light the fireplace

wood fire lights

LIGHT THE FIREPLACE
The optimal storage time for firewood is roughly three years. But what ideas are there for storing firewood for this period of time? Can you also store your firewood decoratively?

We would like to give you some information and suggestions here.
Lighting the fireplace made easy: What do you have to do in preparation before lighting your fireplace? In order for the fire in the fireplace to blaze nicely, you need a functioning flue, which sucks in air for combustion and then discharges the combustion gases through the chimney.

But how can you check whether there is sufficient draft in your stove? All you need is an ignition chip or a match. If you ignite it, the flame will be drawn upwards if there is sufficient draft. Sometimes, in unfavorable weather conditions or after the fireplace has not been heated for a long time, this flame can point downwards or only glow weakly. In this case, there is not enough airflow and you would have to take further measures.

FIRE UP THE FIREPLACE PROPERLY
In the beginning, dosed warm air helps, which gets the stagnant air moving. Here a so-called decoy helps. The latter has the task of directing the cold air out of the chimney. So you can easily turn on the fireplace. For the decoy, it is best to use a few wood chips, which are easily and quickly flammable. This quickly and effectively generates warm air, which rises. Next, the well-known chimney effect takes effect and the necessary draft in your chimney is generated.

AND WHICH WOOD IS BEST SUITED?

Basically, a distinction must be made here between the firewood for heating and the wood for kindling. In order to ensure a constant heat emission, the wood must burn slowly. However, kindling requires faster heat development. Here, for example, chips, pine and spruce wood or other dry softwood are suitable. If these are inflamed, they can quickly set a larger piece of wood on fire. Well-dried firewood is an excellent fuel! According to the regulations, however, the wood must not contain more than 20% residual moisture . The higher the residual moisture, the poorer the heat output and more exhaust gases are produced. As a result, there is a lot of annoying smoke and an annoying smell in the air.
Stacked firewood for heating

WHY SHOULD YOU LIGHT THE FIREPLACE FROM ABOVE?

Lighting the fireplace “from above” means that the kindling is placed over the large logs in the stove and then ignited from above. The kindling is arranged in several layers. In this way, the resulting fire can spread more easily to the firewood underneath, such as beech or birch, and ignite it.

If you then place an ignition aid on the stack of firewood made from beech, oak or birch, lighting should be even easier and you can fire up the stove properly. If you light the stove this way, there should be less smoke and you will use less fuel. However, it may take a while for the firewood to start burning. At Kaminholz Breuer we believe that every stove is individual and you will see that over time you will find the method of wood layering that suits you.

WHICH KINDLING IS THE BEST?
Turn on the fireplace with tools: Use long fireplace matches or a long lighter! A Fidibus or wood chip are also well suited. This will prevent you from burning your fingers when lighting the fire. Commercial firelighters are also ideal. They burn longer than a match and make cheering a lot easier. For example, you can buy firelighter cubes based on paraffin or petroleum. Firelighters made from pressed wood flour and wax are just as common. As an alternative, however, the bio-lighters made of wood wool should also be mentioned. Paper and cardboard are not the means of choice for lighting a stove. Waste paper or newsprint would be the worst, as it releases the printer’s ink and harmful chemicals into the air.