GMM wrote:

On 03/03/2014 23:26, Terry Fields wrote:
GMM wrote:

So....What's the best arrangement for burnign garden waste? Obviously,
it needs a bit of time to dry out first, but this can be reduced by
getting a good blaze going. My first thought was/is a galvanised
incinerator bin but before I get one, I thought someone here might have
some insight.

One of my neighbours has one, I think it's the only one in the 500 or
so properties here. After enjoying the fruits of its operation, I've
come to the conclusion that it isn't an 'incinerator', it's a
'pyroliser'. 'Incinerators' run at 1000 degrees with maximum airflow
through the mass. The output is mostly CO2 and water vapour.

'Pyrolisers' run at much lower temperatures, and by dint of having
only a few 1" diameter air-holes at the base, and a very short chimney
in the lid, they decompose the mass under heat essentially in the
absence of oxygen, the output being a random collection of smoke and a
gazillion organic compounds that smell bad, cling to clothes and
furniture, and irritate eyes and lungs. Due to the lack of combustion,
a modest amount of mass in the pyroliser can smoulder for days, with
the potential to cause annoyance all the way to next weekend's
reload. His young children will doubtless continue to enjoy the
delights of a now dioxin-contaminated garden as the weather
improves.

The last time he used it, to burn some tannelised timber (which
contains arsenic), we had to ask him to put it out as the smell was
getting past the closed windows, doors, and vents. On the hottest day
of the year. We're thinking of moving.

So do I discern you may not be a great fan of fires?

errr...no!

Well, me neither but in the circumstances it looks like the only solution, which was why
I posed the question, essentially to determine what the best system is
for having a good hot fire on a regular basis to get rid of all the
stuff that never stops growing.
So far as I can make out, it's perfectly legal to burn it, but I'd
prefer not to make it a nuisance, although I suspect that there will be
plenty of people who don't give a monkey's, so my contribution, better
or worse, will be a drop in the ocean.

What I was trying to flag up is the fact that dustbin-based
'incinerators' aren't, and give all sorts of problems. Others have
mentioned in this thread that basket/mesh-type incinerators exist at
much the same cost, and these are *much* more likely to burn stuff
rather than merely decompose it to something akin to
cigarette smoke.

I'd suggest (among other possible considerations) that in the
absence of alternatives, burning stuff that's been dried, not
overloading the incinerator but feeding it as necessary, and damping
down at the end will probably be the best neighbour-friendly approach.

The stuff in my neighbour's pyroliser has finally stopped smouldering
after 3 full days, and I can now open the bathroom window again
without enjoying coughing, spluttering, and stinging eyes. However,
there's a possibly fine-weather weekend on the way, so we'll be
standing by for more of the same.

--
Terry Fields