Fire starters

[snowwolfe]

We have a lot of brush to burn up on our property in the coming months and years and I like to do it when it's a little wet outside.
Whats the best fire starter to use? Diesel, charcoal starter, etc?

[M-Tecs]

I use a propane weed burner.

http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aweed%20burner%20propane

http://www.harborfreight.com/propane-torch-91033.html

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Weed-Dragon-Garden-Torch-Kit/6435919

[Chihuahua Floyd]

I usually mix diesel and use motor oil and add air with a leaf blower. increased air means a lot. Almost any petroleum based fuel / parts cleaner / whatever. EXCEPT GAS.
If you can, cover with a tarp or piece of plastic when dry and remove to burn in the rain.
CF

[country gent]

We found several things help alot. Getting the brush and wood stacked corectly so its not to tightly or loosly packed is important. to tight and it only burns from the outside edges to loosen and it burns slow dosnt always stay lit. Having the brush dry helps alot also. We would stack wood and brush with a hollow in the center and simple paper card board would be inserted in this area and ignited the dry pile of brush. If using old motor oil and diesel mixed you need to soak the day before so it can soak into the brush and really get it burning. Here we have to have a burn permit from fire dept or to burn also. Sometimes getting the fire started with a good base of heavier brush then adding as needed from a pile neaby works best as it will develop a good bed of coals to work from and is easier to control.

[owejia]

In Tn you need a burn permit between 15 oct and 15 may. When you call to get your permit tell them it is agriculture burning, brush only, if you use starter use something that doesn't cause a lot of black smoke. You don't want a visit from the forestry guys.

[Plate plinker]

Diesel works great some old motor oil helps nut not necessary. +1 the leaf blower and propane weed burner my personal favorite.

[bob208]

I put my brush piles on some old skids. that way air gets in under the pile and it catches and burns easier.

[Nose Dive]

Snowwolfe: Suggest caution... Might call the county AG officer and ask him if he knows if you need a permit or not. Or maybe your county commissioner...ASK FIRST... I can't see where you live, but, here in Bexar County and Eastland County Texas...to 'burn' with and Open Fire ..you need a permit. During the summers down here...forget it Dick....you ain't burnin' NOTHING... Gotta pay to have fellas haul it off and YOU have to pay for a dumping fee. And, Make sure they dump in the right land fill or, you will have to pay to have it all moved a second time.

Now, be sure...don't do it if you live near or next to a WildLife Refuge. Seems some fellas did this in Oregon a few years back and fire got away from them. Burned some of Unlce Sam's land on a Refuge and he got pisssed....arrested them, and charged them under the TERRORISTS CONTROL ACT of the USA Penal code and found them guilty as TERRORISTS and they must spend 5 years in the penitentiary for all that. Burned little over 100 acres or so. But, now two bread winners are convicted FELONS and since last Monday have spent 7 days in the federal Pen.

Only 1,818 more days to go.

As goes life in these United States.

Nose Dive

Cheap, Fast, Good. Kindly pick two.

[snowwolfe]

Thanks for the tips. Should of explained myself a little more. What I like to do is start a fire then we collect all the brush close to it and burn it. Fire doesn't get to big as I usually cut up the brush and limbs to 2-3 foot long pieces.
I'll try some diesel with old oil and give that a go. After pricing charcoal lighting fluid I was hoping you guys had some good ideas and you did. Might try the leaf blower as we need to get one of them anyhow.

Any of you Tennessee guys know who to call for a permit?

[RogerDat]

Charcoal fluid and kerosene are pretty close. Not that kerosene is all that cheap. Check with local fire department. They issue permits or know who does. Those are the folks you want to have your number in the event someone calls in about the smoke or fire. Rather than you having to pay for a fire run. Which happens to be what will be done around here if they get a call, answer it and you have no permit.

[funnyjim014]

Old oil mixed with anything thinner. Once had the fire pit spark back up 3 days after a bonfire. Seems it got into the brick and soked in.... but then it was a gallon jug of straight oil. Also give bacon grease in a paper cup full of paper towels. Burns a long time nice and hot....Also has a nice smell lol

[Mumblypeg]

We do as you said, starting a fire as we cut brush/trees and feed the fire. At the end of the day it's all burnt up, just lots of hot coals left.... and the leaf blower? Yes! It works wonders on a fire to get it going. I started using one a couple of years ago and now always use it when burning brush, it really gets it going fast.

