Best way to light a coal fire?

[floatsyourboat]

I'm about to move aboard this weekend and wondered what's the best technique to get a fire going with coal from a cold start?

Thanks.

[Athy]

Just the same way that you would at home: lightly scrumpled newspaper in the grate, then thin kindling twigs, thicker pieces of wood on top of that, then a few lumps of coal on the top. A pack of long matches is useful (we have some which are about 7" long) so that you can light the fire at the back as well as at the front.

 

EDIT: have a packet of firelighters handy in case all else fails. It may be cheating, but better to cheat than to be cold.

Edited October 29, 2014 by Athy

[bizzard]

I keep sticks in a honey jar half filled with old used white spirit ( free fire lighters) one of those on the grate alight then bung on nice dry kindling, door ajar a touch, ashpan door control fully open, when all alight bung on the coal, when burning red close door and turn down the lower control. Most stove will tick over with the bottom air control a half to one full turn open.

[Alan de Enfield]

Build a 'nest' of coal (smokeless nuggets) in the grate

Get half a dozen small sticks / kindling ready

Get some more coal ready.

 

Light a firelighter and place inside the nest, cover with the sticks, cover the sticks with a few lumps of coal.

Open air supply fully

Close door

Listen to the whoosh as the chimney/flue warms up

Fire is lit.

[Zig Zag]

Just the same way that you would at home: lightly scrumpled newspaper in the grate, then thin kindling twigs, thicker pieces of wood on top of that, then a few lumps of coal on the top. A pack of long matches is useful (we have some which are about 7" long) so that you can light the fire at the back as well as at the front..

I did read once someone suggesting you can build it upside down as in newspaper balls sitting on top of kinderlin etc etc. never got round to trying that though.

 

Oh, and yes, fire lighters... Shame on you man.

[Athy]

I did read once someone suggesting you can build it upside down as in newspaper balls sitting on top of kinderlin etc etc. never got round to trying that though.

 

 

I'm sure it works in Australia, but over here it makes more sense to put the lightest, most easily lit elements at the bottom, being as how the flames go upwards, like.

[Geordie.narrowboat]

Fire lighters, two, surrounded by kindling and 4 to 5 pieces of coal. Open the ash door, keeping the fire door closed and ventilated. Works every time for us. Mrs likes the occasional fail as she is a fire starter, I light and walk away, works every time - so far.

[FadeToScarlet]

I'm sure it works in Australia, but over here it makes more sense to put the lightest, most easily lit elements at the bottom, being as how the flames go upwards, like.

According to David Schweizer, the heat is evenly radiated up and down, and the upside down method results in a less smoky fire.

[Janet S]

When my Grandma had a coal fire, we used to spend many happy hours twisting newspapers and tying them into tight knots to use on the fire. They certainly seemed to do the trick!

 

I was easily pleased as a child...

 

Janet

[Black Country Lee]

I'm sure it works in Australia, but over here it makes more sense to put the lightest, most easily lit elements at the bottom, being as how the flames go upwards, like.

 

 

According to David Schweizer, the heat is evenly radiated up and down, and the upside down method results in a less smoky fire.

 

I agree with DS and FTS, after the paper burns away and the kindling gets soft after burning a short while the weight of the thicker/heavier wood or coal above collapses onto the kindling extinguishing the fire and making lots of smoke. Upside down every time for me

 

Lee.

[Southern Star]

I put a layer of coal on the grate, then shredded newspaper (which comes as packaging with various bits and bobs I get by post) then a couple of pieces of kindling soaked in white spirit, then a pyramid of coal, and job's a good 'un.

[BD3Bill]

 

 

 

I agree with DS and FTS, after the paper burns away and the kindling gets soft after burning a short while the weight of the thicker/heavier wood or coal above collapses onto the kindling extinguishing the fire and making lots of smoke. Upside down every time for me

 

Lee.

 

I tried the upside down method recently, worked like a charm, converted to it. It will never catch on though…

[Machpoint005]

When my Grandma had a coal fire, we used to spend many happy hours twisting newspapers and tying them into tight knots to use on the fire. They certainly seemed to do the trick!

 

I was easily pleased as a child...

 

Janet

 

My grandchildren still love this approach when we have a 'proper' fire at home.

To answer the OP, though, don't let the paper and ready combustibles restrict the airflow up through the grate. A good draught is the key to easy ignition.

[Zig Zag]

Well with the baffle plate is it (?) the idea is the flame goes up and whips down so I guess thats what it's getting at. Dunno as I said not tried my self.

 

Edit. Oh and make sure you don't "screw/twist" the paper to tight otherwise hiders the catching process.

Edited October 29, 2014 by The zig zag

[DHutch]

I'm sure it works in Australia, but over here it makes more sense to put the lightest, most easily lit elements at the bottom, being as how the flames go upwards, like.

