How do YOU start your campfire?

Used Oil Management Program
Recycling your used motor oil is easy.
Do not spill any oil on the ground.
Put your used motor oil in a clean plastic container with a tight lid. Never store used oil in a container that once held chemicals, food, or beverages.
Do not mix the oil with anything else, such as antifreeze, solvent, or paint.
Take used motor oil to a service station or other location that collects used motor oil for recycling.
Public Service Campaign
The “You Dump It, You Drink It” campaign focuses on the proper management of used motor oil and includes a variety of free, printed information materials that are available in both Spanish and English.
Related Links
American Petroleum Institute Used Motor Oil Collection and Recycling Site Exit EPA
California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) Used Oil Recycling Program Exit EPA
Compliance Assistance Center for Auto Repair Exit EPA
Environmental Compliance for Auto Recyclers Exit EPA
Used oil is exactly what its name implies, any petroleum-based or synthetic that has been used. During normal use, impurities such as dirt, metal scrapings, water or chemicals, can get mixed in with the oil, so that in time, the oil no longer performs well. Eventually, this used oil must be replaced with virgin or re-refined oil to do the job correctly.

If you are one of the many people who change their own motor oil, you too need to know how to properly dispose of the used oil. Did you know that the used oil from one oil change can contaminate one million gallons of fresh water — a years’ supply for 50 people!

Used motor oil is insoluble, persistent and can contain toxic chemicals and heavy metals.
It’s slow to degrade.
It sticks to everything from beach sand to bird feathers.
It’s a major source of oil contamination of waterways and can result in pollution of drinking water sources.
Oil Drop With Recycling Logo
On average, about four million people reuse motor oil as a lubricant for other equipment or take it to a recycling facility.

Recycled used motor oil can be re-refined into new oil, processed into fuel oils and used as raw materials for the petroleum industry.
One gallon of used motor oil provides the same 2.5 quarts of lubricating oil as 42 gallons of crude oil.http://www.epa.gov/solidwaste/conserve/materials/usedoil/index.htm

DodgeVoltage wrote:
Didn't that oil come from the dirt originally? It probably has a little carbon mixted in now, but carbon is found everywhere too. It may discolor the dirt a little, but I don't see the problem.

bigred1cav wrote:
Let oil soak in ground to contaminate earth and ground water.

Veebyes wrote:
Method for burning a yard fire. Pour a few gsllons of used motor oil onto the pile at least a week before intended burn. On burning day add a couple more gallons of old motor oil plus whatever else flammable is in the garage like that mixture of mineral spirits, acetone, laquer thinners anything else that went into that trash plastic gallon container. Follow that with just a little dash of gas (it is $10 gal around here) & a match.

Watch in satisfaction at a fire well primed.

Didn't that oil come from the dirt originally? It probably has a little carbon mixted in now, but carbon is found everywhere too. It may discolor the dirt a little, but I don't see the problem.

bigred1cav wrote:
Let oil soak in ground to contaminate earth and ground water.

Veebyes wrote:
Method for burning a yard fire. Pour a few gsllons of used motor oil onto the pile at least a week before intended burn. On burning day add a couple more gallons of old motor oil plus whatever else flammable is in the garage like that mixture of mineral spirits, acetone, laquer thinners anything else that went into that trash plastic gallon container. Follow that with just a little dash of gas (it is $10 gal around here) & a match.

Watch in satisfaction at a fire well primed.

Gee, after five pages I just gotta say we go over to the neighbors fires. Have no idea how they start em or put em out.

I take old toilet paper rolls and stuff them with dryer lint!

My favorite- and my kids favorite too...

I build the traditional tee-pee with small kindling and what not. Then I toss a cup or two of Coleman camping fuel on it. Grab a piece of paper and fold it into an airplane. I light the paper airplane on fire and "fly" it into the campfire. With the fuel vapors coming off the tee-pee the whole thing ignites every time, even if its raining outside!

Start mine with a 2 gallon bucket of water; it is smokeless.

When there is no dry kindling around I use DYNAMITE purchased from Amazon, LINK

It works great especially when my neighbors see the DYNAMITE box sitting beside my firering.

Lakeside

We used the 3-step method last night:

Step 1
Construct the perfect teepee with kindling, shavings, twisted newspaper, twigs & pinecones. Oh joy! Looks pretty but doesn't light.

Step 2
Soak pretty pile in charcoal lighter fluid and attempt to light with a propane torch. Cuss a little. Oh crud! It's raining.

Step 3
Give up, go inside and hit the remote on the electric fireplace.

You guys are nothing but "fire bugs" as an old saying sez....:B

K.Reeve wrote:
umm last fire I helped light, 40 gallons of gas, and a flare gun 500 feet away. fire was so large all towns within 100 miles called our FD to ask if we needed help with the blaze. man what a fun night. buddy was the FD chief and we were burning off a lake clean up pile of trash and logs.

ok, for a little campfire either duraflame log or if the wood is really dry a little bbq starter fluid and build it up to a nice fire that burns all night to sit back and chat with friends over.

You know that you have a good fire when the FD shows up.

There we were enjoying a something like a 30' diameter fire all compacted together by a machine, flames going 40' into the air, & the boys in the red trucks show up.

They dump 2000 imperial gallons onto it, put it out, & went away happy. Two hours later it was burning again, though not with the enthusiasm that it was before.

Four days later, it was finally reduced to ashes.