GREAT advice! I use diesel sometimes. Most times my propane torch in my 20lb tank does the trick. You're right though. I have seen a lot of dummies nearly blow things up with gas.
We use a hand held pump fertilizer sprayer to spray diesel on the fire piles. Of Course we have one sprayer dedicated for diesel spray for this purpose. Much easier than a cup, uses less fuel, and you can control it. We have been successful getting green piles to burn with very little diesel.
Well I have to admit that my first burn pile of leaves and branches I used a small amount of gas to get it started, as you can imaging there was a big puff ( boom) and wow some burn eye brows. So if I would have watched your video first I would have not had to learn a lesson. No real damage but what an idiot I was. Please never ever use gas as Mike said. Love your videos.
I made the mistake of lighting a campfire with coleman fuel. WOW! Don't do it people. Just take my word for it. If I need a little help, I use kerosene. I think the flash point higher than gasoline, but lower the diesel. i always keep a few gallons on hand just in case I need to get a fire started. It does not go bad like gasoline can. That is a mighty nice brush fire Mike. nicely produced video.
I try not to burn brush unless it is just in my way and too time consuming to push it down to a hollow to let it rot. (Makes good compost) Also Makes good rabbit and bird habitats. But when I do burn I soak a roll of toilet paper or paper towels in used motor oil from my tractor or truck oil changes. put it on the end of a stick and light it and shove it deep into the pile and walk away. works every time with no fear of getting burned.
This is my fire starter advice, leaf blow all the leaves away, start fire with weed burner. Home Depot sells them for about $40 plus propane tank. With a weed burner you can start fire while it's raining.
Harbor Freight sells a decent one for about $20. No diesel leaching into the soil. I burn cedar piles all the time here in Texas. That stuff catches fire fast.
That's what I often do these days, especially if I don't want to hang around until the fire has burned down, starting my fires right after or even _during_ the rain - it's the safest way.
I typically cut up a small spruce or hemlock to put at the bas of the burn piles. They burn so hot, even if they're green and help to get your burn piles ripping! If I need accelerant, I use a mixture of about 1 part gasoline and 3 parts used motor oil.
DANGER LURKS BEHIND YOU!!!! See those horizontal boards attached to the tree. Here's the costly lesson I learned. Had a Sawyer come and mill some logs and for every blade ruined hitting any metal it was $45. 6 blades later I came to appreciate the fact I would never nail, bolt ,screw or attach any metal into a tree again. You maybe put those there as a kid just like I did growing up. Amazing how our youth comes back to haunt us.
I use gas. I get a flame lit by tucking wads of newspaper around my pile, then toss a cupful of gas from a safe distance. works like a charm. had a four hour burn today, cleared a ton of stuff.
I see a lot of these types of videos, where folks are burning "brush" that when I was growing up was not wasted. I see all sorts of split wood piles and processing of split wood, but few (ok, none so far) where people process kindling and what I grew up calling "medium wood". We would have piles of kindling and piles of medium wood, AND piles of split wood. Each have their purpose, and it just amazes me how much usable wood folks seem to waste in these "brush pile fires". Don't get me wrong though, I am not criticizing what was in the video or those who do burn this type of wood as the video shows.... I just didn't grow up doing that and we used as much of the tree as we could. And no, there was no shortage of trees.
I like gas and old oil mixed.... I have used gas but I light a long pole with a roll of toilet paper on the end to light it.... Here in Alaska we can't burn most summers but we can after heavy rains and in the winter....