Apparently, according to I think Graham 'NB Alnwick' this was commonly done in stations, or at least Coal;Paper;Wood as it gives heat the room faster.

 

I have tried it on the fire at home, and it works. I do think you need more wood/kindling for this method, and it does spit/crackle a bit more which was an issue as we have carpet in the living room but that would be much less of an issue on a stove.

 

Would be interesting to try it on the boiler, but I feel it would also need a LOT of wood, in part due to steam coal being quite hard to light anyway.

 

 

 

Daniel

[madcat]

I find newspapers and paper generally hasn't got the urge to burn it used to have .

 

Top down works well , I'm a convert

[alan_fincher]

Yes,

 

Another vote for broadly "upside down".

 

It doesn't seem that logical, but it is what works best for us, and I wouldn't now try and light a boat stove the way I might have done a grate in a house in the past.

 

(That's in a multifuel stove though - an Epping range where the only way in is through the top tends to need something a bit different....)

I find newspapers and paper generally hasn't got the urge to burn it used to have .

 

Top down works well , I'm a convert

Modern newsprint seems to be one of the best ways of making sure a stove is a devil's own job to light. I avoid it completely.

[Psycloud]

This works for us (having started with much more technical methods), everytime a winner:

 

Build a little tower of kindling (a bit like a Jenga stack but with gaps between the wood)

Place 1" square of firelighter in the bottom of the tower and light it.

Close the stove door and open the bottom vent door

5 minutes later open the doors and chuck a load of coal on the burning tower

Leave for another 5 minutes for the coal to catch then close the vent door and regulate with the vent slider or whatever option you have.

 

We used to use paper, firelighters, kindling, heat logs and coal but that now seems over complicated.

[DHutch]

I find newspapers and paper generally hasn't got the urge to burn it used to have .

Especially when a bit damp.

- Works on the open fire at home, but on the boat in the boiler I normally help it with white spirt cut 50/50 with waste steam oil.

 

 

Daniel

[Alan Saunders]

An open fire or stove in a house has a chimney ~30' usually providing adequate 'draw' before the fire is lit. If our open fire was slow to burst into flame my grandmother would hold a sheet of newspaper over the opening, increasing the draught. Invariably, the newspaper caught fire, gran' let go of it and it dissapeared up the chimney.

 

Beng a pyromaniac I find it best to start with a small fire and add small pieces of coal by hand to the pyramid; a shovelful may smother it. The quickest way to get warm is to establish the fire with dry wood before feeding it with coal.

 

I have yet to try the 'upside-down' method. Warming the short flue on a boat improves the 'draw' so I have tried burning a firelighter above the fire as well as below.

 

Lacking kindling or firelighters I have used a gas torch. A bunsen flame quickly gets the coal glowing red but a yellow flame seems more effective.

 

I can light dry housecoal with half a firelighter but I often find plastic bags of coal saturated with water, best open the bag and dry the fuel before use.

 

Alan

[floatsyourboat]

Thanks for all the tips everyone I certainly have a few techniques to try now.

Don't you find the tinder in white spirit leaves a smell?

[Alan Saunders]

Especially when a bit damp.

- Works on the open fire at home, but on the boat in the boiler I normally help it with white spirt cut 50/50 with waste steam oil.

 

Daniel

Many years ago I found a reference to a firelighter used in a Canadian cabin. It had a name that I cannot recall, nor can I find it via Google.

 

A bucket of sawdust, the coarse sort you get from a chainsaw, saturated with diesel fuel. I have tried it and it burns steadily without the danger of burning petroleum spirits. Good for a bonfire or a log burner but it would probably fall through the grate of a multifuel stove.

 

Alan

[peterboat]

Used paper oil filters from work light in seconds burn for about 10 mins which is more than long enough to start any fire

 

Peter

[IainW]

Can i add the sideways method to the mix?

 

Stack coal up against the back or sidewall of your stove, then stack kindling up against that, then light kindling using whatever starter. If i burn coal, i usually do this and once the kindling has taken, put a log against the kindling, it seems to funnell the heat up through the kindling between the log and the coal and gets everything going well.

[Athy]

. If our open fire was slow to burst into flame my grandmother would hold a sheet of newspaper over the opening, increasing the draught. Invariably, the newspaper caught fire, gran' let go of it and it dissapeared up the chimney.

 

 

 

Alan

My Dad used to do this at our house in Sheffield when I was a boy. We had an all-night burner type of open fire, and one of his daily rituals was to take a double page from the previous day's Daily express and hold it over the fire opening. Actually, he did not usually have to hold it in place, as the updraught from (or towards) the chimney held it in place. However, he usually managed to remove the paper, scrunch it up and put it on the fire, before the paper ignited.

 

I have used the method successfully, but as our current house has only a solid-fuel stove, not an open fireplace, I'm a bit out of practice.