The neighbors are burning railroad ties

[Marshy]

I wouldn't waste the time complaining.

Cordless drill.

Cordless drill and several ounces of blackpowder inserted a foot into the end of one of those ties and problem solved.

 

[066blaster]

We have 5 acres of red pines about 45 foot tall maybe 50 foot from that pile ..if those ties ever started on fire we would probably lose those.

 

[the GOAT]

Goat, I would "like" your post but I'm boycotting the use of the "like" button until they bring back the "dislike" button.
I'm thinking a 22 would be a better idea. After all who else would "accidently" drill a hole in it other than an nearby neighbour. An accidental 22 shot in the USA wouldn't raise any suspicion.

Don't be so cavalier with my 'like' to post count ratio. Feel free to use the like button. As form of civil disobedience I've decided to like every post I read from now on until the dislike button is returned. I encourage you to do the same.

 

[the GOAT]

Just because it's legal doesn't mean it's smart. Maybe the guy doesn't know any better, why don't you go over and talk to him about it, who knows he might be a nice guy and stop burning it.

Man, it was really hard to like that post.

 

[Marshy]

Just because it's legal doesn't mean it's smart. Maybe the guy doesn't know any better, why don't you go over and talk to him about it, who knows he might be a nice guy and stop burning it.

Yeah ok, Im sure he'll gladly stop burning them when they are all gone... right before he orders more.

 

[wood4heat]

Report him for what?? Report him to who??
Are you sure they're illegal to burn in Wisconsin??
They ain't illegal to burn here...

*

I don't know about Wisconsin but here I would notify my local clean air agency. Not my favorite group of people but they would get that #### stopped pronto!

I'm not one to infringe on the rights of a property owner until they begin infringing upon mine! If I had to smell that ####... No thanks!

There ain't nothin' unsafe about burnin' railroad ties or telephone poles... but stickin' your face over the stack and suckin' in big gulps of smoke might make ya' a bit sick for a few minutes. Creosotes are nothing more than stuff we already burn, just concentrated into a tar... wood, coal and oil. Heck wood-tar creosote is used to flavor meat, and all have them have been used in medicine to varying degrees. The truth is... direct contact with creosote is more likely to make ya' sick than standin' down wind of a fire burnin' wood treated with it. For that matter, many wood treatments don't even use creosotes these days... they use stuff safer than the wood smoke itself.
*

How can you definitively say there is nothing unsafe about burning this crap and then go on to say sucking big gulps of it might make you sick? Don't you think there could be cumulative effects as well? Maybe as a firefighter I'm oversensitive when it comes to breathing smoke but I'm sure not gonna let my family be the study group on the effect's of breathing that crap for a winter. I've seen too many of my brothers develop brain tumors due to breathing different products of combustion.

 

[the GOAT]

I love this I'm going to tattle on you mindset. Reminds me of kindergarten.

 

[Marshy]

I don't know about Wisconsin but here I would notify my local clean air agency. Not my favorite group of people but they would get that #### stopped pronto!

I'm not one to infringe on the rights of a property owner until they begin infringing upon mine! If I had to smell that ####... No thanks!



How can you definitively say there is nothing unsafe about burning this crap and then go on to say sucking big gulps of it might make you sick? Don't you think there could be cumulative effects as well? Maybe as a firefighter I'm oversensitive when it comes to breathing smoke but I'm sure not gonna let my family be the study group on the effect's of breathing that crap for a winter. I've seen too many of my brothers develop brain tumors due to breathing different products of combustion.

Particulate emission on these boilers are bad enough, now add in the fact that he's burning RR ties and poles. I wouldn't hesitate calling EPA/DEC. However, I would go talk with him first and tell him right to his face he's a F'in dumb@ss and if he dosent stop calls will be placed.

 

[wood4heat]

I love this I'm going to tattle on you mindset. Reminds me of kindergarten.

If he doesn't respond to a friendly chat the alternative to "tattling" might land me in jail.

I don't want to go to jail...

 

[066blaster]

I think the law says you can't burn them in your burn pile to dispose of them. They probably don't think anyone is dumb enough to burn them in a wood burner. You can take them to our dump they chip them up for mulch. But you have to cut the ends off to get rid of the metal.

 

[blacklocst]

Go over and tell him that stuff is great for grilling and smoking meats.

 

[Knobby57]

If you took him to court to stop burning them you would probably win . This happened by my fathers house and everyone that was called said they where not responsible for that. A few videos and time lapse photos of it billowing out smoke and filling the valley at court made all the difference . The magistrate said everyone has the rite to breathe clean air . The guy in question got about 20,000 of these 12" x12"x12" blocks from a old factory floor . Nobody even knows what's in them . At one point the factory made batteries . The county a few years later made him remove the unburned blocks for fear of contaminating the nearby lake


Sent from my phone when I should be working

 

[Chris-PA]

I don't know about Wisconsin but here I would notify my local clean air agency. Not my favorite group of people but they would get that #### stopped pronto!

