Starting your fire

[dmun]

When I was a potter in high school, we used something VERY much like that to fire a raku kiln up to orange heat. Them's serious burners.

[Fio]

Originally Posted by Robert Musa

have posted a short (and poor quality) windows movie (.wmv file) at this location for your viewing pleasure and amusement. i purchased the 100,000 btu "weed dragon". what amazes me is that THIS IS THE SMALL ONE.

I like the way your wife showed restraint when she said "Holy CRAP!" I was thinking of another 4-letter word.

Pretty neat.

[redbricknick]

Uh, Musa.. I don't think "weed burner" was supposed to be taken literally... Eucalyptus no bueno.. Too much oil... L.A guy, here's what I would do. Go to a sawmill that specialises in hardwoods and talk to the operator about his offcuts. There are piles of them at a sawmill I've ben to on San Fernando Road Just don't take them all, because I'm going to be needing some in about a month or so. Then find the nearest orchard, and talk to the farmer about when he prunes his trees.. Take him a twelver, and return in the fall with a chainsaw and a truck and get all that wonderfully aromatic apple, almond and citrus wood everyone talks about... Fire your oven to heat with the hardwood offcuts, then cook with the fruit tree wood.

[james]

Nick,

What is the deal with Eucalyptus? I've never used it, but have heard that the oils are a problem. What does it do in an oven? I've fired with Chestnut, and it shot (with warning from the firewood company) sparks 6'-10' out of the mouth of the oven.

As you say, fruit woods are nice in an oven....

Can you say more on Eucalyptus?
James

[CanuckJim]

Robert,

Thanks for the flamethrower demo. I MUST have one of these things to light fires and incinerate the gators (aka monster mosquitoes) that we have here this time of year. Would also be useful for removing paint from cars. What a fine invention.

Jim

[redbricknick]

Euacalyptus, or Gum as we Aussies call it is full of natural, pungent oils. Hence the name gum. Fire is imperative to the Gum trees life cycle, as very high temperatures are needed to pop open their seed pods. Those of you who have smelled Euacalyptus oil know what a distinct and pungent flavor that is. Not the type of flavor you want in your food. It has a tendency to pop and shoot as well which kicks up dust in an oven, and all over whatever you are cooking. Gum also creates a lot of creosote which is the condensation of unburned flammable particles in smoke. It will stick to your flue, and over time gunk it up. Chimneysweeps aren't as prevalent as in the old days, and finding one small enough to clean an oven flue would most probably be a nightmare. Also a firehazard.

Corrrectly seasoning any firewood is a must. Most softwoods season in one year, two years for hardwoods is normal. Seasoned wood should be white on the inside. Hardwoods are a lot denser, as they take longer to grow.

Incorrect seasoning causes wood to smolder and produce a colder fire. Colder fire, more smoke, less draw on your chimney, a lot of coughing guests... Try this.. Split your unseasoned hardwoods, and before you go to sleep after a night of oven cooking, clear your oven of ashes and hot embers, and season your firewood overnight with the remaining heat... It should work as a kiln. Great if you live in a colder place.

The best firewood is Madrone. It is a very dense hardwood which burns long and hot. The thinner you split your firewood, and the more air you feed your fire, the hotter your fire will be. I'm thinking of installing an air line to hook up to a little compresser so I can feed air to my fire. Bellows are great too. The ladies love a man who knows how to work the bellows... The worst firewood is white oak. It doesn't burn all the way, and smokes.

Sawmills, orchards, vineyards... There are so many great sources for firewood. Frank Ostini of the Hitching post restaurant in Buellton cooks with red wine barrel staves on special occasions. I have been lucky enough to have been there on my share of them, and the flavor they impart is definitely noticeable.. Big wineries have scads of old barrels, and if you can stand to see them burned, it's worth it. Perhaps driftwood imparts a salty flavor... Try burning dried herbs in your fire... If nothing else, it will add to the vibe of your evening, and make everyone think you are some kind of alchemist.

Of course, this was all a guess, so don't sue me if you spontaneously combust... Before burning any fruit wood, be sure and make certain the trees haven't been sprayed with pesticides and such. Poison makes pizza taste bad. And it kills you.

[stuart]

While not nearly as impressive as Robert's weed burner, I use a MAPP Gas cylinder with the torch on a flexible hose found as a kit in the Home Depot plumbing section. The 48" hose/handle gives you more flexibility and you aren't sticking the fuel source inside your oven. MAPP is a hotter burning gas than Propane and I find the cylinder last longer as I don't need to fire the torch as long with the hotter flame.

[DrakeRemoray]

I ran across this:
Weed Burner on Amazon.com
A little smaller than Musa's flame thrower and less expensive....not sure if I will get one yet, just FYI.
Drake

[firepie]

Robert, after seeing your demo video, I had to order one of those. After all, any tool that gets the spouse to say "holy crap", is pretty impressive indeed.

My weed dragon arrived saturday just in time to start up the oven. I knew what to expect, and even I was saying "holy crap".

Thanks for demo, you should get a commission on these things.

Tom

[christo]

Any concerns about using the wax/sawdust starters? They are basically mini wax firelogs. They work great in my fireplace, but maybe they should stay there.

Does the floor of the oven get hot enough to get rid of any parafin/wax residue? If I used them, I don't think I'd want to place them on the side to keep them away from pizza cooking surface.

I love the weedburner thing, but have way too many toys already....

Thanks!!!