I guess that metal 5 gallon buckets are a thing of the past. I once got sheetrock mud, grease, hydraulic fluid, and whatever else in metal buckets. The empties served as containers for all assortments of junk as well as an ashes bucket. Well, my old ashed bucket, which is now well over 20 years old, has started leaving an ash trail wherever it goes so a new bucket was in order.
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My shiny new 6 gallon bucket. :)
I've got a couple of old coal hods I've had forever .
I have one.
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But.
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Guess who uses it for a what !!! :D
Quote from: Magicman on February 04, 2014, 03:12:28 PM
I have one.
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But.
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Guess who uses it for a what !!! :D
I had one, still have the tools that went with it. I may still have the hod too but haven't stumbled over it in years.
Harry K
where did you get the 6 gallon bucket? my old bucket is bought shot
I get roof and foundation tar in metal buckets which I use to end seal logs .You about have to set them afire to get the last of it out .Although if you turn them upside down most of it dribbles out .
I use a coal bucket here at the house, too. We've always referred to it as a "coal scuttle'.
You can still get steel grease buckets around here at heavy equipment garages. Just burn out the grease. But I just use a 3 gallon galv scrub pale that can be had for about $12-15. The one I have now I've used for 10 years. I don't leave ashes in the house, they go right outside. You can still buy those coal pales, only they just call them ash pales that they use with fireplaces. ;D
I had to kick an ash pile apart and into the snow at the local landfill last week, it had melted the snow that had been on it and would have set the garbage on fire eventually. Lots of people have no sense about ashes. Not much comes in metal now and so I take any metal pail offered. Got 2 last year, whereas I could have had 100 plastic pails easily.
Quote from: goose63 on February 04, 2014, 04:17:42 PM
where did you get the 6 gallon bucket? my old bucket is bought shot
Walmart, $15.00. Notice that it is American Made. ;D
Mines says made in Canada. ;D A plastic one, of course not good for ashes will most always say China. :D
I've been on a number of fire calls over da years dat were started by ash pails. Of course the ash pails were not exactly your standard metal ones. We're talking paper bags, plastic pails, and the ever popular cardboard box. :D We even had one where the guy didn't use a container, he just dumped them out a window. Problem was he had banked his house with saw dust. You can quess how that ended. ::)
You can still get paint thinner and other solvents in metal pails, but.......
Quote from: Magicman on February 04, 2014, 09:20:30 PM
Quote from: goose63 on February 04, 2014, 04:17:42 PM
where did you get the 6 gallon bucket? my old bucket is bought shot
Walmart, $15.00. Notice that it is American Made. ;D
I'm surprised the Chinese haven't named a city America yet...
There is a Usa, Japan.
FWIW structural steel bolts like the ironworkers use come in a big steel bucket of maybe 6 or 7 gallon size .So do railroad spikes too .I know it takes a big motor scooter to lift a full bucket .
I set the ashes outside also .Got a pile in the woods .It's really surprising to look at it after the heating season .For the amount of wood burned it really doesn't make that many ashes .
I have one deer food plot that tested low on potash so that is where I spread my ashes. (I guess that I need to do another soil test and see if the ashes have made any difference.)
Chet,same way here with ashes. Someone put them into a cardboard box and then set them out on thier porch. I was taught to respect them ashes,just like guns too.,respect them and don't play with them,they are dangerous.
I once dumped a bucket of "several days old" ashes on the back lot. The fire dept. was not amused. :-\
Oh I had a grand plan at one time that went afoul .I spread the ashes on my raised bed garden in hopes of raising the acidity for my tomatoes .It seems I had overlooked basic high school chemistry ,they are alakaline not acidic .Duh!
You can get little lidded galvanized garbage cans. They also work great for cat or dog food storage. ;D
When I first got my OWB I was able to get skids from the factory that I worked at that was cheap fire wood but it left a lot of nails in the ashes. I had a pit that we were burying construction waste so I thought it would be best to dump the ashes in the pit. A little while later there was a lot more room in the pit than before I put the ashes in. splitwood_smiley splitwood_smiley splitwood_smiley
I see no reason to use make shift pails or coal hods to carry out ashes.An ash pail has a tight fitting cover.Open pails can spit out a spark while you are carrying it through the house.The tight cover on an ash pail will smother hot coals.Too many homes have been lost to ashes left on porches in cardboard boxes and plastic pails.I cover ashes dumped in the garden with snow or dump a pail of water on them when there is no snow.Ash pails cost about 15 bucks.Tomatoes do need calcium, a shortage will get blossom end rot.I save ashes in a steel trash can for use in the garden.Can sits by the garden gate.Wood ashes will keep cabbage worm free.
