# Manure combusting?



## Gidget (Jan 19, 2010)

I was wondering if manure can combust and if you have ever heard of it. I read up on it and it said it can and water thats trapped in the pile can heat up and make it more flammable.

We have a big manure pile...by the barn which I think it should be a bit farther away but oh well. Anyways,my husband and I were scooping it and piling it up as we are trying to make it as tidy as possible and not have it go everywhere..we do this every so often. We saw a lot of..smoke/stream...when we were shoveling it up and you can feel the warmth of it even if you stood a slight distance compared to if you were to walk 15 feet away I am guessing. 
We were worried by this so we tossed our horses out in the pasture with hay. Brian and I saw grey ash but some boarders said it looks like white mold and it's common but what we saw if you dig and pile it up top was gray and kind of fluffy..like when you cookout and the coals leave ash at the bottom of the grill..kinda like that but in smaller amounts ofcourse.

I was just wondering what everyone thought. We don't want a fire started but maybe we worry way too much.

Thanks!


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## Katesrider011 (Oct 29, 2010)

With all that hay in the poo I wouldn't doubt it could catch on fire if a spark flew on it or something. From another thread about a barn fire, barns are a fire waiting to happen, so keep things as safe as possible. And not to mention the methane that's released from poo as well. But I really don't think what yall saw would have been ashes. I don't think poop spontaneously combusts without a spark or something.


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## Gidget (Jan 19, 2010)

Katesrider011 said:


> With all that hay in the poo I wouldn't doubt it could catch on fire if a spark flew on it or something. From another thread about a barn fire, barns are a fire waiting to happen, so keep things as safe as possible. And not to mention the methane that's released from poo as well. But I really don't think what yall saw would have been ashes. I don't think poop spontaneously combusts without a spark or something.


 
Okay,thanks 
I was just concerned. I didn't want smoked horses.


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## Katesrider011 (Oct 29, 2010)

But if it makes you feel safer moving the pile farther away, then by all means do it. There's never a too paranoid when it comes to stuff like that.


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

hay curing in a barn can spontaniously combust so I would think manure could too


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## Gidget (Jan 19, 2010)

well I read if you have large manure pile it has more chance of combusting then smaller and big farms try and not have big piles since this CAN happen..not saying it will happen. I feel better letting my horse have cold legs then to have her turn into a cooked horse O.O But most ppl probably think I am overreacting but I love my horse and my husband love his horse and I have a lot of money invested in her so far.


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## mls (Nov 28, 2006)

The pile should be turned regularly. It helps to break down the manure. Our pile is right outside the barn - has been for many, many years.

It is turned once a week.


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## Gidget (Jan 19, 2010)

mls said:


> The pile should be turned regularly. It helps to break down the manure. Our pile is right outside the barn - has been for many, many years.
> 
> It is turned once a week.


 
so you just flip it about?


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## mls (Nov 28, 2006)

With the skid loader - yes.


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## Gidget (Jan 19, 2010)

we don't have any machines


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## Poseidon (Oct 1, 2010)

I know my old BOs would purposely burn their manure pile once in a while to get rid of it. I'm not sure exactly how, but they had it contained so it didn't burn everything else around it.


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## faye (Oct 13, 2010)

They grey ash seen would have been hay that has smouldered. Unless a flame is added then it is highly unikely for a muck heap to end up in flames but a well stacked muck heap will rot down and the heat generated is enough to reduce hay to ash.

I don't turn a muck heap! never have and never will. I've also never heard of anyone who has. We bank ours and tread it down to form nice square steps on the muck heap. By doing this we can keep a very small muck heap as the stuff rots down sooo fast it is unbelievable.


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## StrikinHigh (Jan 11, 2011)

The microorganisms that do the dirty work in a compost pile can get the internal temperature of it up to about 140 degrees. That's why you'll see steam when you break into a pile.

Turning the pile, as mentioned above, will allow the manure to break down quicker. Flipping the pile aerates it, and oxygen is needed for the microorganisms to do their work. And the quicker it composts and becomes suitable fertilizer, the quicker you can sell it to farmers! :lol: If you don't even have a tractor, I have seen something before about sticking PVC pipes into the pile, like chimneys. 

The spontaneous combustion you are talking about might happen in very large piles, like ones at feedlots or other large operations... But not so likely in the smaller piles that you probably have.


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## Gidget (Jan 19, 2010)

Thanks guys! I feel so much better. I just wanted to see if anyone has heard of this happening.


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## lessonhorse (Nov 29, 2010)

Yes, a manure pile can spontaneously combust. I boarded at a stable that had a big manure pile and that is exactly what happened which caught a feild on fire. Lots of fire trucks. Luckily it was no ware near any of the barns or pasture.


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## Gidget (Jan 19, 2010)

did it happen in winter?


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## lessonhorse (Nov 29, 2010)

It was fairly late fall if I remember.


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

StrikinHigh said:


> The microorganisms that do the dirty work in a compost pile can get the internal temperature of it up to about 140 degrees. That's why you'll see steam when you break into a pile.
> 
> Turning the pile, as mentioned above, will allow the manure to break down quicker. Flipping the pile aerates it, and oxygen is needed for the microorganisms to do their work. And the quicker it composts and becomes suitable fertilizer, the quicker you can sell it to farmers! :lol: If you don't even have a tractor, I have seen something before about sticking PVC pipes into the pile, like chimneys.
> 
> The spontaneous combustion you are talking about might happen in very large piles, like ones at feedlots or other large operations... But not so likely in the smaller piles that you probably have.


Well said!


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## Production Acres (Aug 26, 2009)

Absolutely, compost piles can burn - especially if you have a lot of hay or straw. Was a major fire in Lexington a few years ago. Usually happens when you have a very hot stack and put a lot of fresh product next to it that is realitivley dry. hay or straw will start to burn at 175 deg.


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## CelticAngel (Jan 2, 2011)

The stable I train at has a huge compost pile...(and of course it would as there are 32+ horses!). They use the tractor to turn the pile once a week but if the tractor breaks down, we go out with pitchforks and do the best we can until the tractor is back up running. I find it amusing that on cold mornings when I am in the indoor arena training and look out at the foggy field, I can see the steam rising out of the pile.

My mom is an avid composter...(who loves the fact that I volunteer at a stable!) and she swears by turning the piles. Obviously you don't -need- to...the material will break down with time...but the process goes much faster getting air underneath and allowing the material on top to mix into the rest and cook. =-)


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## Amba1027 (Jun 26, 2009)

Learn something new every day.


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## Production Acres (Aug 26, 2009)

Remembered the details - Charles T. Creech - major hay supplier in Lexington, Ky Also has a buisness picking up manure from its customers. The manure is stockpiled and loaded on trucks and sent to Montery Mushrooms for compost in Loudon, TN. The large stockpile in lexington, ky burned a few years ago - burned for several weeks as I recall.


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