Guide to making a camp fire?? (UPDATE INSIDE!!!)

[heracles26]

I will be going camping this weekend.

I'd like to start a small campfire just for something to do and some warmth.

I am pretty anxious about it as I have never attempted a camp fire before and not to sure how to go about it and which method to use. I don't want to start a bushfire!!!!

Any help is appreciated!

[GPSGuided]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=st9IqWFipDo

Remember, small is good.

[Zone-5]

Gather a lot of small dry twigs first and build a tee-pee over some dry paper or fire lighter.

When the twigs begin to take add increasingly larger twigs and branches in the tee-pee fashion until coals form.

Get all your wood first and do it quickly to make use of as much of the actual flame heat as possible...

[weeds]

Take a fire starter.........yeah it's cheating but gets the fire away quicker.

[heracles26]

Thanks for all the replies so far!!

[Lizzy]

If you are having a fire make sure you have plenty of water on standby to extinguish properly.

[Gadgetgeek]

First step is making sure you have a strategy to put the fire out quickly, second is clearing a large area so that it doesn't get away. That includes thinking about whats overhead, and what the wind is doing. Provided that all those things are in order, then its just a matter of getting your tinder and kindling in order.
I generally go for a bunch of match-stick size wood about the size of both fists, then pencil sized sticks the size of my head. Then bigger and bigger. I prefer the log cabin method over the teepee, but they both work. Paper, a firelighter, or a cotton-ball smeared with petroleum jelly work well. split wood is better than round, but don't take risks if you are unfamiliar with axes and hatchets. If you are able to collect wood from the environment standing dead wood is best, then deadfall. Don't bother trying to burn anything that still has leaves on it, you'll just end up with a lot of smoke.

leaves and bark tend to be more damp than they appear and are not so good for fire starting (there are some exceptions, but generally as a rule)

prep is the key, so don't get too worried if it doesn't work quite right the first time. It takes a while to get really good at it.

[Moondog55]

Lighting a fire in Australia is so easy usually it is very scary
And even the best of us have trouble in cold wet weather
Most important lesson to learn is when NOT to try and light a fire
Gadget Geek has it in a nutshell but here's a CFA link for you to read through

http://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/fm_files/atta ... ochure.pdf

[DanShell]

Pour on petrol, throw on match, grow back eye brows

Ok so gadget geeks advice is possibly slightly better than mine.

[andrewa]

"Pour on petrol" = grow back eyebrows AND hair on head AND facial skin AND buy new tent, which was also engulfed in flames!

Beyond the advice given about sticks etc, I usually use about 5 mls of metholated spirit as a fire accelerant, which I pour over the pile of sticks. For the OP, Metho is far less volatile than petrol or white spirit, which, from a practical point of view means that it lights closer to where the fluid is, rather than the vapour cloud exploding when a flame gets near it, as happens with petrol.

Small pieces of bicycle inner tube also work nicely as fire starters.

A

[Franco]

I like the saying :
"White man builds big fire, stands back. Indian builds little fire, huddles close"
So I build Indian style fires...
You start with the larger bits at the bottom and go smaller with tinder at the top.
Green gum leaves work well.
You get less smoke this way (upside down fire ) and it does not collapse on you.

[Gulliver3]

Re fire proportions. Paddy Pallin's favourite quote on this subject was - "The Bigger the Fire the Bigger the Fool!"
Phil

[Gadgetgeek]

a dixie cup (do you guys call them that? little waxed paper cup) works really good with a little metho in it, keeps your heat contained instead of the metho spreading out. also remember that metho burning on its own is a clear flame, so use caution in full sunlight.

Not trying to be a know it all, I'm far from it, I'm sure there is still a bunch of ways for me to set myself on fire. (no really, I have seriously grown back my eyebrows far more times than anyone should. its amazing I've never gotten severe burns. Also I I love canvas....)

[FootTrack]

Small pieces of bicycle inner tube also work nicely as fire starters.

