Lord of the flame..

Dixie Chick

Ive recently moved to a home with an open fire. I am not great at getting them going, unless I use a firelog or a firepack.

What are peoples tricks?

phasers

use a firelog or a firepack.

whiskeyman

Fireworks doused in petrol usually work.

o1s1n

Thin Kindling wood, log on top, briquettes around it standing up.

Firelighter in with the kindling and away it goes.

Make sure fire is cleaned out then start off small.

Piece of firefighter with a few bits of small sticks and a few small bits of coal. Build up gradually as it lights.

You'll soon get the hang of it.

danniemcq

Firelighters and sticks are the most important things

Firelighters - Don't buy cheap, I like Dunnes own brand for a good mix of price and quality.

bag of sticks, about €3-4, when the firelighters have started burning cover it gently with a handful of sticks, allow air to get in, don't smother it.

Then put coal on, start at the base and work around, still allowing air to go through.

If you are in a city that has smokless fuel then ... good luck its crap stuff unless you spend a small fortune on bags. (16-18 quid) if its normal coal though look for bags at around €13 for 40kg bags.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Never mind d all this gradual adding of fuel. I have a coal fire every day and this is how to set a fire.

Clear out ash first of course. Leave a layer of old cinders on the base. Crumple in a few sheets of newspaper , lay some small kindling sticks (lay them front to back and not across the grate), put a couple of file lighters between the sticks towards the front of the fire so you can get a match to them later, place coal on top of and around the sticks until the grate is full, put a match to the fire lighters and in 10 minutes the fire is roaring. Never fails.

biko

Do not use a plastic bucket to store the hot ash. A friend did this and now has a nice burn on the floor where the ash burned trough the bucket...

petes

Tori Polite Recorder wrote: »

Clear out ash first of course. Leave a layer of old ciders on the base. .

Would that not hinder the lighting of the fire :P

Firelighters and small sticks and then small pieces of turf.

The Backwards Man

Firelighters are for wimps. Bed of newspaper (breadwrappers even better), five or six sticks on tops, three or four turf (dry but not too black) and away you go.

SEPT 23 1989

make sure your chimney has been cleaned out there could be all manner of dead wildlife trapped up there blocking the draft

RobertKK

Thick cardboard can be used instead of sticks, I have an old fashioned solid fuel stove, it has the fire place, an oven and a place you can put sticks or cardboard in my case to dry out and some newspaper.
I make the fire by tearing up some newspaper, then a firelighter, then the dried out cardboard - torn up, then some briquettes on top of that. Works every time.
Obviously take out any ashes before the fire is lit.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

petes wrote: »

Would that not hinder the lighting of the fire :P
.

Not at all. I used to put the cinders on top decades ago but find they have so much gas left in them and they ignite easily, so form a great base. They are not a solid mass so air passes easily through them.

danniemcq

Oh oh and another quick tip, if you cover the front of the fireplace with a newspaper to stop air getting in it can increase the burn rate as the flames are sucked up the chimney.

Only really works if you have some flame though and usually works better when there is a bit of wind.

Oh and sugar thrown on the fire can help too, just be very careful as it can cause a huge flame so only throw on a wee bit

I Heart Internet

As Sept says above:

MAKE SURE THAT YOUR CHIMNEY HAS BEEN RECENTLY CLEANED (OR GET IT DONE YOURSELF).

This is a safety issue as well as your guarantee that you'll have a good fire.

Steps to lighting a good fire:

- Make sure that under the grate is relatively free of ash - promotes air intake
- Light 4-5, 2 inch chunks of firelighter spread arounf the grate
- Add a decent bundle of kindling and give it at least a minute to get burning
- Throw on a good load of coal
- Leave the grate "open" for 5 minutes or so until the fire is going very strongly.
-Close the grate and bask in the warm glow.

GreeBo

Tori Polite Recorder wrote: »

Not at all. I used to put the ciders on top decades ago but find they have so much gas left in them and they ignite easily, so form a great base. They are not a solid mass so air passes easily through them.

I'm going to go out on a limb here....cinders?

Sunnyisland

Contact bear grylls great man :-)

wexie

really depends on what you're burning, ie. wood, briquettes, turf or coal.

Couple of things I've found :tealights are nearly as cheap as firelighters and work brilliantly if you set the fire so that they're under the fuel. Prawn crackers burn like mad (no calories there at all) and can be used to get a fire going nicely.

I usually build a little pyramid with kindling, (firelighters or tealight inside) then start circling it with larger pieces of wood, topped off with coal and coal around the outside. That way all the flame from the kindling and wood drafts up through the coal, once the kindling is burnt the coal drops down and you've a nice base for a roaring fire.

kneemos

Stick an electric flame in it,save yourself the hardship.

Sorted.

Dixie Chick

kneemos wrote: »

Stick an electric flame in it,save yourself the hardship.

Sorted.

What do you mean? Get in an electric grate? Nahhh, real fire is the way to go!

Thanks for all this. I live in a smokeless coal city and also find firelogs and packs way too expensive for a weeknight. I would use a firepack on a Saturday or sunday if I was up early and knew I wasn't moving for the day.

danniemcq

Dixie Chick wrote: »

What do you mean? Get in an electric grate? Nahhh, real fire is the way to go!

Thanks for all this. I live in a smokeless coal city and also find firelogs and packs way too expensive for a weeknight. I would use a firepack on a Saturday or sunday if I was up early and knew I wasn't moving for the day.

Smokeless fuel is a nightmare, we only recently got it up here in Letterkenny (if your town has 15000+ people you have to use it, so stupid) its best to look at whats on offer and what suits your budget, you might have to try a different bag each week till you find it or ask in your local supplier what they recommend

jimgoose

A good firelighter will start the fire under plain coal. That smokeless stuff mandatory in the cities is basically compressed and formed anthracite, and burns like diesel - you could make steel with it. Stay away from cheap-'n'-cheerful firelighters - most of them have bugger all kerosene soaked into them, and the likes of Zip are much better.