How to light a real fire with wood

Bennifred

Gosh this thread takes me back. My Mum and Dad used to get us kids to make knots out of newspaper for lighting the fire - basically you roll up a sheet of newspaper and flatten the roll into a strip about an inch wide, and then wrap it around your hand and tie into a knot! These were then used under the kindling, followed by the larger bits of wood etc. I have absolutely no idea why they wanted the knots as opposed to just scrumpled up sheets of paper maybe it was just to keep us busy! :rolleyes:

Bennifred

Note to self: must type faster!!

allycat999

:rotfl:
Trouble is with a real fire is that if I left my husband in charge of it when I went out I would always find that it would be out when I got back.
Guess he takes his profession too seriously !!!
(he is a firefighter :rotfl: )

Robert5988

I inherited a ‘Best Matchless Firelighter’ it is 40+ years old but they are still made.

It is like a large powerful electric hair dryer that you point at the fireplace – which can be filled with wood or coal – and in a few minutes you have a roaring fire. A really effective device. It can also be used as a ‘bellows’ when the fire has died.

A bonus is that it is the best way to light a barbeque that I have ever seen.

Ted_Hutchinson

Although you can buy wood kindling it's really expensive for what it is and most builders merchants will happily give you offcuts or scrap timber from the skip. It doesn't take many minutes to saw into firesize lengths and split with a small axe.
One old wooden pallette can provide a load of kindling.

If your really lazy you may find a Calor Gas Poker at a boot sale. These are like a special pipe with holes which is connected to a flexible hose which is mounted on the smallest size of calor gas bottle. Providing you don't light the poker, stick it in the fire and leave it to roar away alone, these are quite safe and very useful in an emergency or for reluctant barbeques.

I can't seem to find any advertised anywhere new so presumably they are not made any longer (probably against safety rules, gas cylinders near hot fires don't mix so clearly need to be handled sensibly) but if you know any car booters you may find one about.

shanni

Thanks very much everyone for all your replies and good tips. I'll start with getting the chimney swept first and let you know if I've got a cosy fire by christmas!

Thanks again

uncle_buck_3

The gas poker that Ted describes is a god send if your coal is wet as it’s very hard to get the fire to light first time with the paper & sticks method. If it doesn’t catch first time you have to wait for the coal to cool down them lift it all off of the fire to relay your paper & stick bed….Nightmare!

The gas poker I think was mainly used on “Park ray” types of fire…these were smokeless fires that had a glass door & used smokeless coal know as coke. Normally on the hearth you had a gas point that the tube from the Gas poker connected to…the poker was inserted where the fire ash pan sits & the flames from it went through the great & lit the coke.

In our old house we had a Park ray but there was no gas to the house so just as Ted described we got a gas poker & fitted it to a small calor gas bottle…this was used mainly if they fire didn’t light with the paper & sticks method.

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Safety note about gas pokers:
Make sure the full length of the poker is lit, otherwise it will send unburnt gas up the chimney, which will eventually go "boom".

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Here’s a picture of a Gas poker:
http://www.c20fires.co.uk/fireplace_accessories/gas_poker.htm


And here’s where to get one from (Cheaply)
http://www.bes.ltd.uk/products/015.asp

PS: Don't have the fire on, on Christmas eve or Santa won't be able to get down the chimney!

Good luck.
ub.

carol_a_3

My chimney needs sweeping too, does anyone know roughly how much it costs nowdays?

Ted_Hutchinson

carol_a wrote:

My chimney needs sweeping too, does anyone know roughly how much it costs nowdays?

National Association of Chimney Sweeps

More links to chimney Sweeps Also says the usual cost is £45-£55. should also say it's not that difficult to do it yourself. You'd pay for the set of rods/brushes in one use.

bargainaddict

Last time we had the chimney swept it cost us £25 (Kent). The reason I got told to roll the paper into knots was because it kept the paper tightly compressed, therefore it burned longer as opposed to being just scrumpled up. I don.t think I've said that clearly, but I know what I mean! We also usually use 1 or 2 firelighters under the paper and kindling. The only trouble we have with our fire is that the living room gets so hot we have to open the window.We keep debating whether to have a gas fire put it but then we light the logs and know we would miss it, especially Christmas time.