I heard this tip mentioned in that girl's video also, and was a little bit surprised by it actually. Is this common place/something that a lot of people do? Burning rubber releases a string of hazardous chemicals into the air and onto the ground which are harmful to the environment. A lot of people would probably argue that it doesn't matter given only a small piece of rubber is being burnt, but I think the principle is important. It should be seen as a privilege, not a right to spend time in our wild areas, and we should be looking to reduce our "footprint" whenever we can. Based on ethos, burning a small piece of rubber is no different to burning five tractor tyres in my eyes. They are both an expression of negligence and lack of respect. In most cases, lighting a fire is very easy, and unless for emergency use in wet conditions, there shouldn't be any need for rubber anyway. I have only ever needed paper (could probably get away without it if using dry grass/leaves) and an ignition source (matches, fire steel etc).

Back to the OP...If you use newspaper to get the fire going, scrunch it up so that it has some body and so that the oxygen can get in and around the flame. Rather than carrying newspaper, I use toilet paper when I'm bushwalking. Ventilation is one of the biggest tricks - the fire needs to be able to breath to get going. Also, if you're wood is slightly damp I would move your stock pile closer to the fire (without it being so close that it could ignite), so that it dries by the fire. It will burn better once placed on in this way. In a lot of kids story books/American movies, you'll see people putting a ring of stones around their fires, however, I would avoid this. I've seen rocks violently blow up because of airpockets within them excessively increasing in pressure from the heat! I think only some rock types are an issue, but it's not necessary anyway and not worth gambling with and loosing an eye over! Just a warning

[heracles26]

Thanks everyone for the replies! I am pretty excited to try building a small campfire!

Is it worth digging a shallow pit to build the fire in? Or would this just result in less oxygen with no real benefit?

[FootTrack]

I wouldn't bother. We used to a long time ago but I think it traps the heat in too much. With a fire at ground level, the heat comes out at you more. It also disturbs the ground and is a pain to fill back in again. On that topic, you can get a similar shelter effect like this by placing larger wood at the back of the fire in a curve. This helps to radiate heat back out at you if you are sitting in front of it, and can help protect the fire from wind/rain if need be. It's also a good spot to build coals from if you are using your fire for cooking!

Edit: One last thing...if there are existing fire places around, try to use them. Campfires are a lot more damaging to the ground than bushfires because they are a sustained source of heat. Its better to reduce the damage to one spot if possible. Campfires scattered around everywhere are also an eyesore! Good luck with it and I hope it goes well.

[Zone-5]

Just a tip, don't place smooth rounded rocks from a creek or river around the fire like they do in the movies!

These rocks have been stressed by the eroding jostling water action and are liable to shatter/explode if well heated!

Could be nasty if huddled around a good fire on a cold night.

With a fire at ground level, the heat comes out at you more.

...just clear a wide area around it and make sure you are NOT in an area where the sparks and embers will start a grass fire...

Lastly, place your tent up wind.

This will become obvious from experience. LOL!

[michael_p]

I found this video useful:

[michael_p]

Just a tip, don't place smooth rounded rocks from a creek or river around the fire like they do in the movies!

These rocks have been stressed by the eroding jostling water action and are liable to shatter/explode if well heated!

Could be nasty if huddled around a good fire on a cold night.

Great tip. Thanks.

[icefest]

Just a tip, don't place smooth rounded rocks from a creek or river around the fire like they do in the movies!

These rocks have been stressed by the eroding jostling water action and are liable to shatter/explode if well heated!

Could be nasty if huddled around a good fire on a cold night.

Great tip. Thanks.

Small correction: it's more that they might have water inside them, and as this expands near the hot fire it can explosively decompress the rock, resulting in a superheated rock and ember claymore.

So it's not just river rocks but any one that has been immersed on water.

[heracles26]

***UPDATE***

We couldnt get a fire going!

We collected tinder and pieces of wood ranging in size and left it on the ground for an hour or so and it became quite damp. I think this was the biggest issue that hindered us.

I lit the fire starter and placed the tinder on top, We got a small fire going but the bigger pieces of wood wouldn't catch alight and the fire starter eventually burnt out.

Will be trying again this weekend!!

