To light a firepit

[Lan2020]

Hello all and Happy (early) New Year!

A really silly question but I'm a bit clueless!

I've bought a firepit for the garden (built it all by myself earlier). I was planning on lighting it in the garden in an hour and toasting some marshmallows with my son- just a little activity as we have no plans.
However, I've just realised it may annoy the neighbours. I've not used one before, do they omit a lot of smoke? I won't do it if it'll upset anyone?

Also, how do you light them? I've got kindling, do I just put a few pieces in? Can I directly light it with a lighter? Or light some paper and put it in? Do I just chuck water over it to then put it out?

Thank you!

They only smoke if the wood hasn't caught properly, if it's a bit damp for example. Make a pile of scrunched up paper and lay your kindling on top in a kind of pyramid shape then light the paper, it shouild only smoke briefly. Let it burn itself out, no need to drench it.

We had a big fire in ours at the winter solstice, neighbours didn’t seem to mind (though they’re also parents and sometimes have bonfires).

It is a bit smoky yes.

Tinder/firefighter on the bottom, little teepee or criss-cross of kindling on top (like a more airy jenga stack), couple of dry logs leaning together on top of that.

Use seasoned wood , not recently cut branches or your hoard of magazines. You should be fine.
Given that many will be letting off gunpowder, you would be fine to toast some marshmallows.

Lovely! I would light it
The amount of smoke would presumably depend on the wood and if it has been seasoned. Seeing as it's NYE and most people are letting off fireworks etc I don't think your neighbours would mind either way. Bunch up some paper and put the kindling over the top and light the paper. If you have any tea lights they can be used as fire lighters (just take them out of the tin wrapper) Add some logs when it's going well. We usually just let the logs burn themselves out but I suppose you could throw some water over if you are concerned. Have fun

All I can say is you wouldn't bother me at all. Have fun

Thank you all.
How do I know if the wood is seasoned? I bought kindling from Amazon. It's new in the pack, so everything is dry.
Can I just use 4 pieces of wood for a smaller fire?

We have one and as long as wood is dry and you don't use paper to light it won't particularly produce smoke.

My neighbours one side join us as soon as they see it light and the other side have a massive woodburning stove in their garden that they burn all sorts of shit on that smokes like hell so I am not bothered if mine pisses them off!

Definitely light it! Your son will love it. We use ours infrequently, but it's always a lovely addition to an evening in the garden, especially if it's chilly. We made ours whittle their own marshmallow sticks when they were little

Also, do I lay the kindling on top of the grill part or under it? Sorry for all the questions. It's this fire pit...

Kindling is just to get the fire started op

@Terminallysleepdeprived if I don't use paper to light it, what else can I use? I've not got anything fancy, no coal or fireighters. Just kindling!

@HippeePrincess oh. Oops. I thought that's what you light? So I'm not going to be able to use it with just kindling? I have no coal.

Place all the wood in the pit under the grill and you just light the kindling. Use long matches or the cooker lighter clicky things (sorry no idea what they are called)

You need some bigger pieces of wood OP, the kindling will burn out in a few minutes. Logs will burn for longer and create the sort of heat you need to toast marshmallows

You can use it with just kindling, it won't last ages but doesn't sound like you need it to! You could use some cotton wool (pure with no plastic) or newspapers as kindling, scrunched up under the kindling. You don't have to use newspaper or anything, it's just to help the kindling light. Enjoy your fire!

Yes you can just burn kindling, but it will burn quickly (as it's quite thin) so your fire doesn't last long is all. If you liek it, next time buy some logs too. As I said above, I use paper (save stuff that needs shredding for it!) to start it off but I like the idea of using a tealight someone above said, we have shedloads of those and never thought of it.

If you want the fire to last a while you'll probably need to use the whole packet of kindling. Just feed more on, not too much, as the previous bits burn.

If you havn't got fire lighters it might be a bit tricky to start because, surprisingly, wood is quite hard to set light to in large chunks. If you've got a sharpish (but not cherished) kitchen knife, try and shave some smaller bits off of the kindling. Scrunch up some paper, light it and add the smaller bits. Once it's caught add the bigger bits and keep feeding it. Have fun!

I was thinking of getting one, what else do you do with it aside from marshmallows though?

If you've got cotton wool and Vaseline, you can make your own fire lighter. Just put some Vaseline on the cotton wool ball (a rolled up tissue). It's just to help you get the fire going.

@Wannalivewithcommonpeople

I was thinking of getting one, what else do you do with it aside from marshmallows though?

We sit around it and gaze into the flames.

A real fire is one of the few things that will lure DH into the great outdoors, well into the garden anyway.

You can make fire lighters from newspaper.
Fold in half corner to corner, then fold the long edge in by about an inch. Keep rolling until you get to the upper corners.
Then, fold in half and twist one side around the other. Ideally, you should be able to tuck the free end in under the last fold IYSWIM.

Pig sick of breathing in the smoke from next door. Sets off OH's asthma and makes bedroom stink if the window is open.

Like this - one more to add!

And then this - finally! Yours will be longer as I used a piece of A4 to show you.
If you light the 'free' end they will burn and light the fire. You will need at least six of the em to generate enough heat to set the kindling wood on fire.

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