trying to get wood to burn in fireplace have tried firestarter logs?

Question

you can see where the wood that is in there has burned off but can't get them to catch fire any ideas?

Answer 1

Is the wood wet? Fire starts from the bottom and works up (heat rises) Lay some paper in front of the fireplace and clean everything out. You should have a hearth grate. This holds the logs up and allows air to circulate. Clean any old ash out ( it acts as an insulator and retards the fire's ability to spread). Take two pages from a newspaper and rip them into quarters. Loosely crumple them into balls and arrange them below the grate. Go outside with a paper bag and gather twigs and sticks. You want a couple of hand fulls of twigs and fill the rest of the bag with sticks. Inside, spread the twigs on the grate. Lay the sticks, starting with the thinnest ones and working up to 1-1/2" dia. sections. Lay the logs on top, also sorting them by diameter, with the largest on top. One match to the paper (center front) and you should be off and running.

Answer 2

Is this a new problem with a familiar fireplace?

Or is it a new fireplace and you are learning to light fires.

1. Crack open the damper to get a good draft.

2. If you have a shredder the paper works great as starter paper or crumpled and torn newspaper. Make a pile under the grate.

3. Put small twigs and sticks and starter wood on the grate.

4. Light the paper, when the starter sticks get going put larger wood staggered over the top.
They must be seperated an inch or so to get a good draw to pull the flames up from the paper and the starter wood.

Good Luck

Answer 3

If you are trying to burn logs that have not been split, it's a lot harder to get them to "catch." Bark doesn't burn nearly as well as the wood itself; if this is what you're attempting, definitely split the logs in half length-wise. I think you'll find that after you do so, you won't have any trouble getting the heartwood to burn (firestarters are great!), and you'll have a nice fire. Also be sure that the flue is open, of course, and that you have the logs on a grate so that air can get under the fire as well.

Answer 4

Well try the starter logs but buy some kindling - smaller pieces of wood - these will catch fire and provide a hotter starter fire. So your fire will be starter log, kindling (as much as seems practical) then one or two smaller logs. Light the starter log. You should try to make sure that there are air spaces between the kindling.

Fires need Oxygen (air), a fuel (wood) and a source (match)...the air part is every bit as important as the match!

Answer 5

First, start with seasoned wood. It's hard to get green wood to burn. Close the doors and open the vent so the chimney will draw air (oxygen) across the logs. Also start with small logs or even pieces to start a small fire then add bigger pieces. Starter logs work better if you break them in half too. Good luck!

Answer 6

Is your wood wet, or green? Do you have a good bed of coals (made using small, dry kindling and slightly larger, but still split, logs) before you put on a large log? Starter logs are useless - make a real fire.

Answer 7

If you don't have a good draft (air up the chimney), the wood won't burn. Or if it does, smoke will pour into the room. try heating the chimney by burning news papers as you light the logs.

Answer 8

Open the flew