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Lighting your fire


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Having seen a few posts recently about lighting fires, keeping them in and fuels, I thought it might be useful to find out the different methods people use.

 

We never have a problem lighting the fire, heating the boat quickly and keeping it in, although when we first fitted the stove it was a bit of a learning curve. We use Taybrite, although the same technique seems to work with any fuel we use and our stove is a budget Evergreen.

 

We start by laying a thin bed of coal (Taybrite etc) across the whole grid, but leave a small uncovered piece of grid for a firelighter. We then loosely lay 6 or seven strips of dry kindling over the top of the firelighter, supported by the bed of coal. Ideally the kindling would be about half to one inch thich and about six to eight inches long. We then light the fire lighter and once the kindling has caught, place a small dry log or block of wood on top of the kindling, then put more coal around the log/block without over banking it. The door is then closed and the bottom air vent opened right up. The fire would normally be burning very healthily within a few minutes, when we would finish banking up and leave it to heat up properly. After about 30 minutes the stove is very hot and we would start to reduce the airflow through the bottom vents. Within an hour the whole boat is getting warm air and the stove would be closed down to all day running settings. For us, that would be two bottom vents almost completely closed and top vents barely opened to allow enough air to keep the glass clean.

 

At night, we will poke the loose ash through, bank up very high, close the top vents completely and leave one bottom vent open the smallest ammount possible. We don't empty the ashtray at night as it keeps the airflow under the coal slower. Using these techniques, we keep our stove going continuously throughout the Winter months.

 

Roger

Edited by Roger Gunkel
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Open fires, paper and sticks.

 

For the boiler the technique is largly the same, but with a healthy squirt of dirty white spirit (ie, cut 50/50 with waste steam/engine oil) to aid the successful over all ignition of the paper. And of cause far more paper and sticks as the fire is much larger.

 

The stove, again, paper and sticks. Often also with a dab of dirty whitespirit as its to hand and your again in a confined space.

Although this is not necessarily recommended for all and respect for the whitespirit and oil mix is needed to avoid complications, like loss of eyebrows!

 

 

 

Typically the grate will have the remains of the last fire in, which is vigorously raked and all visible stone and clinker removed.

Stick size is typical between 1*.5 and 1*1 inch. Although larger is used in the boiler, upto around 2*2 if its what comes to hand.

Coal type also has an effect, straight bituminous house coal being easiest, through the smokeless, till you get to hard anthritic coals.

 

 

Its rare that I have a fire fail, although its does happen, usually when im rushing. Otherwise there single ignition tidy and warm quickly.

 

 

 

Daniel

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If your method works for you what exactly are you trying to find out here?

 

Well Chris, I wasn't aware I was trying to find anything out for myself :lol: The topic is 'Lighting your fire and the question is 'how do you do it?' as anumber of people, especially new comers to SF on boats, seem to have a number of problems. I thought that answers to the question might be informative to others and as you say, my method works for me so others may benefit from my and others experiences.

 

How do you light yours?

 

Roger

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We do very much as Roger has listed, although will typically put 3 or 4 very small fire lighters amongst the original coal, not just a single one, before lighting and adding kindling on top.

 

Wilkinson's own brand fire lighters are far cheaper than many around, and work very well.

 

Usually the thing takes off like a train, and burning Taybrite we really do have to be complete numpties not to get it going fairly quickly.

 

Additionally if we have decided not to bank it up over night, and there is still some glow in the morning, I now regularly use more or less the same method, just chucked in on top of existing smouldering remains from last night. Again we have to be very unlucky for it not to pull around quite quickly.

 

As we have a low, floor mounted, stove, the internal flue is quite long, with another foot or so of chimney outside. Our flue is completely kink free, (in fact is made so the chimney collar is actually the same bit of pipe that joins to the stove), and I have a hunch that it works a lot better than many of the kinked or double bend variety.

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my method is as follows.

 

Some old news paper crumpled up (but not too tight!)

Some kindling around the paper, smaller bits next the the paper and then larger bits outwards

 

then set light to the paper (I never use fire lighters)

 

the stove vents are open to allow a good air flow, this will then light very quickly. (door closed)

 

Once it's got going I then add larger bits of wood, as needed. Adjusting the vents when their is a good layer of embers.

 

Bung a nice big log on.

 

I'll add coal if I want to keep it in over night.

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As we have a low, floor mounted, stove, the internal flue is quite long, with another foot or so of chimney outside. Our flue is completely kink free, (in fact is made so the chimney collar is actually the same bit of pipe that joins to the stove), and I have a hunch that it works a lot better than many of the kinked or double bend variety.

 

Thats a valid point Alan as our own installation sounds very similar.

 

Roger

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Instead of firelighters we use a piece of rag soaked in diesel spread out over a layer of coal and under the kindling, with some more coal on top. The aim is to light it with one match and then not have to fiddle with it subsequently until it needs more coal added. We save all our old bits of oily/diesely rag in a tin with a lid.

