Its tough, it will get better and guess what its freezing brrrrr!

jackieglasgow

We never used firelighters, it was always yesterday's newspaper, rolled up an knotted really tightly to make kindling. It was an artform taught to us at an early age :rotfl:

mardatha

I would never ever move to a house without a coal fire or stove. I hatehateHATE having no fire. I dont mind the holey hearthrug or the bucket of ash at the back door, it's worth it for me.

dundeedoll_2

jackieglasgow wrote: »

We never used firelighters, it was always yesterday's newspaper, rolled up an knotted really tightly to make kindling. It was an artform taught to us at an early age :rotfl:

If I bring some newspapers to B'ham will you teach me????

Hope you've managed to sort that ear infection out and are feeling better Jackie.

mardatha

As far as I mind, it was a cross between making xmas decorations and pleating a pigtail. LOL

ChocClare

seasalt, do you mind writing down how you bank up a fire? I have never been taught, and would like to make sure I'm doing it properly.

We knot newspapers too - roll up a broadsheet, fold in half and then twist - and sometimes fold back through the loop like a lead rein.

jackieglasgow

mardatha wrote: »

As far as I mind, it was a cross between making xmas decorations and pleating a pigtail. LOL

We weren't that poor that we used newspaper for that, we used old magazines

csarina

I used to make crackers to light the fire out of newspaper, not sure now how I did it but I think it was two paged rolled up and flattened and then sort of plaited together, I use half a firelighter and some stick, once its started to burn, wood goes on, the top and the bottom air vents on the stove opened slightly then closed and the top veny half opened when its flaming nicely....keeps the glass clean, do not get any ot very little, staining on the glass. A damp kitchen towel dipped in wood ash takes care of that, then polished with a clean piece and both bits go into the stove.

I do not leave our stove in onernight, it tars up the chimney and car cause problems later on, out heating is set to come on at 7.30 and goes off at 10am that warms the sitting room through, if its sunny like today I do not need to light the fire until around 4 - 4.30pm. If its really cold or nasty I light it at lunchtime.

charlies-aunt

...and I thought that we were the only ones that make bricks out of the coal dust and tiddly bits I save all old candle stubs to make hm firelighters Firebricks are on the shopping list for next week as this we need to line the firebasket to make it smaller as it was made to burn logs not coal and with smokeless nuts at £16.00 a bag, we need to eke them out as far as we can.

I burn any unrecycleable paper/cardboard last thing at night as the ash helps damp the fire down and the last bit of heat dries anything left on an airer for 'free'


Have just come back from the library with an armful of books - they have just got a new selection of thrift/green living books in and I hope I'm going to pick up some good OS hints and tips - I'm going to start with "Teach Yourself - Thrifty Living" so hope to be posting some OS ideas that I've gleaned from it in the next couple of days.

Feral kittens back this morning, ravenously hungry as missed their supper yesterday, but please to report that the 2nd kitten is now allowing me to stroke her Small thing but I am so thrilled that I'm winning her round - her brother lets me pick him up and give him a real good fuss now but tom cats are generally that bit bolder I guess

Got two ready cooked half chickens for a £1 each from Sainburgs today and leeks/parnips from Lidl/Aldo super 6 so thats Sunday dinner sorted!

mardatha

Our smokeless eggs are £17 What time does Sainsbugs sell off the chickens usually ?

seasalt_2

Hi ChocClare. We have now got stoves - both of which will stay alight for days - and in the case of the rayburn, months, at a time and keep the house lovely and warm - just a case of regularly riddling and removing the ashes, refuelling and then shutting down the air supply almost completely at night and opening it up again in the morning - the tricky bit is if the wind changes drastically - either drops completely overnight or else gets up madly when you've set the wheel/dampers for the opposite conditions.

With an open fire, the last house we lived in, I was lucky enough to have one with an additional front plate that you could put on at night, which really helped, otherwise I just used to make sure the fire was built up and going well, put a few lumps of decent coal on and then cover the lot with either dross or even ashes ie practically smother it, shut the air inlet at the bottom right down and it should keep going slowly all night and then in the morning you get it going again - empty the ash pan and open the air inlets, break through the "crust" with the poker if necessary - if you used ash rather than dross, you might need to remove some of it if you cant just rake it through the now hopefully burning again coal - add more coal once it's got going and you're away.

If, despite your best efforts it's gone out, it will usually still be hot and can sometimes be rescued by raking away as much ash as possible so that the air can get in from underneath and lighting eg. newspaper sticks with a bit of kindling and wood/coal on top of the remains. Not to mention the dangerous (but effective) practice of holding an opened newspaper across the fireplace to increase the draught!

Other folk may have better advice and there is a whole thread about keeping fires going etc on the Utilities Board - I think under the subheading of LPG and Heating.

Also, I only used to do it if weather was very cold (only heating we had) as it does use more fuel, not so much the banking it up at night as keeping it alight all day - I used to lay the fire in the morning but try not to light it until late afternoon/early evening - DD1 and I used to dress like michelin men and if DD was at nursery and I was at home rather than at work or in the warmth of the library, I would sit and write my essays wrapped in my duvet, with a hottie on my knee and fingerless gloves. Also, in winter, we moved the settee right up near the fire and never went into the back of the room if we could help it!

OH, who is much too impatient to make origami newspaper sticks (actually I think just tightly twisting it is as good as anything) used, when I first met him, to add a splash of diesel to the laid fire before lighting it and once (only once!) petrol - and believe me that makes big holes in your carpet!! (Don't know how to get the "eek" emoticon if I haven't quoted anyone but you could insert a few here!) The blaze set fire to the chimney - fortunately it was aluminium lined so he chucked a bucket of water on the fire and the steam went up the chimney and put it out. I still think he opens the stoves too much and they burn too hot if he's in charge - we have just had to buy two new grate bars for the rayburn and a new bottom grate for the small stove! Part of the reason I started on this ash sieving in the first place is that the improvised ones we had been using let wastefully big bits of coal fall through into the ashcan.