Proper and safe ash disposal question...no newbs please

[woodconvert]

SO...you are taking ash out. Your son says "hey, those are some hot glowing coals in there...beeeeee careful". So you procede out the door, across the yard and dump em'. You notice there are some glowing coals. You are tired and think "i've dumped em' here for 8 years..i'm tired and i'm heading in". You procede to get some things done inside, line up stuff for the day tomorrow. In the middle of it all, your wife says "....you smell something burning?". "Nawe, my sniffer is plugged." Here is the question:

Do you A) say "ya know, i just dumped some ash...I better go look at the pile to see if something is burning"
B) say "HEHHHHAY...there's a cold brewski in the fridge
or C) watch some silly vampire movie on the TV?.

Well....."I know this guy".....who went with B) and C)..... :down:

Luckily "that guy" could put it out with 8gpm.................

My akin' arse. "there's a first time for everything" so the song says.

 

[BrotherBart]

Guy south of here did that a few years ago. It took the fire departments from three counties to put out the fire that spread from it.

And they sued him for the cost. And won.

 

[fossil]

D) Slap that kid around some so's he don't sass you no more, then have the beer (maybe a couple or three), and then tell the old lady to make an appointment to go get her smeller checked. Be a MAN!

OK, in the real world...

Whew! Tell the kid and the wife that they were both right on the money and that you should have paid more attention to the things they were telling you. I'm really glad the woods (or worse) didn't catch fire. I use a double-bottom steel bucket with lid, and it sits outside on concrete for at least 3 or 4 days before I dispose of anything out of it to anywhere. Even then, I stir it around and feel it a bit just to make sure it's all cold. I've been pretty amazed at how long those coals will remain active in there, all bundled up in their ash blanket, just waiting for some nice Oxygen to wake them up. Listen to the wife & son, convert...we wanna keep all them fires right where they belong. Rick

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Somebody threw a lit butt into the mulch where I work. It smoldered all night and caught when the wind came up the next morning.

Ya got lucky!

Matt

 

[savageactor7]

A for sure, after all we all play with fire here.

Our ashes first go into a hearth bucket, when full the bucket gets dumped into a 35gal garbage can. Sometimes they'll get spread on an icy driveway or dumped right into the garden if we can get to it.

 

[mtarbert]

I have two small metal trash cans with lids....from Home depot. I let our ashes sit for a week in one (covered) cooling and then use the other. When I get 1-1 1/2 cubic feet in one I despose of them. REMEMBER these ashes do put off CO so never store them in an enclosed area.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Don't dump it too soon. I only empty every 3-5 days, normally a good amount of time for coals to cool down.

 

[Highbeam]

We have an outdoor metal firepit for burning cardboard and such along with recreational campfires. Sort of a legal burn barrel. I just dump the ashes from the stove in the barrel. The other place they go is spread over the tilled garden.

Where were you dumping the ashes that they landed on combustible material? Out in the woods on the duff?

What's with the "no newbs please" in the subject line? We were all newbys once.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Lesson: We're never too old to learn.

 

[firefighterjake]

When there is snow on the ground the ashes go on the icy driveway or to a snow-covered spot out back . . . a decent ways away from the house. When there is no snow on the ground the ashes go to the garden . . . and in either case the ashes typically sit in a 5-gallon covered metal pail for a week or more before they're dumped . . . I've seen, responded to and read about too many fires started by hot ashes . . . in fact I would bet a week's pay that more fires are started from hot ashes in the burning season than woodstoves being improperly installed.

 

[polaris]

I dump in a rocky bottomed ravine that comes off the mt. behind the house runs, across the horse pasture, under the road over the bluff and into the creek. I've got top luck with ash disposal.
Joe

 

[Dune]

I burned all winter, sole source of heat, and filled one metal ash can. I emptied the ashes for the third time just last week.

 

[FlipThatLog]

Back during our NH Dec 2008 Ice storm, I went to dump our woodstove (fireplace insert) ashes from a ash can stored in our garage. I was just about to bring in 10 gallons of gas and a generator to setup (and then move outside to run), so I really didn't want a nearby ignition source. I took the ashes outside, a safe distance from our house, dumped them on the wet ground in a line, making a mental note to come back and douse the ashes with water. I got busy with the generator setup, eventually gave up, as it was getting late, and I didn't want to mess with a generator & power cords in the rain. We could wait until morning for power.

