Burning trees:

[Dirtman2007]

I had five acres of land that was covered with 95% sweet gum trees. Most of them were 6 to 12 inched in diameter. Would it be best after I get the permit to burn them this winter or let them dry out a while? I have piled up several big piles and am running out of room. I thought about trying to sell them but if someone had cut them then you would have had all those stumps to push up.

Sweet gum trees..... The worst tree in the world

Its useless to try and sell that sized lumber, probably would not even pay for the expense of trucking it away.
I would would try to start burning them, Being wintertime it would take forever for them to dry out, If its wet and cold out.
I would strongly agree with getting the permit first before you burn with stuctures around. Around here I think the fire must be atleast 1000 feet away afrom any structure, but sometimes that does not work and you just have to burn a smaller pile at the time.

I don't know about you but I never put a fire out before I go home, and I never stay overnight to watch it. About 2 hrs before I plan on leaving I just stop adding brush to the pile, then by the time I leave the fire should still be burning good, but not raging, and will die down overnight.

As many said wait for a rain first, then you don't have to worry about the fire spreading the first few days.

I've cleared the same amount as you are talking about about and burned every bit of it, I would plan on burning for about a week to get it all gone, depending how many piles you plan to burn at one time.


The Biggest question is WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH ALL THE ASHES???? 5 acres will produce a rather large pile of dusty ashes to pay around with. It would not surprise me if you did not have 12 -15 truck loads of ashes to move.

 

[Bandit44]

Dirtman2007 if you knew me better you would know I don't plan or think that far ahead. Just kidding I thought I would just spread them around and mix them up with all the loose dirt. Be my luck that this would be the worst thing you could do with them.

 

[Dirtman2007]

Dirtman2007 if you knew me better you would know I don't plan or think that far ahead. Just kidding I thought I would just spread them around and mix them up with all the loose dirt. Be my luck that this would be the worst thing you could do with them.

Ha, ha

thats werid, on any buring job the first thing I always do is to ask where all the ashes will be going. Not fun hauling off red hot ashes


I always try to put the pile close to were nothing will be built, that way I could dig a big hole next to the pile and bury them if allowed. Its amazing how long they will stay hot in a pile, a week later ashes will still be glowing red deep in the pile.

Just plan on shaking your air filter out a few times.... It's gonna get dusty!!

Got a few pics for you.

Fire before




After it died down, no time for it to finish burning... buried it still on fire




Gonna get dusty




I did have a plus side, only one pile. I think you will have a few more...

 

[Bandit44]

I think my pile is up to about an acre and a half. Might take a couple of weeks to burn it. If I get it going they will probably have satelite pictures on the evening news.

 

[METCO]

I made a blower out of a old silage blower , turned the band so it discharged horizontally, and used 6" steel pipe to feed the fire . It worked extremely well for what it was. Really cut down on the black smoke

 

[Dirtman2007]

I think my pile is up to about an acre and a half. Might take a couple of weeks to burn it. If I get it going they will probably have satelite pictures on the evening news.

May I ask what you are clearing it with, Exacavtor, trackloader?
should be able to pile it up high.


Or maybe I'll just check it out on the evening news...


Although I would not set it on fire all at one time... LOL

 

[Countryboy]

Welcome to Heavy Equipment Forums METCO! :drinkup

 

[kc5gxc]

A friend of mine in the timber business says to put a fire out....throw a sweet gum log on it. I have burned some in the fireplace, but they don't burn well.
I don't know how you are gonna get those whole trees to burn. If I were you, I would talk to some people around there that are in the clearing business for ideas before I cut 'em down.
Good luck
Pete

 

[bobcat ron]

Ash is an excellent soil amendment, some fertilizers and Acid based neutralizers are ash based, so spread out and disc it in, you're giving nature a big helping hand....................oh God, now the West Coast tree hugging nature nut side of me just kicked in............put me out of my misery.

 

[Dirtman2007]

Ash is an excellent soil amendment, some fertilizers and Acid based neutralizers are ash based, so spread out and disc it in, you're giving nature a big helping hand....................oh God, now the West Coast tree hugging nature nut side of me just kicked in............put me out of my misery.

:guns :guns :guns


I'm a tree huggers worst nightmare

 

[surfer-joe]

Definitely check on a burn permit. Now a days you have to have one just to light a cigarette in some places seems like.

Using tires or similar items is very old school. Do not use under any circumstances. The hay bale idea is very good, but don't use any gasoline unless your wife has a big insurance policy covering you in the hospital burn unit. Diesel will work just fine, or charcoal lighter.

