Fuckin fantastic firelighting tip !!

[OnEdge]

I have just discovered that football/bicycle pump works as a really good bellows to get the bugger going.

pmsl!

Candle wax works a treat too.

How did you discover this, oe?

candle wax?
how?

firelighters, newspaper and kindling is my surefire(boom boom)technique.

I've tried all of them missmoopy but i still end up looking at a pile of coal.

queefersantaland I discovered it when my friend's very naughty unruly 3 year old was playing with it and pointed them toward the fire. I bollocked him and then when they had gone I had a go and was amazed

Onedge - are you putting too much on? When I light one (at my parents - don't have one here - sob) I use newspaper balled up with a pyramid of sticks then a very few little bits of coal. Once the sticks have taken I had a few bigger bits. You could try opening a door in the room as well to create a draught but it may be that your grate just needs a bit more ventilation - does it have a bit you can open or pull out for starting off?

6 balls of newspaper a couple of handfuls of kindling 3 firelighters and a load of coal.

Lights every time!

I think firelighters is cheating tbh I can do it 'naked'

Going to try that tonight OnEdge after a frustration day yesterday of a failed real fire!

Is it me or is smokeless coal a waste of time?

no firelighters, that's the coward's way out.

also hold unfolded newspaper across the fireplace, this draws air in under the fire and gives it the same boost. keep an eye on the paper to check that it's not catching obv.

cones help get it started

I'm crap at lighting the fire, I fail to see how a load of paper, cardboard, and sticks of wood cannot catch fire - it keeps going out.

DD1 brushed a paper napkin past a candle on the table once and the whole kitchen nearly burnt down it was like an inferno.

cones are fantastic

Bag of prawn crackers makes a stunning firelighter. Only works if you don't eat them though!

kindling and newspaper and patience ...

I love the image of you puffing away at your fireplace with a bicycle pump

I have to light a coal fire every day in the pub. Despite knowing exactly what to do, and having the chimney swept regularly, the atmospherics do play a part in the performance.

Some nights, it roars .. and other nights it's just a lump of smouldering coal, no matter what you do.

Bombay Mix makes good kindling and cheap cornflakes. I have also used a duster impregnated with wax polish.

[Inventive? Moi?]

candle wax is brilliant, if you light a candle, wait until there's a pool of melted wax at the top and pour that on to any fire that's struggling and it instantly flares up. Lasts quite a while too.

Yes, candle wax is great as it coats the thing that you need to be alight and, well, burns!

Depending what design of fire you have I also have top tip to get the draw..... I use a metal tray and cover the front of the fire with it (like you might with a sheet of newspaper but far more effective) and that allows the chimney to draw really fast through the grate, so on still days like today you can get it lit quick :)

I would love a real fire today. Central heating is foing it's best but it's so amn cold!

corrugated cardboard is fantastic
no way should you neeed more than one firelighter even if you're crap
pinecones dipped in wax fizz brilliantly

"Candlewax...on the nipples"

Blimey, you know how to kill a thread, Portly!

In now way to do with nipples or candlewax

Prawn crackers - fab firelighters.