User Panel
User Panel
User Panel
|
Posted: 7/28/2015 9:36:46 PM EST
OK are you old enough to remember those stinking things?
As a kid in the early-sixties nearly every home had one in my town. They really stunk the place up. As far as I know they were never banned, just sort of fell out of favor when we got town curb-side trash pick-up. I don't think anyone really liked them. They would burn all they could so they had to take fewer trips to the dump. One of my chores was cleaning the damn thing out so Dad could haul the leavings to the dump. Stinking mess is what it was. 
Most folks had some variation on this one they built themselves. Dad said the one we had was already there when he bought the house in '59. 
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/28/2015 9:41:20 PM EST
[#1]
In my area it was metal drums. All paper got burned, the rest went to the garbage.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/28/2015 9:41:36 PM EST
[#2]
Huh, all we had was a 55 gallon drum.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/28/2015 9:42:56 PM EST
[#3]
they sure loved mother nature back in the old days
how do we get rid of this here railroad car of mercury laden waste oil? dump it in the creek out back! it'll only pollute maybe 500 square miles, no harm done |
|
|
|
Posted: 7/28/2015 9:43:06 PM EST
[#4]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Huh, all we had was a 55 gallon drum. Neighbors still burn it in the drums. Saves $25 a month 
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/28/2015 9:44:10 PM EST
[#5]
All the houses in my town had coal fired gravity furnaces. When everyone started switching to gas and oil they'd take the coal burning octopus out and strip the outer jacket off and use the remainder for a back yard incinerator. It wasn't too horrible back then.
Now, we have a body shop in town that burns all their masking products and I swear they are burning plastic bumper covers as well. It stinks like a bastard and the cops and city won't do a damn thing about it because "it's commercial". which is bullshit. |
|
|
|
Posted: 7/28/2015 9:45:39 PM EST
[#6]
I still know people who burn their trash in barrels.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/28/2015 9:46:44 PM EST
[#7]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Huh, all we had was a 55 gallon drum. |
|
|
|
Posted: 7/28/2015 9:46:51 PM EST
[#8]
My elementary school had one in use all through the 1980s.
The school janitor would have that smelly beast fired up to the max 5 days a week. All the boys would fight each other to help him carry shit out to burn. Those were the days I tell you. ETA: a few private residences just had a burn barrel, most would just throw their shit on the ground, dump used motor oil on it and light it up. |
|
|
|
Posted: 7/28/2015 9:46:56 PM EST
[#9]
we had a burn pile
some rocks in a circle made gigantic fires saved $0.10 per year |
|
|
|
Posted: 7/28/2015 9:49:12 PM EST
[#10]
What about leaving the trash out for the pig farmers?
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/28/2015 9:49:31 PM EST
[#11]
My hosue is 86 years old. It has a cast iron insert in the basement masonry offset beneath my first floor hearth.
It has the name Kernerator pat. 1918 cast in relief on both the upper firebox and lower cleanout hatches. I replaced some firebrick and repointed the joints with refractory mortar last year. It works great in the winter to heat up the central masonry stack mass by burning few oak logs as aux heat when it goes below 20 |
|
|
|
Posted: 7/28/2015 9:56:32 PM EST
[#12]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
My elementary school had one in use all through the 1980s. The school janitor would have that smelly beast fired up to the max 5 days a week. All the boys would fight each other to help him carry shit out to burn. Those were the days I tell you. ETA: a few private residences just had a burn barrel, most would just throw their shit on the ground, dump used motor oil on it and light it up. I grew up in a small town in Wisconsin, and our elementary school had one as well. |
|
|
|
Posted: 7/28/2015 10:00:53 PM EST
[#13]
we had one in our backyard in Bridgeport back in the 50's
probably bring the STASI to your door to use such a thing in Connecticut today.. |
|
|
|
Posted: 7/28/2015 10:01:06 PM EST
[#14]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
My hosue is 86 years old. It has a cast iron insert in the basement masonry offset under my first floor hearth. It has the name Kernerator pat. 1918 cast in relief on both the upper firebox and lower cleanout hatches. I replaced some firebrick and repointed the joints with refractory mortar last year. It works great in the winter to heat up the central masonry stack mass by burning few oak logs as aux heat when it goes below 20 Yeah the "rich folks" had them connected to their furnaces indoors. I guess they were more efficient at burning the trash but I just can't fathom having one inside your home.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/28/2015 10:05:00 PM EST
[#15]
I grew up in the 60s. Never saw a "home" incinerator, but lots of apartment buildings had them.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/28/2015 10:06:14 PM EST
[#16]
The city of Charleston had an incinerator that was used until the late 60s. The "incinerator fee" was still part of the bill into the late 80's.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/28/2015 10:08:01 PM EST
[#17]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Yeah the "rich folks" had them connected to their furnaces indoors. I guess they were more efficient at burning the trash but I just can't fathom having one inside your home.