A blower of some type is a good plus. Something like an orchard sprayer, or even a Cat with a blower fan. Even a leaf blower will help get things started off.

You might want to check into using a chopper or a tub grinder instead, particularly if you can not get a burn permit.

Another way to get rid of some of it -- the bigger pieces anyway, is to stick a sign out that says, "free fire wood."

Have a water truck standing by, just in case you know. Being close to buildings is a big risk. You don't want to chance the fire getting out of control like the one yesterday in Florida on I-4.

Good Luck!

 

[Northart]

Tree disposal ?

Now here is the way to do it.

1st cut the tree down
2nd then haul the tree off
3rd to a hole in the ground to bury.

Hey just humor ! :drinkup

 

[Northart]

Tree Disposal 2

Part 2

 

[John C.]

In Washington State burning tires is strictly forbidden and will bring a hefty fine. Now most of the clearing on the west side of the mountains has to be ground up in big tub grinders. Only certain places are allowed to burn at specific times of the year. Word on the air waves says the governor wants to completely ban burning. We have an election this year so maybe we can get rid of her. It is already illegal to use a burn barrel to get rid of your burnable garbage.

Where we can burn, the local fire department handles the permits. If you are burning in a municipality you will probably at least have to notify them and may even have to pay for them to stand by.

Good Luck!

 

[Deas Plant]

Disposing of ashes.

Hi, Bandit44.
Bobcat Ron raised a good point about getting rid of the ashes. I don't know about your sweet gums but any time I've burnt off any sort of timber around here, I just run the dozer or track loader through the ashes and scatter them every which way. They make great fertiliser and, even though you scatter the ashes pretty evenly, the area where the fire heap was usually still grows better than anywhere else.

 

[Wolf]

tree huggers worst nightmare

:guns :guns :guns


I'm a tree huggers worst nightmare

Tell us why you say you are the tree huggers worst nightmare, Chris. You must have some good stories about them. Do tell all. Sounds pretty interesting, Chris. What did you do?

 

[DPete]

We used to doze out orchards here , squeeze up the piles and then burn when they were dry enough. That's a thing of the past which is OK with me that's a nasty job punching up burn piles. The grinders can have it.

 

[Ray Welsh]

We used to doze out orchards here , squeeze up the piles and then burn when they were dry enough. That's a thing of the past which is OK with me that's a nasty job punching up burn piles. The grinders can have it.

Glad to see that most agree to cancell burning of tyres. Remember we have only one planet earth, and one atmosphere. Lighting a fire is pretty easy. Just like starting a campfire; start with small sticks and dry grass then keep adding bigger stuff. Blowers also work well for speeding up the fire. Ashes make good fertiliser for the soil. Used to be sold here called Potash.
Of course I agree that grinding the waste to chips is the best. You get a free pile of mulch that operates pretty much like a compost pile. Just turn it with a machine occasionally and you finish up with a great growing medium for all sorts of plants.........C ya.......Ray

 

[Dirtman2007]

Tell us why you say you are the tree huggers worst nightmare, Chris. You must have some good stories about them. Do tell all. Sounds pretty interesting, Chris. What did you do?

well I could go on about this forever but I'm not.

I actually had one tell me that people like me were horrible to the environment and should be ashamed of what I do :falldownlaugh

At all time I carry a chainsaw in my truck, sometime 2.

Then I ask the Question " is your house made from plastic?"
And they ramble away...

I Like trees but If they need to come down I have no problem with that. I dont like any trees within 20 feet of any house site I clear. Some the fools leave trees up to 16" in diameter 4 feet away from the house that will be built, then a few years later the homeowner wonders why the wall are cracking and foundation is moving. The roots have to go somewhereointhead

I have seen some weird things in some " Eco Friendly neighborhoods"

Talking to trees,
On one site I actually saw a lady kiss a tree goodbye before I knocked it down.:crazy It was not even on her property and looked like everyother tree around. Thought I was loosing my mind.

I've seen people who had severe melt downs because I drove the machine across the roots of a tree ( I guess they thought it would kill it )

enough for now........

 

[DPete]

Actually here in the valley where I live (San Joaquin) the ground up trees or chips are used to fire electric plants to gen electricty. They recirculate the smoke some way and burn clean enough to satisify strict air quality regs. Smaller amounts like ground prunings from orchards are left as mulch. We do have an air problem here so I'm glad to see it happen.