How to Start a Fire in a Fire Pit

Imagine sitting on your patio after a long day at work while listening to a fire roaring in a fire pit. You just called your family members or friends to reminisce on the good old days. A fire pit is a perfect addition to your home not only because it keeps you warm but also a perfect alternative to cooking inside your kitchen. Now that you’ve already set a fire pit, you realize that starting a fire is not as easy as lighting your gas stove. This guide will share an insight into what you’ll need and how to start and keep the fire blazing in a fire pit.

How to start and keep the fire burning in a fire pit

Before setting up a fire in a fire pit, find out if your local municipality doesn’t have any fire restrictions. That way, you will avoid problems with the local authorities. Meanwhile, here is a step-by-step guide for starting a fire:

Step 1: Preparation

Gather your wood, your lighter, and your tinder. The next step is to start the fire.

Step 2: Ignite the fire

• Creating a pile at the bottom center of the fire put with your tinder
• Placing your kindling directly on top of the tinder at a 35-degree angle forms a V-shape. Make sure the kindling structure is close enough together to leave room for air to flow freely through the firewood.
• Lighting the tinder pile using your Firestarter. Once it lights up, the next step is to stack your firewood.
• Placing your firewood in the pit. Make sure the firewood structure is in a pyramid shape. The firewood should sit close together so that the fire remains concentrated. Still, don’t stack up too much firewood to allow unrestricted airflow.

Step 3: Keep the fire burning

Keeping the fire blazing in your firepit is crucial if you want the flame to be intense all night long. Pay attention to how the wood responds. Does it struggle to catch fire? If so, try reinforcing the fire using extra tinder and kindling. If the firewood looks black and crumbles, rotate more firewood. Also, keep a watchful eye on the fire by adding more dry tinder, kindling, and logs on a need-be basis. Remember to create more space for oxygen to flow in even as you add more firewood.

Step 4: Putting out the fire

If, for some reason, you want to put out a fire in a fire pit, use a garden hose or water bucket to sprinkle water. Add dirt and stir. Ensure the water and dirt only spill on the fire, not the firepit. Next, get a shovel to mix the ash and embers until the fire hissing stops. It would help if you also waited until the smoke disappeared.

The tips to keep the fire pit burning all night

1. Use dry firewood

You cannot judge the dryness of wood from the physical outlook. Chances are the firewood has moisture which might make you struggle to keep it burning. According to SSFirePits, the best way to keep the fire blazing all night is going for firewood with 20% or less moisture content.

2. Arrange larger pieces of wood

While you may rely on smaller and thinner firewood to start your fire, you cannot rely on them to keep it burning all night. Even if you use them, get prepared to undergo the hassle of reinforcing them after every hour. On the other hand, larger wood burns longer, but they aren’t the best for starting fires.

3. Locate the fire pit in a non-windy place

The wind is a natural enemy of fires. It can blow your fire in seconds, preventing your firepit from fire-burning. So, you should ensure you place the firepit near a windbreak. Before you do that, remove flammables nearby because the last thing you need is to set your yard or house on fire.

4. Make sure the firepit is dry before starting a fire

Your firepit cannot sustain fire with moisture, mainly when left outdoors. Even in the absence of rain, your firepit can still gather moisture from dew. So, before filling it with firewood, wipe it dry. Failing to do so might turn your fire-burning efforts futile. For maximum effectiveness, add ash to your firepit before lighting it up.

5. Allow your firewood to breath

There is no way your fire pit will keep burning in the absence of oxygen. One way of allowing oxygen to prevail in your firepit is by stacking the firewood in a V-format. Ensure the bottom part of the fire remains open to allow air to enter and pass through the firewood. Alternatively, you can arrange firewood in log cabin stacks. For example, place the row of firewood in one direction, and top it with another row perpendicularly to the first.

6. Don’t ignore the weatherman’s forecast of oncoming rains, high winds, and humidity

Setting up your fire is one thing, while hoping the rains don’t come is another. Getting a long-lasting fire starts by paying attention to the weather forecast. If the weatherman predicts that there will be rains or high humidity, postpone it to drier and wind-free days.

Conclusion

Going by Fireplace Doors Online’s report, starting and maintaining a fire is easy, provided you have the suitable materials and plan it weather conditions favoring it. It also takes enough practice to master how to do it. Now feel free to go outside, start your fire, and create fantastic memories with your family and friends.