[wlc]

Snowwolfe, When I used to work in forestry and we did controlled burns we used drip torches to fire off the lines. That mix was 1.5 gas and 3.5 diesel for a five gallon container. You can vary the mix to suit, but don't go overboard with the gas. 4:1 would work good too. The gas would keep the wicks burning better and allow the diesel to catch easier when we dripped it out.

[leeggen]

If in Tn. just look in the front of the phone book, most have a listing for burning. If you are keeping it to 8' acrossthey will give you a big leeway. Doesn't cost anything but a phone call. The guy that answed the phone in my area new my voice as soon as I answerd him. We burnt ALOT of small piles over the last few years. Be careful and by the way I use the propane weed burner, quick, easy and hot.
CD

[Blackwater]

Country Gent gives the best advice for burning brush piles, and he's right about how the wood is stacked. For burning off the longleaf pines on my farm, it's important that the water content of the stuff to be burnt off be just right, so as to not burn the trees, but let the underbrush burn well. That can be tricky, and is always a guess, really, but it's not so critical that it's exacting. Mainly, you have to be there watching to put out any trees that might catch fire. Yellow pines can actually have a fair amount of outside bark catch fire and still live and prosper. But having a higher volatiles content inside, don't ever let them start to blaze.

Many old houses around here were originally built of heart yellow pine, and if they ever catch fire, the fire dept. just sits by and watches to see it doesn't spread. They burn extremely hot and fast, and nothing can really be done in the rural areas to put them out, so they wisely don't even try, but stand by to keep it from spreading. The amount of heat they generate is amaing! Not many trees like those they were made from now, though. The big, high barn at the old home place was made from about a dozen of the biggest and oldest yellow pines on the farm when Grandad decided to build it. He cut the huge old pines down, and let the outer bark rot until all that was left was the heart, dragged them with mule teams to the barn's site, dug holes deep to put them in, erected what he needed to get them in the holes and standing straight up, locking them in place, and they've been there over 100 years now and are still unbelievably strong. They'll withstand anything but a match!

Many here say that when people stopped burning off the woods, the wildlife started to diminish. I'm not certain of that, but I can sure certify that after burning off a patch of woods, the birds and rabbits and squirrels certainly seem to flock to it to get the parched seeds left! I had one of the best dove shoots ever over a burned off field! It's amazing how things like this can really affect the wildlife. Keep a close watch on the land after the burn, and see what it does for the wildlife. The idjits in CA don't let anyone burn off the woods, and thus, underbrush accumulates, and in a dry climate, one match and hundreds or thousands of acres go up needlessly. But try telling a lib that stuff like this is necessary, and they look at you like you've got 3 heads! Ronald Reagan had it right. The big problem with libs is that they "know" so much that just isn't true!

[Three44s]

As far as fuel goes, nothing is going to beat #2 off road diesel for economy right now .............. 135,000 btu per gallon and I priced it the other day in albiet a large quantity .......... south of $1.60 per gallon.

Propane in a weed burner torch is the overall champ because it's controllable and directable ......... but a comparative lightweight .......... 85,000 btu per gallon.

Gasoline comes in around 105,000 btu and it is the most dangerous to be around in an open environment.

So for me, it's diesel for an accelerator if needed but unlikely if your woody material is dry enough and a propane weed torch of sufficient size to get things lit off.

Kerosene and charcol lighter would be way more expensive than any of the above.

Never add a liquid fuel to an already burning fire ......... put your liquids on before you light up! The only way to add to an existing burn is with a torch of some length and BY FAR, that's going to be a propane weed burner. The old gas torches are just too unpredictable and contankerous!

Good burning!

Three 44s

[labradigger1]

Haybale soaked with kero, diesel or oil. Leaf blower to feed oxygen and spread it to what you want burned. Road flares work well too.

[white eagle]

the slash piles I burn can't escape the propane torch
I wait for snow so I don't set the ground litter ablaze

[rancher1913]

you guys are amateurs:lol: , get a backpack sprayer and fill with diesel, start a small fire with a rag and then pump and spray until everything is chard black.

[leeggen]

Go over to Furguson Mo and ask the hood, they seem to have that down pat.
CD

[rush1886]

Call Uncle Si, and get his recipe for homemade Napalm!

[Petrol & Powder]

Diesel + 1 road flare. Done.

[bearcove]

Old tire with a little diesel will stay lit for a good while, just oil not as long