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Spontaneous combustion

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eruuska

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I just finished about 11 hours of mowing (Saturday and today) a 3-acre lawn that has not been mowed yet this year. ( :cry: but payup ) I sucked all the clippings up with my TracVac and piled them up in the woods.

Today as I started adding to the pile I stuck my hand deep down in the pile and it was HOT!

What is the danger of spontaneous combustion in a grass pile? This house is generally unoccupied (second home) and I don't want the owner to show up and see a big pile of charred ruins.

Thanx!
 
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#2 ·
it's rather possible that's why farmers try to never bale wet hay and never put it in the barn wet. it can catch fire and burn the barn to the ground. not to mention it molds and can be bad for livestock. but yes it can definitely happen
 
Discussion starter · #3 ·
Yeah, I know it can happen, but is it something I need to lose sleep over?
 
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#4 ·
When I was a trash truck mechanic, it was not uncommon to come in on Sunday night and find a residential rear loader smoldering. The drivers would not always dump on Friday afternoons and they would spontaneously combust after sitting in the sun all weekend.:blob2: :blob2: :blob2:
 
#6 ·
The local Agricultural college here has had two barn fires this year, both started from hay in the barn. The first time they lost their large barn....the second, badly damaged their auxilliary storage barn.
 
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#7 ·
Have you ever been to the compost center in your community? They pile tons of grass in 20 foot mountains and it doesn't catch fire. Any organic material like grass will decompose when the conditions are right. Hay is a different animal than grass. The grass is tightly packed and it will generate heat but will not support open combustion. By its size, hay is more open and has potential for more air flow and the cause of those fires is usually because the heat of decomposition is allowed to build and not vent adequately because it is contained in a building.
Thousands of plastic composting buckets are in use thru out the country and I know of no recalls because of fires.
The grass is doing what it is supposed to do and as long as its out in the open it is not much of a threat. Visit this link to learn a little more. Its great that you are aware of fire potential but you can rest easier on this one.

http://www.jgpress.com/archives/_free/000326.html
 
#8 ·
Fires are a thing that keeps me concered all the time...Hay Is A grass...and they both will react in simumlar ways...There Is a microscopical action takes place...when the moisture content is over 20%...If you have say as high as 45%...for shure grass will heat...It can reach temps 700 Degres...and they will for shure fire up on you...If they reach that temp...It will normally ignite when you stir it adding oxygen.
 
#9 ·
I agree with Mow Ed. In fact, I believe that the temperature inside of a compost pile can get at high as around 140 degrees F. The high water content intitally and the tight compaction of grass prevents fires, but as he mentioned, hay doesn't compact as much and can allow a greater air flow increasing the chances for combustion. I have a compost pile in my backyard and I know that when I pop open the top, sometimes it is really warm. The microbes that are breaking down the plant material are really working then.
 
#10 ·
Again, like Mow Ed said, grass is not hay.

Yes, hay is a grass type plant, but it's not GRASS.

It's like raking a bunch of dry leaves in a hugh pile on top of the fire. WHOOMP! They burn up.

Now, take a huge pile of leaves that have collected in the gutter of the street for 2 years, all packed together, than have gotten 4" of rain on, after the snow.

Put those on the fire. What happens??? Nothing, just steam.

If you have a large load of grass in the back of your truck after bagging, especially in the spring, leave it in there over the weekend. It'll be very warm and steam like mad, but it's not going to burn.
 
#13 ·
Ahaha this reminds me of a funny story. Around my house we have huge oak trees on oru street and every year the city comes and trims them. Well with the extras they chip it all and one yhear my step dad asked them to dump a giant 10 ft high pile in the driveway. Well after a day or 2 it was steaming like mad and hot enough to burn you about a foot in. One of the neighbours even called the fire department because they thought it was smoking.

Cheers
Jeff
 
#14 ·
My uncle built a straw bale home in New Mexico. Worked on it a long time, had move some stuff in it already. He had an extra bale left over that he put in the back up against the house. Apparently they had had rain and the bale got wet. It spontainiously combusted and burnt the house to the ground. No insurance nothing. The community came together and took up donations of money and labor and they all pitched in and re-built the house for him.
 
#15 ·
sheshovel said:
My uncle built a straw bale home in New Mexico.
Click to expand...
did he have two brothers? I think I heard of them!

one built a house out of sticks and one built a house out of bricks....

GEO :waving:
 
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#17 ·
Straw Bale houses are really cool....and warm. LOL
I have a book on how to build one. If I ever build a house that would get some very serious consideration. I don't think I could get away with a hard packed clay floor here in Indiana but that's really cool as well. Radiate floor heating system under hard engraved clay floor. Man I would love that. You seal them with linseed oil.
http://www.google.com/search?source...ch?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLG,GGLG:2006-09,GGLG:en&q=Straw+bale+House

Too many good sites on this subject to post just one.

Sorry to change the subject but MowEd is the man on this one so this discussion has it's answer anyway.
 
#18 ·
jd boy said:
700 degrees! That is absolutely ridiculous! Why even waste your time to post such non-sense.

Piles of grass will not catch on fire by themselves.
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I knew That I would get some back fire on this LOL...Do your reserch...Like I said Hay I s a grass...I didnt say It was a Lawn...Hay can have fescue Kuntucky Bluegrass...Mixed with It as well With the proper conditions I still say it can catch on fire...Its better to be safe than sorry .
 
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