The old man has a couple of OLD tar buckets, and once the ashes are dead - he spreads them out on the driveway (currently about 1/2 mile of gravel). He had the same practice when we lived in town (small town, pop. 300 on a good day) because the common ally way behind our house was dirt and would get horribly icy in the winter, not our section!! ;)
Always have used ashes on icy spots of driveway for years. Been a few ashes on the garden to. One thing though about ashes, and this is a fact of life, they will scab potatoes. Now that don't make them poor eating, just cosmetic. I can eat a scabbed one just as easy as a smooth one. But a smooth one, I am more inclined to eat the most delectable part, the hide, with good butter on it. mmmm ;D
The "hide" of a potatoe ? Swampish you never cease to amaze me the names you give to things . :D
Yip, we skin them hides once they've been tanned good in the oven. ;D
Quote from: Al_Smith on February 05, 2014, 07:17:47 AM
FWIW structural steel bolts like the ironworkers use come in a big steel bucket of maybe 6 or 7 gallon size .So do railroad spikes too .I know it takes a big motor scooter to lift a full bucket .
I set the ashes outside also .Got a pile in the woods .It's really surprising to look at it after the heating season .For the amount of wood burned it really doesn't make that many ashes .
I spread mine on the lawns (front,back,sides) I just give a "sling" with the ash pan. They disappear when it rains or snow melts. Been doing in the same places since 1976 and see no damage. Dunno if there has been any soil improvement.
Harry K
I bought 2 of those 32 gallon galvanized cans with lids at HD that I keep on my porch. They were made in the USA of extremely thick metal and cost less then the 6 gallon cans next to them. I always switch cans and let the can sit for 2 weeks before dumping because I have seen coals still smoldering after a week . If you sprinkle some on bean plants when they are small the rabbits will not eat them.
those old time coal hods are the best. i remember filling the cook stove for gram using them. she had an old old one that outlasted several new ones, i guess just about everything older was built better
QuoteI bought 2 of those 32 gallon galvanized cans with lids at HD that I keep on my porch.
As long as the porch isn't a wood porch.. is it concrete?
Years ago we had snowshoe hares living in the back yard on an acre that was an old orchard grown up thick. This was in the middle of 100 acre field, just one acre back there. Also ground hogs, had several holes back there. Then the foxes moved in and lived in the hog dens (one family of course) and cleaned up the rabbits and hogs. I was burning brush and old apple trees one April day, was no snow and was quite warm for April, might have been the fire. ;D I heard what sounded like a pup squeal, saw momma fox moving the family to the woods a good 1/4 mile away. The fire musta been getting too close. I laughed at that crazy fox. :D
Here's tippy.
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I've had her try to get at my groceries in the car when the door to the car and garage were open. Cagy thing. Another laugh moment. Makes me think of Walt Disney animal shows, only my show wasn't fake. :D
Quote from: SwampDonkey on February 05, 2014, 07:11:15 PM
Yip, we skin them hides once they've been tanned good in the oven. ;D
Well yeah I have admit baked potatoe skins are pretty tastey.I'm not so certain they have to be baked to the consistancey of the hide on an old fashion ham though .You'd need teeth like a grizzley bear to eat them .
You eat potato chips don't ya? ;D
I built a "Ashes Bucket" for my inside/OWB. Haven't needed to remove more than a half dozen shovel fulls yet. Next warm day, I'll let it burn up some of the coals and take more ashes out. Maybe by spring I'll get a full bucket!!
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Quote from: Al_Smith on February 05, 2014, 08:41:10 AMIt seems I had overlooked basic high school chemistry ,they are alakaline not acidic .Duh!
Not too many folks keep red & blue litmus paper handy. ;D
A friend of mine built an ash storage barrel a few years ago. He said that it greatly reduced the amount of ashes he had to haul away. He took a small barrel, punched airholes in the bottom edge, mounted a fairly fine screen a ways off the bottom and had a loose lid to keep the rain out. He kept this next to his OWB and could shovel ashes directly into it. Claimed that instead of hauling dead coals and coarse ashes away he ended up with a very fine ash of less volume.
If he was throwing a lot of dead coals into the barrel, his wood burner wasn't very efficient or choked off the air too much I would say. That stuff is like good charcoal bought for BBQ. Only time I have some coals is when cleaning ashes and the live coals are not all burnt out, but I always shake as much off the shovel as possible so as not to waste and let them burn in the furnace where they belong. :)
Unburned coals in the ashes is why I think the stove should have grates so the burned out coals can get air from the bottom and completely burn. It would be a lot easier to clean out just the spent ashes. splitwood_smiley splitwood_smiley
Not a problem here of burning out the coals, in fact if left alone and not after the ashes, the coals go to ash as well. Same with the shop stove, when I build a fire in there it's just powder ash every morning. The trouble is one cleans ashes regularly, and a handful of coals left does not make much heat to make the fan run. I'd rather lay my wood on live coals than dead ash which requires newsprint and a match to ignite again. Simple chemistry. ;)
He was shoveling live coals with the ashes into the container. Even with grates I get some small live coals when cleaning the ash area. It was much worse when I had a large open firebox. Eventually you decide to shovel out ashes to make room and you get good fine ashes, coarse ashes, cold coals and live coals. The ideal thing to do would be to sift out any burnable pieces and put them back in but for a very small benefit you have a dirty smokey job. Better to just minimize what you put in the ashes and let them burn down there.
