Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
smokeless fuel
Hi - as the nights are getting colder we thought we would try lighting our fire. We bought some smokeless fuel from home base. When we tried setting a fire all of the newspaper burned but the smokeless coal remained untouched. Does anybody have any tips?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by doug on
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Coal can take a long time to get going, and I find newspaper burns out too quickly. Try using a couple of firelighters, and maybe some kindling to get it started. Am assuming you've used it before and the chimney is in working order.
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I also found that I had to use a couple of firelighters and kindling. You can get some firelighters which get very hot very quickly. They are great but not widely available. Nothing beats a fire and we have now invested in a woodburner
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Permalink Reply by Justin Guest on
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On the plus side, it was as advertised on the tin... Smokeless.
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Sorry should have been more detailed. We used firelighters and kindling with the newspaper to start the fire. 30 mins later the coal was still just sitting there. We even used our bbqs chimney to get something going - no luck. Chimneys were swept in the summer but this is our first winter in the house. And its cold!
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Sometimes it can be a pain to get the coal started, also I've found some brands of coal better than others. It may be worth using some small logs after the kindling and before you add the coal. It can take a good 30-45 mins of sustained heat to get the coal going-but it's worth it when you get there. Stick at it and you'll soon discover the right combination. Good luck.
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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on
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I grew up with open fires and my tip is
First layer - newspaper twisted or rolled as tight as you can
Second layer - a couple of broken up fire lighters
Third layer - kindling
Top layer - a single layer of coals. Too much and the fire never gets going
Add more coal a lump at a time once the first lot gets going.
Do not make the layers too dense otherwise the air does not draw up through them. Keeping the room door open helps with the air drawing.
I was so glad when we got central heating!
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The coalman recommended building a little pyre with kindling and firelighters and placing the coal on top, to allow the air the help it burn. This is our first year using the fire and this has worked really well. We don't use paper at all to get it going.
If you have a car, Aldi on Tottenham High Road is currently stocking coal, kindling and logs at pretty good prices.
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