Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Christmas

From present ideas to party food, find all your Christmas inspiration here.

Original poster

Any tips for a roaring open fire?

60 replies

EdieMcredie · 12/12/2006 20:31

We had our chimney swept yesterday but so far our attempts have only produced a lame fire. We have been using paper, kindling, coal and logs, in that order. How do you get really nice big flames?

OP posts:
bobsmum · 12/12/2006 23:00

PMSL at this thread

We have a coal fire which is our central heating so it's been roaring since October. It heats the whole house and hot water. We have to have it burning all night or the house is freezing by morning.

Oh the joys of one day having a novelty fire because it looks festive!! One day!?

We might have central heating by next Christmas, but it's looking an increasingly distant possibility....

Those coloured pine cones from Lakeland are good though.

mrssnoah · 12/12/2006 23:20

Oh bu**er, that eminds me the Log man was coming today and I missed him.
Shame as he is muscley and a bit dishy too.

Dh swears by crumbling candle wax on it.

mrssnoah · 12/12/2006 23:21

reminds me

(was thinking about those muscles)

Original poster
EdieMcredie · 13/12/2006 09:12

Mmmmm sounds nice!!

Candle wax?

OP posts:
worcestercaroline · 13/12/2006 09:30

bobsmum- my god do u have a back boiler?!!!!!
I had 1 in my last house and everyone thought i lived in the dark ages, sold it last yr. Miss having my roaring fires to keep warm, cant beat a proper fire on a cold day much nicer than central heating just hard work cleaning out fire everyday

WhyDooLittleStarsShine · 13/12/2006 09:51

Yeah come someone explain the candle wax please?

And I have a lovely Rosemary bush outside, if I cut a couple of sprigs and put them on the fire will they make it smell nice?
Is this right?

bobsmum · 13/12/2006 09:55

worcestercaroline - back boiler it is I'm afraid! We're only about 45 mins outside Glasgow but it really is the sticks. No mains gas etc. A few people we know still have a back boiler, but most are switching or have switched to oil.

I don't want a minging oil tank in my back garden so we're going through a very long laborious process to get a geothermal heatpump instead.

We'll definitely keep the fire hooked up to the heating system and heat the water with the excess - no point in wasting it.

PLus when it's not a necessity I'll appreciate it so much more.

At the moment I hate hate hate it. Hate shovelling coal, hate shovelling through the snow to get to the coal bunker in the first place, hate the delivery men, hate cleaning the ash out 3/4 times a day, hate cleaning the boiler, hate replacing the grate every 6 months cos "they don't make 'em like they used to", hate the dust and ash in my hair and on everything in the house. Manky manky manky

Open fires suck.

ImMcDreamyingofawhitexmas · 13/12/2006 09:58

The log fire is our heating too! That and portable calor gas heaters! We have a log fire every night. DH uses firelighters and a small amount of kindling arranged so some air is underneath (pyramid) once that's going shove a log on top and hey presto!

Katherine · 13/12/2006 10:04

Let the cats learn to avoid it - screen block a lot of the heat. They will soon learn. Our dog is terrible for setting his tail alight though....

Glad you got it going and enjoyed the roar! Be warned you DH/DP will probably turn into an obsessive now for collecting trees from everywhere

Two words of warning to add the all the wisdom below. If its a windy night and you put the broadsheet over the front to get it going then watch out. It can get sucked in and ignite. Nothing too serious but alarming the first time it happens and then you shriek and let go and it flies up the chimney. If you have a guard that sits close and is the metal sort with gaps then you can put that in front and put the newspaper over it. The suction created will hold the paper against the hole but not into the fire. Means you can let go and do something else while it gets going.

Also if you leave the door open to get it going close it SLOWLY. If you shut it suddenly then it sucks the smoke back down and you'll end up with a smoky room.

You can off course blow on the fire to get it going (from the bottom) but be warned you often come up with a black face.

Enjoy though. There is nothing like a real fire eh!

ImMcDreamyingofawhitexmas · 13/12/2006 10:05

Oh yes and we burnt the pine leaves from the top of the xmas tree which gives off a lovely smel as does orange peel

Katherine · 13/12/2006 14:14

PS: The reason it probably took a while to get going was because the chimney would be cold. Once the chimney warms up they burn much better so you should find your next fire easier to get going.

SherlockLGJ · 13/12/2006 14:19

If you are really struggling some sugar wrapped up in newspaper helps things along.

worcestercaroline · 13/12/2006 17:54

Bobsmum - every1 made out that i was only person in world who was a dinosaur and had 1. my sis lives in america and the americans could not believe any still lived like me me not central heating. If i had stayed at old house I would have tried to change it when i had the £ but like u did not want ugly oil tank spoiling my pretty cottage garden. hope u enjoy yr new system

Original poster
EdieMcredie · 13/12/2006 20:22

Thankyou everyone for the tips! Glad they keep coming, we really need them. Tonight's attempt has been a disaster, I know it's probably a bit of a fine art and we need to practise and stuff but boy do you need a bucket load o' patience!

