Building A Better Fire

[V-wiz]

Re: Building A Better Fire

Damn thats horrible, I'm sorry to hear that. Ive got a LPG tank propane torch from harbor freight. Are you saying to not use that thing?

[wotavidone]

Re: Building A Better Fire

it sounds more like it was the oxygen cylinder that blew.

Nah, the LPG cylinder was very clearly blown out, not in. Peeled it open down the welded seam. Very clearly the result of an explosive mixture inside the cyclinder igniting. It had just been refilled. The two big gas suppliers denied all knowledge of filling the bottle.
Since my brother-in-law helped the old bloke take it down for refilling, we know exactly which company is staffed by lying SOB's.
When they ring up trying to sell me a gas supply contract, I take great pleasure in telling them to FO.

All I can say is, be very careful with combustible gases.

Fit flashback arrestors, though they weren't any help this time around.
Never lay a cylinder down, as liquid gas (or in the case of an acetylene bottle - the acetone) flowing into a regulator can stuff it.
Never run outside the pressure range for acetylene - it can spontaneously decompose, doesn't need oxygen at all.
Good hoses and seals, etc.
Better yet, get a TIG welder and a plasma cutter and have no oxy acteylene on the property.

[david s]

Re: Building A Better Fire

That's a tragic story, it sounds more like it was the oxygen cylinder that blew. I used to have the same set up but the hire of the oxygen cylinder became so expensive that the few times it was used did not justify the annual bottle rental, so I threw it away.

[wotavidone]

Re: Building A Better Fire

Wow, I never gave the torch a second thought. Maybe I will use a butane pencil torch instead. I think I have a couple of them that I used for soldering. They are basically glorified cigar lighters (but hotter).

No mate, carry on, with the propane torch I mean. You'll be fine.

I should elaborate a bit.
Here in Oz, acetylene is expensive, especially since you have to rent the cylinders.
So the big names in gas welding, like CIG for example, sell regulators and hoses so you can use a propane (we call it LPG) cylinder in your gas welding and cutting gear. Ideal for DIY-ers who don't use their gear often enough to justify the expense of acetylene. They use LPG and oxygen instead.
So that's what my father-in-law had. All brand new, specific for purpose gear.

So one day he annealed some copper pipe for a neighbour. As he was turning the cylinders off after the job, the 100 pound LPG cylinder exploded. Peeled it open like a sardine can. Threw the neighbour out of the shed door, and he walked away with burns to his legs.

The father-in-law died at the scene. The explosion was heard for miles, all the sheet iron was blown off the shed and it blew the mesh out of the security door over at the house. (And the tiles off the bathroom wall).
We never found the oxygen cylinder, not to this day.
Hell of a mess, and my wife and I were the only family members in a fit enough state to formally identify the body.

Then I had to break the news to my kids that Pop was gone.

I have a very small cylinder on my BBQ with a brand new hose.
Despite my fondness for DIY, all gas fitting at my house (we have gas stove and hot water) is done by a licensed gas fitter.

I keep the little butane cylinders for my camping stove in the fridge until I need them.
And no propane or acetylene torches at my house.
If it can't be cut with an angle grinder or welded with a stick welder, it ain't getting done.

[navyintel]

Re: Building A Better Fire

No way propane torch mate. My father-in-law was killed when his propane torch blew up (all brand spanking new equipment).
I helped the brothers-in-law with the cleanup. There are no propane torches at Chez Wotavidone.

Wow, I never gave the torch a second thought. Maybe I will use a butane pencil torch instead. I think I have a couple of them that I used for soldering. They are basically glorified cigar lighters (but hotter).

[wotavidone]

Re: Building A Better Fire

No way propane torch mate. My father-in-law was killed when his propane torch blew up (all brand spanking new equipment).
I helped the brothers-in-law with the cleanup. There are no propane torches at Chez Wotavidone.

[navyintel]

Re: Building A Better Fire

That is a very good idea. I don't think that I would be doing that in my Oven because I have a prejudice against anything but wood - not even paper goes in the oven.

However, I have other fire devices and this would be perfect to get it going without a lot of fuss.

I would recommend however that you get a standard propane torch with an instant starter. This lights it up quickly and leaves no residue - plus it looks cool.

[wotavidone]

Re: Building A Better Fire

Well, now that we are talking about flammable liquids, I will describe my approach.
I have a heap of off-cuts of particle board and MDF. When these materials get old they go kinda furry, presumably as the glue breaks down.
A capful of turps or kero poured on a three or four inch square of soft MDF soaks right in.
Build a pile of light timber over the soaked MDF and apply a match. Burns steady, like a lamp wick, as the turps has to boil out of the MDF to burn.
By the time the turps is burnt out everything else is alight.
I just start the fire where I want it, over to one side.
Pizza ovens get far too hot for any smell to hang around.

[cobblerdave]

Re: Building A Better Fire

G'day
Don't breath near the fire ... Just trust me with that one
Regards dave

[navyintel]

Re: Building A Better Fire

G'day
Couple of pieces of Charcoal soaked with teaspoon of metho spirit (Dentured alcohol) makes a great firestarter . No petrol smell either.
Regards dave

I prefer a shot glass with 195 proof grain alch. Use a propane torch to light the fire, then drink the shot.

[cobblerdave]

Re: Building A Better Fire

G'day
Couple of pieces of Charcoal soaked with teaspoon of metho spirit (Dentured alcohol) makes a great firestarter . No petrol smell either.
Regards dave

[kanoer54]

Re: Building A Better Fire

No liquid anything for me. Just twigs, kindling and small logs to get the fire started. Then build the fire with progressively larger wood.

jon

[wotavidone]

Re: Building A Better Fire

I have a great way of starting the fire. I'd love to share it, but it involves flammable liquid, and unfortunately I can just about guarantee that some dumbass will try it with petrol instead of turps.

[Greenman]

Re: Building A Better Fire

There are plenty of variables but good well cured hardwood takes some beating. Rural in my part of the world just means that you need a chainsaw and a way to get it home.

Once you find out what burns smoke free and what to leave where you find it is all good.

[navyintel]

Re: Building A Better Fire

I once weighed my wood pile before and after firing and found it used 4kg of wood to clear the dome. This took one and a half hours and the thermometer situated halfway up the dome wall was showing 350C. The mass of the wood used is a better measure than volume as it is the weight that determines how much energy the wood contains.I should mention that my oven is only 540mm (21") diam. So the chamber volume is small. A 20% increase in diam means around a 70% increase in volume and the fuel consumption is directly related to fuel consumption.

Great comment -I Agee, I use about 10 Kilos to get the oven to fully clear. This takes one hour. As to the mass of the wood, a review of the BTU output per cord of wood of different types of wood is dramatic, but when you look at the BTU output based on weight, the difference is very little.

That is why if I am buying wood I look at the cost per kilo not for the volume.