With the cold months upon us, its time to start lighting your fire ready for a warm and cosy night in. However, its important to know if your log burner is ready to be used. Log burners come in all shapes and sizes, with different features, but it is important to upkeep your fire no matter the shape or size.
The first thing to consider when looking to light your fire is whether it’s ready to use, either because you’re using seasoned logs or maybe there are some embers present. Both situations only apply to wood burning appliances. The following tips also apply even if your appliance does not have a glass door because the principles remain the same for lighting, however, how quickly it will go up in flames depends on how well insulated your home is.
Before you get started make sure that people around are aware that you’re lighting the fire and that there may be sparks.
Assuming you have a good stock of seasoned logs, your next job is to lay these in a criss-cross formation on your tray at the bottom of the fire. This arrangement of wood will help get your fire going and it creates lots of air pockets which will help the fire roar. Once you have done this, it’s time to start laying some kind of kindling on top – newspaper is great for this. Tie sheets of papers into knots to create a bed that will light and the flame will pass onto the wood without the paper going out too quickly.
Once you have your kindling in place, it’s time to light it. Take a match and hold it close to the kindling so that the flame catches. If everything goes according to plan, the kindling will then catch the logs on and then adjust the fires airflow by opening and closing the vents.
One of the most important things to remember before lighting any log burners is to have the chimney swept out. This will ensure that the smoke and fumes escape properly and don’t cause a build-up in your home. A build up can increase the risks of house fires, so it is extremely important to get your chimney swept before using it. Sweeping your chimney should be done by a professional, and usually is required for your home insurance to remain valid. Chimney sweeps are great and keeping the surroundings clear and tidy, compared to if you were to attempt it yourself.
Once the chimney is clear, it’s time to start building the fire, not forgetting to place the ash catcher below with sand or ceramic briquettes to help keep the ashes from flying out.
So stay cosy this autumn and winter with your feet up in front of the log burner fire and enjoy this new season.