Be sure to stack your kindling horizontally. This means laying it down flat, not standing it up on end. Additionally, leave gaps for air to pass through. Air is fuel to a fire. Stack it in layers, criss-crossed. Stack two or three larger pieces of kindling on top of the newspaper, and then two or three more pieces on top of those at a perpendicular angle, creating a kind of grid. Continue stacking smaller pieces of kindling onto the grid, each new levels perpendicular to the last. Stack one or two larger logs on top of your kindling base.
Depending on your kindling placement, you may be able to fit a couple logs over your kindling securely. Larger logs may look nicer and be more fun to burn, but they have larger surface areas, making them tougher to catch fire. Two logs that are the size of one is almost always preferable. Stack the wood at most to half of the height of the fireplace.
You don't want your fire to rage out of control when you light it, and you can always add more firewood as needed. Light the newspaper first. The kindling lights from that. Watch the smoke carefully for the first half hour. The smoke should be nearly undetectable if it's drafting right up the chimney. Use your fireplace poker to lift the wood stack carefully; just pry it up a little, like jacking up a car.
Take care here — all you need to do is allow some air to get under it. If your bed of coals underneath the grate is too high, use the poker to spread them out under the fire, leaving a couple of inches of air space. If the smoke is grey, most of the combustible material is escaping through the chimney instead of burning. You probably did not light the fire from above. You may have used wet wood. The fire is getting too much oxygen.
Yes, this is confusing - fire is a delicate balance of air and fuel. When there's too much oxygen, the fire has a hard time catching hold of the fuel, and can make more smoke than normal. Open a window slightly. If you're still having trouble getting a good draft on the fireplace, and smoke is coming back into the room, try opening a window about an inch. This works best if the window is on a wall opposite the fireplace, with few obstructions — you will not want to have people seated between the window and fireplace.
Sometimes, this breaks a kind of "vapor lock" on the room and allows the smoke to rise up the chimney. It will start pulling hard from that window, which will create a stream of cold air running between the window and fireplace.
Stay out of the way and let it go — sometimes if the chimney isn't tall enough, this is the only way to get the draft running well and keep smoke out of the room. The rest of the room should stay warm, it's just the draft path that will be a little chilly.
Add really big logs. If you're trying to enjoy an evening, you can make sure the fire will go a while without tending by building it properly to start with. Once the fire is going well, you should begin to see some red, glowing embers beneath the fire.
As the smaller wood catches and the fire burns hot, grab a larger, thigh-sized piece of wood. Put that on top of the fire carefully, being as certain as possible that the stack is not leaning side to side any direction. The bigger wood takes a while to catch fire, but once it does, it will burn a long time without you having to get up and stir it or move it around. The glowing embers will keep things hot, and you should be nice and toasty for a couple of hours this way.
Make sure that the logs cannot roll out of the fireplace. Your fireplace should have a heavy mesh spar resist curtain or other protective piece in front of it. Never leave the fire unattended either, just in case. Stir the wood down at least half an hour before you want it to go out.
Break it up with your poker and try to spread it out as much as you can over the area of the firebox. The thinner it's spread, the quicker it will burn up and go out. Check after the fire is out to insure that the coals and embers are all dead. If so, close the damper so that you do not lose valuable home heat through the chimney all day long. Method 2. Put two large logs — the bigger the better — in parallel about 15 inches Make sure they're perpendicular to the pane of the closed glass doors, or fireplace opening.
These large logs will be the bed of the fire and contain the embers to feed it. Place one cross-bar across the two large logs. This log should be about the diameter of your forearm, and it should rest parallel to the pane of the glass door or fireplace opening, closer to the opening of the fireplace. Crumple newspapers not glossy paper on the bottom of the fireplace.
For long-lasting fuel for your fireplace, try wood with a higher density, like rock elm, hickory, oak, or certain maples.
In desperate situations like emergency power outages or out of simple inexperience, it can be tempting to burn any flammable items you have on hand. The risk of sparking, small explosions, and harmful fumes and byproducts is too great.
Good, safe fires take time to build. Start small and slow, adding kindling and larger logs as needed to keep the fire going. Never leave your fireplace unattended, and be sure to fully extinguish the fire before you head to bed at night. Not just any wood will do.
Some woods are treated with potentially toxic chemicals in the production process, and those chemicals can release into the air when the wood is burned. You should also be cautious of the condition of the wood. Older wood is more likely to have mold or rot, which should not be burned. For instance, plants that contain urushiol oil like poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac can cause an allergic reaction when touched or burned.
Though these things are flammable, experts advise not burning them anywhere but especially not inside due to the potential to release into the air toxic chemicals from the inks and the papermaking process. Gasoline, lighter fluid, or any other type of accelerant can be dangerous in a fireplace. These accelerants release fumes that can be toxic in an enclosed space, and they cause the fire to grow too quickly. Large fires are difficult to control and can easily escape the fireplace, compromising the rest of your home.
When charcoal is burned, it releases carbon monoxide. Burning the right materials is only the beginning for fireplace safety. Before you start your first fire of the season, contact a chimney service company to schedule a fireplace and chimney inspection and cleaning. Creosote buildup in the chimney can cause a chimney fire, and unfortunately, creosote is not something you can see by looking up the flue.
An experienced chimney sweep will need a camera and other tools to determine the services your chimney needs. Meta Description: Ready to build a cozy fire in your fireplace?
Before you do, take a look at our important fireplace safety tips and list of things you should never burn. Nov 18, 33, Northern Virginia www. HotCoals Minister of Fire. Oct 27, 3, Rochester,Ny. Good dry kindling and maybe some Super Cedars and you would be good to go! Charles Minister of Fire. Feb 19, Michigan. Is using lighter fluid something you are considering?
The vapor pressure of charcoal lighter is formulated for an open air environment. Inside of a closed wood stove the fluid vaporizes faster than it can burn. The formula for a bomb.
You can get away with it a hundred times. Same with kerosene. Then comes time when that one or two hot coals are hiding under the ash and vaporize the fluid and you ain't gonna believe what happens next.
If you are lucky the glass in the door just ends up on the coffee table. Reactions: Backwoods Savage , PapaDave , firefighterjake and 2 others. Sep 30, 10, Bend, OR. Click to expand Nov 12, west mass. HotCoals said:. Reactions: Backwoods Savage and Kevin Dolan.
Dry seasoned wood might help too. Thanks to BB I am now hungry for popcorn. Reactions: gyrfalcon , stoveguy2esw and BrotherBart. Phoenix Hatchling Minister of Fire. Dec 26, New Fairfield, CT.
BrotherBart said:. View attachment It is very important to tell your insurance company you have a fireplace or a wood-burning stove. But sometimes, they do not send one.
If a spark from the fireplace or the wood-burning stove popped out and burned your couch and a large portion of a neighboring wall, you could be stuck footing the bill as the insurance company had no knowledge such a heat source was in your home and may not cover the damages.
When business owners get insurance for their workspace or place of operation, they are often…. Twitter Facebook Tumblr.
November 12, Jack Dempsey Safety 0 Comments. Preventative maintenance — First and foremost, this is the most important tip of them all. After many years in the home, you will even learn how to inspect it yourself.
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