we too are clearing some property and buring brush here in mi,seems like it rains all most every day now,we had some brush piles that where building up i needed to burn. after it did not rain for two days[tue and wed] i did use gas and my wife had a fit ,tried diesel but it seems like it just burns off the brush than goes out,i let the gas soak in a few min before lighting,i agree not the safest thing to do,good luke on your new blind
I have the best luck burning by making sure I get the pile started with good, dry, dead wood on the bottom of the pile. Then a little diesel and it's burning. Also once you get a few hot coals, even if there isn't alot of flame get your leaf blower out and hit it with that for a few minutes. That gets it going
Just got out of the burn icu with burns on 15 percent of my body and one leg covered in skin grafts. Wish I woulda known. Was in hospital 8 days. Been home a month just now able to walk again. Horrible experience. I’ll never forget the pain of them ripping off my flesh and scrubbbing my raw flesh. Pure hell was screaming at the top of my lungs. I used gas
Gasoline works great, just burns off too quickly. Used it dozens of times and it's not a problem if you're not stupid about it. I prefer to mix it with diesel though.
Yea I gotta try using a gasoline-diesel mix. How is it like when you first light it? Because gasoline is very quick and violent when you light it so does the diesel calm it? I've used some old 2 stroke gas oil and it works well also. It burns longer and hotter since theres some oil mix in with it.
Thanks for telling me. I gotta buy a yellow or blue can and buy some diesel/kerosene. I think the thing I like the most about gasoline/kerosene/diesel is its dirt cheap compared to charcoal lighter fluid and its everywhere. And I guess it would be better to use off-road diesel or kerosene since its untaxed and I don't have a diesel vehicle.
Hello, Mike! My husband & I have just purchased our 1st piece of property in Somerville, TX. We are originally from Los Angeles, so, we are newbies. Owning a piece of land seemed to always be a dream and now that it's come true, we are watching your videos, A LOT & learning quite a bit. Thanks so much! Now, in regards to burning (remember, newbies here), we are a little scared, so to speak, so my questions are as follows: 1. Do we need to have a water source here. Our land is raw and we have yet to have the county connect our water line. That part of the land improvement will be tied into the financing of the house. 2nd, to get the fire going, I noticed in the video you were using a cup and throwing diesel on the brush pile. Do you use anything at the base of the fire or just dried up material? Any other useful tidbits in regards to staring/maintaining a safe burn would be appreciated. Thank you so much!
Hi Andrea, One thing I will be very clear on is here in the East, (Pa.) we burn quite often and safely because it's always so green and there is very minimal risk for it spreading. I can't speak for other parts of the Country but I do know in many places any fire is a big no no lol. But with that being you should check out my latest videos, I just did a little clearing project where I dug a burn pit, throw some good dry dead wood in there then just a cup of diesel and it took off. Then just kept feeding that pit all weekend stumps and all
If the fire ever does get out of control when burning, use a leaf blower and blow the out of control part towards the burn pile this will blow out any fire that catches on the grass or fallen leaves and such...i know this because i ran into this problem with my father and we called the fire department and that's what they used, it worked very well...
Andrea Farrar This is from a guy near you in SE Texas. First check with your county to make sure there is no burn ban in place and what their regulations are about burning. They like to have you inform them before you burn. I do have a water source so I have that available. I mow the field pretty short for a good distance away from the pile. I also have a tractor nearby. To start the pile I soak a small part of it with charcoal lighter fluid ( upwind part of the pile) I remove the container of lighter fluid about 100 ft away from the pile. I light a rolled up paper towel or newspaper and throw it into the lighter fluid soaked area of the pile. I have burned a number of piles successfully this way.
I usually start my brush piles on the downwind side. The start slower and burn away a lot of the grass/leaves before the whole pile gets rolling big. I almost never have a water source close by. If you can find a couple of burlap sacks, put them in a bucket of water and you can pull them out and swat out the grass easily.
I'm new to trying to burn brush and did use gas but wasn't happy with the result. The ONLY thing this newbie learned was not to use gas. So THEN WHAT DID YOU USE? You never told us. I see you throwing things into the pile which was effective but what was it? PLEASE EXPLAIN.
