How do you build your fire?

[southernsibe]

After reading the posts about who has used their wood stove, I've been thinking about the different ways people build their fires. Some from the top, some from the bottom, some in a square, a triangle, a pyramid. Anyone want to share what they do?
Rachel

 

[Tuffoldhen]

I make a good nest inside the firebox bottom with crunched up newspapers then add kindling wood on the top and sides....open the drafts and wait til it catches well....add seasoned firewood.....our woodstove keeps a fire all night long...we usually just have to start one fire and it lasts for weeks til we clean ashes....

 

[DrakeMaiden]

I like the tee pee method to get a fire started, but as the logs get bigger, it sort of morphs into the log cabin style. I also mentioned before that I prefer to use the "tinder box" method, which means that I burn only wood (starting from itsy bitsy pieces). But recently we also noticed that dried scotch broom makes an excellent fire-starter.

 

[MissPrissy]

I make my own firestarters using old candles, parafin wax, etc and lint from my dryer as well bark and wood shavings. I pack all of the materials into an old cigarette pack or a pulp egg carton that has seen better days. Then I pour in some of the melted wax and let them cool. The paper makes it easy to start, the wax helps is burn 10 - 15 min to get the fire going in the bigger pieces of split wood. Easy Peasy.

 

[chickbea]

We try not to let it go out all winter long.
If it does happen to go out, I crunch newspapers on the bottom, then some good dry kindling chips, then a wee bit of shredded newspaper, then bigger kindling sticks. I open the damper good and wide, light the fire, and let it roar for a good few minutes. Once it is cranking, on with the big sticks, and close the damper down.
If there is no dry kindling (

), then I use candle stubs to get it going.

 

[silkiechicken]

I only burn for fun but when i do, it's a pile of wood, oh, as high as I feel like making it, with a empty center that I stuff with news papers. If there's lighter fluid, some goes on top of that too. Of course this isn't like a wood stove though so really it just ends up a human tall camp fire. Sure good at killing the vegitation on the ground. Good thing it's always wet around here, bar a few sporatic weeks in the summer, else I'd have set the world on fire by now.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Newspaper, kindling and my secret weapon -

a small drizzle of bacon fat! Wow, does my bacon loving husband love the smell of that!

 

[valmom]

We cheat.

We buy a case of firestarters at Wal Mart every other year or so. (compressed sawdust and wax as far as I can tell). The I cut them in half and use that to start the charcoal scavenged out of the ash pit along with some sticks then bigger logs on the top.

I like the idea of old candle wax and lint!

 

[DuckLady]

Every fall, I make a big batch of firestarters with the shavings and wax like Miss Prissy says. I put them in cupcake tins lined with cupcake liners.

Be careful though. My neighbor brought us some right after we moved in and they were still warm and so pretty with the shavings on top. In the half light of dusk, it looked like apple muffins. I thanked her and said we would have them with coffee for dessert that night.
She still teases me about that.

If I run out of starters, I cheat and go get a case of DuraFlame logs at Costco and light one and add wood to it all day.

 

[southernsibe]

I've made fire starters too! One that I like is dipping pinecones in wax. They are pretty and they are easy. What I do it pretty easy. I like to melt candles on my candle warmer. Once they loose their scent, there is a lot of wax, with no use. some times I add more scent, but most of the time I use it to make my pine cones. I wrap the pine cone in string, and then dip,and put it on wax paper. I light the string like a wick and it does great.
Rachel