The Perfect Fire

[Rain]

Can anyone spare any tips on making and burning the 'perfect fire', please?! When I say 'perfect', I mean one that burns quickly without too much smoke.

I'd been saving my weeds in a big pile to dry so that I could burn them. I thought that it was when plant material was still slightly damp that it would smoke too much, but when this pile of weeds had dried and I burnt them, thinking they'd burn very quickly, they didn't and out of the top of my incinerator's chimney came so much smoke that I had to put the fire out. It was way more smoke than I'd ever had before and the density of it swept over the other plot holders, people in the park, etc. I did it on a very still day, but there must be something I ought to burn with it to help?

[Rain]

[Larkshall]

To get the weeds burnt without too much smoke, you need to get a good hot fire going with wood split up into "kindling", when it has a good "bottom" (a bed of red embers) add the weeds a few at a time. Using an incinerater will not achieve this. It needs to be an open fire.

[Rain]

Thanks a lot Larkshall. So an open fire is the best way to go then... but what can I use my incinerator for, or should I say, in what way should I use it?

[cambourne7]

I LOVE FIRE!!

Perfect fire - Approx 400 pallets stacked in groups of 20 and then make a 3 sided structure with approx 6 groups. Lay some cardboard on top and inside the hollow. Then add tbe rest of the groups to make a pryamid area leaving access to the hallow with a long stick.

Will burn for approx 8 hours visible for 100 ft away and very little smoke if the pallets are dry. If you want some fun fill the hollo with very finely shreaded paper which when burns will rise into the air its very pretty.

After the fire NO weeds!!

PS i would suggest the use of at least 2 JCBs for the moving of the pallets.

PPS If you want to see what i mean have a look at the last time i did this here http://paulandlouise.com/gallery/ look up the 3rd or 4th link for cambourne bonfire

You can see the one the year before http://www.cambourne.info/bonfire.html

Fire is Good Fire is my Friend!!     ;D

[Lauren S]

We had lots of wood and weeds to burn and waited several weeks to let it all dry out. Lit it late in the evening 10 days ago. It burnt really hot and fast. A couple of days later I spread around the ashes and dug them in. I hope that was ok.
All weed and rubbish free lot now.  ;D

Lauren  :)

P.S Cambourne you make one heck of a great fire. I bet it can be seen for miles. Ha Ha, the Cambourne Beacon   :o

[cambourne7]

thanks lauren had 4 years of paractice in the village bonfire and i am told the last one was better than the cambridge city one :)

BURN BABY BURN    ;D

[Kea]

Hey Cambourne,

I've just fainted!

I just looked through your photo's of NZ....then I think that looks like my Dad's farm! I went a little further and yes there's a group of people round the basket and there in the background the larches on the hill that look like a spaniel.
You were there standing where I lived as a child....how freaky is that!

[cambourne7]

GOSH!!! Were are you from in NZ ??

This i have to see tell me about it on friday :)

[Kea]

I'm pretty sure that's where the photo is taken.....though I was there in 2001 and the dog had lost some of it's head.

I'll have try and see if I have some photo's. It might be the neighbours farm it's a bit hard to tell. It's near Mt Hutt and they fly hot air balloons in the area. Does that sound right?

[cambourne7]

yep thats where i think its near christchurch as it was over the Canterbury Plains, i believe we lefts from Methven (by Mt Hutt).

In fact we had a farmer pop out with food doe some sheep and he had a little dog as well when we landed for lunch.

[Kea]

Cambourne:I'll have to see if I have some photo's. I'm not sure whether the PM went through, it crashed but the place and time were confirmed as arranged.

Now I can hear everybody else saying 'Huh?'

We're near neighbour's so we're meeting up and now we've discovered something else in common. Small world!

[mellor]

theres no reason why you cant use your incinerator as long as you get a good fire going to begin with and keep it fed little and often with both weeds and the odd bit of timber.

i often light a fire first thing and keep it going most of the day, helps having plenty of pallets to chop up and the odd old fence panel that had plenty of creosote on it.

[Rain]

Thanks mellor, I've got a pallet here that I'm going to try to dismantle, heard it's difficult but also found some tips on how to do it, so hopefully that should help to get a good fire going. You're fortunate that you can start a fire in the morning to burn through the day, we're not allowed to start fires until the evening on our site. I often see the older guys burning things in the morning though!

[stig]

We had lots of wood and weeds to burn and waited several weeks to let it all dry out. Lit it late in the evening 10 days ago. It burnt really hot and fast. A couple of days later I spread around the ashes and dug them in. I hope that was ok.
All weed and rubbish free lot now.  ;D

Lauren  :)

P.S Cambourne you make one heck of a great fire. I bet it can be seen for miles. Ha Ha, the Cambourne Beacon   :o

[stig]

hi
all is fire ash good for the soil??

[Robert_Brenchley]

Yes, as long as it's only vegetation, and not plastic and stuff.

[Clayhithe]

 :o

What a terrible waste of compost

[cambourne7]

where we used to have the fire is now a community orchard and the apple trees seam to like the ash in the soil.

[Robert_Brenchley]

I only burn hedge cuttings. I agree it's a waste to burn herbaceous material.

[cambourne7]

thats fine then i only burn pallets :)

Lots of pallets