What is the fastest way to burn a pile of logs?

[plowhog]

they're infested with pine bark beetles?

The beetles only kill live trees. Once they are dead on the ground they have lost interest.

 

[ultrarunner]

We were only able to get a burn permit because of infestation and then it was a circus with even CAL Fire helicopter and a city engine company responding

All legal and plenty of notification but still a circus... got it done and multiple agencies couldn't find any violations...

All of the tricks are pretty much off limits if going by the book.

 

[CliffordK]

An old tire in middle filled with old motor oil will really get & keep it going. Invite Gavin over for hot dogs and S'mores.

When we were burning piles of scrubby trees piled by a CAT, we got a bucket of tire shavings from a retread shop. Added used oil and diesel, and it made a great fire starter. Small scoop at a time. 5 gallons of shavings lasted for years

A diesel drip torch also helped.

Grandpa used a backpack fire fighting water sprayer filled with diesel instead, it was good at making flames, but the rubber shavings with diesel kept the fire starter burning longer

 

[4570Man]

The air quality police suggest using only diesel to start fires. Burning tires isn’t a good plan unless you want to pay a $25,000 fine.

 

[2manyrocks]

You'd think dry pine would burn like matchsticks.

 

[LittleBill21]

You'd think dry pine would burn like matchsticks.

you'd be shocked how often a tree will refuse to burn when you want it to

 

[Rockbadchild]

You'd think dry pine would burn like matchsticks.

well it's dry but not properly seasoned, I am sure there is still some bark on, it was on the ground and whole (not split) so it has a lot of humidity in it.

 

[CliffordK]

You'd think dry pine would burn like matchsticks.

It probably will. But, if you've played with fire enough, it is extremely hard to get a 1 foot log to burn alone. You can hit it with a blow torch and it will turn black. You can throw it in the middle of a fire. Then once you start getting nice flames out of it, pull it out of the middle of the fire and it will quickly burn out.

And, if you're paying attention to fire seasons, nothing will be as dry in the winter/spring as you'd like.

Thus, get the pile stacked up nicely. And you'll still be struggling to get a little patch to start it and to get the fire going. And a little fire starter always helps.

Be careful and be safe.

 

[California]

Something I see on slash piles left by loggers is the piles are tarped, presumably to be more dry and easier to ignite next spring. When it is safer to burn without starting a forest fire.

 

[shooterdon]

It seems too much to burn under the constraints you have. If a burn pile gets out of control, the fines will be substantial.

Make piles as large as you can and let them rot.

 

[plowhog]

It seems too much to burn under the constraints you have. If a burn pile gets out of control, the fines will be substantial.

Make piles as large as you can and let them rot.

Good info in this thread. I'm going to start burning tomorrow.

I will look for ravines for the larger logs, and plan to burn more slash than actual bucked up logs. But still, I could fill ravines up with what I have on the ground.

We had a wet winter. Caution with fire is always smart but burn conditions here are pretty good now. That will change in another month.

 

[Yander]

multiple piles get them started with used oil and diesel. They will all burn up then push whatever doesn't burn from the multiple piles into one pile and repeat. If you lived near me I have a bunch of used oil : )

 

[Rockbadchild]

I get a fire going with dry wood kindling and cardboard then if i have too to spread the fire around i will used fuel but to be successful getting a some coal is the fastest way, trying to skip this step will cost you lots of time fu&$@ around. If I have some plastic I or even some cardboard I will stuff it around to help, but again I don't used fuel until my fire is actually going I will only used fuel to accelerate the spreading process.

 

[mikester]

There is no quick way to burn piles of logs.

I found the most reliable and fastest start method is to get a tin foil turkey roaster pan from the dollar store, an item of old clothing as a wick, and a diesel gas mix in the pan. Cardboard is ok if you have a lot of dry kindling to start with.

 

[plowhog]

There is no quick way to burn piles of logs.

Spent the day burning today.

What became obvious is that based on fire size restrictions, I won't live long enough to work through the pile of logs I want to get rid of.

So I have no choice but to back off and burn slash and drag or roll logs out of sight somewhere. Hey, maybe onto the neighbor property!

 

[ultrarunner]

I’ve got a small ravine out of the way and it works perfect for trimmings and such… it’s helped a lot and it seems rot happens in about 3 years for oak with bark

 

[not2old]

I'm lazy, I start my burn piles with a tiger torch and leaf blower.

 

[TripleS]

Spent the day burning today.

What became obvious is that based on fire size restrictions, I won't live long enough to work through the pile of logs I want to get rid of.

So I have no choice but to back off and burn slash and drag or roll logs out of sight somewhere. Hey, maybe onto the neighbor property!

Being you have so many logs you need to burn what if you bought a band saw for a few grand and saw the logs into boards then sell the lumber and once finished sell the saw. You would probably make some money but either way you would have gotten rid of the logs.

 

[Racenut]

The smaller you make the pieces, the quicker they will burn, especially if you split them. Maximize surface area. I have played with cutting slots in big logs with the chainsaw and it seems to help a bit, but just a bit. Beyond that, get a grapple so you can pile them up. How likely is it that someone will call and complain about your burn pile? Our property borders a road, if we have to burn near the road, we're more careful about the rules. But we generally avoid it and burn away from the road and just pile it up and try to get it to burn hot for less smoke, and especially behind a couple shipping containers so it can't be seen from the road. A leaf blower is your best friend for getting a good hot fire.

 

[CliffordK]

We used blue pine paneling in my bedroom years ago. It was nice.

There is quite a bit of market for the lumber if you have some blue color in it.