I started up a chimney full of lump in my yard tonight. Since my yard is
all concrete, I usually just set the chimney on the ground, stuff it with
newspaper, fill it with lump, and let it do its thing. After I dump it in
the Weber, there is usually a pile of ash where the chimney was sitting.
All I usually do after that is hose the ash down my yard drain. Simple
enough...

Tonight, I dumped a small bucket of water on the ash pile and to my
surprise, the concrete cracked underneath the ash pile. I now have a
chimney shaped "divot" in my yard. I guess the (relatively) cold water
contracted the hot concrete and cracked it.

Lesson learned - Always start the chimney on top of the grate in the grill.

But, the chicken breasts came out great!!
--
Ray

Remove NO and SPAM to reply

On Tue, 30 May 2006 23:14:56 GMT, "Ray" >
wrote:

>I started up a chimney full of lump in my yard tonight. Since my yard is
>all concrete, I usually just set the chimney on the ground, stuff it with
>newspaper, fill it with lump, and let it do its thing. After I dump it in
>the Weber, there is usually a pile of ash where the chimney was sitting.
>All I usually do after that is hose the ash down my yard drain. Simple
>enough...
>
>Tonight, I dumped a small bucket of water on the ash pile and to my
>surprise, the concrete cracked underneath the ash pile. I now have a
>chimney shaped "divot" in my yard. I guess the (relatively) cold water
>contracted the hot concrete and cracked it.
>
Heat can also turn concrete into a mine, complete with shrapnel, if
there is enough residual moisture to expand.

On Tue, 30 May 2006 23:14:56 GMT, "Ray" >
wrote:

>I started up a chimney full of lump in my yard tonight. Since my yard is
>all concrete, I usually just set the chimney on the ground, stuff it with
>newspaper, fill it with lump, and let it do its thing. After I dump it in
>the Weber, there is usually a pile of ash where the chimney was sitting.
>All I usually do after that is hose the ash down my yard drain. Simple
>enough...
>
>Tonight, I dumped a small bucket of water on the ash pile and to my
>surprise, the concrete cracked underneath the ash pile. I now have a
>chimney shaped "divot" in my yard. I guess the (relatively) cold water
>contracted the hot concrete and cracked it.
>
>Lesson learned - Always start the chimney on top of the grate in the grill.
>
>But, the chicken breasts came out great!!

The same thing happened to me, so I went to Home Depot and got a round
paving stone for about a dollar. I put the chimney on that before
lighting it now.

Ray wrote:
snip
> But, the chicken breasts came out great!!

And, isn't that all that matters!
--
Regards,

Piedmont

The Practical Bar-B-Q'r at: http://web.infoave.net/~amwil/Index.htm

What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless,
whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism
or the holy name of liberty or democracy?

Mahatma Gandhi, "Non-Violence in Peace and War"

Kevin S. Wilson wrote:
> On Tue, 30 May 2006 23:14:56 GMT, "Ray" >
> wrote:
>
> >I started up a chimney full of lump in my yard tonight. Since my yard is
> >all concrete, I usually just set the chimney on the ground, stuff it with
> >newspaper, fill it with lump, and let it do its thing. After I dump it in
> >the Weber, there is usually a pile of ash where the chimney was sitting.
> >All I usually do after that is hose the ash down my yard drain. Simple
> >enough...
> >
> >Tonight, I dumped a small bucket of water on the ash pile and to my
> >surprise, the concrete cracked underneath the ash pile. I now have a
> >chimney shaped "divot" in my yard. I guess the (relatively) cold water
> >contracted the hot concrete and cracked it.
> >
> Heat can also turn concrete into a mine, complete with shrapnel, if
> there is enough residual moisture to expand.

Concrete shrapnel? I suppose that might work. It wouldn't be a mine
though. From: Janes' Guide to Mines: Mine = detonable device
detonated by activation of remote detonation device or contact of mine
with minee. The minee in case could be human, ship, tank etc. or even
a deer maimed Bambi.