How do you burn piles?

[SCRich]

I have burned several piles here at the house after some logging operations but not many of them. I have a specific place to do it where there is NO fuel on the ground for quite a distance and the entire area is about 1.5 acres large. I am not looking to burn a 30ft pile down but about 3-4 pick up truck bed sizes in a single pile.

What are your suggestions for a good strong burn? I have been covering the ground with the pine branches along with the needles, like a bed. Then I toss a few smaller logs and any left over burned pieces of wood that I use like charcoal. On top of that I add the larger logs but I have learned the hard way anything longer than 4 ft does not seem to want to burn very well. I'll drench it in 60/40 diesel/gasoline as I layer but my layers usually take a week or two with rain inbetween so I don't think it helps much.

The burns I have done do well but seems to need a LOT of tending to so I can get a clean burn where little chunks of wood are left behind. I find myself walking into the coal beds moving things about with gloves or using the grapple which I don't like to use very much due to the hoses and tires getting too close to the coals.

 

[smallfarmer]

I slop on a little charcoal starter, let it soak in and hit it again in a small area opposite the windy side and use a propane weed scorcher to get it going. Once it goes I don't leave until it is way down. Wind shouldn't exceed about 5 mph. Most of the time I do it when snow is on the ground. Also check your local regs for ability to burn, permits etc.
I have found that the wood will burn even wet once the fire temp gets up there. The wind is important, I had a neighbor whose barn burnt down and the fire department traced it over to a brush pile a mile away.

 

[OKnewguy]

I burn a ton of brush and limbs. I have found that these things work best:
I put down a large chunk of card board on the ground, this catches the starting agent.
Then I put all of my brush on top of it, I usually do not get to it for a week or 2, so it has started to dry out.
Next, I build it about 8x8 or so and about 6' high, but as I stack it I compact it with my fel.
I start the fire with some used motor oil. It can take a little to get going but some newspaper will usually get the fire going about 10" or so.
I then take my leaf blower and force the fire into the center.
Then it burns fast!
I take all my other piles and push them into the fire with the fel the rest of the day. This method I have bured up half a football fields worth of brush in one day.
The key is to load up the fire and then squash it with the fel, it burns fast and hot after that.
Before the tractor I used to load by hand, but with the tractor I can really clear up some brush, it has to be 4 or 5 times quicker.

Dave

 

[Eagleview]

Leave your tractor in the sun and then sit on it's black seat .

 

[wedge40]

Leave your tractor in the sun and then sit on it's black seat .

Funny, I was going to sugget a curling iron.

Wedge

 

[MarkV]

I will second the use of the leaf blower when you are getting the fire going. Same principal a blacksmith uses to stoke their fire up to temp. Once it is going good you can burn about anything.

MarkV

 

[EddieWalker]

I burn allot of trees. ALLOT!!! I've found that a few small things make a huge difference. For full sized trees, cut them into four pieces and let sit a week or two. If yo don't cut the truck with a chainsaw, it will take months for them to dry out enough to burn well.

To start the fire, I've found that paper works better then just about anything. I will create an area on the burn pile that I can get a good fire going with paper and build it up with small stuff until I get a decent sized fire going. Once it's feeding itself, I can build it up and let it spread.

Once it's going full force, I leave it alone, but will come back with the FEL to move it around when it dies down. Some of my fires will last for weeks and even through 1 inch rains!!!! If I have a fire going that strong, then I can just add anything to it and it will burn. Full sized pines are the toughest to get started due to their moisture content and bark, but with a good coal bed, they will burn right up.

I spent allot of money on diesel with very poor results. Newspapers are the very best material for starting a fire in my opinion.

Eddie

 

[dmccarty]

Most of my burns were about the size you are doing. I would make sure the ground was clear. I had no water source when I was burning but I would keep shovels and rakes close at hand. The tractor had a full tank of fuel, was started and not turned off until the pile had burned down so that no ashes were flying. I would put the FEL on the ground and "stir" up the fire when it had burned down to try to burn as much as possible.

Never did think of using the leaf blower to start.

Burn permits were required for what I was doing so I got one every time I planned to do a burn. But if the wind picked up no burn. I bet I pulled 3-4 permits for every one I actually used.

The last pile I burned took forever to start because it was wet. I ended up sleeping next to the fire all night to make sure it did not spread. I buried it the next day and it smouldered under the dirt for weeks even though we had quite a bit of rain after the burn.

I would try to burn after a rain front had come through since the ground would be wet and the winds would have died down. It was better if there was another front arriving in a few days to drop more rain. I always burned in the winter.

A chainsaw helment with a face guard helps keep the heat off of you when tending the edge of the fire. Chainsaw chaps also help.

Later,
Dan

 

[Highbeam]

Diesel does not work all by itself unless the piles are very dry. The first photo is my last diesel attempt. I only use it now if the fire needs a little extra kick since the diesel seems safe to apply to a burning fire. I now use a propane weed burner with excellent success. The propane is cheaper, doesn't pollute the ground, cleaner on your feet and the flame can be aimed at your kindling.

The second picture shows the weed burner principle. The wood is consumed very quickly with the blower and the smoke goes away making for a clean and quick burn.

Third picture is reloading the fire with the tractor on top of coals. I sit and watch the fire a lot with my machine ready to put out any rogue fires.