I'm not one to infringe on the rights of a property owner until they begin infringing upon mine! If I had to smell that ####... No thanks!

Particulate emission on these boilers are bad enough, now add in the fact that he's burning RR ties and poles. I wouldn't hesitate calling EPA/DEC. However, I would go talk with him first and tell him right to his face he's a F'in dumb@ss and if he dosent stop calls will be placed.

They won't do squat. When my jerk neighbor was burning all the leftover chemicals from his illegal auto paint business (and the containers they came in, and all his garbage) we tried that route. All the smoke usually came right down to our house, past the barn and the chicken coop. Nobody cared at all and nothing was done.

Unfortunately for him he had to drive across my property to access his place and had no lane use agreement. I also surround his property on three sides. I made his life as difficult as possible, including starting to clear woods to expose his house. Eventually he wasn't making enough and burned his garage down for the insurance money - it was so obviously arson, but he got away with that too.

Here's how it works in 2015 - if you have enough money you hire lawyers and go after him. If you have more money than him you might cost him enough that way to make him stop. If you can't afford that then tough. Law is simply about having enough money to enforce your will.

 

[flotek]

What a shame Im all for keeping my nose out of my neighbors business but when he's being completely irresponsible and infringing into my property rights I would not sit there and let my neighbor ruin my air and have my family breathing that junk in our lungs . burning tar and pitch soaked rails that's just plane ridiculous in this day and age . If he can afford railroad ties he can afford slab wood . I'd go talk to him and come to some reasoning . If that didn't work I'd start burning my rotting trash right on my property line adjoining his and get a giant farm fan to blow the smoke toward his house till he got the. Hint

 

[fubar2]

The skids he has them sitting on are a nice touch and I'm sure to prevent ground contamination.

 

[066blaster]

We don't talk to our neighbors..Everybody hates each other around here.

 

[chuckwood]

There ain't nothin' unsafe about burnin' railroad ties or telephone poles... but stickin' your face over the stack and suckin' in big gulps of smoke might make ya' a bit sick for a few minutes. Creosotes are nothing more than stuff we already burn, just concentrated into a tar... wood, coal and oil. Heck wood-tar creosote is used to flavor meat, and all have them have been used in medicine to varying degrees. The truth is... direct contact with creosote is more likely to make ya' sick than standin' down wind of a fire burnin' wood treated with it. For that matter, many wood treatments don't even use creosotes these days... they use stuff safer than the wood smoke itself.
*

My understanding about coal tar creosote is that it's a proven carcinogen. Years ago it was available in hardware stores for homeowner wood preservative. Not anymore. Skin contact can give you skin cancer and has been proven to do so with lab animal studies. Organic gardeners avoid using railroad ties for raised beds, saying you don't want coal tar creosote anywhere near your food. Oh well, at least this guy isn't burning tires. That being said, my first experiences with a two man crosscut saw was at around age six when my dad and I sawed up railroad ties into firewood. I got really bored with the sawing after a while, and we burned the stuff in our open fireplace. I've not come down with cancer yet. Dad quit doing this after he figured out that grit and small stones in the old ties were dulling the saw really fast.

 

[nathon918]

How can you definitively say there is nothing unsafe about burning this crap and then go on to say sucking big gulps of it might make you sick? Don't you think there could be cumulative effects as well? Maybe as a firefighter I'm oversensitive when it comes to breathing smoke but I'm sure not gonna let my family be the study group on the effect's of breathing that crap for a winter. I've seen too many of my brothers develop brain tumors due to breathing different products of combustion.

so your argument is saying ONLY regular ole firewood is safe, AND you would have no problems if you breathe in smoke from that???

 

[Dogsout]

How come no one ever starts a thread about their next door neighbor with an OWB that burns nothing but split, dry, 2 year old wood that smokes next to nothing. I don't agree at all with burning RR ties but I also don't agree with people lumping us all into the same category. This is the 4th year for my OWB and my neighbor directly across the road south of me has even given me the wood from a couple of trees that he took down last year. I wouldn't take to kindly if someone was smoking me out all the time, but lets not lose sight of the fact that there are numerous burners out there that burn day in and day out with no problems. Not all of us are brain dead idiots.

 

[wood4heat]

so your argument is saying ONLY regular ole firewood is safe, AND you would have no problems if you breathe in smoke from that???

What are you struggling to get at?

Regular old firewood doesn't stink like creosote. Would you agree with that? It takes far far less creosote to become a nuisance than regular old firewood. And of course seasoned wood is even less of a nuisance. Yes if I was constantly being smoked out from regular old firewood I would be irritated. I would go on but Dogsout sums it up nicely, give his post a read.