I know it is not that environmentally friendly etc, but I am having rea
problems starting a bonfire. Even with white spirit it did not work. Has anyone any tips?
PS I do plant the bigger logs to create beetle habitats
-- Hoorgi
You need plenty of news paper foloowed by dry, thin kindling wood
followed by larger pieces of wood. This is to get some heat into th base of your fire befor you stack combustables onto it. Old smashed u pallets are ideal
-- Grassman
One or two cups of 10 w 40 (Motor Oil) worked here on a wet rainy day.
Chemist friend did it before my astonished eyes.
Bill
I reallt adore you concern for the beetles. I have a passsion for the American Pleasing Fungus Beetle. It is very connected with the fungus Ganoderma tsugue. In fact I have only seen one not in old growth or wilderness areas.
I use diesel fuel to start my bonfires. I often start the diesel with a little medium octane gasoline. I stand far back and throw a match. VaVoom!
I love to burn things! I wait until its very wet. I do not like other people, other than client, putting fuel on my fire. Had a bad experience with that once. That's the day the cows were out on neighbors yard. Fire swept through the woods. Fire department came to control. They were not happy at all.
They kind of blamed me. Oh. well! Not as bad as the time when the US Forest Service controlled burns went out of control.
I save my used motor oil from my vehicles when I do oil changes. I add equal amounts of diesel and pour it on my fires to get them started.
What a great game the two Cinderella teams, the Packers and the Giants, put on. Neither were expected to do much this year, yet there they were playing for the NFL Championship. Yeah, it's just a game and its' only value is what we invest in it but, still, redemption is sweet.
Coming back to Earth, my father used to nearly fill a 5 gallon metal can with used motor oil and place rolled-up newspapers in it to absorb the oil. Then he would let them dry and use them for fire starters. He was never the most ecological of men.
The city of Toronto, however, apparently takes a dim view of burning used motor oil.
Burning used oil for space-heating purposes is an unnecessary contribution to air pollution in Toronto, since cleaner-burning fuels are readily available. According to the Ministry of Environment, a space heater burning used motor oil would emit 8,000 times more lead, 196 times more sulphur oxides, 128 times more arsenic and 35 times more inhalable particulate matter (PM10), than a space heater burning home heating oil.
Grassman expounded:
This is how I've always lit the spring cleanup fire - then add the dried up Christmas tree. Never had need for gas or oil (which is bad for the environment) once that tree went up!
If you've got a paper shredder you can make some nice, lightweight, fire-starters. I say "lightweight" because I do a lot of hiking, and carrying one or two "nests" of starters in my pack. Weight is of the utmost importance. =)
Melt some paraffin. Add the shredded paper. Using tongs, pull clumps of the paraffin-soaked paper out, placing mounds (2-3" in diameter) on a wire rack to cool. Once cool, just store them in a ziplock bag until ready to use. They start slowly (no flare-up, nice and safe), but burn long enough to get wood started. I've started large bonfires, camping, with only one "nest".
It's also a good way to get rid of old documents. =D
We have more pine cones than anyone would want. They are great fire starters.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.