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Lighting your fire


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They used to put them in the holes down the back street if they weren't cobbled.I daren't tell yer what they do with them now. :rolleyes:

Make sure they're cold and dump em in a dustbin, that's why they've always been called dustbins. Or mix a little cement dust and water with it and make ashtrays.

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  • 4 weeks later...

If you're connected to shore power or your engine/genny is running then buy and use a "Grenadier", an electric firelighter/bellows. My Grandmother had one to light her Aga and they still make them. No need for matches, paper, kindling, firelighters, oily rags, careful laying, etc., etc. Just chuck in the fuel, point the nozzle at it and switch on.

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If you're connected to shore power or your engine/genny is running then buy and use a "Grenadier", an electric firelighter/bellows. My Grandmother had one to light her Aga and they still make them. No need for matches, paper, kindling, firelighters, oily rags, careful laying, etc., etc. Just chuck in the fuel, point the nozzle at it and switch on.

 

I use a single match when I light our stove in October

 

 

Don't need to use another match all winter

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I use a single match when I light our stove in October

 

 

Don't need to use another match all winter

At that rate of match lighting a box of swan vesta will last longer than you. :rolleyes: but yep I know what yer mean though.

Edited by bowten
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Ash, either onto the towpath if its a built up area, or into the hedge, or if dry, into the cut.

 

This thread is a blast from the past but I think my number one fire lighting tip now is to use house coal, it almost lights by mistake, you can then if you wish move onto your smokeless poison of choice.

 

 

Daniel.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I use tea lights (cut in half - two fires per tea light) wrap the wax loosly with newspaper.

Place homemade firelighter, in the centre, on top of kindling (to catch any escaping wax) more kindling on top making a wax bomb sandwich; add in some decent sized wood at the top and light the paper.

 

tealights are 100 for £1 in ikea.

 

Not bothered with coal yet but i'm sure the system can be adapted.

 

This is an old post on this thread......will it really work? Don't yet have a stove to try it out myself.

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I use tea lights (cut in half - two fires per tea light) wrap the wax loosly with newspaper.

Place homemade firelighter, in the centre, on top of kindling (to catch any escaping wax) more kindling on top making a wax bomb sandwich; add in some decent sized wood at the top and light the paper.

 

tealights are 100 for £1 in ikea.

 

Not bothered with coal yet but i'm sure the system can be adapted.

 

This is an old post on this thread......will it really work? Don't yet have a stove to try it out myself.

 

Yup - it'll work.... but in my experience the wax candle is completely unnecessary - depending upon which stove you eventually get - they tend to light beautifully easily

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  • 2 weeks later...

Having seen a few posts recently about lighting fires, keeping them in and fuels, I thought it might be useful to find out the different methods people use.

 

We never have a problem lighting the fire, heating the boat quickly and keeping it in, although when we first fitted the stove it was a bit of a learning curve. We use Taybrite, although the same technique seems to work with any fuel we use and our stove is a budget Evergreen.

 

We start by laying a thin bed of coal (Taybrite etc) across the whole grid, but leave a small uncovered piece of grid for a firelighter. We then loosely lay 6 or seven strips of dry kindling over the top of the firelighter, supported by the bed of coal. Ideally the kindling would be about half to one inch thich and about six to eight inches long. We then light the fire lighter and once the kindling has caught, place a small dry log or block of wood on top of the kindling, then put more coal around the log/block without over banking it. The door is then closed and the bottom air vent opened right up. The fire would normally be burning very healthily within a few minutes, when we would finish banking up and leave it to heat up properly. After about 30 minutes the stove is very hot and we would start to reduce the airflow through the bottom vents. Within an hour the whole boat is getting warm air and the stove would be closed down to all day running settings. For us, that would be two bottom vents almost completely closed and top vents barely opened to allow enough air to keep the glass clean.

 

At night, we will poke the loose ash through, bank up very high, close the top vents completely and leave one bottom vent open the smallest ammount possible. We don't empty the ashtray at night as it keeps the airflow under the coal slower. Using these techniques, we keep our stove going continuously throughout the Winter months.

 

Roger

 

I always keep mine going in the winter, if I over rake it, I throw on a few sticks of kindling on the glowing embers and as soon as it's alight gradually add the coal.

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If you're connected to shore power or your engine/genny is running then buy and use a "Grenadier", an electric firelighter/bellows. My Grandmother had one to light her Aga and they still make them. No need for matches, paper, kindling, firelighters, oily rags, careful laying, etc., etc. Just chuck in the fuel, point the nozzle at it and switch on.

Never heard of this - but it brings back a memory of a family we knew when I was a boy. Unlike us they had mains gas, and the father used a "gas poker" to light the fire. I have not seen one for many yars. Are they still used?

 

While I'm here, a thank you to whichever forum member it was who mentioned "heat logs" available from B&M shops. We went to a B&M shop on Sunday. We bought a bag to try. They are bloody marvellous, not only igniting quickly but pushing out heat rapidly too. Their size and shape should make them suitable for small stoves on boats too. Not sure how long-lasting they'll be if we turn the dampers down, as so far we have tried them only when lighting the fire.

 

Once again, Anon, thank you.

Edited by Athy
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As a matter of interest

 

I have heard of a technique for making DIY fire lighters from old melted candle stubs mixed with sawdust and poured into egg box cartons. Apparently you just tear off one eggy bit complete with wax and sawdust and set light to it

 

Does anyone know exactly how this is done? i.e. what proportions of sawdust and wax to use?

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  • 3 weeks later...

If anyone has a local branch of Home Bargains, they are currently selling 10kg bags of Brazier smokeless fuel for £3.99, 10kg of hardwood kindling for £3.99, fuel logs (as mentioned above) 4 for £1.99, and decent sized boxes of firelighters for 49p!! I didn't expect the Brazier to be much good at that price, but tried a bag and it was great so have stocked up.

 

Neil

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If anyone has a local branch of Home Bargains, they are currently selling 10kg bags of Brazier smokeless fuel for £3.99, 10kg of hardwood kindling for £3.99, fuel logs (as mentioned above) 4 for £1.99, and decent sized boxes of firelighters for 49p!! I didn't expect the Brazier to be much good at that price, but tried a bag and it was great so have stocked up.

 

Neil

 

Brazier at £10 for 25kg is not a bargain!

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  • 4 weeks later...

I have a squrriel stobe. Once the fire is fully lit and warm & the coal is glowing red do you fully close both vents ?

My squirrel needs both vents opened 360 degrees with supatherm in it and it stays alight all night.

 

I am given to understand that different fuels need treating differently and I suppose each stove will handle differently also.

 

Paul

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I have a squrriel stobe. Once the fire is fully lit and warm & the coal is glowing red do you fully close both vents ?

 

If you close both vents, the fire will go out!

 

Once the coals are nice and hot, I close both vents down, then open the top one by half a turn, and the bottom one by one turn. Seems to do the trick :)

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Justa quick thank you. This weekend we tried using the OP method of getting the boatman stove to light, it worked almost perfectly.

Still working out how to fine tune the damper setting but we had decent heat overnight.

 

Rob

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I can't believe you people let the fire go out!

 

If you close both vents, the fire will go out!

 

Once the coals are nice and hot, I close both vents down, then open the top one by half a turn, and the bottom one by one turn. Seems to do the trick :)

 

 

A whole turn you must get through some bags in a year.

 

Anyone being charged 20 quid for a bag of coal is being ripped off £13 is the most expensive I have seen and I didn't buy that!

 

I have been out on the cut for the last five months and there are more logs to be had than at any time since I came on. Why are people buying logs? Are you all rich boaters?

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