Starting a fire for newbs

[Zelda]

I always struggle with getting the campfire going. It can take up to an hour for me to get it to catch. I hope you won't think I am stupid, it is just something the men always did. Now that I am on my own I have to learn how to do it. Any tips or pointers for me?

 

[Lamebeaver]

Take a few cotton balls and work some Vasaline into them with your fingers. Put these in a sandwich bag. Use one per fire.

Find a big rock, or clear a small area of ground of leaves and debris. Place some rocks around this to create a campfire ring. In the middle of this, put some leaves etc so youre not starting your fire on cold, damp ground. Make a small teepee out of very small twigs. Pull one of your cotton balls appart a bit and place under the teepee. Light this. Once the twigs are burning well, put on a few larger twigs, want until these are burning well and repeat. Don't go too fast, as the cold twigs will suck the heat out of your fire until they get started.

Don't burn big, huge logs. 3 or 4 inches in diameter is about as large as you want to go. Make sure your wood is dry. Use deadfalls, do not cut down live trees or used live branches off of trees.

After your fire is out, pour water on the area, scatter the rocks and sweep some leaves and forest debris over the area of your fire pit so nobody knows you were ever there.

 

[oldsarge]

http://www.wikihow.com/Build-a-Campfirehttp://www.ehow.com/how_4002_build-campfire.html


How to Build a Campfire | eHow.com


how to start a camp fire - Bing Videos

This easier than typing it all out, it should help you out!

 

[BigSky]

There is also a bit of an art to it. You need to fan the fire just the right amount. Not too much, not too little. Once you have done it a few times you'll get the hang of it easy. Just make sure everything is dry. Once the fire is really going you can add slightly damp logs to it and they should burn.

 

[Pathfinder1]

Hi...


Oldsarge's last two web sites were quite interesting and informative.

Lame Beaver's post had one particularly good sentence...MAKE SURE YOUR WOOD IS DRY...!!

It takes a lot of fire to get GREEN or WET wood burning.

Good luck, and let us know how you make out, okay?

 

[ejdixon]

You can try checking out this article on how to start a campfire to help you out.

 

[Woods]

Sometimes your tinder and fire material can be damp and you don't even notice it. Then it is almost impossible to catch a spark. Be persistent and use the right and effective fire making tools.

 

[DThewanderer]

What if you have no other choice but to use wet wood. You guys are very knowledgeable about this, so can you share your knowledge on what to do when working with wet wood?

 

[Grandpa]

Split a piece of wet wood and get to the dry inside

 

[IndianaHiker]

I always use these have started fires in very wet conditions.

Coghlan's Waterproof Fire Sticks | Bass Pro Shops

 

[hippieP]

Cotton balls are amazing and now my husband never complains when I come back with a few extra bags from the store when I do my shopping. We learned the hard way about it one year and after that searched to find the easiest (and lightweight) way to avoid it again.

 

[ppine]

The choice of materials is the most important ingredient. Then get it small to maximize the amount of air available. Candles and firestarters really help in the damp.

 

[wvbreamfisherman]

The biggest problem getting a fire going IMHO is trying to use bigger fuel too soon. Once you get your tinder going, feed small sticks and slivers in slowly and let the coals build up. This can seem to take forever, and it's tempting to go to bigger sticks too soon.

The vaseline-soaked cotton balls along with commercial firestarters really are a huge help getting a "critical mass" of stuff burning.

 

[oldsarge]

I got some of those wax and wood chip starters as a gift once. It worked out real well. It burned for over 15 minutes.

 

[Pathfinder1]

Hi...


I don't rememmber where I saw or heard about it, but I made up a candle-type heater/stove (don't exactly know what to call it) out of a tuna fish can and one-inch wide strips of corregated cardboard, which were coiled up inside the can, then filled the can with hot wax.

When I got done with it, it didn't seem very impressive to me, but will try to see just what it can do over this weekend.

I'll let you know how it works out.

 

[Grandpa]

Hi...


I don't rememmber where I saw or heard about it, but I made up a candle-type heater/stove (don't exactly know what to call it) out of a tuna fish can and one-inch wide strips of corregated cardboard, which were coiled up inside the can, then filled the can with hot wax.

When I got done with it, it didn't seem very impressive to me, but will try to see just what it can do over this weekend.

I'll let you know how it works out.

It's an old boy scout trick/project from many years back.

 

[Pathfinder1]

It's an old boy scout trick/project from many years back.

Hi...


Do you recall how well it functioned...as a candle...stove...lantern...etc.?

 

[Zelda]

Wow guys! This is some really valuable information. The cotton ball trick is new to me, but I understand why it would work. Now I am excited about getting a chance to try it out, which won't be anytime soon, looking at the weather.

 

[Grandpa]

We put a wick in to help get it going, but worked good once it was burning. That was long ago and I only did it once for a requirement.

 

[wvbreamfisherman]

Never tried that one- I've done the pop/beer can alcohol stove, and it works pretty well, although it doesn't hold much fuel, and there's no way to seal it up so you can carry it fueled. I broke down and pried a few bucks out of my wallet and bought a mini Trangia stove and cookset, which I'm looking forward to trying out soon.

The tuna can idea sounds promising as a stove/firestarter that would stay fueled all the time. At a guess, I imagine the biggest problem might be soot from a flame that gets too high and doesn't burn all the vaporized wax.