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
My hosue is 86 years old. It has a cast iron insert in the basement masonry offset under my first floor hearth. It has the name Kernerator pat. 1918 cast in relief on both the upper firebox and lower cleanout hatches. I replaced some firebrick and repointed the joints with refractory mortar last year. It works great in the winter to heat up the central masonry stack mass by burning few oak logs as aux heat when it goes below 20 Yeah the "rich folks" had them connected to their furnaces indoors. I guess they were more efficient at burning the trash but I just can't fathom having one inside your home.
Yep, we spent a good bit off time cleaning out some nasty slag and half burnt stuff for the resto here's a link to an artifact I just found link to first page, book pages turn for overview The book is filled with testimonials of satisfied customers with accompanying plates of the homes they were installed in ETA, with not so bad to have in the home photo: Identical looking clean out is below/behind sectional  </a>" />
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/28/2015 10:16:52 PM EST
[#18]
Quote HistoryQuoted: This... I remember USE a burn barrel. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: Huh, all we had was a 55 gallon drum. |
|
|
|
Posted: 7/28/2015 10:31:53 PM EST
[#19]
Was that a rural thing? I don't ever remember seeing one, much less living in a house that had one or having to use it.
Dad was a airplane engineer working for big companies, so we always lived in big cities or close to one, so that probably has something to do with it. |
|
|
|
Posted: 7/28/2015 10:41:07 PM EST
[#20]
We had a burn pile. Out 55 gallon drums had oil in them.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/29/2015 6:01:03 AM EST
[#21]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Was that a rural thing? I don't ever remember seeing one, much less living in a house that had one or having to use it. Dad was a airplane engineer working for big companies, so we always lived in big cities or close to one, so that probably has something to do with it. Like I said they were all around town till we got town provided curb-side trash pick-up then they quickly fell out of favor. The town dump was several miles outside of town so you had to drive there to get shed of you trash. Folks burned what they could and hauled the leavings to the dump. That said I suspect there were people that you could hire to do it for you but we were of modest means what with Dad being a cop. LOL....I did sort of miss the trips to the dump as Dad would bring along a .22 and we would shoot rats. 
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/29/2015 6:41:11 AM EST
[#22]
When I lived in Pennsylvania, we had a brick trash burner in the backyard and a trash compactor for anything that wouldn't burn in the kitchen. I used to love burning the trash...must have been the pyro in me.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/29/2015 6:42:22 AM EST
[#23]
My grandparents had a farm in central KY and they used a burn barrel. The non burning stuff went to the dump. I remember as a kid doing the burning and every now and then an empty hair spray can or some such would make it into the barrel. You learned to stand back a good ways due to this
The other garbage can I remember at my other grandmothers house here in the city were those below ground trash cans. They had a huge metal lid you stood on to open and you dropped the garbage inside. The garbage men would come by to empty them once a week. Those were the nastiest things ever when bugs, water and stray garbage would sit in the bottom and ferment......
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/29/2015 6:46:19 AM EST
[#24]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Yeah the "rich folks" had them connected to their furnaces indoors. I guess they were more efficient at burning the trash but I just can't fathom having one inside your home.
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
My hosue is 86 years old. It has a cast iron insert in the basement masonry offset under my first floor hearth. It has the name Kernerator pat. 1918 cast in relief on both the upper firebox and lower cleanout hatches. I replaced some firebrick and repointed the joints with refractory mortar last year. It works great in the winter to heat up the central masonry stack mass by burning few oak logs as aux heat when it goes below 20 Yeah the "rich folks" had them connected to their furnaces indoors. I guess they were more efficient at burning the trash but I just can't fathom having one inside your home.
We had that when I was very young, but I still remember it. It sat next to the furnace. I don't really know how it worked. I just remember we put the trash in it. I wasn't old enough to mess with the burning part of it. It was a freestanding thing, it wasn't built into the wall or anything. This is kind of interesting because I had totally forgotten about that. I wonder how the burning process worked ? We didn't have natural gas. I guess you actually lit it on fire with a match ? |
|
|
|
Posted: 7/29/2015 6:53:52 AM EST
[#25]
Gas worker. You'd be surprised how many of these things are still sitting in peoples basements. Almost all of them are inside city limits, see very few outside the city in the burbs.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/29/2015 7:08:51 AM EST
[#26]
As kid we had burn barrels, except for CA (the days of intense smog). The incinerator would be a lot of better environmentally speaking. Incomplete combustion of a lot your plastics can produce dioxins/furans.....nasty stuff that can screw up you and get passed along in your DNA. If you burned more then paper/wood then consider the ash hazardous waste.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/29/2015 7:11:35 AM EST
[#27]
In the house I grew up in there was a specialized metal barrel used for trash burning in the basement next to the chimney stack. Furnace, water heater, incinerator all in a cluster.