A short time later I was in the kitchen cleaning up when both my wife and I heard noises that stopped us cold. Screech! Squawk! Squawk! Bang (something banging into our house) more Squawks and bangs across the length of and back of our house. And then, dead silence.

The best I could tell it was a creature (likely a raccoon) had been walking towards our garden area when it unwittingly crossed our hot ash line and literally got hot feet. Needless to say, I grabbed a flashlight and checked for any wounded creatures (none - long gone into the woods). I then finished dousing our ashes. I felt sorry for this creature - I certainly didn't intend to give it hot feet. But I'd guess it won't be back in my garden again.

I now make sure that the ashes are doused with plenty of snow or water when I place them on the ground - both for the sake of fire prevention as well as our nearby and ever present willdlife.

 

[LeonMSPT]

Cat walking funny when it came back in from taking a dump?

Take an awful unaware wild animal to step in hot coals.

Just dump them on stuff that won't burn, or let them sit in the bucket awhile. Should always dump them on stuff that won't burn though. Really. And preferably not when there is a gale force wind blowing.

Back during our NH Dec 2008 Ice storm, I went to dump our woodstove (fireplace insert) ashes from a ash can stored in our garage. I was just about to bring in 10 gallons of gas and a generator to setup (and then move outside to run), so I really didn't want a nearby ignition source. I took the ashes outside, a safe distance from our house, dumped them on the wet ground in a line, making a mental note to come back and douse the ashes with water. I got busy with the generator setup, eventually gave up, as it was getting late, and I didn't want to mess with a generator & power cords in the rain. We could wait until morning for power.

A short time later I was in the kitchen cleaning up when both my wife and I heard noises that stopped us cold. Screech! Squawk! Squawk! Bang (something banging into our house) more Squawks and bangs across the length of and back of our house. And then, dead silence.

The best I could tell it was a creature (likely a raccoon) had been walking towards our garden area when it unwittingly crossed our hot ash line and literally got hot feet. Needless to say, I grabbed a flashlight and checked for any wounded creatures (none - long gone into the woods). I then finished dousing our ashes. I felt sorry for this creature - I certainly didn't intend to give it hot feet. But I'd guess it won't be back in my garden again.

I now make sure that the ashes are doused with plenty of snow or water when I place them on the ground - both for the sake of fire prevention as well as our nearby and ever present willdlife.

 

[f3cbboy]

"REMEMBER these ashes do put off CO so never store them in an enclosed area. "

I am confused by this remark - not trying to be a wise ass - if the ashes are OUT as in burnt out and in a bucket - am i to believe that the coals are still emitting CO??? CO is a product of combustion along with H20, heat and CO2 among other things. Please clarify this remark for me!!

 

[fossil]

"In a bucket" doesn't always mean "burnt out". Quite often, the ashes/coals removed from a stove are not yet completely "out"...that's pretty much the whole point of this thread. Coals still glowing red are neither "out" nor completely burned. Some coals may look black and burned up and still be burning slowly on the inside. They can remain hot and very slowly burning for days buried in a bed of ashes in a bucket. As they continue to burn in there, they produce all the combustion products you mentioned, including Carbon Monoxide. Ash bucket lids are not completely airtight, in general. Best to get the ashes out of the appliance and into a covered bucket and outside onto a non-combustible surface and let it sit there for a few days before disposing of the contents of the bucket anywhere. Rick

 

[f3cbboy]

thanks fossil - i understand when still burning they are emitting produts of combstion. i just needed clarification that we aren't saying that they are emitting anything after they are out and cold. i guess i just read that gentlemens' comment the wrong way. thanks for clearing it up!

 

[chad3]

Drop them in a rock pile that breaks up the fathers land with the encroachment. Rock on top of rock on top of rock. Many layers dumped. Should be an alright spot as we only dump after about a week plus.
Chad