Pit burning is something I never did before I got an excavator. Why do logs and brush seem to burn so much better in a pit?
I recently burned about 10 dump trailer loads of brush and logs, each about 14x7x6'. I burned in a 20x8x8' pit I dug out in the middle of a field. I like the way the pit confines the fire and minimizes spreading sparks if the wind comes up and the ease of covering the pit with dirt to make sure every ember is out. Far easier to manage than an open brush pile.
I wasn't prepared for how quickly logs turned to ash. I was afraid the pit would limit getting oxygen to the bottom but that didn't happen. The fire even at the bottom of the pit burned with high intensity. I dump the trailer loads near the pit and use the new excavator to load the piles into the pit, a little at a time until the fire gets going then push in piles at a time, using the bucket as need to distribute the fuel.
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The pit fire seems to burn much hotter and far quicker than a brush pile in the open which is what I did for years. With a brush pile I was constantly pushing and turning the pile with the tractor and pushing unburned logs into the hottest places. The entire pit appears to turn into a uniformly raging inferno.
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Anyone else burn in a pit?