Talk:Smudge pot

Original use

The article totally ignored the Smudge Pot's original use of obscuring the smell of various places of human waste during hot summer months. In Medieval times, even through in the middle 20th century in rural areas, they would burn these pots when they cleaned out garterobes, outhouses and communal cesspits. The smoke cut down on the smell, also cut down on attracting flies and such insects.

Another historical use was for disease control. Before John Snow's research in 1852, it was believed, for example, that Cholera was an airborne disease. During the Cholera epidemic of 1832 in Lower Canada, the streets of Montreal were lined with smudge pots in order to quell the spread of the disease. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 205.200.178.19 (talk) 21:30, 18 November 2019 (UTC)

A related concept is the use by poor people in rural eastern North Carolina of a "smudge" to help control mosquitoes. A "smudge' in this sense is not a device, just a small smoldering trash fire in the yard upwind of a house. The smudge fuel frequently included green foliage or pine needles, old rags, and anything that would create more smoke than fire. The smoke provided some relief from the large mosquito population. With better houses, window screens, and air conditioning, smudges are now seldom seen.

Effectiveness

Article is factually incorrect. Smudge pots are not intended to prevent frost on orchards by direct heating underneath each tree. Just think of the impracticality of having a huge oil stove burning under each fruit bearer in your commercial orchard! Instead, a few smudge pots act to generate a 'smoke screen' across an entire orchard, insulating the trees against loss of radiative heat.

Response above is a common misconception. Smudge pots do actually raise air temperature by as much as 5 degrees by simple radiant heat as shown in University of Riverside studies following the great freeze of 1937.

During periods of severe freezing, natural radiant heat is depleted by the atmospheric conditions. Effective artificial heating is accomplished by a large proliferation of smudge pots burned for a specific period of time, generally from 1:00 am to 6:00 am. In the early years of smudging, some growers believed that the thick blanket of oily smoke helped raise the air temperature. This was disproved by scientific testing methods, with the final proof coming in the form of "clean burning" smudge pots developed in the 1950's. The "Los Angeles Air Pollution Control District" (predecessor of the AQMD) did further testing and put out information to growers on the most effective means of "orchard heating" using clean fuel. The newer smudge pots were designed to use cleaner non-smoking fuels that were as effective without fouling the air with smoke.

Traffic control

Smudge Pots were also used at road construction sites as a warning for motorists, much as traffic cones are used today. In the past, there was no such thing as a reflective device and the lit smudge pots were the warning lights for drivers. They used kerosene for fuel. A wick was used to bring the fuel up to the top of the smudge pot where it burned. The top of the smudge pot has a protective cover, open on the sides, to protect from burns.

FWIW, Stephen King repeatedly refers to "smudge pots" — not "torches" — in context of road construction in several of his writings (this is what brought me to this article in the first place). A preliminary Google search links several articles referring to "highway torch, a.k.a. 'smudge pot' ". Apparently both appellations were used.

See, for example, http://home.earthlink.net/~trafficgard/torches.htm

Apparently, the name highway traffic torches was also used. -- John Broughton (♫♫) 18:36, 19 December 2011 (UTC)

Contradiction

The current article first says that smudge pots were introduced in 1913, and then, in the first sentence of the next paragraph, that they were widely used throughout the 1900s! At most one of these assertions can be correct, and whichever it turns out to be, it needs to cite a reputable secondary source. --Quuxplusone 03:32, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

Simple - I tightened up the copy - end of apparent contradiction. Mark Sublette 12:52, 27 January 2007 (UTC)Mark SubletteMark Sublette 12:52, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

"Smudge stick" and "smudge pot" should be BFFs

Do you guys know about that other article: smudge stick? Is there some reason you don't join forces? I think it's confusing, otherwise, since I know of no real difference between the two, except w/r/t smudge "format (if you will)"... Sugarbat (talk) 20:47, 20 May 2008 (UTC)

The Silverton Standard newspaper of September 19, 1908 mentions that the Mesa County Fair will have an exhibit on the effectiveness of "smudging" fruit using the "smudge pot method." This predates the 1913 reference. To view the paper go here: http://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/Default/welcome.asp?skin=Colorado&QS=Skin=Colorado&e Choose Broadband Connection Choose Browse Select Silverton Standard from the drop-down list Select 1908 then select September (in that order) Select 19 from the calendar Navigate to Page 3 Column 2 and read Mesa County Fair squib. I don't know how to get this into the main Wiki page so perhaps someone could be kind enough to do this. 67.6.255.98 (talk) 02:21, 11 June 2012 (UTC)Will

Smudge Pot

I don't have the foggiest idea how to navigate this site so hopefully someone will bring this to an Administrator's attention.

These devices were important to me when I was a youngster. I had picked one up from down the road where the street was being worked on and dragged it home. My Father saw it (I wasn't hiding it) and I got a long lecture on safety and how I might have caused a very bad accident. It was a life changing event, I've been safety conscious since, therefore it's important to me. Perhaps only me. This was way back in the 1950s and I've never forgotten.

I do realize this is pretty low in the Grand Scheme of Life so I'm not going to worry about it after this submission.

A few years ago there was an article that likewise omitted the highway. I edited it. I don't recall what the original article had to say but it didn't include the use of Smudge Pots (SP) used to warn drivers of highway and street danger so I edited it. I checked later and my change was deleted. I later edited another article and likewise that use was omitted. Today, I logged in again and received a message by saying my whole article had been deleted. I don't remember the reason and I don't recall writing an article - just editing one and inserting the highway fact. Anyway, there is a current article about them. But the only mention of the safety use is almost a footnote at the end of the article.

I agree smudge SPs are needed for important agricultural industry's but the use for the safety of the public ranks up there pretty high, too

I would like to see more information written about them and a photo. Photos can be found in many places including eBay:

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1312&_nkw=smudge+pot&_sacat=0

So, again, this isn't the end of the world and I'm not going to worry about it anymore. Thanks for your time.

Arrrgoyle (talk) 02:07, 23 September 2021 (UTC)

Highway torch, Toledo torch

See previous topics; Smudge Pot, Traffic control

I was looking to deal with the citation tag. This seems at first easy, but is tough. You would think antique road construction regulations could be found. I am old enough to remember these being used when the county "rocked" the main roads in the late 1960s. They are seen in some old Warner Brothers cartoons.

There are many hits on searches on the terms, but they are all collector's pages (example), and I don't know how to RS these.

Toledo Torch or Highway Torch were brand and product names, while pitch pots, smudge pots, cannon balls were vernacular names.

A separate page might be warranted, if one doesn't already exist, somewhere.

IveGoneAway (talk) 20:54, 25 February 2024 (UTC)