I know it is not that environmentally friendly etc, but I am having real 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.

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 the base of your fire befor you stack combustables onto it. Old smashed up pallets are ideal.

In article ,
Hoorgi wrote:

I know it is not that environmentally friendly etc, but I am having real
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.

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

--

Garden in shade zone 5 S Jersey USA
ICAO = KMIV Millvile Weather

"Hoorgi" wrote in message
...

I know it is not that environmentally friendly etc, but I am having real
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

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.
--
Sincerely,
John A. Keslick, Jr.
Consulting Forester & Tree Expert
http://home.ccil.org/~treeman
and www.treedictionary.com
Beware of so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology.
Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding us
that we are not the boss.

"Hoorgi" wrote in message
...

I know it is not that environmentally friendly etc, but I am having real
problems starting a bonfire. Even with white spirit it did not work.
Has anyone any tips?


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.

In article ,
"Pat" wrote:

"Hoorgi" wrote in message
...

I know it is not that environmentally friendly etc, but I am having real
problems starting a bonfire. Even with white spirit it did not work.
Has anyone any tips?


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.

http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2...dfile-2759.pdf

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.
--

Billy

Bush & Cheney, Behind Bars
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7...490698,00.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movemen...George_W._Bush

Grassman expounded:


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 the
base of your fire befor you (snip)

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!
--
Ann, gardening in Zone 6a
South of Boston, Massachusetts
e-mail address is not checked
******************************

Ann said:

Grassman expounded:


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 the
base of your fire befor you (snip)

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
--

Eggs

A flashlight is a case for holding dead batteries.

On Mon, 21 Jan 2008 07:29:30 -0500, Ann wrote:

Grassman expounded:


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 the
base of your fire befor you (snip)

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!


We have more pine cones than anyone would want. They are great fire
starters.