If you put gas in like a herbicide sprayer , it won't explode like that. Spray your base(don't cover a big area, that is Key) and then use a torch to light it from afar. Problem is that if the pile isn't really dry, the gas won't take . The best stuff to use is tiki torch oil. That will stick to the wood and burn slowly and evenly even if it is a tad bit wet. Problem is that it is hard to find in winter/fall and it can be expensive
I have used gas if it's around...either way whatever I use I always light from a distance. Basically make a torch with a stick and Cchuck it in from at least 20ft away. I also always have water on hand and it is no where near the house.
No not at all, If you watch my latest videos I did a little clearing project with an excavator and had a burn pit with a fire going the entire time. I had deer on several occasions come in while working the machine and burning tree tops. They are amazing animals that somehow learn how to recognize whats a threat, and whats not. I can run my chainsaw, tractor, side x side and they will watch. But come hunting season you crack on twig and they are gone before you even see them lol. you will here them running off well ahead of you.
Outdoors With The Morgans So true! I have been in the bush and stop my chainsaw to add more fuel and oil only to look up and a deer is 10 feet away watching me!
I use gas and diesel mix 3/1. Can't believe how much good wood you just put up in smoke! See youtube 'Swedish Homestead' 3 Compelling Reasons To Split Your Firewood Thinner. Good reason to use smaller wood in stove and it works.
It may seem like waste but I would rather waste a little wood than waste a lot of time. We have plenty of trees and I could cut 10 or 15 cord a year just on dead stuff, blow downs and hard leaners and each year will have more woods than the year before.
While i like your video, as usual, i really would have appreciated it if you had explained a little more what actually happens when you use gas, and why. I never really use any liquids to start a fire. No particular reason why. I mostly use an old newspaper or something... so i have no idea why gasoline would perform badly. Anybody with some details would be appreciated. Comments like "oh believe me, it is BAD!" would not be appreciated one bit. I figured that much by now.
Gasoline has vapors that stay low to the ground, some people will pour gas on a brush pile, then stand back and toss a match and the vapors are all around them and they don't know it. It ignites all around them and they burn. Plus gas burns so quickly it's not even good at setting a pile on fire anyway
You shouldn't be throwing any type of accelerant onto a fire. Gas, diesel, white gas, any type. Those are the people who wind up in the hospital or dead
Ever look into a wood chipper for your 3-point hitch?...I can't seem to quite justify it for my little 1 acre place...maybe if I could find a used one that would handle up to 3 or 3 1/2 in stuff...anything bigger than that is firewood....be nice to have the chips around the gardens and avoid the downside of burning piles...mostly smoking out my near neighbors, or worse, having the wind come up and starting the neighborhood on fire!
I bought a Harbor Freight Predator and am happy with it. Good reviews. Engine will last forever if broken in according their instructions. Will do up to 3" green and straight. I burn everything in stove down to about and inch. See youtube 'Swedish Homestead' 3 Compelling Reasons To Split Your Firewood Thinner. Good reason to use smaller wood in stove and it works.
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A leaf blower makes a good brush fire bellows system to speed things up.
my first tractor and BIG brush pile, the grass around caught but your loader work vids helped me put out, thanks!
GREAT advice! I use diesel sometimes. Most times my propane torch in my 20lb tank does the trick. You're right though. I have seen a lot of dummies nearly blow things up with gas.
I use a propane torch (weed burner) too - totally controllable, portable, and the perfect way to start a yard fire.
Three parts diesel to one part gasoline is what the forest service uses to start controlled fires or burn a fireline.
We use a hand held pump fertilizer sprayer to spray diesel on the fire piles. Of Course we have one sprayer dedicated for diesel spray for this purpose. Much easier than a cup, uses less fuel, and you can control it. We have been successful getting green piles to burn with very little diesel.
Well I have to admit that my first burn pile of leaves and branches I used a small amount of gas to get it started, as you can imaging there was a big puff ( boom) and wow some burn eye brows. So if I would have watched your video first I would have not had to learn a lesson. No real damage but what an idiot I was. Please never ever use gas as Mike said. Love your videos.
