We've lived in 2 different houses over the past 12 years and one of our favorite things in both of them has been the wood burning fireplaces. We've enjoyed watching movies, playing games, visiting with family and friends, cooking s'mores and even our yearly tradition of sleeping as a family on Christmas Eve in front of these fires.
If you have a fireplace and aren't quite sure how to use it, we hope this can be of some help to you and that you can enjoy yours as much as we enjoy ours!
Before we begin, we want to say that we incur no responsibility for any damage or injury that would be caused from following these instructions.
Supplies:
-dry sticks and twigs
-paper, cardboard, newspapers, paper egg cartons, etc.
-dry logs
-fire poker
-lighter or matches (we used a lighter)
Instructions:
First: Locate the damper. This is an opening at the bottom of the chimney, above where the wood burns. There should be some type of way of opening and closing this (in this picture is the handle to our damper- it only opens all the way or closes, there's no in between). Before starting the fire, you want to open the damper completely. Once the fire is burning well, you can adjust the damper (if yours has an adjuster). The more open it is, the more updraft it has causing the fire to burn faster. The more closed the damper, the slower the air flow and the slower the fire burns. You can adjust and see which works best for you fireplace and your needs.
Open the vent to let the air circulate. This is especially useful when the doors are closed. Like the damper, the more open the vent, the stronger the draft and the hotter/faster it burns. The more closed the vent, the slower the air flow and the slower it burns.
Compact and twist paper and/or cardboard and place it under the log rack. The more compact the paper, the slower it burns. Place some loose papers around the compacted ones.
(Don't add the big logs yet, the one in the picture is one from a previous fire.)
Lay the sticks and twigs loosely on top. Don't put on too many, you want the air and flames to be able to move freely up through the sticks.
Carefully light the paper.
Once the small sticks catch well, add bigger sticks.
Once the larger sticks are burning well, add 1-2 logs.
Once the fire is going well, you can adjust the damper and vent to slow down or speed up the air flow.
Remember, the more open, the faster the air flow, the faster/hotter the burn.
The more closed, the slower the air flow, the slower the fire burns.
Helpful hints:
-The dryer the wood, the faster, better and hotter it burns. It's best to use wood that's been dead at least one year.
-Be careful that there is nothing that can catch fire near the fire place when starting your fire.
-If the wood is wet, it will pop more than normal. If you don't won't the fire to pop out sparks, it's best to place a screen in front of the fire or close the doors; especially when you leave the room or if there are young children around!
-When you're done with the fire and there's still burning wood, you can place ashes on top of any remaining logs and separate them. Then close the vents, the doors and the damper most of the way. If the fire's completely out, you can close the damper and vent all the way. This will prevent you from losing warm air up and out of your chimney.
- Air that goes out of your chimney must be replaced with more air. If your house is very air tight, you may have problems with smoke in the house. If that's the case, open a window slightly somewhere in the house.
-It is recommended that you clean your chimney once a year to prevent creosote build-up.
-You may want to place a rug in front of your fireplace to protect the floor from occasional stray sparks.
-Round logs burn slower and are harder to catch fire than split ones.
Enjoy!!!
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