I remember my parents actually using it, then for some reason it was removed. They didn't use it in the summer. There was trash pickup at the time. I assume they got outlawed locally. I don't recall any type of bad smell, but I was real little. My high school girlfriend's dad used to roll up newspapers with a machine and burn them in his for heat. His yard always had black soot on the snow in winter. |
|
|
|
Posted: 7/29/2015 7:12:08 AM EST
[#28]
I live way out of town in the National Forest. I used to get trash pickup once a week.
I came home one day to find a new trash can- "bear proof". They told me it was county law now and it would be an extra $7/month. I told them to pick up their can. I built a small shed for garbage cans. Got a trash compactor for free. Got two 55 gal drums and cut holes in the bottom. Now we burn everything we can, compact the rest. Go to the dump about once every six weeks. wife grew up on a ranch in Utah- everything got burned in the burn pile. Food scraps went to dogs, horses, pigs. |
|
|
|
Posted: 7/29/2015 7:15:01 AM EST
[#29]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Gas worker. You'd be surprised how many of these things are still sitting in peoples basements. Almost all of them are inside city limits, see very few outside the city in the burbs. There is one in my home. House was built in the late 60's it's gas fired. The only time I use it is to get rid of old reloading powder. |
|
|
|
Posted: 7/29/2015 7:16:09 AM EST
[#30]
Quote HistoryQuoted: All the houses in my town had coal fired gravity furnaces. When everyone started switching to gas and oil they'd take the coal burning octopus out and strip the outer jacket off and use the remainder for a back yard incinerator. It wasn't too horrible back then. Now, we have a body shop in town that burns all their masking products and I swear they are burning plastic bumper covers as well. It stinks like a bastard and the cops and city won't do a damn thing about it because "it's commercial". which is bullshit. |
|
|
|
Posted: 7/29/2015 7:16:43 AM EST
[#31]
Burn barrel for paper. Food scraps went in a compost pile in the back corner of the garden, only we didn't know to call it that. Metal and glass went to the dump if it couldn't be turned in for a deposit like soda bottles. Not much plastic back then.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/29/2015 7:19:31 AM EST
[#32]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
There is one in my home. House was built in the late 60's it's gas fired. The only time I use it is to get rid of old reloading powder. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Gas worker. You'd be surprised how many of these things are still sitting in peoples basements. Almost all of them are inside city limits, see very few outside the city in the burbs. There is one in my home. House was built in the late 60's it's gas fired. The only time I use it is to get rid of old reloading powder. Safer than that for getting rid of old powder is to spread it in your yard. Seriously, it's mostly nitrogen and makes pretty good fertilizer. |
|
|
|
Posted: 7/29/2015 7:20:05 AM EST
[#33]
Schools and other .gov institutions had them when I was growing up in So. Cal. back in the days when you couldn't see a 1/4 mile from the air pollution.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/29/2015 7:22:29 AM EST
[#34]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
In my area it was metal drums. All paper got burned, the rest went to the garbage. I have a "burn barrel" Outdoor Incinerator Burn Cage 1600° F |
|
|
|
Posted: 7/29/2015 7:27:32 AM EST
[#35]
Here's the only one I've ever seen - it's in Radford, VA:
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/29/2015 7:29:17 AM EST
[#36]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Burn barrel for paper. Food scraps went in a compost pile in the back corner of the garden, only we didn't know to call it that. Metal and glass went to the dump if it couldn't be turned in for a deposit like soda bottles. Not much plastic back then. Yep, I remember Dad would use the wax covered 1/2 gal milk boxes to get the fire going strong. Mom would rinse them out so they would not stink and put them in a paper grocery bag. That seemed to be the starter of choice. All my friends had a paper bag of quart or half gallon milk boxes in the kitchen.
A little Kero on those and they would burn like a house afire. Funny how old memories like that kick in. 
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/29/2015 7:39:26 AM EST
[#37]
Still a lot of burn barrels around here. We are only allowed to put one trash barrel out by the street once per week and everything must be in said barrel. So, anything that can be burned goes into the burn barrel and everything else goes into the trash barrel.
Before we had actual trash pickup, we dug a hole with a backhoe and burned everything all year then filled the hole. Not exactly environmentally friendly but there weren't any other options because the dump only accepted commercial garbage and you'd get in trouble if caught throwing household trash into a business's dumpster. |
|
|
|
Posted: 7/29/2015 7:42:15 AM EST
[#38]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Burn barrel for paper. Food scraps went in a compost pile in the back corner of the garden, only we didn't know to call it that. Metal and glass went to the dump if it couldn't be turned in for a deposit like soda bottles. Not much plastic back then. That's pretty much what we did too.....monthly-ish dump runs. However, we had neighbors that burned everything. Their burn site was also right beside their very shallow bored well. Even as a kid and not knowing much, that smelly black smoke and goop infused ash with funny post burn colors just didn't seem like a good idea. |
|
|
|
Posted: 7/29/2015 7:42:35 AM EST
[#39]
My next door neighbor uses his wood stove to do this.
