Fuel Oil Sprayer

[thiggy]

Would it be safe to use diesel fuel in a polyethylene pump-up garden sprayer?  I want to spray the fuel on piles of green brush to assist in starting them burning.  (I won't be spraying on a lighted fire.)  My main issue is would the fuel deterioriate the container or its components?

[beenthere]

It might work, but seems a lot of extra work.
I'd just start a small fire with either sticks or kindling (maybe a cup of diesel to get it going if somewhat green) and then add wood to it to get a good hot fire. Then push the brush pile into it.
I think the sprayed on diesel will either not light or will flash off too quickly to create enough heat to start the wood to burn. Just a thought.

[Kevin_H.]

I have a diesel fuel in a pump up garden sprayer for a couple of years and it doesn't seem to have hurt it any.

I fill it when it gets low but there is almost always some left in the sprayer.

[highpockets]

Diesel mixed with sawdust makes a very good kindling.  Some sprayers have an o-ring on the plunger and it will eat it up.  Been there. 

[D._Frederick]

I use a propane torch to start a brush pile, will lite anything. Used engine oil also works good to get a hot fire going.

[Reddog]

Should not be any worst than oil based stain. The one I use for that is 3 years old, and still working fine.

[scsmith42]

A couple of years ago I created the "ultimate" fire starter for wet / green wood...

I took my Stihl backpack blower, and plumbed a 1/4" copper line into the end of the blower tube.  The copper was run so that it's outlet was centered in the blower tube.  Several feet away an 11 gallon fuel tank from a boat was filled with a combination of diesel and gasoline (about 75% diesel as I recall), and a rubber hose connected the copper line to the fuel tank.  There is a valve at the fuel tank end of the hose

Next, I placed a few pieces of very dry wood soaked in diesel on the blower side of the wet brush pile, lit them with a propane torch, and once it was going I started up the blower (sitting on the ground), cranked it up to max and then opened up the valve on the fuel tank.  Talk about a flame thrower!  I was able to burn a green stump down to ashes in a few hours!

[Dana]

There was an interesting thread on this several years ago. ;) You won't need the fuel oil, watch your eyebrows though.

[Onthesauk]

The old way up in this country was to lay a couple of tires on their side under the slash pile, fill them with diesel and light.  Not done any more.  Some folks got fined after DNR found steel belting in the ashes of their fire. 

I usually save the big knarly firewood chunks that I can't split small enough to get in the stove and stack in the back of the woodshed.  Use them to start a fire under even a wet , green pile of slash and will get everything going.