How to light a wood-burning / coal stove?

the_skint_minx

Hi everyone,

I recently moved into a house that has a lovely ceramic stove - the only problem is we can't get the thing lit!

Looking in the coal shed there are bags of smokeless fuel - and as there are no other open fires we assume it's for the stove.

The stove itself has a lid at the top where you can put the fuel in, plus a grill at the front to let air in and heat out.

We have tried various combinations of smokeless fuel, newspaper, firewood, firelighters but the fuel just refuses to catch light properly. All that happens is that the kindling burns away and the fuel sits there stubbonly.

Does anyone own something similar? What fuel do you use and how do you get it going?

Cheers

LITTLEMISSFLOWER

Has it got damp?

mekondelta

We've had the same problem in getting used to light fires!

Basically, we found that to start the fire off, you need firelighters, the ones that look like polystyrene. Use a couple of matchbox-sized lumps at the bottom of your fire. Then put some *dry* wood (thin pieces) on top of the firelighters. Then place some coal on top of that. Then use something like a creme brulee torch to light the fire. The firelighters start drying/lighting the coal and the wood. The wood is there to carry on once the firelighters have burnt out.

It's worked for us but took months to work out...!

Volcano

Ditto what mekondelta said.

Might be an idea to get some new coal as the old stuff could well be damp. Just place a few smallish lumps of coal on the wood to start off with, when you can see them burning then you can put a few larger lumps around the small fire.

It is all too easy to put too much fuel on and smother the fire before it has a chance to get going. Once the fire is blazing well you can still use the older/probably damper coal, it just requires a fair bit of heat to dry it out.

ariba10

A good Draught is the secret of firelighting.
You need the ashpan cover fully open or taken off.
Everything above the ashpan to be closed except the flue which shoud be full open
Some crumpled newspaper with thin dry wood on it and a few lumps of coal on that.
Light the news paper and then close the front of the fire.

When lighting the fires in steam locco's Six peices of wood about 8 ins long and 1 in. in diameter with a little cotton waste was all that was used. Firewood was not easy to come by then when every one had coal fires.

Hope it helps.

calmgirl

(CG'S HUSBAND HERE)
But more sensible
as ariba said a good draught is whats needed air is a fires life blood as we all know from our child hood days when we blew on a fire

A chimney is not just there to take the smoke away the wind blowing over the top draws the air up and it creates a draught which feeds the fire with air.

If that is bloked it will smoke everywhere. or if (not very likley) there is no wind try cutting the top and bottom of a baked been tin and create your own draught (also a good tip for barbeques this one) as this createsa more natural air flow than blowing on the embers diredtly.

Coal burns hot and long much the same as oak, and ewe wood. Hawthorn, ash, and sycamore burns quite fast but gives of a low heat heat hence it is ideall for kindling.
( arule of thumb for wood burning is if the tree grows fast it burns fast. if it grows slow it burns slow).

you will get the fire alight soon and it will become second nature soon trust me.

Fire lighting is an art that has been lost on a lot of people (NOT ARSON)

kittiwoz

You have to put the fast burning stuff in first. Crumple some newspaper. I was taught to loosely roll a half-broadsheet and then tie it in a loose knot but I don't suppose it's critical. The point is to create an open structure to the fire so that air can be pulled through it. Pile the newspaper towards the back of the grate. Then make a little "wig-wam" of dry sticks around the paper with space between the sticks. Push in a couple of firelighters. Put the fuel in on top of the sticks. Don't use too much or you won't get enough air circulating through and it won't light. You can add more fuel once it gets going. Light the firelighters which should be pushed well in among the newspapers under the fuel. Make sure the grate is open. Once the kindling has caught close the lid. If all else fails invest in a gas-poker.

frugglewump

This may sound weird, but in my experience of lighting campfires:

Pringles make wonderful firelighters

ariba10

frugglewump wrote:

This may sound weird, but in my experience of lighting campfires:

Pringles make wonderful firelighters

That's a much better use for them.

the_skint_minx

frugglewump wrote:

This may sound weird, but in my experience of lighting campfires:

Pringles make wonderful firelighters

What a fantastic idea. Definitely the oddest camping tip I've heard though. I'll have to remember to pack the pringles next trip.

Funnily enough, campfires don't give me any problem, nor do normal log fires. It's just this stupid stove thingy that is defeating me.