Fire Starting Challenged

In my new apt I have a real wood-burning fireplace :D I have no problems, of course, getting a firelog such as Duralog to burn. The problem is getting real wood to burn - I have to be doing something wrong. With all of our talented women here, I am sure that someone can tell me what step I am missing. I have tried two ways:

Attempt 1:

Purchased little package of "fire starter" kindling from the store. Purchased little bundle of wood from the store.

1. criss-crossed several layers of the kindling, set that on fire
2. once this was going well, put log on top using my fireplace tongs
3. it LOOKED like it was burning, saw embers in the wood...but when the flames from the kindling died away all that was left was the embers in the log and it was well charred - but not burning. Kept this log for attempt 2

Attempt 2:

1. Started a Dura-Crackleflame log on fire. Nice flame!
2. When that started to die down and fall apart, I laid the above log on the firelog. Once again, it seemed to be on fire - and indeed seemed to burn a little on its own once the Duralog died down to embers. Still a good amount of the wood is left - I won't be keeping it for a third attempt.

So what am I missing? Am I trying to make too large a leap in the size of wood that I am adding to the fire? I thought that since there was enough kindling in attempt one to create a roaring fire that it would be hot enough to set the larger log off - but apparently not.

My fireplace does draw very well, no smoke escapes into the apt and I have the damper wide open. My asthma would tell me if unseen smoke were getting into the apt...

What am I missing?

You can't just put one log on top or there's nothing to create a draw.

Make the pyramid before you even light it, not only with your kindling but also with some medium to large sized wood.

Doesn't have to be a teepee style pyramid, you can stack the wood loosely the same way you would in a woodpile. Little kindling sticks in the middle/bottom, then stuff crumpled newspaper and/or chunks of the waxed sawdust throughout. But make sure there are some cross patterns to allow air to draft through.

Don't add any wood until it's really going.

Your "big log" is split and cured, right? Bark, and the layer immediately inside the bark, don't burn well. (And make sure you're using locally harvested wood - emerald ash borers are spreading fast.)

By eyeballing my memory (how's that for a catchy phrase) I'd say you can escalate with wood 2, 3 or maybe 4 times the size, but not more. If all you have are biggish pieces either split them completely or use a knife to splinter one edge ragged, and set them "standing" to let the flames lick along the edge. Smooth surfaces catch fire less easily, because there's less air going around, I presume.

I haven't made a fire in a long time, as I find it just makes the rest of my house colder. But, usually, I roll up a few pages of newsprint under the kindling and light that to start the fire.

Patience also, feed it carefully. With a fireplace, the chimney is cold and has to get heated up to draw properly.

Is the flue open all the way? Just checking.

Some fireplaces are more ornamental than useful and they certainly aren't heat efficient no matter what.

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

You can't just put one log on top or there's nothing to create a draw.

Make the pyramid before you even light it, not only with your kindling but also with some medium to large sized wood.

Doesn't have to be a teepee style pyramid, you can stack the wood loosely the same way you would in a woodpile. Little kindling sticks in the middle/bottom, then stuff crumpled newspaper and/or chunks of the waxed sawdust throughout. But make sure there are some cross patterns to allow air to draft through.

Don't add any wood until it's really going.

Your "big log" is split and cured, right? Bark, and the layer immediately inside the bark, don't burn well. (And make sure you're using locally harvested wood - emerald ash borers are spreading fast.)

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I had just made the pyramid with the kindling - and the log did indeed have remaining bark. I did have criss-cross several layers of kindling, and when I added the larger log I had a very strong fire going from the kindling that was drawing very well. It sounds like my log was probably just plain too large.

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Originally Posted by Irulan

Patience also, feed it carefully. With a fireplace, the chimney is cold and has to get heated up to draw properly.

Is the flue open all the way? Just checking.

Some fireplaces are more ornamental than useful and they certainly aren't heat efficient no matter what.

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I don't do it really for heat, just for enjoyment.The flue was indeed open all the way.

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Originally Posted by lph

By eyeballing my memory (how's that for a catchy phrase) I'd say you can escalate with wood 2, 3 or maybe 4 times the size, but not more. If all you have are biggish pieces either split them completely or use a knife to splinter one edge ragged, and set them "standing" to let the flames lick along the edge. Smooth surfaces catch fire less easily, because there's less air going around, I presume.

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This is a good idea, hadn't considered it. Perhaps I should invest in a small hatchet to work with the wood I find. I did get it from the store and have no idea where the wood came from. Am looking for a more economical and local source. The Duralogs are fine, but only last a little under 2 hours.

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Originally Posted by Crankin

I haven't made a fire in a long time, as I find it just makes the rest of my house colder. But, usually, I roll up a few pages of newsprint under the kindling and light that to start the fire.

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This is what I did and it worked - thanks!

Thanks everyone - you have given me ideas for next weekend. Until then still have 5 duralogs that I can use this weekend and I won't use all of them.

Just a note of caution about Duralogs and similar products - they have a chemical that sticks to the insides of your chimney and will require more frequent chimney sweep visits to prevent chimney fires. We just use the firestarter (small little blocks that you break off as needed), kindling and the cross-stacking approach. Also, oak and hickory are the best (highest BTUs) for wood burning fireplaces and the high heat also helps keep the chimney clean. Hope you have many warm, cozy fires this season! :)

my favorite lighter-helpers are wine corks (watch out you don't mix one of hte plastic types in) soaked in spirit for a few days to weeks. Just always keep a few in a mason jar full of spirit.

