Fire Retardant for Christmas Trees

[tradergordo]

Fire Retardant for Christmas Trees (your tax dollars hard at work again! )


Ingredients:
Two cups of Karo syrup
Two ounces liquid chlorine bleach
Two pinches Epsom salts
One-half teaspoon Borax
One teaspoon chelated iron
Hot water to fill two-gallon bucket

You can purchase the Karo syrup, Borax and liquid chlorine bleach from the supermarket. The Epsom salts can be purchased from the drug store and the chelated (pronounced KEY-lated) iron can be purchased from a garden shop or plant store.

Procedure:

1. Fill a two-gallon bucket with hot water to within one inch of the top and add the remaining ingredients. Stir thoroughly, dissolving ingredients. Set aside.

2. With a saw, cut an inch off the bottom of the trunk of your recently purchased tree. Try to make a level cut.

3 Immediately stand the trunk of the tree in the solution and leave for 24 hours.

4. Keep the remaining solution. Place your tree in a tree stand that contains a well for liquid.

5. When the tree is in its final resting place, use a plastic cup to pour solution from the bucket into the tree well. Fill the well.

6 Every day without exception, “top up” the well of the tree with the solution from the two-gallon bucket.

Following these directions will fireproof your tree and help protect your home and family from fire. If you’re curious, after Christmas when you remove your tree, snap off a branch as an experiment and try to set the branch on fire, OUTDOORS.

How does the solution work?

In a nutshell, the Karo syrup provides the sugar necessary to allow the base of the tree to take up water. Up to 1.5 gallons of water can be taken up by the tree over a two-week period. Boron in the Borax allows the tree to move the water and sugar out to every branch and needle in the tree. Magnesium compounds in the Epsom salts and iron from the chelated iron provide components for the production of chlorophyll to help keep the tree green. The bleach prevents mold from forming in the solution. Some of the other beneficial side effects of this procedure are that the needles will not drop, and you will notice an increase in natural evergreen fragrance.

Have a safe and happy holiday!

 

[elkimmeg]

Hey Trader did you see my explanation for the Everburn technology and the plant tour and the video of the plant tour?

After you have read the post let me know if you have more questions about it I will forward them to VC

 

[wg_bent]

I don't believe this was one of the combo's the Mythbusters tested. Time for a heads up...Yo Adam!

 

[Corey]

Yep - although the wife had CSI going for the most part...I only caught Mythbusters through the commercials, so hoping to catch a rebroadcast.

I was waiting for a punchline for any fire retardent that starts out with a hydrocarbon (syrup) and an oxidizer (bleach). Almost thought it sounds similar for one of those cocktails that you dip pine cones in to make the pretty colored flames.

Corey

 

[velvetfoot]

I remember when I lived in Brooklyn the local youths would torch the trees after they were thrown out. Didn't seem to matter they were between parked cars. They do indeed go up "like a Christmas Tree."

 

[tradergordo]

For what its worth, I DID see the mythbusters episode you guys refer to. They found the hairspray (not in the water, just all over the needles) actually worked the best. Bleach in the tree water also worked, but did not maintain the best needle color. They did NOT test anything as complex as the receipe here, I bet this would work considering bleach alone worked and really all you need is something to keep the needles nicely colored which is provided in this recipe.

Elk - I saw your post about the tour - sounded like a great experience, I would love to do that tour some time. I didn't see much in the way of details about everburn in that thread but I have since taken the flue off my stove and put my camera down into the secondary burn chambers and taken pictures (mostly to see what kind of ash buildup I was getting in there but also to see what exactly it looked like in there). I also examined the white fibrous material. Don't know that I learned too much from that really. I guess my questions are -- why the white fibrous ceramic filament material - what properties does it have that made them use it and does secondary burn still occur at the usual 1200 degree temps?

Was interesting to hear about the new cats they are playing with also...