I have 9 brush piles to burn and will do so when I have a little snow on the ground. Great video Mike! 😊
I made the mistake of lighting a campfire with coleman fuel. WOW! Don't do it people. Just take my word for it. If I need a little help, I use kerosene. I think the flash point higher than gasoline, but lower the diesel. i always keep a few gallons on hand just in case I need to get a fire started. It does not go bad like gasoline can.
That is a mighty nice brush fire Mike. nicely produced video.
Thanks Robert
Why is kerosene so expensive?
Nice brush fire when it burns down a bit it is roasting hotdog time !!👊
I try not to burn brush unless it is just in my way and too time consuming to push it down to a hollow to let it rot. (Makes good compost) Also Makes good rabbit and bird habitats. But when I do burn I soak a roll of toilet paper or paper towels in used motor oil from my tractor or truck oil changes. put it on the end of a stick and light it and shove it deep into the pile and walk away. works every time with no fear of getting burned.
This is my fire starter advice, leaf blow all the leaves away, start fire with weed burner. Home Depot sells them for about $40 plus propane tank. With a weed burner you can start fire while it's raining.
Harbor Freight sells a decent one for about $20. No diesel leaching into the soil. I burn cedar piles all the time here in Texas. That stuff catches fire fast.
That's what I often do these days, especially if I don't want to hang around until the fire has burned down, starting my fires right after or even _during_ the rain - it's the safest way.
I typically cut up a small spruce or hemlock to put at the bas of the burn piles. They burn so hot, even if they're green and help to get your burn piles ripping! If I need accelerant, I use a mixture of about 1 part gasoline and 3 parts used motor oil.
I save our dryer lint and cardboard. I use a little diesel if needed. Old frying oil works too.
Man, you burned some stuff that would have been in my woodpile!
DANGER LURKS BEHIND YOU!!!!
See those horizontal boards attached to the tree. Here's the costly lesson I learned.
Had a Sawyer come and mill some logs and for every blade ruined hitting any metal it was $45. 6 blades later I came to appreciate the fact I would never nail, bolt ,screw or attach any metal into a tree again.
You maybe put those there as a kid just like I did growing up.
Amazing how our youth comes back to haunt us.
Farmerbob, yep, built them when I was young and dumb lol. Back then there was no ladder stands. If their were I couldn't afford them anyway lol
I use a cheap metal detector before I mill logs that might have nails in them. Works great
Great video!
I use gas. I get a flame lit by tucking wads of newspaper around my pile, then toss a cupful of gas from a safe distance. works like a charm. had a four hour burn today, cleared a ton of stuff.
That was great!
I see a lot of these types of videos, where folks are burning "brush" that when I was growing up was not wasted. I see all sorts of split wood piles and processing of split wood, but few (ok, none so far) where people process kindling and what I grew up calling "medium wood". We would have piles of kindling and piles of medium wood, AND piles of split wood. Each have their purpose, and it just amazes me how much usable wood folks seem to waste in these "brush pile fires". Don't get me wrong though, I am not criticizing what was in the video or those who do burn this type of wood as the video shows.... I just didn't grow up doing that and we used as much of the tree as we could. And no, there was no shortage of trees.
I like gas and old oil mixed.... I have used gas but I light a long pole with a roll of toilet paper on the end to light it.... Here in Alaska we can't burn most summers but we can after heavy rains and in the winter....
we too are clearing some property and buring brush here in mi,seems like it rains all most every day now,we had some brush piles that where building up i needed to burn. after it did not rain for two days[tue and wed] i did use gas and my wife had a fit ,tried diesel but it seems like it just burns off the brush than goes out,i let the gas soak in a few min before lighting,i agree not the safest thing to do,good luke on your new blind
I have the best luck burning by making sure I get the pile started with good, dry, dead wood on the bottom of the pile. Then a little diesel and it's burning. Also once you get a few hot coals, even if there isn't alot of flame get your leaf blower out and hit it with that for a few minutes. That gets it going
Just got out of the burn icu with burns on 15 percent of my body and one leg covered in skin grafts. Wish I woulda known. Was in hospital 8 days. Been home a month just now able to walk again. Horrible experience. I’ll never forget the pain of them ripping off my flesh and scrubbbing my raw flesh. Pure hell was screaming at the top of my lungs. I used gas
oh my
Gasoline works great, just burns off too quickly. Used it dozens of times and it's not a problem if you're not stupid about it. I prefer to mix it with diesel though.