I have never found it smoky cleaning the ashes, just dusty from the ash. I don't clean them with a roaring fire going. It's smoky leaving a door open when filling putting a stick or two in and then going after another stick or two to finish. So the door gets closed between arm loads, let the smoke go out the flu. Of course there is a puff of smoke when opening a furnace door, just life. ;D
Quote from: SwampDonkey on February 07, 2014, 05:13:35 PM
I'd rather lay my wood on live coals than dead ash which requires newsprint and a match to ignite again. Simple chemistry. ;)
Physics Swampish not chemistry.
It was chemistry class we always got to burn stuff, not physics. Physics we was rolling snow balls down hill , letting rocks free fall to the ground, running cars down the road, and bending light in prisms. ;D It was chemistry class the teacher filled the black boards with equations turning light with plant chemicals into sugar and reverse to release energy. :D
---or nitric acid and glycerin into explosives ??
How about "carmel candy rocket fuel" .Sugar--C6 H12 O6 and potsium nitrate KNO3 .The sugar is the fuel the potasium nitrate is the oxidizer .The flame that lites it off is the physics the reaction of the ingrediants is the chemistry which results in more physics .Could also result in an explosion if it isn't done right . :o
I'm confused, is that something like farm boy experiment?????? ??? ??? ??? say_what say_what
What ,candy rocket? It works ,Google it .
Actually I was just messing with Swampish ,one of my favorite past times .I have to admit though ever so often it gets one over on me .More times than not with a regional name for something I've never heard off .That's good sport too . :)
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I put a few ashes in my new bucket today, so now it is not new. ;D
The christening. ;D
It must be the day for ashes .I too carried a few out in the coal hods,scuttles or whatever people call them . No lid but I'd have to assume they are safe sitting in a 2 foot tall snow bank .Least wise as of yet I've never managed to set snow on fire .
Al you are using the wrong lighting fluid!!!!!!! splitwood_smiley splitwood_smiley
Say I cleaned out the ashes today,big deal .What a coal bucket and a half from about a face cord of dry ash .
Now why in the world does anybody think ash produces a bunch of ash .The name maybe ?
Sounds about right for most any good firewood. But I like to clean mine more often. But I never saw any wood that never made ashes, so when I read about never having to clean the ashes most of the winter....whatever. ::)
Well now that promps another tale from the cornfield .
My old buddy hooked up a corn cob burner laundry stove to about a 35 foot chimeny in an old farm house .He just opened up the draft and it sucked the ashes out .It's a wonder he didn't catch the place on fire .
He burnt little short pieces of wood in that thing which was close to his refridgerater .That little stove got so hot it caused the refridgerater to go spastic and it froze everything inside it .Perhaps not a grand plan .
I usually use old sap buckets, and a metal wheelbarrle. you have to be carefull with the new metal wheelberrles thogh because some have plastic shims, and hardware under a metal pan.
I also cleaned the ashes out today and loaded the insert with wood and a couple of fat splinters.
It is forecast to reach the mid 20's Wednesday night and Thursday. fire_smiley Burrrrr.
Quote from: Magicman on February 24, 2014, 09:46:16 PM
I also cleaned the ashes out today and loaded the insert with wood and a couple of fat splinters.
It is forecast to reach the mid 20's Wednesday night and Thursday. fire_smiley Burrrrr.
Mid 20's MM?
That would be somewhat of a heatwave up here!
Still cold when there is no heat. ;D If you heat with wood, still required to be burnt to make that heat. -30 below or 20 above it's still gotta burn. ;D
It's 40° this morning and I lit that splinter. fire_smiley ;D
Well I used the coal buckets again last night and got the typical bucket and a half .Lets see now,8 Feb.,18 Feb ,Mar 1 .
Where did those folks go to that said ash produces a lot of ashes ? That's a cord of wood and what 4 and half buckets of ashes .
I'd guess their ashes is incomplete burns (charcoals) from not enough air. ;D
Well you know some times it is questionable .What the hey in a wood stove all ya gotsta do is stir the ashes with a poker .They'll all burn up .
I don't even let the fire go out .Fetch my welding gloves and pile the coals on one side and scoop out the other side .What goes in the bucket is powder not charcoal .Gets a tad hot though reaching the back of that thing at times .Longer shovel maybe .
I stir just before adding wood, but if I let it burn out there is nothing but powder. Do that in the fall and spring when it's too hot for a fire all day. I also clean like you, but long ago I got a small spade with a long handle to clean out the ash and keep the coals to one side or just shake them off the shovel. Nothing too complicated, keep it simple. ;D