one person reconsiders using gasoline, the sharing of our misfortunes is worth it

Agreed, there is no telling how many lives or needless injuries might have been prevented just by people reading this. Keep in mind for every person posting here, there are probably a 100 that are reading this and saying nothing or they are not even members at all, just the general public. But hopefully they have learned something useful here..

 

[jerrybob]

Agreed, there is no telling how many lives or needless injuries might have been prevented just by people reading this. Keep in mind for every person posting here, there are probably a 100 that are reading this and saying nothing or they are not even members at all, just the general public. But hopefully they have learned something useful here..

I agree.....even told a few buddies over coffee about this thread........wow......glad you guys are OK but.....be careful out there!!

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

I use fire starters (those things that are like miniature Duraflame logs) to burn my brush pile. I pour some diesel on the pile, and then put a fire starter on each side of the pile. They light slowly and then get the diesel burning. In a minute or two, I've got a good fire going.

I'm glad you guys are all ok. I made the mistake of lighting a burn pile with gasoline ONE TIME. I escaped with no injuries, but it scared the crap out of me, so I'll never do it again.

 

[check]

I use fire starters (those things that are like miniature Duraflame logs) to burn my brush pile. I pour some diesel on the pile, and then put a fire starter on each side of the pile. They light slowly and then get the diesel burning. In a minute or two, I've got a good fire going. I'm glad you guys are all ok. I made the mistake iof lighting a burn pile with gasoline ONE TIME. I escaped with no injuries, but it scared the crap out of me, so I'll never do it again.

I also use those things. They work great!i

 

[dstig1]

OK, I'll admit to having used gas too. When I cleared our land I had generated several enormous brush piles over the space of 2-3 yrs to burn. I tried diesel once first, but it would not light the pile. Started using gas, and the one thing I knew for sure was that the vapors spread fast so you need to dump and move FAST. And that was what I did. I would pour on part of the pile and then back out quick leaving a trail to light it from, and then light it FAST after capping the gas can and setting it back a bit. WHOOMP! Not much risk of the can lighting up in reality as the mixture is way too rich inside a can with gas in it to ignite. Learned a lesson on one fire where we were slightly downhill from where we were pouring gas, and it got "a bit warm" when the gas was lit as fumes had rolled downhill a bit (eyebrows singed a bit). Learned from that a bit more, but still did it - only with a bit more caution. I think working fast was all that kept that from being a real problem. My final burn I started with some gas initially but then had a weed burner and a back pack blower to really get it going. That worked great. I wouldn't use gas going forward. Starting with either the weed burner or diesel (and weed burner) and then the backpack blower are the way to go.

Some pretty gruesome injuries on this thread, and I am glad things have healed well for those injured. While I think it is possible to start a burn with gas, safely (as I did several times), I think it is too easy for something to go wrong and the risk is not worth it. Work fast for sure, but what if you trip or spill gas on yourself? <Shudder> There are safer ways that work great too. That is my plan going forward, if I ever need to burn again. ...And I may not need to as there is really no good place to burn much of any size as we are pretty well all forest here. I suspect the only time I would really need to burn brush now would be if we got significant storm damage to trees.

 

[scdeerslayer]

I think about other fire starters, like the 'Fatwood' sticks soaked in some sort of fat like substance that will get a fire going along with newspaper or a part of a bale of hay.

The "Fatwood" (or "fat liter") that I know is all natural and nothing more than a super concentration of sap in a pine stump. It's the best natural fire starter there is. A handful or two of splinters and a handheld propane torch can get anything going. Matches will work too but can take longer to really get it going, plus I like the extra reach of the torch. I keep plenty of it around, using the easy to split stuff in the fire place, and for grilling, and the chunks that can't be split easily are used in brush piles. Mess with enough of it and you'll know the smell of the good stuff, and handling the really good stuff will be like getting glue on your hands. I think the best of it comes from trees that have died on the stump, but even stumps from harvested trees can have some fatwood in them. It will take a few years for it to really turn after dieing or harvest, and it lasts forever.