Yea I gotta try using a gasoline-diesel mix. How is it like when you first light it? Because gasoline is very quick and violent when you light it so does the diesel calm it? I've used some old 2 stroke gas oil and it works well also. It burns longer and hotter since theres some oil mix in with it.
Heavy on the diesel makes it light more slowly and burn longer. Heavy on the gas is more dangerous.
Thanks for telling me. I gotta buy a yellow or blue can and buy some diesel/kerosene. I think the thing I like the most about gasoline/kerosene/diesel is its dirt cheap compared to charcoal lighter fluid and its everywhere. And I guess it would be better to use off-road diesel or kerosene since its untaxed and I don't have a diesel vehicle.
From the south. Ever use gas and transmission fluid?
Hello, Mike! My husband & I have just purchased our 1st piece of property in Somerville, TX. We are originally from Los Angeles, so, we are newbies. Owning a piece of land seemed to always be a dream and now that it's come true, we are watching your videos, A LOT & learning quite a bit. Thanks so much! Now, in regards to burning (remember, newbies here), we are a little scared, so to speak, so my questions are as follows: 1. Do we need to have a water source here. Our land is raw and we have yet to have the county connect our water line. That part of the land improvement will be tied into the financing of the house. 2nd, to get the fire going, I noticed in the video you were using a cup and throwing diesel on the brush pile. Do you use anything at the base of the fire or just dried up material? Any other useful tidbits in regards to staring/maintaining a safe burn would be appreciated. Thank you so much!
Hi Andrea, One thing I will be very clear on is here in the East, (Pa.) we burn quite often and safely because it's always so green and there is very minimal risk for it spreading. I can't speak for other parts of the Country but I do know in many places any fire is a big no no lol. But with that being you should check out my latest videos, I just did a little clearing project where I dug a burn pit, throw some good dry dead wood in there then just a cup of diesel and it took off. Then just kept feeding that pit all weekend stumps and all
If the fire ever does get out of control when burning, use a leaf blower and blow the out of control part towards the burn pile this will blow out any fire that catches on the grass or fallen leaves and such...i know this because i ran into this problem with my father and we called the fire department and that's what they used, it worked very well...
Kerosene burns. Gasoline explodes. Decide what you want to accomplish and choose appropriately.
Andrea Farrar This is from a guy near you in SE Texas. First check with your county to make sure there is no burn ban in place and what their regulations are about burning. They like to have you inform them before you burn. I do have a water source so I have that available. I mow the field pretty short for a good distance away from the pile. I also have a tractor nearby. To start the pile I soak a small part of it with charcoal lighter fluid ( upwind part of the pile) I remove the container of lighter fluid about 100 ft away from the pile. I light a rolled up paper towel or newspaper and throw it into the lighter fluid soaked area of the pile. I have burned a number of piles successfully this way.
I usually start my brush piles on the downwind side. The start slower and burn away a lot of the grass/leaves before the whole pile gets rolling big. I almost never have a water source close by. If you can find a couple of burlap sacks, put them in a bucket of water and you can pull them out and swat out the grass easily.
use cup of gas every fire , never burned yet.. Cover in gas , let sit for 5 min , come back and light safely . Never had an issue...
I'm new to trying to burn brush and did use gas but wasn't happy with the result. The ONLY thing this newbie learned was not to use gas. So THEN WHAT DID YOU USE? You never told us. I see you throwing things into the pile which was effective but what was it? PLEASE EXPLAIN.
looked like some good wood to dry out and use for heating your home no?
burkaH DURKAH666 no it’s not!
