We just had our fireplace out and its clean. The chimney sweep said it looked lije it hadn’t been used in years. So I went out and bought some firewood from a number I got from a sign posted by Wal-Mart. I actually called the places that claimed to sell firewood in the yellow pages, but they all said they didn’t actually sell firewood but if I had a way to split it they would arrange to have some come when they took a tree down or something.
I think I understand how to start a fire. Put the paper under the kindling. Space the kindling nicely so oxygen gets in. Use plendy of kindling. Put the bigger wood on top of the kindling. Light the paper.
I’ve done this several times. I’ve come to the conclusion that the firewood I bought was not seasoned. We get glowing embers but no fire. To say the least, my wife is pissed because I bought a whole cord. But Survivorman[sup]tm[/sup] always get his wood to burn and he can’t possibly have seasoned firewood. So what do I need to start a fire?
The order goes: paper, small tinder, medium tinder, large tinder, more large tinder, Burn, damn you, more tinder, logs. Dont add bigger pieces until you have a ton of kindling going. Then add them one at a time, and let them catch before you add the next.
Fire-making is an art. Take your time and things will be fine.
If that doesn’t work, break out the gasoline and hand grenades!
The best idea is not to worry about building a big fire right away. Build a tiny fire and then slowly add to it until it gets bigger and bigger. A pyramid configuration is ideal to get the fire started. Use the smallest pieces of wood in your chord to help build up the heat then add bigger pieces. Green wood sucks but it will burn if you get things hot enough to get it started. Don’t hesitate to move wood around to get the perfect balance of heat and oxygen. I learned these things in Boy Scouts and have a reputation among family and friends of being a great firebuilder. You just need to think like a fire.
When we burned wood in NJ, we sometimes cheated and bought little starter logs in the grocery. (Not the big fake logs.) However, the advice already given is the best way to do it.
We already broke out the isopropanol. It burns like mad, gets a small fire on the wood started then once the fuel has been exhausted we get a few burning embers that fizzle out.
I’m really concerned that my inexperience has made me unknowingly buy firewood that wont light.
You can go to your local supermarket, probably, and buy a bundle of seasoned wood. Use one of these logs atop your tinder; when it gets going well, add a log or two of the unseasoned wood. Put a log or two of your unseasoned wood in the firebox but off to the side to dry thoroughly while you have a reasonable fire going. These logs can be the next ones on.
Don’t forget to swear, which is a necessary factor.
I’m seconding the starter brick idea. They sell them in any hardware store, by the Duraflames. They come in a cube, or brick depending on which brand you buy. Put whatever they recommend under a log or two, making a nice stack with room for the oxygen to burn, light the brick and walk away. They burn nice and hot long enough to get pretty much any log going. Add logs as needed.
Good advice above. The way to look at it is to think of it like you are cooking the wood. If you want to cook a big piece, you’ve got to have a big, hot bed of coals to do it. You achieve this as Shagnasty and Silenus pointed out above - start small and work your way up. Also, try not to use too much paper. It burns very quickly, but leaves no hot coals behind. Use only as much paper as you need to get the kindling started. As the kindling burns down, add progressively larger pieces antil the whole thing is self-sustaining.
Also, a fire needs a lot of attention in the beginning to keep it going until there is a sufficient bed of coals. Don’t try to rush this part, especially with green wood.
Shhh. Don’t tell anyone, especially my mucho macho big bad uber competent woodsy hubby, but the absolute sure fire way to get the damn thing going good is to crumple up the paper, stuff under the grate – not too tight now – pile the little kindling in nice loose X’s, with the medium kindling on top in nice loose opposing X’s (so that it vaguely resembles, from above, 3 or 4 mutant octopi in a row), but sneak in, sort of toward the middle, under the little kindling X’s, on top of the paper, a tea-light candle with the tiny metal cup removed. Really big logs, use two candles.
Don’t fuss with it – no blowing or stirring or any of that nonsense. Just let the flames spread. When the medium sticks are starting to show their own flame, then put some big kindling on top. Don’t be too neat about it, loose and slightly sloppy is the way to go at this stage. When the big kindling is showing it’s own flame (paper is completely gone, little kindling is about done), it’s time for the bigger “logs.”
It works slightly better if you’re female and can say something about women “tending the hearth because we can” type snarky sexist comment. Don’t push that too far, tho, since my sainted honest-to-god-cowboy grandfather taught me the trick.
If you’re in a hurry, well, dump on some of that used motor oil everyone was wondering how to use, send the kids & pregnant women out side, and get out the propane torch. Sucker’ll light then, I promise
Be sure the flue is actually, really, truly open, whichever method you choose. Seriously. Now check it again.
I don’t know if this is applicable to a fireplace, but I’ve lit tons of fires outside, and I’ve found you can get away with a lot of problems if you just add enough oxygen to the mix. People give lip-service to constructing your fire to “allow” air in. But to really get it going, “allowing” ain’t gonna roast your marshmallows. Fan it. Get the fire going just a little, and then figure out a way to blast air at it. Aim for the base of the fire. I’ll usually fold a tarp into a 2-foot square and just wave it violently at my nascent fire until the heat drives me away. If you’re indoors, you might try using an electric fan. (I’ve used an electric fan to great effect to start a charcoal BBQ.) Just don’t forget that fuel+oxygen = hot hot hot!
Caveats:
I don’t know if an electric fan will fill your living room with soot.
It’s easy to melt your fan like this. (Don’t forget: “hot hot hot!”)
What you need is some fatwood (also known as “rich pine” in these parts). Find an old, old, long-dead, gnarled piece of pine (or old pine stump) in the woods. Break it open or chop it open. You should get a strong turpentine scent. That’s fatwood. Great kindling. Burns very hot. If that won’t get your fire going, nothing will.
I heat with a wood furnace, and thus start a fire most mornings from November through March. My 99% reliable technique is to select two medium-sized split and dried logs and place them parallel and about 5 inches apart. Paper and a moderate amount of kindling are then placed between these. Some larger-than-kindling sticks (say, 1" - 1.5" diam.) are placed across the two logs, and another dry log on top of those. I ignite the paper and a nice fire reliably follows - only rarely does it need any attention until (on a cold day) it’s time for more logs.
Really dry wood is vastly superior. You can tell you have wet wood if after the fire is going it hisses and spits steam out of the ends (before burning you can tell by cutting it and checking the interior).
Two large logs, just barely touching on the bottom of the grate. Fill the space between them with fine kindling. Put three large rocks along the same groove. Put a large log on top. If you can’t see into the center, get bigger rocks. Put a bit of paper under the grate. Get a hair dryer, on hottest setting, and blow air up the flue for a few minutes. Then light the paper at the bottom.
Don’t touch anything until the rocks fall through. The next log goes in the back, on top of the embers of the top log, and the rocks. Add logs one at a time. If you have really green, or wet wood, stand up the logs at the ends of the fireplace if there is room, and they should get very dry before you need them.
Actually, both my wife and I are pretty serious chemists, so if FOOM is what we want, we got the big boy/girl stuff. On a side note, when does the PAIN from a secondary burn subside? My wife is not simpathetic, but [acting naturaly] someone I know is in a lot of pain right now[/acting naturaly].
Apparently, starting a fir tonight was mainly a matter of not watching the pot boil. When I walked away, nothing was happening, but 30 minutes later we had a fire.
Is it an enclosed fireplace, with a door? If so, I’ve found it best to leave the door cracked open a bit until the fire has properly caught, then close it.