Plastic, paper, pressure-treated wood scraps, you name it, he burns it. County won't stop him. |
|
|
|
Posted: 7/29/2015 7:49:37 AM EST
[#40]
Still convenient for burning sensitive papers in
 </a>" />
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/29/2015 9:33:36 AM EST
[#41]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Yep, I remember Dad would use the wax covered 1/2 gal milk boxes to get the fire going strong. Mom would rinse them out so they would not stink and put them in a paper grocery bag. That seemed to be the starter of choice. All my friends had a paper bag of quart or half gallon milk boxes in the kitchen.
A little Kero on those and they would burn like a house afire. Funny how old memories like that kick in.
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Burn barrel for paper. Food scraps went in a compost pile in the back corner of the garden, only we didn't know to call it that. Metal and glass went to the dump if it couldn't be turned in for a deposit like soda bottles. Not much plastic back then. Yep, I remember Dad would use the wax covered 1/2 gal milk boxes to get the fire going strong. Mom would rinse them out so they would not stink and put them in a paper grocery bag. That seemed to be the starter of choice. All my friends had a paper bag of quart or half gallon milk boxes in the kitchen.
A little Kero on those and they would burn like a house afire. Funny how old memories like that kick in.
Thanks for the idea.....I get my milk in wax cartons.....and fire starters are pretty much sawdust and paraffin.... I can use these in my wood stove instead of throwing them away |
|
|
|
Posted: 7/29/2015 9:36:25 AM EST
[#42]
The elementary school I attended in the mid-1960s had one and used it.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/29/2015 9:39:26 AM EST
[#43]
This is what we used
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/29/2015 9:43:58 AM EST
[#44]
The apartment complex I lived in in Costa Mesa in the 70s had one like in the OP. It was at the back corner of the lot, built in the early 50s IIRC. It was never used when I lived there. I imagine the SCAQMD would have had a fit if you fired it up.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/29/2015 9:44:11 AM EST
[#45]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
This... I remember a burn barrel. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Huh, all we had was a 55 gallon drum. Rich city folk. Grandpa just threw everything in a pile on the ground near the qual hutch. |
|
|
|
Posted: 7/29/2015 9:46:49 AM EST
[#46]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
This is what we used http://commonsensehome.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/burn-barrel-1.jpg This. Grandfather used one on the farm. What wouldn't burn went to the dump. His father used one - what didn't burn went into a pile on the "trash" part of the farm. Still a pile of prune juice bottles out there
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/29/2015 9:49:13 AM EST
[#47]
I grew up in the country. We had burn barrels. Metal got hauled to the dump whenever it piled up enough for a trip. Kitchen scraps got tossed back in the field far enough away from the house to keep the vermin away. |
|
|
|
Posted: 7/29/2015 9:50:31 AM EST
[#48]
My boss had a 25 foot deep by 5 foot wide abandoned well cistern thingy that he burned in until it was 5 feet deep.
I tried to burn some brush in it and used too much gas. Launched a fireball up and caused 2nd degree burns on my face, hand and chest. Had to take a week off of work while my face skin came off in sheets.
It hurt so bad i spent 8 hours in a cold shower to take the pain down some. The skin came off my lips in one peiece in the shower. I was pretty close to going to the er. |
|
|
|
Posted: 7/29/2015 9:55:26 AM EST
[#49]
Burn pits and barrels are still part of rural life
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/29/2015 10:02:13 AM EST
[#50]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Burn pits and barrels are still part of rural life Yup. No trash service and it still has to go somewhere. I don't have a problem with it as long as you're not smoking out neighbors or starting brush fires. Can't really see how it makes more sense to haul it somewhere else to burn or bury. |
|
|
Win a FREE Membership!
Sign up for the ARFCOM weekly newsletter and be entered to win a free ARFCOM membership. One new winner* is announced every week!
You will receive an email every Friday morning featuring the latest chatter from the hottest topics, breaking news surrounding legislation, as well as exclusive deals only available to ARFCOM email subscribers.
AR15.COM is the world's largest firearm community and is a gathering place for firearm enthusiasts of all types.
From hunters and military members, to competition shooters and general firearm enthusiasts, we welcome anyone who values and respects the way of the firearm.
Subscribe to our monthly Newsletter to receive firearm news, product discounts from your favorite Industry Partners, and more.
Copyright © 1996-2024 AR15.COM LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Any use of this content without express written consent is prohibited.
AR15.Com reserves the right to overwrite or replace any affiliate, commercial, or monetizable links, posted by users, with our own.