Gas with 2 stroke oil burns very slow easy.
Gas oil 2 stroke still burns quicker then a gasoline-diesel mix probably would.
If you put gas in like a herbicide sprayer , it won't explode like that. Spray your base(don't cover a big area, that is Key) and then use a torch to light it from afar. Problem is that if the pile isn't really dry, the gas won't take . The best stuff to use is tiki torch oil. That will stick to the wood and burn slowly and evenly even if it is a tad bit wet. Problem is that it is hard to find in winter/fall and it can be expensive
bah ... use gasoline but light it from distance, like with a roman candle left over from the 4th July...
justsumname I’m about to douse mine and light it with a flaming arrow
I have used gas if it's around...either way whatever I use I always light from a distance. Basically make a torch with a stick and Cchuck it in from at least 20ft away. I also always have water on hand and it is no where near the house.
Question.... does clearing the brush in a area that has an active deer trail deter them from that area? Or do the not mind?
No not at all, If you watch my latest videos I did a little clearing project with an excavator and had a burn pit with a fire going the entire time. I had deer on several occasions come in while working the machine and burning tree tops. They are amazing animals that somehow learn how to recognize whats a threat, and whats not. I can run my chainsaw, tractor, side x side and they will watch. But come hunting season you crack on twig and they are gone before you even see them lol. you will here them running off well ahead of you.
Outdoors With The Morgans So true! I have been in the bush and stop my chainsaw to add more fuel and oil only to look up and a deer is 10 feet away watching me!
It’s what the deer are used to. When I feed or check fences they seem to know my vehicle and don’t consider it a threat.
I use gas and diesel mix 3/1. Can't believe how much good wood you just put up in smoke! See youtube 'Swedish Homestead' 3 Compelling Reasons To Split Your Firewood Thinner. Good reason to use smaller wood in stove and it works.
It may seem like waste but I would rather waste a little wood than waste a lot of time. We have plenty of trees and I could cut 10 or 15 cord a year just on dead stuff, blow downs and hard leaners and each year will have more woods than the year before.
YOU WILL BE READY TO HUNT THERE BEFORE LONG ,, LOOKING GOOD BUTCH 4/8/2020
Looks like a wood chipper would be faster and easier to get rid of the brush
While i like your video, as usual, i really would have appreciated it if you had explained a little more what actually happens when you use gas, and why.
I never really use any liquids to start a fire. No particular reason why. I mostly use an old newspaper or something... so i have no idea why gasoline would perform badly.
Anybody with some details would be appreciated. Comments like "oh believe me, it is BAD!" would not be appreciated one bit. I figured that much by now.
Gasoline has vapors that stay low to the ground, some people will pour gas on a brush pile, then stand back and toss a match and the vapors are all around them and they don't know it. It ignites all around them and they burn. Plus gas burns so quickly it's not even good at setting a pile on fire anyway
Oh jesus! That IS bad!
Thank you for clarifying. Appreciate it
You shouldn't be throwing any type of accelerant onto a fire. Gas, diesel, white gas, any type. Those are the people who wind up in the hospital or dead
Ever look into a wood chipper for your 3-point hitch?...I can't seem to quite justify it for my little 1 acre place...maybe if I could find a used one that would handle up to 3 or 3 1/2 in stuff...anything bigger than that is firewood....be nice to have the chips around the gardens and avoid the downside of burning piles...mostly smoking out my near neighbors, or worse, having the wind come up and starting the neighborhood on fire!
Here in the East I like to burn, Burn hot and fast and hardly any smoke. Chipping would be useful but would take me longer
I bought a Harbor Freight Predator and am happy with it. Good reviews. Engine will last forever if broken in according their instructions. Will do up to 3" green and straight. I burn everything in stove down to about and inch. See youtube 'Swedish Homestead' 3 Compelling Reasons To Split Your Firewood Thinner. Good reason to use smaller wood in stove and it works.
I USE GASOLINE ALL THE TIME.
I do too. Just please be safe.