revtothelimit - motorbike forum

Unlike KFB, NO accelerants please!!

For the first time ever I have a "cheminée", chimney , fire in my place !!

I will need to order a decent amount of wood soon, but I want to try it before I commit!!

I have a small number of logs, some kindling type wood and some old newspapers and want to have my first fire this weekend


I haven't laid (is that the right word?) a fire for bloody ages - I did mostly lay the fires for the chalet but never lit them as the guests used to like to do that. So they may well have shuffled around whatever I left


Sooooo - whats best? Twist / fold / crumple the newspaper ?

I know to use the kindling first on top of the paper and then add a smaller log and then more after ??

I've seen friends add a few logs once the fire has 'embers' ( ? ) - basically the wood has gone red - so they can leave it for a bit.


Any advice - other than having a bucket of sand/water or a fire extinguisher to hand ??

(I am mildly peeved that the mate I thought was going to come up for a couple of days now isn't, so I will have to try and bribe a girl friend's teenagers to come and shift and stack the wood for me if this weekend is successful and I order some for the next few months cos I know I can't shift even a small load of logs from the roadside to the back where my space is!! )


Terrible photo of the fire - the ironing board is still up and I haven't finished that yet - once finished I think the 'not everso comfy' armchair might go in front of the fire till I buy a comfy jobbie

Where does that fire get it's oxygen from ?

First rule of fire, more air, more fire....

The rest is simply a case of using dry kindling.

I use these, bit of kindling on top, add bigger wood as it develops / as needed

In our stove we line up a couple of logs parallel at the side, between them an egg box with a few wine corks in it, bit of paper on top. We straddle the kindling across the 2 logs above the egg box building a pyramid. This helps get heat high in the stove and start pulling air up the flue, we have quite a long flue so this really helps.

Once the kindling pyramid collapses the bridge another log across the 2 parallel ones.

Vents open until that 3 log has properly caught.

I have two fires - an open one and a solid fuel burner, so damn the environment.

If you are using newspaper roll it up and tie if a simple knot - that makes it burn slower.
I put kindling on top of logs or eco-coal (recycled olive stones, dontcha know) - the another log on top.
Then you need oxygen, as stated above. Hopefully, unlike the fire in my Swiss place, there is some sort of "draw" and warm air will accelarte up the chimney making cold air follow it - than you have a fire!
On what you show, do not have the glass doors shut when you try an light (unless there is a vent system underneath to draw air in).
Wood apparnetly burns from air above it, coal from air drawn through it ...

Thanx all. Didn't realise I should have posted more pics !!

The front is a mesh, not glass and there's a grate inside - better pic below! I'm on the ground floor of a chalet, so the chimney proper is quite long I think

I suspect this will be a bit of trial and error, but at least I have some ideas on how to get it going!!

Apparently walnut shells are really good 'kindling' and I do have a big bowl of walnuts to shell

How do dead cats burn?


(Soz - Sydney wrote that whilst my back was turned)

First of all, you'll need a bucket of petrol and some polystyrene...

Just get one of these self igniting guns. Lights any fire in 10 seconds

gremlin wrote: Thu Nov 27, 2025 11:36 am How do dead cats burn?


(Soz - Sydney wrote that whilst my back was turned)

You talking to PsychoBikerBen in the afterlife there??

KungFooBob wrote: Thu Nov 27, 2025 11:39 am First of all, you'll need a bucket of petrol and some polystyrene...

Yeah, so I'm just trying to have a warming fire, not burn the house down

Yorick wrote: Thu Nov 27, 2025 11:47 am Just get one of these self igniting guns. Lights any fire in 10 seconds

20251127_114543.jpg

Funny you should suggest that - I do have to hand the smaller chef's version

Noggin wrote: Thu Nov 27, 2025 12:15 pm
Funny you should suggest that - I do have to hand the smaller chef's version

I use one of them to get me BBQ going. Works a treat.

1. Put 2 or so small logs in first, at the bottom, lengthways. Dry as possible, but not too big or too dense. If you have oak etc, leave it till later.

