Any Tricks for Burning Wet Brush Pile

you could do like the lady a county over from us... she saw a snake, poured gas on it, lit it on fire.... the snake crawled into a brush pile... in the end she managed to burn a snake, a brush pile, and two houses

...im no snake lover, but that is a cruel way to kill anything

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I am a great believer in luck. The harder I work, the more of it I seem to have.

One year I piled brush. When I was done, I put a 12x12 tarp over the center. Had to wait 2 months to burn it. Some newspaper, cardboard and some whatever the kids were throwing away in the center where the tarp used to be and the whole thing went up like Chicago . . . in the middle of a rainstorm

Agree Anette, that was very cruel. Just get the fire started and going good as a small fire then it will dry the pile as it burns. We don't use anything except cardboard or leaves.

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Libertarindependent

One tire and some gasoline...

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If the OP means Skagit County WA... Rains from october to may pretty much every day. It isn't cold enough in the winter to freeze dry things. It might be in the 70s in June and July, but not every day, and that is not nearly warm enough for long enough to dry it all the way out when it is that waterlogged. I have logs in a barn that have been drying since we moved in in Oct. They had been sitting in that field all summer I would assume. It is still to wet and green to burn. I have clothes out on a line *under cover*. It has been there for 2 weeks. It's still not dry, and no the roof does not leak. I am going to give up and bring it in. People do dry wood and burn it here. I just have no idea how they do it.

Can you tell I am over wet winter? LOL! 30 degrees this spring morning. sigh....

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"Relish your reading. Make note of the melody of the phrases, the architecture of the page. Let the joy of discovery soak right down to your bones!" Dr. George Grant (paraphrased)

Well this is about the mildest winters we've seen in WA in maybe a decade. Not too much rain, as usual. You need to get your wood in the spring & early summer. Get it in the woodshed by July 1 & it will dry out by October. Nothing will dry out around here it seems.

We did get a huge fire going, using dry firewood then a propane torch. It took 3 hours to get a good fire going, then about 1 hour to burn a massive amount of brush. I really like the idea of tarping the pile. Might try that in the future with some old pcs. of plastic.

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Just a word for those who, like myself, sometimes use gasoline. The fumes tend to want to hug the ground and spread out when it's rainy out. My bil discovered this the hard and painfull way.

OTOH, if I use gasoline, I use an old spelunker's trick from 100 years ago. They would braid up a heavy wick of cloth, make a launcher by driving a nail with no head into the end of a broomstick. Then, hang the wick that was soaked in flammable liquid from the nail, light it and "cast" it into areas that they wanted to light up.

That's a method for lighting up something you want to burn from a distance, too....Joe

I build all my brush piles with little stuff on the bottom. This get good air and will burn easily even if wet. Small stuff dires pretty fast over a plie of cry leaves. If it isn't too awful wet usually a one match thing. I also like ever greens close to the starter fire.

Yep, as much as I like the PNW, the frequent milk-toast winters we have are very annoying. The mosquito army is already here in our area and it's going to be ugly this year.

Just be safe. If you must use flamables be mindful of the wind. Even with no wind fumes, can travel before lit. Protect your eyebrows or you will have to explain to everyone everywhere you go for a while and you will count yourself lucky that you can explain it in person.

Get some dry pallets put them under the pile. Enough to get a good hot fire.

Ignore it, nature will take care of it in a few years.

I do do this with some. I call them rabbitats. Some piles just take up too much real estate.

Although safety is very important (I once set a field on fire in March....very scarey!) I have also learned that many birds are beginning their nest in existing brush piles. It's better to burn them after July when all the birds have flown or better still, in the middle of winter when it's much safer with snow on the ground. I keep some brush piles out away from the house just for wildlife shelter.

In early spring when the piles are as big as their gonna get to be safe we tarp them, any old tarp will do doesn't have to cover whole thing or even be 100% water tight, or even use a new cheapo on sale Harbor freight $1.99 tarp (still cheaper than wasting a 1/2 gallon of gasoline or diesel). Then throw a couple good fairly heavy chunks/poles/ across the top. Come middle of winter the weight of the poles has settled the pile, and under tarp is dry, a coffee can of some used motor oil from servicing the vehicles and a dash of chainsaw gas in under the tarp to get er goin, burns up tarp & all but works a charm, rain snow or not. Even tho chainsaw gas insn't near as explosive as pure gas the fumes still creep some. Stand a distance up wind and toss a stick (tip dipped in the gas & lit) at the pile.