CobyRupert
Super Member
I consider it a challenge to re-start a fire when there just one or two visible ember glowing. The challenge is optimal placement of that ember so that heat can transfer to you new material, yet air (oxygen) can still circulate and create combustion.
So it's a bit of contradiction. Having it tight, but having pathways for air.
Often it's important that the piece of wood you're trying to catch has enough low mass edges/splinters ("hair") that heat transfer and circulation are optimal so that the flame will spread.
Advanced placement involves having the pathways so the flame travels and heats more material, and your draft causes air speed through that pathway to be increased causing a blast furnace effect. When I stack the kindling in, leave these gaps/alleys between the pieces.
For me cheating is using a set of bellows. Or a match.
Use dry wood.
I use to start with placing some newspaper at the bottom of the stove and progressively building up with box board, kindling, and then firewood, but I found that taking two big pieces of wood setting them as a base to set the paper on has many benefits. (It's combustible. When you do get a fire going the new coals will get this burning too, plus the "base wood" creates pathways for air to reach the fire above. (- often once your starting material quickly burns, sometimes the fire gets smothered by the larger material on top, or in the ashes or the heat of your fire is being "drained" by the stove surface.
So it's a bit of contradiction. Having it tight, but having pathways for air.
Often it's important that the piece of wood you're trying to catch has enough low mass edges/splinters ("hair") that heat transfer and circulation are optimal so that the flame will spread.
Advanced placement involves having the pathways so the flame travels and heats more material, and your draft causes air speed through that pathway to be increased causing a blast furnace effect. When I stack the kindling in, leave these gaps/alleys between the pieces.
For me cheating is using a set of bellows. Or a match.
Use dry wood.
I use to start with placing some newspaper at the bottom of the stove and progressively building up with box board, kindling, and then firewood, but I found that taking two big pieces of wood setting them as a base to set the paper on has many benefits. (It's combustible. When you do get a fire going the new coals will get this burning too, plus the "base wood" creates pathways for air to reach the fire above. (- often once your starting material quickly burns, sometimes the fire gets smothered by the larger material on top, or in the ashes or the heat of your fire is being "drained" by the stove surface.