Dozer Piles

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midTN_Brangusman

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Having some land cleared and was wondering how long I should wait until I burn the piles. Was planning on waiting until this fall but read in another forum that they burn as soon as they pile them. Anyone have much experience with this your input would be greatly appreciated!
 
If you have something Dry to pile it will get them started . I would just pile a few tires then build on top of that then soak in diesel fuel. but the tree huggers and the EPA loose their mind when you do that they will get hot enough to burn . If you think its too wet then wait a few weeks the small limbs and leaves will make good tender to get them hot .
 
midTN_Brangusman":2p0uj7zi said:
Having some land cleared and was wondering how long I should wait until I burn the piles. Was planning on waiting until this fall but read in another forum that they burn as soon as they pile them. Anyone have much experience with this your input would be greatly appreciated!

At three weeks will burn like you poured gasoline on them.
 
Depends a little on what's in the pile. If its a mix of logging debris and green junk I try to burn asap. Some claim its better to let it dry but while its drying the pile is also settling and this makes burning the pile hard unless you have equipment on site to fluff the pile. I'd also suggest going by the dollar store and buying a few of those imitation fire logs they sell. These are great fire starters and should be on sale right now. Just toss on in downwind side of the pile and walk away.

Edit: the fire logs are cheaper than tires. Tires will run you $2000 per tire if you get caught and those steel belts make getting caught pretty easy. Tires do a good job though but they can get expensive.
 
When cut a tree composition starts to change and from around the 7th to the 11th day according to the time of year they burn great. Get it over with while its hot and dry.
 
Burn it as soon as you can. Soak a bale of straw with diesel. Put it down wind. Bring a leaf blower to send the heat where it's needed.
 
I use a propane tank and a pear burner along with a little diesel.
Cedar will burn like he'll about 12 hours after it hits the ground. But if you wait several days it gets hard to burn and you best waiting for it to dry out.
 
Down here on the gulf coast I have to wait several months for a pile of green stuff to dry out enough to burn without babysitting it and using a lot of diesel. What I am talking about is getting the trunks of -8" trees to burn. You can go light a pile and maybe get the branches and leaves to burn off and be left with a pile of burnt logs. What I do now is, let it dry for 3 months or more, light it off with a splash of diesel and walk away. Burns it up good, logs and all. It also depends if the trees were pushed down in the dormancy of winter when the sap is gone. These you can burn quicker. If you push over trees in the spring/summer that are full of water, your going to have a tough time and it takes longer to dry.
 
Pine/hardwood mix will dry for about a month here, but after that, if it rains a lot, the stuff starts soaking up moisture again.
I waited over a year before I burned some of my stuff in hottest part of summer..left from logging, and it burned like crazy.
The biggest part of each pile burned in one night, while it took a couple of days to a week thru late August for the real big oak pieces (12"-20" diameter) to ember away.
 
When I clear land I start a fire first thing and push a tree top to the fire. You need to start slow and after a hour you can't put the fire out.
 
True Grit Farms":199ozxj3 said:
When I clear land I start a fire first thing and push a tree top to the fire. You need to start slow and after a hour you can't put the fire out.
If atmospheric pressure is pretty high, they'll sure create their own wind too.
(I like some humidity when I'm burning tho)
 
i like to leave the piles out for a few weeks until the leaves are brown. doesn't take much for them to burn.

always nice to burn and keep on adding. I usually like to have a fire going for at least 2 weeks straight :D
 
Here if I did burn this time of year I might end up burning the whole country side. And there is always a burn ban this time of year. I throw an old tarp or some haylage wrap on top to keep it dry. Then wait until November when I can burn. The dry portion of the pile will take right off and burn the rest of the pile with it.
 
NEED TO CHECK THE LOCAL LAWS.
We had a guy here was going to burn this week and he got slapped down because there is a burn ban in effect until October...
fire marshall shut him down before he lit it.
 
NEED TO CHECK THE LOCAL LAWS.
We had a guy here was going to burn this week and he got slapped down because there is a burn ban in effect until October...
fire marshall shut him down before he lit it.
 
midTN_Brangusman":2diuvt5t said:
Having some land cleared and was wondering how long I should wait until I burn the piles. Was planning on waiting until this fall but read in another forum that they burn as soon as they pile them. Anyone have much experience with this your input would be greatly appreciated!
Only cleared land once and waited for the wood to dry before setting it. Been a few years but didn't take those piles long to burn. Dozer operator did a great job of piling the timber, didn't have much dirt in it and it really burned hot and fast.
 
I wait a couple months. I like to re-push them before I light them also. It packs tighter after it dries. If I do that there will be nothing left. Couple days later I will disk it smooth. It will be the greenest spot in the pasture after the next rain.
 
midTN_Brangusman":1z0xees3 said:
Thanks for all the feedback! BF im going to try the diesel soaked straw bale and leaf blower.

Old 5 gal buckets burn pretty hot too..just toss a few in after you have a small fire burning...doesn't hurt a bit if they happen to have old motor or hyd oil in them either. ;-)
 

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