Guest valleylass Posted December 27, 2010 Share Posted December 27, 2010 Are great in this cold weather - but we are a bit useless at keeping it alight. Has anybody got any tips for fire building...bbqs/open fires/wood burners. I'd be thrilled to get some help - it's costing us a fortune. We've got kindling, firelighters and logs (too large for the stove maybe??) it has a 4.5 kwt output and uses clean burn technology apparently. As the snow is heading for us again tonight help is needed; how I regret getting thrown out of the girl guides :embarrassed: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest madplumber2 Posted December 27, 2010 Share Posted December 27, 2010 Are great in this cold weather - but we are a bit useless at keeping it alight. Has anybody got any tips for fire building...bbqs/open fires/wood burners. I'd be thrilled to get some help - it's costing us a fortune. We've got kindling, firelighters and logs (too large for the stove maybe??) it has a 4.5 kwt output and uses clean burn technology apparently. As the snow is heading for us again tonight help is needed; how I regret getting thrown out of the girl guides :embarrassed: This should do the trick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Andy Posted December 27, 2010 Share Posted December 27, 2010 Are great in this cold weather - but we are a bit useless at keeping it alight. Has anybody got any tips for fire building...bbqs/open fires/wood burners. I'd be thrilled to get some help - it's costing us a fortune. We've got kindling, firelighters and logs (too large for the stove maybe??) it has a 4.5 kwt output and uses clean burn technology apparently. As the snow is heading for us again tonight help is needed; how I regret getting thrown out of the girl guides :embarrassed: Try screwing up about 6 or 7 sheets of newspaper and placing them in the stove and then breaking up the firelighters into smaller bits and spread them out on the balls of paper, then light the paper and put 3 or 4 more balls on top, then place 5 or 6 bits of kindling into a kind of wigwam arrangement on top of the fire, close the burner but make sure the air outlet is open about halfway, when that has got going put some more kindling on and then a couple of small logs, keep the logs small and manageable as the bigger ones are not to clever in a log burner. That should sort you out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest valleylass Posted December 27, 2010 Share Posted December 27, 2010 Thanks Andy - I think we've been lashing the logs in too early. We're going to have to chop them into thinner bits I think. I will try the method outlined beautifully above and give you an update; snow is on it's way again... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest madplumber2 Posted December 27, 2010 Share Posted December 27, 2010 I aint jokin, we had a BBQ in winter over here and I started up the brazier, I used the weed flamer and it got it going a treat in a very short time. Back in the UK I used to do the same with a solid fuel fire using my blow lamp!:jiggy: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bobby Posted December 27, 2010 Share Posted December 27, 2010 Are great in this cold weather - but we are a bit useless at keeping it alight. Has anybody got any tips for fire building...bbqs/open fires/wood burners. I'd be thrilled to get some help - it's costing us a fortune. We've got kindling, firelighters and logs (too large for the stove maybe??) it has a 4.5 kwt output and uses clean burn technology apparently. As the snow is heading for us again tonight help is needed; how I regret getting thrown out of the girl guides :embarrassed: They are really easy to keep going if you use dry wood under 20% moisture, I cannot understand you not being able to keep it going, get the fire going really well and then close down slowley and you will see the secondairies kick in, Have you got a stovetop or stove-pipe thermometer? to start, two medium splits about 4 inches apart..fill with paper and a small piece of firelighter, criss cross kindling on top, and some smaller splits and away you go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bobby Posted December 27, 2010 Share Posted December 27, 2010 You really need to burn hot small fires, never smoulder or you will end up with a chimney fire as it will creosote your chimney up.. Read this forum which will put you straight. Hearth.com | Powered By ExpressionEngine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest valleylass Posted December 28, 2010 Share Posted December 28, 2010 I aint jokin, we had a BBQ in winter over here and I started up the brazier, I used the weed flamer and it got it going a treat in a very short time. Back in the UK I used to do the same with a solid fuel fire using my blow lamp!:jiggy: Love it but scared of it - I thought you were joking cos the photo looks so funny. Thanks madplumber but I'm too much of a Jessie to try it :wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest valleylass Posted December 28, 2010 Share Posted December 28, 2010 Wood burner update: no snow yet the weather forecast has changed only grey, dreary mist. The Pepin method was tried last night to great success along with smaller logs. The madplumber method could be adopted in times of desperation! Bobby thanks for link I'll check it out now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest madplumber2 Posted December 28, 2010 Share Posted December 28, 2010 Love it but scared of it - I thought you were joking cos the photo looks so funny. Thanks madplumber but I'm too much of a Jessie to try it :wink: Very true the safety aspect has to be observed, but in reality how long will you spend waiting for kindling to light? In the UK I used to love a real solid fuel fire, although mine was coal, it's still the same principal. You need to get as much heat as soon as possible sometimes. The weed flamer I've shown you might well be over kill but it works well in an outdoor application. With a coal fire a used to use a wood kindling crip under a heap of coal, then used a large blow lamp to get the fire going, within 10 mins the fire was well ablaze, to be honest no type of central heating could ever give off such a warming heat or sense of well being. We've no use for such things in QLD, but looking at current weather reports in the UK, I think I'd be glad if a real fire madplumber Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest valleylass Posted December 28, 2010 Share Posted December 28, 2010 Bobby - I've just checked out that website. Absolutely loads of information on it so thanks. I can't quite believe that the 'wood burners' on the forum list the make and model of their stove as a tag line, that's so funny! Anyhoo I'm off to buy an axe to chop down the logs to a better size and source better kindling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest littlesarah Posted December 28, 2010 Share Posted December 28, 2010 I was taught to light a fire by my husband (who never fails to get a fire going) - the method we use is not disimilar to Andy's, and works every time (as long as the wood is dry). We never use firelighters - just small kindling, and then add small split logs before moving onto bigger ones once it's going nicely. In fact, even though it's Summer, we have a fire going at the moment!! Good luck (how great is a real fire?!) Sarah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest valleylass Posted December 28, 2010 Share Posted December 28, 2010 (how great is a real fire?!) Magnificent once you have mastered the technique. Just a novice at present but we now have a small axe and a great store of kindling, and best of all none of the predicted snow. In fact it was a barmy 6 degrees today...almost put my shorts on:wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pablo Posted December 28, 2010 Share Posted December 28, 2010 Magnificent once you have mastered the technique. Just a novice at present but we now have a small axe and a great store of kindling, and best of all none of the predicted snow. In fact it was a barmy 6 degrees today...almost put my shorts on:wink: Alrite VL Allways had a mental picture of you sitting there in a business suit ,blue stckngs and heels etc,now ive got a mental picture of a frontierswoman in cowhide chopping wood!:goofy::laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest valleylass Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 Alrite VLAllways had a mental picture of you sitting there in a business suit ,blue stckngs and heels etc,now ive got a mental picture of a frontierswoman in cowhide chopping wood!:goofy::laugh: Says more about you than it does about me mate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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