 

To revive it in the morning, throw on some sticks, then more coal on top, and only then riddle it and open up the damper again.

 

Hopefully Alnwick will be along soon; I recall that he has a rather different but professionally endorsed technique.

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Well Chris, I wasn't aware I was trying to find anything out for myself :lol: The topic is 'Lighting your fire and the question is 'how do you do it?' as anumber of people, especially new comers to SF on boats, seem to have a number of problems. I thought that answers to the question might be informative to others and as you say, my method works for me so others may benefit from my and others experiences.

 

How do you light yours?

 

Roger

 

Same as you but i don't measure my kindling.

 

Taybrite is particularly easy to get going, I used to prefer phurnacite until they priced it out of the market now i use newflame ( i think, i can never remember these things) which are a bit more difficult to get going but stay in longer.

Edited by Chris Pink
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Taybrite is particularly easy to get going, I used to prefer phurnacite until they priced it out of the market now i use newflame ( i think, i can never remember these things) which are a bit more difficult to get going but stay in longer.

 

Yeah, a couple of other people mentioned Phurnacite elsewhere but the prices I found, were ridiculous.

 

Roger

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Old cooking oil is great for lighting fires. It burns for ages in a controlled fashion - no sudden flare-ups.

 

I discovered this a few months ago on a cold summer night with no solid fuel on board and 2 litres of sunflower oil which was way past the use by date.

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Lighting a stove:

 

The method we use is as follows:

 

  1. Lay a bed of coal over a clean grate - the bed should be about as thick as a man's fist and the coals should be large enough to allow a good supply of air through;
  2. Place a piece of cotton waste that has been pre-soaked in lamp oil (or diesel fuel) on top of the coal - crumpled newspaper or a fire lighter may be used instead;
  3. Place sticks/kindling on top of that. Again lay the sticks so that they form a matrix with lots of gaps for the gases to pass through;
  4. Light the cotton waste with a taper and close the stove door;
  5. Adjust bottom damper (or leave ashpan door open) to ensure a good bottom draught;
  6. Add more sticks/wood from time to time as necessary;
  7. When the coals are burning bright, adjust the bottom damper (or close ashpan door) and add more coal in small quantities to achieve even and consistent burning;

 

Some people may be surprised at the idea of burning the fire lighter and the sticks/kindling on top of the coal (usually because they know that heat rises) however this is the method that was taught in Victorian times to railway employees and servant lighting fires in offices and witing rooms.

 

The advantage of lighting the fire in a way that many people would consider to be 'upside down' is that as coal is heated it emits gas, the burning wood on top helps to burn this gas so that the fire 'consumes its own smoke' - if you light a fire with coal on top, the coal smokes and because the smoke cools in the chimney, you will get deposits of tar on your roof. Also, because most of the gas is burnt by having the burning wood on top, this method is also more efficient.

  • Greenie 1
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Im with Chertsey girl on the oily rag if Ive got one handy,otherwise firelighters sticks etc.Dont think newspaper burns as well as it used to,different ink maybe? but sometimes I use newspaper.

Having read the Alnwick railway method I shall be giving that a try next visit to boat.

Good idea for getting rid of grotty veg oil PhilR I will try this on the garden bonfire next time.

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Im with Chertsey girl on the oily rag if Ive got one handy,otherwise firelighters sticks etc.Dont think newspaper burns as well as it used to,different ink maybe? but sometimes I use newspaper.

Having read the Alnwick railway method I shall be giving that a try next visit to boat.

Good idea for getting rid of grotty veg oil PhilR I will try this on the garden bonfire next time.

Yes, I wiped out a frying pan with kitchen paper yesterday and chucked it on the fire with a satisfying woomph, so thought that would be good for lighting too if you had some to hand.

 

And I keep meaning to try the Alnwick technique; the theory is very persuasive, only how do you get the coal to emit the gas in the first place without any heat underneath it?

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Of course, you should start by making a keb to get your coal out of the canal. At Wigan Power Station, I just used a bucket on a rope which, if you were careful, would come up half full of coal every time - and washed when you emptied the water out. Mind you, power station coal is a b****r to get started in a small stove. After cleaning out the shuts on Scorpio when it was first brought to Burscough, Nigel Carter (longtime owner of George) made brickets from it, known as Carters coal turds. They just smoldered with a thin plume of smoke and were reckoned to be endothermic.

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Which of these two do people think is best:

 

1. As Roger's first post, a layer of Taybright with a gap in the middle for a firelighter, then kindling on top of it. The lumps of Taybright are quite large so the firelighter lays amongst them at the same level.

 

2. Alternatively break the lumps of Taybright in half so you can make a thinner layer. Place the firelighter on top of this layer, then make a wigwam of kindling over it.