[Gadgetgeek]

Yep, damp is not so good. as you found, sometimes it takes a lot of little stuff to get a fire going, so now that you know what size of stick your fire-lighter will light, focus on getting more of that next time. Also, without knowing what size of wood you were using, in general you want to keep your increments of size as close as possible, a common mistake is to have one stick of every size, and using the size of the sticks to make the fire bigger, and the fire burns out before the larger stuff gets going. Rather think of it as building a fire the size you want at every size level, and having enough wood at that level to keep the fire going. Use larger wood to burn longer, not bigger. I hope that makes sense, like any skill, it can take a fair bit of practice, and its hard to add more helpful info to you without knowing what you did, or what you were working with. Even recently I've had fires go very poorly, so its not to say you did anything wrong, sometimes there is a factor that is just against you.

A couple of things for helping getting a fire going without making yourself dizzy blowing on it, you can fan the fire with a plate or similar. If you are careful and don't over-do it, it can be very effective.

As for the inner tube, As much as I love the smell of burning rubber, In my kit, those are a last-ditch all bets are off this fire must light sort of thing. I'll stick to waxed denim, cotton pads and petroleum jelly, or really anything else before I hit those up. I think its a useful thing to know in a survival sense, but its not my first choice.

[Moondog55]

Wet tinder and kindling won't burn without lots of assistance although a firelighter is usually enough. Perhaps you did not start small enough [ the most common beginners mistake] start small and very gradually work up. Keep tinder and kindling under cover
If the ground is wet or damp lay the firewood on the ground first in a decent grid pattern; this does 2 things ; it allows lots of air to flow up and thru the wood and it allows the firewood to warm up via radiation. Some fine kindling on top of the grid base then the firelighter tinder and very fine kindling. If its bigger than a matchstick it's too big but in the bush there is always plenty of these very fine, dead and dry twigs on trees
Can you practice at home in the yard?

[Tortoise]

We managed to get a fire going after 2+ weeks of drenching rain, by whittling off the bark and outer wood to get to the dry core of the kindling - and we found some dry tinder up a disused wombat hole. We had bigger bits of wood ready with wet bark stripped off, and dried the next size up by placing teepee-style over what began as a 'log cabin' style fire as we went. Took a fair bit of preparation and perseverance though. We also were in the habit of storing dried wood for the next day under the vestibule of the tent - so we were always using wood that was as dry as possible.

+1 to all the advice re only lighting it in safe, cleared places, preferably in official sites, and putting it out thoroughly (enough water till its cold enough to safely touch it, with no more 'spitting' when you pour water onto it).

I was always the safety police in our group, till one time I went to bed too early. In the middle of the night a wind picked up, and relit the coals that friends had left with an occasional glow. The fire got into a stash of unused wood they had left, and we had a bigger fire to extinguish. After that, I wasn't the only one who wanted to drown a fire before retiring for the night.

And yes, thanks Moondog, +1 for a lot of strategic fanning. Used to use a flat plate when I carried one, now use a closed cell foam square that I use for a seat and a myriad of other things. Very effective, less effort required.

[north-north-west]

I can't help thinking that to fulfill the 'something to do' category it would be simpler to carry a book . . .

[DanShell]

Im probably going to get shot down for saying this BUT........

I think considering you had to ask how to light a fire is one thing, and sure, everyone must start somewhere and it doesn't really represent incompetence. It pretty much just means you are not experienced in lighting a fire and wanted advice.

However, now that you gave it a crack and failed due to whatever reasons, I personally think its probably best you don't light a fire in the Aussie bush!!

[ErichFromm]

Just be careful and remember how quickly a fire can get out of hand if you're not... I guess it's my ignorance or privileged upbringing but for some reason I can't imagine someone not knowing how to light a fire. Seemed liked "required knowledge" when I was a kid - like knowing how to swim

[GPSGuided]

Did you all go through a fire phase in your childhood? I did.

[north-north-west]

Probably. Growing up in Tassie, wood burning stoves and heaters were the norm. Any pyromaniacal tendencies, however, were cured by '67.

[perfectlydark]

God im lucky i didnt start a bushfire as a Kid. I remember 'smoking' with my brother at 8 years old hiding in the nice dry long grass in the next field over..