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Peat Briquettes vs. Fire logs

  • 15-01-2010 6:57pm
    #1
    Apple_
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1 ✭


    Hi Folks

    As some of you will know Spar currently has fire logs on special offer for €1 each. I tried one yesterday for the first time, and it worked pretty well, the heating here doesn't come on until late and it did a reasonably good job of heating the room up, even though I was only using half of it due to a small fireplace (and small room) -

    I was going to pick up a box of them today, to take advantage of the special offer, but on the way I spotted a place selling peat briquettes. €4 for a bale of them, seems like a good deal I thought so I went for those instead and just got one fire log from spar to help me get them lit.

    I can't get them lit. They just seem to go 'embery' or put out a tiny little bit of fire, also they've made the room smell of peat, which i've gathered is part of the effect, but I'm sure its supposed to be from them burning, rather than smoky incomplete combustion.

    So what am I doing wrong? I broke one up into a few chunks and had it over the top of the fire log getting plenty of heat, it just wouldnt really catch light. I did eventually manage to get it burning, but there wasnt a lot of fire, and as I look at it now it's burning really mildly.

    So what did I do wrong? How do I get these things to go up properly? Do they just take ages to get going? Or do you need to use a few of them at once, to have a fairly big fire going, to get them hot enough to burn properly? Are they unsuitable for use one briquette at a time?

    If the worst comes to the worst, I'll just give them away or bury them shamefully in the garden (back from whence they came!) but they're much cheaper than the fire logs, and people seem to be quite keen on them overall, so where am I going wrong?

    Any help appreciated!
    Tagged:


Comments

  • #2
    looksee
    Registered Users Posts: 28,012 ✭✭✭✭looksee


    I find peat briquettes are ok for heat but they burn away fairly quickly and make a huge amount of very soft, messy ash to dispose of. They are not suitable for using one at a time, Use a bit of firelighter, break up one of the briquettes (if you hit the side with a poker they kind of fall into flakes) and use some of that to get it started, then put the other briquettes on top. We used to sometimes use a mixture of briquettes and coal, but I don't bother with them now. Also you need to keep them under cover to keep them dry.


  • #3
    trish71
    Registered Users Posts: 5 ✭trish71


    We use them all the time and find them great. You will need to start your fire with firelighters and maybe some sticks - you can buy a bag of these in local shops for about €2. Add 3 -4 briquettes to the sticks - layered nicely to allow air/ flames to get going. Add a few more briquettes when the fire has clearly got going - enjoy!!


  • #4
    mw3guc
    Closed Accounts Posts: 216 ✭✭mw3guc


    I LOVE peat briquettes - the smell of turf is wonderful :) I put 2 briquettes in the grate, top these with 2 firelighters and build a kind of 'house of cards' tower around them with more briquettes. This makes a very quick fire with loads of heat.
    Although the snow is gone for this year (hopefully) the ashes can be used on paths and drives to minimise slipping - a bit messy, but useful. If you're a gardener, the fine ash can be dug into the soil for some extra fertiliser or spread around trees and plants.


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