I tend to prefer either several small burn piles or one small fire which I reload as it burns down. Bad things can happen when you light an extremely large pile of slash on fire all at once. Even the pros that I have hired will have a fire and then feed it from the slash pile.

 

[Highbeam]

Don't worry about the little chunks and sticks. Weeks later after the fire has died you can go through with the box blade to rake out any chunks and level the ash pile. Then brush mow the area which will take care of the leftovers that are too small to be collected, repiled, and burned. I've gotten permits for big fires and burned lots and lots of the pictured piles without permits. Be prepared with shovels, chainsaws, and your tractor to take care of little getaways. I've even "gasp" spit beer on a spot fire to put it out.

Notice on that third picture in the upper right that there is a tree with brown leaves. Well even high heat can kill those trees, no flame contact needed.

Plant grass seed and enjoy.

 

[ToadHill]

I throw some old roofing shingles in the piles as I build them up. They will burn hot and long to keep everything cooking . I got the idea several years ago when I burned a big pile of shingles and 2 days later when I mixed up the pile I still had a red hot core in the middle.

 

[tallyho8]

Since I spread the ashes in my pasture after burning, I make sure NOT to burn anything with nails in it because this = flat tractor tires and crippled horses.

 

[Tractorbeam]

Third picture is reloading the fire with the tractor on top of coals. I sit and watch the fire a lot with my machine ready to put out any rogue fires.

Good idea there, having a handy can of High Life just in case the fire gets out of control.

 

[chucko]

In the goves down here I seem them put a few old tires in the fire to make it hotter

 

[KentT]

I'd be careful burning either shingles or old tires -- in you live in a "environmental friendly" area. Often burning them is prohibited, and they give off a black, black smoke that is very visible and an odor that doesn't lie... Know what your local laws are before you start.

Even though I typically start a fire with paper, I've found a small pump sprayer (garden sprayer type) with a couple gallons of diesel or kerosene to be quite valuable in getting a good hot fire going. For example, if it is calm with no breeze, you can "lead" the fire to go all the way around the other side of the pile, by adjusting the nozzle and squirting a small stream (not a fine spray), then trace an unbroken path to where you want it to spread. The fire will safely follow the trail of fuel. I don't have a gas-powered blower (only electrical) and so i've had to find other ways to get a good, hot fire going.

CAUTION: Don't pump up a lot of pressure -- you want to just be able to squirt a small stream a few feet -- and make sure you've adjusted the nozzle to stream not spray.


Couple of other tips that have worked for me:

1. Don't put a dense mat of small stuff down on the ground. A fire must get plenty of air to burn. Instead, make sure there are lots of passages for air to get into the bottom of the pile. (Think the Boy Scount examples of "log cabins" or "teepees" made of fireword before starting the fire.) Instead, put the smaller stuff on the top of the pile. Then pile up your kindling (pitch pine or "fat pine" is the absolute best), paper, or whatever you're using in one concentrated spot and light it. Your objective is to get flames going large enough to reach up through the pile and catch the smaller stuff on fire that you placed on the top of the pile. Once that small stuff on top ignites, it will create a draft up through the pile, pulling the air into and up through the pile...

2. You can make excellent waterproof firestarting material by recycling the remains of old candles, parafin or sealing wax. Melt it, then soak strips of corrugated cardboard in the melted wax. Makes great fire-starters, burns hot, and is easliy lit, even when it is wet and damp outside -- the safest time to burning slash piles, as mentioned earlier...

 

[Wayne County Hose]

If you have a volunteer fire company, see if they can come burn the whole pile on drill night. They do that around here. We make a donation at the same time, and they get their drill in. You also don't have to worry about your burn getting out of control.

 

[davitk]

gosh, all this talk about dino fuels in the fire, think we must be a bunch of pyros or something Wood (and leaves, needles, etc.) is as good a fuel as anything if stacked with lighting in mind, so I pull out the blow torch and light her up, then go back every couple of hours with a garden rake to consolidate the unburnt. I DO NOT drive a tractor into the coals, I see what they do to the the bottom of my boots, can't imagine it being good for R4's.

 

[dmccarty]

I DO NOT drive a tractor into the coals, I see what they do to the the bottom of my boots, can't imagine it being good for R4's.

You use the FEL to push the coals into the fire. You don't drive on 'em.

Check your local regulations. In NC I had to have a burn permit if I was burning on land on which I did not reside. At least that was the reg years ago. If you lived on the place then you could burn.

The NC regs also said only Diesel to start the fire. If the Fire Marshal or Forestry guy saw a tire or tire remains you had a problem. Also buring scrap was a no no. The Start Forestry department is about 4 miles from my place. I don't want any trouble. They had to come out with a dozer and stop a fire a neighbor started in his yard.

In Wake county I don't think they allow burning of slash anymore for land clearing. I see it being mulched up nowadays.

Later,
Dan

 

[davitk]

You use the FEL to push the coals into the fire. You don't drive on 'em.

Later,
Dan

oh

 

[chucko]

I don't see how a tire could be any worse than fuel oil and old tires are cheep. I assume if your burning piles of trees you not near enough to town where the ego cops will came after you
tries are cheeper than diesal that is for sure.... anyhow what about a few road flares to "get it going"?