Put the paper in, (tied it in knots-a tip from a friend) put the kindling on in a lattice effect, tipped the coal on and then later a log. However after the log it flamed for a bit then died pretty quickly and smoked everywhere. (Not good for my asthmatic cat)!

Sorry you are probably all rolling your eyes at this point

OP posts:
MistletoeGolightly · 13/12/2006 20:56

Did it start off well? Don't forget you need to keep feeding a fire - it's not like a bbq where you start it off and then it does its own thing. A fire needs topping up throughout the evening or it will die down, and once it has died beyond a certain point it is hard to ressurrect.

In the course of one evening I usually use about 3 or 4 small logs and about 3 small shovelfuls of coal - that's in addition to what I use to start it up.

Eulalia · 13/12/2006 22:14

Know how you feel bobsmum - I hate cleaning out our fire too - only heating we have in the living room. It's a stove actually so bit easier to run than an open fire but I hate getting up on a cold morning and find its gone out and you have to clean the blasted thing out, then go out and get coal etc. However I do enjoy it when it's roaring hot.

Only tip I have is just to take it slowly - gradually build the fire up over about 15-20 mins. Too much coal will just smother it. I think everything else has already been said. Oh and check what kind of coal you are using. We use redflame which gives out a nice glow.

Original poster
EdieMcredie · 13/12/2006 22:30

Thanks MistletoeGolightly. Yes we managed to revive it, or rather DP did.

What appeared to work for us was basically what people have advised, to give it a little while before putting the logs on. And also putting the kindling like a teepee.

OP posts:
Mirage · 13/12/2006 22:37

This thread is making me jealous.My new fire was meant to have been installed weeks ago,but due to a catalogue of errors & a thick builder,it won't be in until January now.I do have a hole in the wall & a grate where the old fire was & will be lighting a fire in there at some point,just have to fashion a cover for the loose lintel out of tinfoil first.

I am 38 & this is the first time in my life that I have lived in a house with central heating. I keep switching it off because I'm worried that we'll end up with huge bills.

I miss my fire.

Original poster
EdieMcredie · 13/12/2006 22:41

Bless you Mirage! Don't worry too much with the central heating costs-it's not too bad if your home is well insulated. I love this fire lark although in my head I kind of envisaged it being a lot easier!!

OP posts:
fortyplus · 13/12/2006 23:25

don't use paper - the ashes smother the fire. Make sure there's plenty of draught getting thru to the base of the fire - ie no ash clogging underneath and take away the draught regulator thingy at the fron of the fireplace - or open it wide if it's fixed.
Start with firelighters, then kindling - make sure well alight then add some small thin bits of twig/beanch. Make sure logs are really dry - keep a little stack of them on the hearth ready for next time.

Coal chucks out a lot of heat but will make tarry soot in your chimney - very bad if it's an old house, especially if you have lime mortar.

Log fires make softer soot.

If the fire still doesn't draw well you can get a chimney cowl fitted - will most likely cost about £150 inc fitting.

Enjoy!

sallyhollyberry · 13/12/2006 23:29

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

fortyplus · 13/12/2006 23:37

That's another thing if you only burn logs - you can chuck the ash on the garden - it has potash in it which is good for flowering plants. If you burn coal you can't put the ash on the garden as it will kill the plants.

Katherine · 14/12/2006 09:36

True - too much paper makes lots of ash which chokes it a bit.

My neighbour used to use a plastic milk bottle to get hers going. Not ver EF but it always worked and I have used it on the nights when it just will not light.

EM: take heart! This is tough weather for a real fire - all these winds either gust down and blow it out or send the smoke gushing into the room. Ours was terrible last night. But once you get the hang of it it feels like no effort at all.

Original poster
EdieMcredie · 14/12/2006 10:42

Katherine I wondered why the smoke kept coming into the room, duh!!!

OP posts:
bobsi · 14/12/2006 13:47

I rented a house a few years ago and the only source of heating was a real fire and gas fire in the kitchen. I hated the mess the fire made, hated going out in the wind and rain to get the logs and hated the fact that you couldn't set it to come on so that the house was lovely and warm when we got in from work.
It made my Mum chuckle as she was brought up with a real fire that was the only source of hot water and heating - we're spoilt nowadays :-)
BTW we discovered that it was vital to bulid a good base of coal/kindling etc before putting the big logs on - just as everyone else has said really!