Fire starting 101

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Wobb
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Fire starting 101

Postby Wobb » Sun Jul 13, 2003 9:31 pm

Hehe, so many of you know that I have my own house now. I thought it would be fun to have a little "bonfire" one night.

A huge tree-branch fell from a tree between houses, and I decided to cut it up for some firewood. I let it dry a few days, thinking it would be ready to burn. I spent many hours cutting these 3 large branches into about 20 decent size pieces of firewood, and also had gathered several limbs from a nearby pine tree. (When you throw dried pine branches on a fire it really sparks up and crackles!).

So I was really looking forward to having this "family moment" with my wife and children, a night around the fire, singing and playing guitar.

Much to my dismay, I couldn't seem to get the fire started. I had a nice little teepee built with some very dry kindling underneath, but couldn't seem to get the fire to go. Now you gotta know, I was never in the boy scouts or anything like that, but I'm a 28 year old man, just because I spend hours behind a computer all day doesn't mean I can't start a fire! I'm gonna show this fire who's boss!

So I do the nasty. I get the gasoline can from the storage shed. Now, I have been told I don't know how many times in life NOT to use gasoline, but this was my family night and we were gonna have a fire so HELP me!

I had a little wheel barrel parked near the fire pit which was holding various kindling and other things. I started to suspect that the wood didn't have enough time to dry, I mean it just fell off a live tree only a few days ago. But I figured hell, with gasoline, anything will burn. I carefully poured the gasoline all over the wood/kindling in the fire pit. I grabbed my trusty telescopic lighter (one of those extended grill lighters) and cautiously reached into the fire .........click.......click..........click.....damn lighter.......click.

BOOM!!!!

I had no sooner clicked the lighter when the entire pit went up in a ball of flame, my reflexes are still pretty good for an old codger, so I jumped back, however, I forgot that the wheel-barrel was right behind me. So I jumped back landed on the wheel-barrel and continued head over heels and landed on my knees on the OTHER side of the wheel barrel.

Turned around to see Jenny laughing. (albeit about 30 feet away)

So kids! What can we learn here today? Well as sure as the stench of my singed hair on my arm and leg closest to the fire STILL STINKS...you can take it from uncle Wobb, never use gasoline to start a fire.

Oh, and about 3 minutes later the fire died out after the gasoline had burned away.

Heheheheheh!

Wobb
rylan
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Postby rylan » Sun Jul 13, 2003 9:42 pm

Fresh wood takes a few months to dry out, not a few days ;)
Abue
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Postby Abue » Mon Jul 14, 2003 12:50 pm

Last winter I had a gas problem when starting a fire also. At least your gas can didn't start on fire like mine did. I threw the freaken gas can as far as I could because it was on fire. I had to hit the deck for a couple of moments until the excitement was over. WHEW! After that I was told that my sleeve was on fire. hehe. I had to stick my arm in a snow bank. Luckily there were no injuries but I have sworn never to use gas again to start fires.
ssar
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Postby ssar » Mon Jul 14, 2003 1:15 pm

Lol thats awesome.
Every now and then you gotta just toss some fuel on it, heh.
BEER
thanuk
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Postby thanuk » Mon Jul 14, 2003 2:57 pm

Hey Wobb,

Sounds like you have a little bit of the captain in you.


Its a blazing ball...of FIRE!
Mysrel tells you 'have my babies'
You tell Mysrel 'u want me to be ur baby daddy?'
Mysrel tells you 'daddy? No, I think you have the terminology wrong'
You tell Mysrel 'comeon now we both know i would be the top'
Mysrel tells you 'can be where ever you want to be, yer still getting ****** like a drunken cheerleader'
Llaaldara
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Postby Llaaldara » Mon Jul 14, 2003 10:18 pm

Wobb...


Please don't next try and find out what happens when you urinate on the electric fence. :shock:

You really don't need to learn why not to do it.

-LL
Silsaterur
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Postby Silsaterur » Mon Jul 14, 2003 10:43 pm

As a friend, a young man and a pyromaniac, I salute you.

Gasoline and fire go together like well, only highly combustable chemicals and burning points do. My favorite gasoline moment will forever be the day that I threw a plastic grocery bag of gasoline onto a bonfire when I was 14, the resulthing backwash of fire along the vapour trail was spectacular and suprisingly easy to avoid. Yeah, the resulting grassfire was fun to put out too.

Though, I've never used gasoline to actually start a fire...
Salen
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Postby Salen » Wed Jul 16, 2003 1:04 am

You need to fill the firepit with every pine needle in the campsite, make sure you have enough fluid/fuel so you can see the vapors rising off, then flick lit matches at it. If you haven't done that, you haven't lived.

Oh, and if you put a LARGE piece of hedge in the middle, you can just pack other stuff (ash/pine/etc) around it a day or so later and it will ignite them.
amolol
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Postby amolol » Wed Jul 16, 2003 7:06 am

look wob... next time you do this go down to your local wallmart and by some starter logs if you feel you need to use gas get some of those fake fire place logs (the compresses woodchip ones) put them in a coffee can about half full of gas...let soak for a few hours make a fire and throw them at the fire.....

also for all you pyro's out there gas styrafoam let sit till the styrafoam turns to kinda a paste and lite that on fire...its essentially nepalm

with these words of wisdom and this new method of making fires i leave you with my bad spelling
i dont know what your problem is, but i bet its hard to pronounce

myspace.com/tgchef
Llaaldara
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Postby Llaaldara » Wed Jul 16, 2003 3:27 pm

Amolol = Tyler Durden
Savras
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Postby Savras » Wed Jul 16, 2003 3:40 pm

Amolol = Future Statistic
amolol
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Postby amolol » Wed Jul 16, 2003 10:26 pm

well that wasnt nice...
i dont know what your problem is, but i bet its hard to pronounce



myspace.com/tgchef
Gerad
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Postby Gerad » Thu Jul 17, 2003 5:18 am

thanuk wrote:Hey Wobb,

Sounds like you have a little bit of the captain in you.


Its a blazing ball...of FIRE!




dude, do you know where online I can find those commericals?

really wanna hear them again, so hillarious

-gerad
<I>When a man lies, he murders some part of the world
These are the pale deaths, which men miscall their lives
All this I cannot bear to witness any longer
Cannot the kingdom of salvation take me home?</I>
moritheil
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Postby moritheil » Sun Aug 03, 2003 2:59 am

*deadpan* Come on baby . . .
Yotus group-says 'special quest if you type hi dragon'
Shevarash OOC: 'I feature only the finest mammary glands.'
Silena group-says 'he was so fat and juicy..couldnt resist'
Delmair Aamoren
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Postby Delmair Aamoren » Mon Aug 11, 2003 2:59 am

Yah, it's people like Wobb that keep me in business... working for the fire department has its perks. You get to see the aftermath of these crazy things firsthand. Unfortunately you don't usually get to see the actual act which would be far more entertaining.
Rausrh
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Postby Rausrh » Wed Aug 13, 2003 8:42 pm

Silly Wobb.

Green Wood != Good Fire

Stack it next to yer shed, then try again next summer

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