Ingredients

Radford Chimney Works
1318 W. Main Street, Radford, VA 24141
Phone 540-639-6155 Fax-540-639-6156
Toll Free 1-877-260-6022

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Last updated November 9, 2006

Fire Starting Tips

	Tinder: Crumbled up newspaper makes the best tinder. You can also use small twigs, pine needles, or pine cones
	Kindling: Large twigs, small branches, and small splits of wood anywhere from 1/4" to 1" in thickness will do. This is the most important ingredient for building a good fire.
	Fuel: Use only well-seasoned hardwood. If you have to burn softwoods, be certain they are well seasoned.

Open the damper - This is forgotten more often than most people care to admit.
Arrange two small to medium sized pieces of firewood on the grate, and place some crumpled up newspaper for the tinder between the logs.
Now cover the tinder with several pieces of kindling. Be generous with the kindling.
Now, place two more pieces of firewood on top of the kindling and two more at right angles to the two. Leave some space between the logs for air circulation.
Warm up the flue - For fireplaces, warm up the flue by holding a piece of burning rolled-up newspaper in the (opened) damper region for 10-15 seconds. This helps the flue establish a good draft.
Then light the tinder. Within a few minutes, you should have a nice, hot, roaring fire!

	The key is to burn small, hot fires, using seasoned wood that will minimize creosote accumulation and maximize heat output.
	Keep fires burning hot with flames, not smoldering with a lot of smoke.
	Be careful not to add too much firewood. In a fireplace, keep the top of the flames visible below the fireplace opening. In a woodstove, keep the flames confined to the woodstove itself.
	With glass doors, keep the doors wide open with the screen closed for a good half hour after starting the fire. When you see the fire is burning well, close the doors and set any draft controls.
	It's better to add smaller loads more often than to cram in a lot of wood trying to get an all-day burn.
	When you're ready to put out a fire, separate the logs by moving them to the side of the fireplace of stand them on end in the back of the fireplace. Close the screen or glass doors tightly, but don't close the damper until you're sure the fire and coals are completely out.