2-3 of these will get your fire going.

1. Make sure it's sufficiently cold outside. A chimney won't draw on a warm day.

2. crack a window near the fireplace to start the fire. This will correct the negative pressure and help the chimney draw.

3. build your pyramid with newspaper, kindling, and logs as described elsewhere in this thread.

4. twist some newspaper and light it and wave it around as far up in the chimney as you can reach. This will warm the chimney and start the draw.

5. light your fire; make sure the window nearby is cracked. You can close the window if you want after the fire is going.

Make sure your wood is properly seasoned and dry.

I'm heating with my wood/coal stove for the second winter, and so far it's fabulous. I was originally going to use it for backup heat, but I like it so much that I use it anytime it's in the 30s or below. Up to know, that has meant only at night for a few weeks, but this week it's high in the 30s every day. Wood stoves are much more efficient than open fireplaces, but fireplaces are so nice to watch.

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Originally Posted by alpinerabbit

my favorite lighter-helpers are wine corks (watch out you don't mix one of hte plastic types in) soaked in spirit for a few days to weeks. Just always keep a few in a mason jar full of spirit.

2-3 of these will get your fire going.

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Thanks for the great idea! Saves $ on firestarter and no more wine corks in the trash.

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Originally Posted by tulip

Wood stoves are much more efficient than open fireplaces, but fireplaces are so nice to watch.

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Our wood-burning fireplace insert is the best of both worlds. Super efficient and easy to burn in, but with the beauty of an open fire.

We'll be able to heat the entire first floor and a good chunk of the second with it (and a fan or two!) once it gets cold, and that makes me happy :)

Thanks for the tips everyone - and I did not know that about Duralogs. I will finish up what I have and then focus on getting a real fire going. Pity I do not/cannot drink wine because that sounds like a nice thing to do with the corks. My body doesn't like the sulfides in wine - it isn't a pleasant experience to drink it... Good beer is quite another story :D

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Originally Posted by Catrin

Good beer is quite another story :D

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Just buy beer with corks in the bottles :D

Anything from Brewery Ommegang comes to mind....

Organic wine is unsulfited, and much easier to find these days. "Wine from organically grown grapes" still has added sulfites, so look for the USDA Organic seal. If you're super sensitive, probably still best to avoid it, since wine grapes contain a small amount of naturally occurring sulfites (up to 20 ppm can still qualify for organic certification).

The only thing I can say here is just be sure to leave plenty of room around the larger pieces of wood when you add them... you need to allow the fire to continue to breath and not smother the fire. Make sure the fire is going good and small/medium-ish logs are fully engaged before going on to the bigger stuff.

I use those little fire starter bricks, newsprint, and kindling in my base... then a medium piece of wood... light and get it nice a toasty... then on with larger wood.

My firebox is on the small-ish size and I can't put huge pieces of wood on the fire, so I normally have medium pieces of wood and only put on the med/lg pieces when I have the fire good and hot.

Sadly, last time we had an inspection done, we were told we had a cracks in our tile liner and being that the water heater flu shares the chimney, the fireplace flu is too narrow to slide a replacement liner down in, which means rebuilding almost the entire thing in order to have a properly functional fireplace.

Sooooooooo... it remains dark until we can save the $$$. :(

Take pages of newspaper and crinkle in loose balls; be liberal with these paper balls at the bottom of the fireplace. do not squish them too flat. If you can collect some pinecones, these are great for starting, place 2-3 on top of the paper. place your small wood, kindling, in a criss cross type of pattern so that air can get through. Light the paper at the bottom in several places across the front to get flame going all over the fire box. Don't let the kindling burn down too far before you add larger logs. Sometimes the logs they sell at a store are too large to get the fire going, try splitting them so that they are smaller and then once your fire is going well you can add the larger logs.

That's all there is to it. Happy fire starting!

I just returned from the store with a new bundle-o-wood. THIS one has smaller pieces and I also bought a box of hardwood kindling. So we will see how it works tonight :)

Just to check the obvious - does the fireplace have a grate? Building the fire on a grate makes everything easier because the air flow is much better.

Make sure that you're using dry, seasoned wood. Dry wood is safer because it will deposit less creosote in the chimney. It will also catch fire more easily and smoke less. Manufactured logs are probably OK to keep in the living area, but make sure to store regular wood outside. If you can possibly avoid it, don't bring in more than you can burn in an hour, unless you want to share your apartment with little critters!

It takes some patience to get a good fire going to where you can throw on a log and leave it. I find that I need to have some nice glowing embers before I can walk away for more than 5 minutes and not have the whole thing go out. Sometimes this takes 10 minutes, but sometimes it takes an hour.

I finally got a real fire going tonight :) Thanks for the tips everyone, they helped. The smaller pieces of wood really helped AND I finally manage to burn the log that I've tried to burn two other times :o :D

Yay! So glad you were successful. Air and patience seem to be the two things that newbie firestarters forget (I'm a Girl Scout leader and every year my goal is to get the girls comfortable with and good at starting fires; I'm not sure their parents are really pleased about this!).

Another really good (and cheap) firestarter is to stuff dryer lint in the compartments of a cardboard egg carton then melt wax (candle stubs work well, but you can also use parafin bought for the purpose) and pour it over the top. Cut apart the individual compartments and one or two will get your fire going nicely--just light the cardboard and the lint/wax mixture will burn slowly.

Sarah