secrets of getting wet brash to burn

[Lyndon]

If your lighting fires on a regular basis then a parrfin flame gun ( flame gun 2000 i think we used) works wonders just to keep the core temp there till it gets going just try and keep an eye on the wick:thumbup1: used it while doing rhodie clearance for the fc, a flame gun,a blower and a small coke bottle of parrfin right in the center just leave the top off or it goes bang!

 

I seem to remember an old boss of mine telling me that douglas fir burns really well green and is good to use a few branches if there is any about. Any one heard this before

[County4x4]

Many many years ago I was looking after a group of "bad lads" on community service or whatever they called it back then. We had a job burning a load of wet brash from a thinning job, and set out on a drizzly November morning to get on with it.

 

When we arrived and unloaded them all, I told them what we were supposed to be doing and told them I'd go and get a can of diesel or something to help things along if they liked. One of these great hulking lads looked at me with a certain professional pride and said with a wink, "Nah mate - don't believe in it meself! I went off for half an hour to get on with something else and when I came back they had a right blaze going - this lad looked very smug. Turned out he was there for burning things down - but nice to see someone with faith in their own ability and pride in their work!! No idea how he did it though.

 

We used to use what we called Foresters brew - a mix of diesel, bit of petrol, old oil out the tractor and whatever else we could find - worked a treat unless you soaked a fire with it and then had to leave off lighting it until next day. If you did this, the petrol in it would evaporate but get trapped in the mass of the heap, so when the YTS boy went to light it next day, he was quite convincingly blown up!! Possibly the funniest thing I ever saw while working in the woods!

 

On brash fires - an old boy we used to work with now and again swore by "butt ends t'the wind youth"

 

Andy

[scbk]

Dead gorse burns like the clappers and is good for getting a fire going

 

 

 

IMO, 2000 tyres is far too many. 157 tyres (or inner tubes ) should get even the wettest brash going (though you may be better of doing it on a foggy day )

 

Nah do it at night, then you cannae see the black smoke

[Bolt]

Dont do this!

 

it gets smoke into the carb which isnt a good ive known a few people to need new carbs because of this.

 

 

Ha Ha, what numpties!

 

I rekon there's two types of bonfire workers, the smart ones, and the ones that stand in the smoke " Ooooo Ooooo Ouch! a little tiny spark went down my neck "

[log_hauler]

Put 2 litres of white spirit in a bucket, drop in an old dry log to soak it up (can then be bagged up and brought to site). Works (and smells) like a giant firelighter have used this technique on wet bonfires many times.

[Nick B]

Start small and get a good fire going with some dry stuff

once you have a bit of heat built up add the other wet timber try to lay all the ends the same way and use blower to assist

[APC]

I work in Leigh Park hence my technique for starting a fire with soggy brash etc. is to turn my back for 5 minutes. Can pretty much guarantee that the pile will either have been burned to smouldering ash or it will have been stolen.

[Buzzsurgeon]

We use a propane gun same thing the road wallers use to burn white lines off, poke in the bottom of heap, leaf blower along side on tick over, have a brew, back in ten and blower full revs