Question(s) about tending a brush pile fire with the tractor.

[The Evil Twin]

@Virtual Guy , no worries using the grapple. My neighbor has done so for years, and I did when I borrowed his grapple. Hoses, fittings etc not even slightly affected. Now, you can't just take your time and you should be upwind. But only if you drive into the pit or stop and open another beer while you have the grapple over or in the fire will you have to worry about a hose bursting and hot oil cooking you like KFC.

 

[Vlach7]

"Hot cooking oil", reminded me of one of the calls I went on as a paramedic, elderly guy working his portable food cart on a street corner, had a stroke, bystanders found him leaning over with one of his hands in the boiling cooking oil, still alive.

 

[Flintknapper]

"Hot cooking oil", reminded me of one of the calls I went on as a paramedic, elderly guy working his portable food cart on a street corner, had a stroke, bystanders found him leaning over with one of his hands in the boiling cooking oil, still alive.

Oh......ouch!

I know it sounds macabre...but I hope the poor guy never regained consciousness.

 

[Vlach7]

Yes, losing his hand was the least of his problems.

 

[Lil Foot]

When I was a Fire Captain, I used to get various trade journals that usually listed various incidents and how they were handled. ((either well or poorly)

I only remember 4 or 5 incidents involving tractors burning up in brush burning accidents, and in every case, the burn pile was in a dugout pit. Operator went too far and dropped his front wheels into the pit, and could not get enough traction to get back out in time.
If I ever burn brush, (not likely) I will not dig a hole first.

 

[Vlach7]

Better to learn from somebody else's mistakes. Stories are good to here, as long as they are true.

 

[ve9aa]

The wagon story was interesting and reminded me of a time I was (MIG) welding outside on an old utility trailer I was refurbing. Every once in a while I could smell something downright nasty burning.

Finally, 5 (or whatever) minutes after the first time I smelled "burning something or another" I flipped back my welders mask and looked around to reveal that a full 10' away from where I was welding, my nearly new plastic covered 24' measuring tape was fully ablaze. I can only presume a spark flew over my head and onto the flammable(?) plastic case of the measuring tape behind me and up it went.

(I was outside, but...) My wife won't let me weld in the house ever again !

p.s.- I wouldn't stick my new tractor (or even my old one) anywhere's close to a fire. That'd be the time it either stalled or a spark would catch some plastic piece on fire ! ! !

 

[The Evil Twin]

When I was a Fire Captain, I used to get various trade journals that usually listed various incidents and how they were handled. ((either well or poorly)

I only remember 4 or 5 incidents involving tractors burning up in brush burning accidents, and in every case, the burn pile was in a dugout pit. Operator went too far and dropped his front wheels into the pit, and could not get enough traction to get back out in time.
If I ever burn brush, (not likely) I will not dig a hole first.

Well, this is true operator error. I always burn in a hole but have a 1-2 foot berm around the hole. There is no mistaking where 'too far" is.

 

[Virtual Guy]

"Hot cooking oil", reminded me of one of the calls I went on as a paramedic, elderly guy working his portable food cart on a street corner, had a stroke, bystanders found him leaning over with one of his hands in the boiling cooking oil, still alive.

I have a few "life tattoos" as I like to call them. I'm missing part of my right thumb from general dumbassery in my dad's butcher shop. I wear a couple parallel scars under my chin from a motorcycle + barbed wire incident. But the most painful (by far) was burning a significant part of my hand with grease from a food service deep fryer. Your story gave me serious flash backs.

 

[Lil Foot]

general dumbassery

I might have to steal that term. So descriptive!

 

[Ton]

 

[Flintknapper]

Coincidentally, I will be burning about a half dozen brush piles I have scattered around my property in the next few days.

They vary in size. I started today with the smallest one. I have only a couple that will require tractor work as they burn or at some point later when they have burned down. I won't be 'adding' fuel to the piles as the OP is wanting to do, but pushing the ends in IF they have not already fully burned.

Generally...the piles burn quite well without manipulation. IF control is a factor I will light the piles such that they burn upwind.

I douse the piles with old engine oil (saved back). Spray that with some diesel fuel from a hand pumped garden sprayer. I then use my back-pack propane torch to initiate the flame and force feed the pile with oxygen using a leaf blower. It gets the pile burning very hot, very quickly.

I keep nothing more than a rake at hand to put out small areas of grass right around the base of the pile. I don't burn in dry conditions and I clear the area around the pile prior to lighting it. Have never had a fire come anywhere close to getting out of control.

 

[The Evil Twin]

Coincidentally, I will be burning about a half dozen brush piles I have scattered around my property in the next few days.

They vary in size. I started today with the smallest one. I have only a couple that will require tractor work as they burn or at some point later when they have burned down. I won't be 'adding' fuel to the piles as the OP is wanting to do, but pushing the ends in IF they have not already fully burned.

Generally...the piles burn quite well without manipulation. IF control is a factor I will light the piles such that they burn upwind.

I douse the piles with old engine oil (saved back). Spray that with some diesel fuel from a hand pumped garden sprayer. I then use my back-pack propane torch to initiate the flame and force feed the pile with oxygen using a leaf blower. It gets the pile burning very hot, very quickly.

I keep nothing more than a rake at hand to put out small areas of grass right around the base of the pile. I don't burn in dry conditions and I clear the area around the pile prior to lighting it. Have never had a fire come anywhere close to getting out of control.

View attachment 90755

GeoHorn would say you will burst into flames and be propelled to Mars by the back mounted LP tank
I know we butt heads but I'm just giving you a hard time in this one GH!

 

[Flintknapper]

GeoHorn would say you will burst into flames and be propelled to Mars by the back mounted LP tank

At least to Mars....maybe Neptune on a full tank.

Maybe stop off at the Sun and rest up. Pretty sure I can land there if I go at night.

Yeah, somehow I've survived 50 years of burning brush and not caught myself or anything else on fire.

So either my methods are safe enough....or I've had a hell of a run of dumb luck, huh?

 

[notaz3]

Why would someone post this kind of thing on YouTube? Good way to have the insurance claim denied.

 

[The Evil Twin]

And not a fire extinguisher in sight....

 

[lynnmor]

When I cleared my jungle to build a house, I made enormous piles and used an old tire to get the green stuff burning. There was considerable amounts of poison ivy in each pile. One Saturday I lit one off and the wind carried the smoke low to the ground and back over the hill. Sunday morning at church a very red and itchy neighbor asked me what I was burning.

 

[Daferris]

Another thing to consider if your using the tractor to condense the burn pile or to add more fuel to it. Is to get some open cell foam to make a prefilter for the air filter intake.

 

[Old_Paint]

Darwin was right. Proof positive he wasn't talking about the strongest and biggest.

 

[Captain13]

Saw this post a couple of days ago and thought about it outside Waycross, Georgia yesterday. Picture a smoking brush pile with what appeared to be a John Deere burned up with the bucket about 10 feet from the pile. If you’ve traveled south out of Waycross you will have seen the thousands of acres of pine trees. After they are cut, a cleanup crew pushes the brush into multiple piles to be burned before new trees are planted. This tractor was burned beyond recognition but the shape appeared to be a Deere.