[AnalogReigns]

This season I just thought I'd share to y'all this method. It really does work well...and wood fireplace fires are so much more interesting than silly boring gas fireplace fires!

[ImAmericanFirst]

Is there a way to somehow pipe the heat and join to the oil burner furnace heating sytem?

[Brad’s Gramma]

BTTT!!!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Hey, Gabz! Git over here! :)

[Jaysun]

It's very simple and requires a minimum of fuss. First you need something to support the wood--NOT modern cast iron "coal grate" log holders, nor the worse iron grates which cause the logs to roll together....these just don't work well making a lasting fire. Old fashioned "andirons" (those things with tall posts, sometimes brass, in front and flat rails a few inches off the fireplace floor extending to the back) or even a couple of bricks will work fine. I repeat, get rid of the typical home's fireplace grate--great fires cannot be made using them.

I've no choice but to use the modern "coal grate" tonight. Where in the hell does one find an andiron anyway? And the bed of ashes was a surprise. I was always taught to clean the ashes away before building a fire.

[MaxMax]

Gasoline works for me.

[CGASMIA68]

Thanks fer the glowing advise...My 1776 center chimney,3 fire place colonial remembers all of your procedure very well,but my Vigelent/Vmnt Castings(sp) woodstove has eliminated all the dangers associated with the old time procedure.....Stay warm and thanks for an interesting read...

[Diana in Wisconsin]

*SIGH* I'd really like a fireplace...but in a house like mine (1906 American Four Square) in "The Great White North" they are totally inefficient.

On a more positive note, I did get my natural gas bill today. After a high of a $317.00 CREDIT when they adjusted my budget plan in July, I finally owe the gas company $37.00 after a five month break. Dang! And I thought new windows and added insulation and weather stripping wouldn't amount to jack. ;)

Fireplaces ARE romantic, and knowing how to build a fire in the outdoors is a skill every Able-Bodied American should have, but unless your home is designed to work around a fireplace, they aren't the smartest use of your energy dollar.

And the best part about being an "Eeeeeeevil Conservative" is CONSERVING resources, is it not? ;)

*Ducking While Others Pelt Me With Rotten Tomatoes* :)

[leda]

take notes my pyro man ;)

[PRND21]

Cool. Thanks.

[Jaysun]

Okay boys, I've just started a fire using the method mentioned. I'll let you know how it turns out.

[Whitebread]

Thanks for the timely info, I'm building a fire tonight in my living room. I remember those old andirons with their flat, straight, place for the logs rest. Your article makes sense and I'm gonna try it once I get this new fangled curved log holder outta'here!

[jwalsh07]

I'm an old fashioned kind of guy but my fire place insert and stainless chimney pipe run up the flu along with thermostatically controlled blowers sure is nice.

[EternalVigilance]

I would never have a fireplace. They became obsolete when Franklin invented his famous woodburning stove...

[Integrityrocks]

I have to admit this post made me laugh. I guess I've just lived in Alaska too long. To think there are people who "don't" know how to build a good hot fire is foreign to us. Wood stoves, fireplaces, burn piles, smoke houses, wood furnances... just a way of life here and you get "fire-building and wood-hauling duty" beginning around age 8. That said; forget about the grate and just put two of your sticks on the bottom about a foot apart, opposite of the direction you are piling your kindling. Sticks should be about an inch and a half diameter.

[Caramelgal]

I agree, there's no sense in having a fireplace unless you can poke at the log now and then.

I did however see an episode of Myth Busters where they proved that the draft from a fireplace actually lowers the temperature in outlying rooms.

I wonder if this method would cause a different outcome.

[politicket]

PING for later

[Doohickey]

Good technique. I've dispensed with kindling, though, and started using Starter Loggs [sic] instead.

[Nailbiter]

ping

[socal_parrot]

OK, I admit it...I cheat.

I use a fake log like Pine Mountain or Duraflame in the back and place a real log in the front and another on top to create a triangle. It burns real well. I have one going currently.

32 degees right now in the So Cal mountains.

[Jeff Chandler]

This reminds me of the time I was recruited to build a fire in the fireplace of a cabin where a religious retreat was taking place. The fire was supposed to burn on cue.

It was in the pine forests of Prescott, AZ, so I piled fuel (pine logs) perpendicularly across more fuel (smaller pine logs) prependicularly across more fuel (pine branches) over kindling (pine cones) over tinder (pine needles).

One match and POOF! Instant roaring fire.

Did I mention I was a Boy Scout?