Starting a fire

[cav58d]

arghhhh...So last week I went and and bought a chord (sp) of wood...I inspected it first and it's definately dry...I am a good friend of the person who I bought it from, and I know for certain the wood has aged and dried for at least 24 months....

So tonight I go to have my first fire in the fire place and I just cant get it going....I set it up as I always do with a lot of dry kindling in the center, a couple rolled up newspapers, and a lot of room to breathe....I get it going, but it seems like the only thing going is the kindling and the newspapers...The wood looks like it catches, but looking closer, its only charing the wood...

Any idea why the would would only be charing and not catching?

Furthermore, does anyone have any good tips to start fires in fire places?

Finally, this is the first time using the fire place since moving into my new house, and its different than others that I have seen...It has a pit or a drop under the rack, and i'm worried this might just be a chitty fire place and the drop disrupts air circulation, and doesn't allow the hot embers to stay close to the wood (because they drop), to keep it hot enough?


HELP!

[lasersailor184]

If you see those fake wood logs, try them out.  They make starting the fire incredibly more easy, not to mention making it burn hotter.  I only ever use them to start a fire, never to keep it going.



But other than that, my go to move is to have the logs crossing, so that one log is in the air.  Put kindling AND rolled newspaper throughout.  Kindling is thin strips of wood.  Don't roll the newspaper too tight.

[TalonX]

Cav,

Do you have glass doors?  If so, once you get the paper lit, shut the doors.   Open the vent below the glass to force the air under the wood pile, through the kindling.

When that fails, go buy the parafin soaked wood....FireStarter.  It's a kindling that lights easy (no paper needed) and burns hot for the little bit you use.   Guaranteed to light your fire, baby.

-Jim Morrison

[Tac]

The trick is to get the heat to build up in the center.

Make a 'hole' in the middle of the pit surrounded by coals. Put the stick on top and the fast consumable wood strips/newspaper in the middle.

Light up the middle portion, throw one coal on top of it and slowly..SLOWLY, use a hand fan to keep the airflow.

In short order the sticks light up and then the coals get red.

[Speed55]

http://www.duraflame.com/

[cav58d]

Talon-  Closing the glass doors is "working"...I'm gonna try to keep building it up...I just dont wanna open the doors pre-maturely and lose it..

and yea yea, i know about duraflame and firestarting wood...Used it many a times....im cheap this year though =)

[cav58d]

THREE CHEERS FOR TALON!  HIP HIP HOORAY! x 3

thanks bud

[Mark Luper]

I'm comming in  little late on this but I always started my fires with a coke can cut in half half filled with kerosene placed directly under the wood. I always stacked my wood on a grate and stacked them all running side to side, parallel to each other.

By the time the kerosene burned out the fire was going good whether it was dry wood or green. (used seasoned dry wood mostly). As soon as it ran out just pull the half coke can out from under the logs and keep it for the next time.

Mark

[john9001]

find a boy scout, if no scout available try some gasoline.

[Ripsnort]

Originally posted by john9001
find a boy scout, if no scout available try some gasoline.

Or, do what my Muslim neighbor did (Hey, he's an immigrant, what can he say?)  He has a big fire pit, threw some cedar fence sections in the firepit to burn them (windstorm debris)....got a can of white gas (I could tell by the red/silver half gallon can) and dosed it good.  I stood at the window grinning from ear to ear....he lit the match.....didn't even get it at a 1/2 throw from him.....WOOOOOOOOOPHFFFH!

I brought him out a beer and we discussed how soon his eyebrows were going to grow back.


He's a great man. Learning the hard way, like we all have.

[Mark Luper]

Originally posted by Ripsnort
Or, do what my Muslim neighbor did ...

I brought him out a beer and we discussed how soon his eyebrows were going to grow back.


He's a great man. Learning the hard way, like we all have.

He may be a great man but I didn't think Muslims drank alcolhol.

Mark

[Ripsnort]

Originally posted by Mark Luper
He may be a great man but I didn't think Muslims drank alcolhol.

Mark

He's been here 12 years. He's becoming a redneck living next to me. I am a bad influence on him. (He claims he's muslim, but doesn't claim that he's a practicing muslim...kinda like 1/2 the catholics in our country do...)

[Xargos]

A ten mile Muslim?  

[bj229r]

Where I live ya throw an old tractor tire filled with gasoline in the middle..now if it's INside... I have fire EVERY day in winter, use Fire Starters and take ONE log, make kindling of it

[storch]

I use a mapp torch, works just fine