 

For some fuels I've tried, only method 2 seems to work. It works better for Taybright too, and enables you to build a smaller fire too, but it's a pain having to break up the lumps then keep them separately.

 

Any thoughts?

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Which of these two do people think is best:

 

1. As Roger's first post, a layer of Taybright with a gap in the middle for a firelighter, then kindling on top of it. The lumps of Taybright are quite large so the firelighter lays amongst them at the same level.

 

2. Alternatively break the lumps of Taybright in half so you can make a thinner layer. Place the firelighter on top of this layer, then make a wigwam of kindling over it.

 

For some fuels I've tried, only method 2 seems to work. It works better for Taybright too, and enables you to build a smaller fire too, but it's a pain having to break up the lumps then keep them separately.

 

Any thoughts?

 

I vote for mine :lol:

 

Roger

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I'm beginning to feel the odd one out here. I normally put a fire lighter on the grate, build a wigwam of kindling around the fire lighter then put a layer of coal on top, leaving good ventilation between the briquettes. Light the fire with top and bottom vents fully open, then once the coals "catch" put another layer of coal on top, give it half an hour then reduce the top/ventilation according to how much heat is required.

 

So what's the theory behind placing the coal beneath the kindling?

 

BTW, fif there are people out there who think that boats must be cold, on the last trip out I forgot to close the stove vent one night before going to bed and woke at 3 am in a temperature of 34 degrees! hotter than many saunas I've been in :lol:

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Lighting a stove:

 

The method we use is as follows:

 

  1. Lay a bed of coal over a clean grate - the bed should be about as thick as a man's fist and the coals should be large enough to allow a good supply of air through;
  2. Place a piece of cotton waste that has been pre-soaked in lamp oil (or diesel fuel) on top of the coal - crumpled newspaper or a fire lighter may be used instead;
  3. Place sticks/kindling on top of that. Again lay the sticks so that they form a matrix with lots of gaps for the gases to pass through;
  4. Light the cotton waste with a taper and close the stove door;
  5. Adjust bottom damper (or leave ashpan door open) to ensure a good bottom draught;
  6. Add more sticks/wood from time to time as necessary;
  7. When the coals are burning bright, adjust the bottom damper (or close ashpan door) and add more coal in small quantities to achieve even and consistent burning;

 

Some people may be surprised at the idea of burning the fire lighter and the sticks/kindling on top of the coal (usually because they know that heat rises) however this is the method that was taught in Victorian times to railway employees and servant lighting fires in offices and witing rooms.

 

The advantage of lighting the fire in a way that many people would consider to be 'upside down' is that as coal is heated it emits gas, the burning wood on top helps to burn this gas so that the fire 'consumes its own smoke' - if you light a fire with coal on top, the coal smokes and because the smoke cools in the chimney, you will get deposits of tar on your roof. Also, because most of the gas is burnt by having the burning wood on top, this method is also more efficient.

 

thi sounds like a good idea never tried lighting a fire this way but will do the next time

 

I'm beginning to feel the odd one out here. I normally put a fire lighter on the grate, build a wigwam of kindling around the fire lighter then put a layer of coal on top, leaving good ventilation between the briquettes. Light the fire with top and bottom vents fully open, then once the coals "catch" put another layer of coal on top, give it half an hour then reduce the top/ventilation according to how much heat is required.

 

So what's the theory behind placing the coal beneath the kindling?

 

BTW, fif there are people out there who think that boats must be cold, on the last trip out I forgot to close the stove vent one night before going to bed and woke at 3 am in a temperature of 34 degrees! hotter than many saunas I've been in :lol:

 

you not the odd one out cos i would do it the same way as yourself but will have ago ae above. :lol:

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BTW, fif there are people out there who think that boats must be cold, on the last trip out I forgot to close the stove vent one night before going to bed and woke at 3 am in a temperature of 34 degrees! hotter than many saunas I've been in :lol:

 

Thats a bit worrying, as my neighbour did the same thing last year, but unfortunately the boat caught fire due to faults in the installation. We saved it - just! :lol:

Roger

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So what's the theory behind placing the coal beneath the kindling?

I don't know about "theory", but I've actually read some instructions on some fire-lighters, and the method described involves putting the lighters amongst a bed of solid fuel, then putting the kindling on top.

 

This is only in the initial stages of getting it lit, in my method, you are generally not leaving it long before you are adding more solid fuel on top of the now flaming mass!

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What a palaver!!!! Thank goodness I don't use coal.

 

Grahoom's came nearest to mine - paper, small twigs, large twigs, logs, in that order (but minus the coal at the end). Light. Push door almost closed, BUT DON'T GO AWAY. When blazing, close door and open air vent. Whaen stove hot, close air vent. Both on the boat and at home.

 

Mac

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