2. Nestle a firelighter between the logs. ie. have it sat directly on the logs but ideally with space above, so angle the wood into a bit of a V-formation if possible. Two half-circles pushed together work fine. Those waxy bundles that Mr LB posted are best, but anything that'll go for a good few minutes will do.

3. Put kindling over the top, so balanced across the two logs width-ways. Easiest is the bags of pre-cut pine sticks, 3 or 4 of them.

4. Light the firelighter.

Avoid paper if possible as it burns incredibly quickly and makes loads of ash. The exception is if you have a flue with poor draw in sub-5º or so weather, which will mean a chimney full of cold, dense air that'll force all the smoke into your room. In this case you just need to make an instant fire to heat it up, so a small scrunch or two of paper will do it. I put these either side of the main arrangement to stop the ash smothering the firelighter, then just light it all at once.

5. Wait until the first logs are good and alight, probs at least 10-15 mins, then start adding more logs.

6. Get the marshmallows out.

If it's a closed, wood-burning stove type deal (and maybe yours to an extent with that mesh door), make sure that a good proportion of the firebox is filled once it's fully alight. Sticking a couple of small logs in a large stove will do next to nothing apart from burn the logs away into nothing. We have one very large 14 kW stove, and that'll heat several rooms as long as you stick in 5 or 6 large logs. Try 2 (with lots of airy space around them) and you'll just watch them burn away with little heat coming off it.

MrLongbeard wrote: Thu Nov 27, 2025 10:44 am I use these, bit of kindling on top, add bigger wood as it develops / as needed

We use the same things. very easy to light and work well.

Rockburner wrote: Thu Nov 27, 2025 12:39 pm

MrLongbeard wrote: Thu Nov 27, 2025 10:44 am I use these, bit of kindling on top, add bigger wood as it develops / as needed

We use the same things. very easy to light and work well.

Same. Though the cheap ones tend to fall apart in the box/your hand. The decent ones stay really tightly wound so much less mess, easier to carry around, less wastage etc.

To check the draw - light up something that smokes a bit (ie not a complete fire - but a twist of paper), and watch the smoke from it.

If it's whipped up the flue quickly, you've got good draw and the flue is clear and you can burn stuff.

If it absolutely refuses to go up the flue, then either you've got a really long cold flue/chimney - or it's blocked and needs cleaning out before you light any fires.

When you took possesion of the flat, did you ask, or were you told about the flue in any way?

I beleive in France all home insurance insists on an annual flue clean or you won't be covered in the event of a fire caused by the flue. Assuming the flat is a rental your landlord should have a certificate from the sweep.

Look at you all telling Nogs how to light a fire.

Shame on you all,you heartless bastards.

Rockburner wrote: Thu Nov 27, 2025 12:39 pm

MrLongbeard wrote: Thu Nov 27, 2025 10:44 am I use these, bit of kindling on top, add bigger wood as it develops / as needed

We use the same things. very easy to light and work well.

I use the old style white ones. They're cheaper. And nice and chemically.

Rockburner wrote: Thu Nov 27, 2025 12:44 pm To check the draw - light up something that smokes a bit (ie not a complete fire - but a twist of paper), and watch the smoke from it.

If it's whipped up the flue quickly, you've got good draw and the flue is clear and you can burn stuff.

If it absolutely refuses to go up the flue, then either you've got a really long cold flue/chimney - or it's blocked and needs cleaning out before you light any fires.

When you took possesion of the flat, did you ask, or were you told about the flue in any way?

TBF, I didn't ask, but the landlady did tell me I could use the fire and her hubby told me on the day I signed that if I used the fire it would keep the apartment warm without needing the rads - so I took that to mean everything was good to go. Probably should have actually asked, but I'll do the draw test later and see what happens

Skub wrote: Thu Nov 27, 2025 1:33 pm Look at you all telling Nogs how to light a fire.

Shame on you all,you heartless bastards.

That proper made me laugh out loud

Not the best video and the paper is very cold, possibly damp so didn't catch fire very well, but there was a bit of smoke!!

Only a very little bit, but it did mostly seem to go up, so that's good, right ??