Fires stared from chipping brush, and ideas for prevention.

[Steve Mack]

I've seen a few. The place where I dump most of my chips has gone up a few times, they stopped taking them about Christmas because it was so hot they couldn't risk it.

The recycle place had their pile go up one night a few years ago, took most of their big tub grinder as well. I only saw it a few days later, don't know how long it took to put it out but it was a big pile of chips.

 

[Cobleskill]

Farmers that put damp/wet hay bales in their barn have them catch fire. I am surprised chip piles don't go up more often.

 

[SouthSoundTree]

stirring a big pile can be dangerous.

 

[Tarzan]

Thanks for all the replies I think I will mount a fire extinguisher to my chipper and call er good. I do get paranoid about fire...after falling timber on some big fires around here and seeing the destruction. One fire I worked on was started by a guy excavating on his property...that one burned down several homes and property's and approx 15,000 acres, and I heard that they were gonna charge the guy. Anyhow, I don't want to end up that way, so I am gonna take some precautions.

 

[SouthSoundTree]

like being incorporated?

 

[Cobleskill]

I often thought you could heat your house with a big compost pile. Have pipes in it to pick up some heat.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

you can
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[Cobleskill]

Cool.

 

[Tarzan]

like being incorporated?

Done.

 

[squisher]

Odd the timing of this thread. Today some willow whips got wound in around the disk, and we're sharp with a sharp adjusted anvil too. Lit on fire. Smoke like mad out of the chute. Opened the feed rollers and sparks were flying around in the disk area. Never had this happen before, like this thread jinxed me. Talking to my employee about it and the last company he was at had chips light up in the box once on the way back from a job driving down the highway, he doesn't know how it started.

I easily doused this fire with the customers garden hose, but I've got extinguishers too just didn't want to waste them.

If there's smoke, there's probably fire.

 

[Tucker943]

Thats nuts. Willow would be the last thing I would expect misbehavior from.

 

[squisher]

It was a selective crown raise(on a weeping willow lol) and deadwooding, so there was a fair amount of dead stuff that was still almost whippy, the real small dead that can accumulate in weepers. I figure some of that dead musta got wrapped around the disc at the bearing.

No sh-t it was a fire. I'd hate for a spark to have gotten into the chip box. Lots of dead chips in there right now, quite dry for chips.

 

[stehansen]

I had a fire start in the truck one time. Chipping a bunch of dead stuff. I noticed a spot on the chipbox that looked like it was a little darker than the rest of the paint. A few minutes later smoke started coming out the back and the dark spot had turned black by now. I was by myself and I dug it out and doused it with the customers garden hose.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Holy shit!

 

[sbtree]

Well we just finished a land clearing for a solar farm, look at the pile of chips in the background, it was almost doubled at the end of the job! Much to my dismay I told them not to do that! Well the FD showed up and said if it's not spread out by Monday they will be fining them!

 

[squisher]

The ranch I dump at had a pile light up spontaneously from composting. Now they're super paranoid about it.

 

[MasterBlaster]

That's silly.

 

[squisher]

Silly? The huge pile they made lit up, the fire department had to come to put it out.

Green chip piles can certainly light up when piled to big.

 

[MasterBlaster]

That sure is news to me. I've dumped for decades at one particular dump - nary a fire yet. Go figure.

 

[SoonerFan]

Maybe it's too humid in Louisiana for compost to ignite?


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[squisher]

There's lots of info on the interwebs about it if you google it.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Maybe it's too humid in Louisiana for compost to ignite?

I bet a nickle that's it.

 

[Mick!]

In all my time in the UK and France I have never heard of a chip pile spontaneously combusting. Obviously it does happen.
Is there a common theme to why?
Anyway here's a really great selfie with a chip pile! It's all the rage these days.

 

[squisher]

It's from making the pile to big. The center gets really really hot and then if it gets pushed up or turned over again and oxygen gets to that heat. Fire.

The pile I saw go was pushed up with a huge loader, over and over. It was massive and stacked tall.

 

[SouthSoundTree]

I bet a nickle that's it.

Like Atlas gloves being too hot.






I heard a story about a municipal chip dump pile for a huge storm. They had a huge pile. It lit up. They thought it would take two to three days to deal with, but was still hot after a month, or sumthin' like that. A fourth hand story.