Levelling the land...

[sendero]

Well I understand your feelings about what you want to do and not do on your land. I've expanded my pond and cleared some cedars - but overall I intend to leave everything be. What nature does trumps what I can do except for a few small areas /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

As for the disc, I do have one. But - I've tried using it to level out a small garden plot (say 20' x 90') and have not found it all that effective. It seems to me it would take 50 passes to get the job done. On the other hand, wifey and I dragged a chain across it and that worked pretty well, but it was pretty hard work after the 2nd or 3rd pass /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

One thing I probably should have mentioned in my original post, the dirt in this "meadow" is very, very "soft". I'm sure there is a better more technical term but I don't know what it is. The dirt is very easy to move around with your foot, it is loose and one tends to sink into it pretty good, especially in the high spots left by the dozer.

 

[ns_in_tex]

I burn piles of trees & brush sometimes, but wait till it is raining (because of where it is), then light it with a propane torch. Works good for me.

Normally have it going in 5 to 10 minutes.

 

[SCB]

Recently I had to burn in excess of 80 stumps and all the limbs that came off the trees from those stumps. It had rained all week and everything was soaked. We made a pile roughly 20 feet across and an easy 18 feet high. The Guy helping me taught me a trick. Used a pump up garden sprayer.The two gallon $6.99 kind. I filled it with diesel and sprayed a little in a small area at the base of the pile. We lit that and turned on a fan once the diesel was lit. Then we used the sprayer directed into the base of the pile where it was burning. It created a furnace effect and we kept spraying until it was empty. Within a half hour the fire had breached the top of the pile and we loaded and burned for the next 4 days. Best way I have ever seen for getting a large wet pile going.

 

[sendero]

I love these creative ideas for burning brush/tree piles!

I have the 3 cedar piles, and I don't think they will be hard to burn if I let them dry out a couple more months. That's because there is a good complement of small and large brush.

I have another pile that is going to be tough though. I tried to burn it a couple weeks ago, wasted 6-8 gallons of diesel. The problem is it is mostly large trunks bulldozed into a pile with little in the way of fine kindling type brush.

One thing I have learned, if you don't have some wind you can forget getting a good burn pile going. Or can ya - I never thought about using a fan. I wonder how many more 100' extension cords I'd have to buy? /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Anyways - thanks everyone for the useful ideas on levelling my meadow and for burning wood piles. It really helps!

 

[SCB]

I went to the local rental yard and rented one with a little Honda 4.5 horse gas motor powering it. Worked real well. It was on a wheeled cart and I could move it around to whatever side of the fire I needed to.

 

[KiotiJohn]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( One thing I have learned, if you don't have some wind you can forget getting a good burn pile going. Or can ya - I never thought about using a fan. I wonder how many more 100' extension cords I'd have to buy? )</font>
You can buy a 12V fairly high output fan that you'd be surprised by. The kind sold for autos put out enough air that you'd be surprised how much it would help get the flames going, and just plugged into your cig. lighter outlet. John

 

[LBrown59]

Not only that, it's a pain trying to light the burn pile. Last Friday, I took advantage of a few days break in the rain to burn my pile. 2-1/2 gallons of diesel later, it still wouldn't stay lit on its own. I'm ready for a few weeks at least of drier weather, but don't know when we'll actually get it.
sneaky_pete
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I keep a 5 gal can of used fluid and oil and a few old tires around for this.

Instead of just pouring the diesel on the pile put some in several tin cans and place them under the brush pile at different spots.

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[sneaky_pete]

Thanks everyone for the fire starting ideas. I thought about using my gas-powered leaf blower for a fan, but I haven't used or started it since we moved to the country. I like Neal's propane torch idea. You could also use it to burn weeds under fences and etc.

Pete

 

[LBrown59]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Thanks everyone for the fire starting ideas. I thought about using my gas-powered leaf blower for a fan, but I haven't used or started it since we moved to the country. I like Neal's propane torch idea. You could also use it to burn weeds under fences and etc.

Pete )</font>For snow removal
Just mount 3 of the torches on the front of your bucket & throw the tanks in the bucket.
LOL

 

[B8FISH]

Leafblowers work really well to get the air moving in the pile as well (and you can always dump some of the 2 cycle mix on the pile as your "starter" fuel) /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[stuart]

Speaking of "Wind" if you need some and do not have a long extension cord try a Blower, backpack or handheld. This works great to get the fire really rolling.

 

[Varmintmist]

Add weight to the disk to get it to cut in. Concrete blocks, big hunk of tree whatever, disk till the ruts are pretty well gone. Cut yourself about 7 feet of one of those 16 in cedars and chain it off on both sides and drag it off.

To start a burn pile, start a campfire and build it into the upwind side of the pile. Old motor oil works better than Kero or gas if you need a little help. It wont burn as fast and its already junk. Railroad flares work good as a starter if your tinder is wet, you get about 30 min of fire.

 

[LBrown59]

1*Old motor oil works better than Kero or gas if you need a little help
2*Railroad flares work good as a starter
Varmintmist
=====================

1*When changing fluids in my cars and tractor I dump the old stuff in to a 5 Gal. can just for this.
2*I like this idea-never thought of that!

I've used the fireplace logs as starters

Here is how I start a brush fire.
Place an old tire under the pile.
Pour about half a quart or less of gasoline in the tire and pour a trail of gas to a foot or so past the outer edge of the pile.
Take a cat tail and cut it off a foot or two from the top


Get back about 20 feet from where the gas was poured at the edge of the pile, so that you aren't standing in the ring of fire when things go whomp.The more gas you use and the larger the area it covers the further away you need to get from the pile to stay out of the ring of fire when it ignites. The trick is to use as little gas as possible - If you use to much I doubt that you will be able to throw the cat tail a 100 yards.

Take a cat tail and cut it off a foot or two from the top
*Dip an inch or so of the cat tail in gas, don't soak it to where the gas really drips from it when you pull it out of the gas,

Now after being sure there is little if any gas dripping from the cat tail .
Move at least 10 feet from where you dipped the cat tail (and still staying 20 feet from the brush pile)and take a lighter and light the cat tail.
Walla the perfect torch or flaming arrow.
Next give it an underarm pitch into where you poured the gas at the outside edge of the pile and whomp thar she goes.

 

[KiotiJohn]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Take a cat tail and cut it off a foot or two from the top
*Dip an inch or so of the cat tail in gas, don't soak it to where the gas really drips from it when you pull it out of the gas, )</font>
Man! You're going to have the SPCA and a lot of animal lovers flaming the heck out of this forum. How can you do that to the poor cat anyway? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif John

 

[Varmintmist]

Gas fumes sink, then they travel. Using gas is not a real good idea, you might be standing where they are collecting and that "whomp" will be close to home.

Just a little dab will do ya of any of the accelerants. I am not fond of burning tires, to dirty and I never had the need, Though I have a buddy that cant burn paper without using a tire. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Start small, campfire small. Once that is going add to it until you get some coals. Coals are what you need to burn stumps and green wood. If you dont have enough semi dry in the pile to build a big coal bed then you might as well wait a few months to save the aggravation. The end of Feb should be damp and chilly, good time to burn big.

 

[sendero]

Yeah... I'll have to pass on using gas /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I used to, but diesel works so much better, gas just burns up too fast to light the wood well, plus you can get crazy with diesel and it isn't likely to blow up in your face /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif