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Please give me instructions on how to start a fire in our fireplace?

We have a fireplace insert. Every time my husband tries to start a fire, the whole house fills with smoke. He thinks you have to keep the door open and the blower going when you build a fire. He must be doing something wrong. Can someone help us?

Public Comments

  1. did you open the flue? What we do is use regular wood but buy an artificial log that burns, we chip off bits of the artificial log and place it in the the real wood with lots of Newspapers and it usually starts most everytime
  2. uh....no.......you dont want the blower on while you START the fire..... Start it with wadded up papers and wood chips, then it will light up the rest of the wood, then after that lights you can turn on the blower....!...and make sure that the flue or damper isnt clogged or closed Years and years of keeping a fireplace lit!
  3. there are so many veriables that I would sugest that you find someone who can show you and take notes
  4. Have you had your chimney checked, it sounds blocked.
  5. ok, have the valve about 1/2 open and open the bottom door and turn the blower off till it gets to about 700 degrees then close the bottom door and turn the blower on and ur house will be about 85-90 degrees all day long if u keep it filled hope that helps
  6. If you cannot fathom the idea of using a fireplace damper, then perhaps you should reconsider having open flame in your home. The lives you save may be your own.
  7. Number one, MAKE SURE THE FLUE IS OPEN. If you don't know what it is, there should be a handle up inside the fireplace towards the chimney, when it is open you will feel fresh air moving. Then just start the fire with some newspaper loosley wadded underneath some small stick sized pieces of wood. As the fire starts to burn, and you see the wood catch fire, start adding bigger pieces, and eventually you will have a nice warm fire. Once you have a good fire going, close the mesh curtains, or glass doors depending on the fireplace , and then turn on the fan. Also make sure the chimney is not clogged from years of creosote buildup. You may have to hire a chimney sweep to clean the chimney first. If you open the flue and don't feel any fresh air, then DO NOT start the fire. If the flue is not open, or the chimney is clogged, the house will definately fill with smoke. I'll bet you could google it and get step by step instructions. To: Eliza K, NEVER CLOSE THE FLUE AFTER THE FIRE STARTS BURNING, YOU WILL BURN YOURSELF IN THE ATTEMPT, AND THE SMOKE WILL GO INTO THE HOUSE AND NOT UP THE CHIMNEY. I'M HOPING YOU MEANT CLOSE THE DOORS, NOT THE FLUE.
  8. Open the flue for the fireplace
  9. yeah sounds like u need to open the flue.... No need for open doors!!! Get a couple of firelighters, scrunch up about 5 sheets of newspaper into loose balls, put them on top of the firelighters, followed by some kindling in a teepee kind of shape. Light the edges of the newspaper balls and give it a few blows until its away. Make sure the flue is open, shut the door, and when the kindling has burnt down, put some bigger peices of wood on. Once the fire has generated a lot of flame and a bit of heat, its time to close the flue.
  10. Get a newspaper, roll each sheet into a tight roll, tie them into knots to make a good paper base that won't burn too quickly. Next, put on some dry kinder - wood splintered thin, and have available a good selection of small - medium size stuff to put on. Try one time with the door closed and the blower closed. Try a second time maybe with the blower open. The door shouldn't make much difference to the air available to the fire, but might allow air to blow in from the chimney and out the door. At each stage, make sure you have flames. Flames tend to eat the smoke - don't put on more than one or two small pieces at a time, and concentrate on keeping the flames up. Don't blow too much, and blow very gently and with long deep breaths. If this is tough, then just get other people to try for you, it's more of a practical than a technical skill.
  11. I had the exact same thing happen to me. I had a chimney sweep in and they found a dead squirrel in the flu. Fired it up without a problem after that:>
  12. Is the flue (chimney) damper open? Use some newspaper to get some warm air to start up the chimney. Or use a hair dryer pointed up the chimney to get air moving. Keep the blower off until the fire is going. In a very tight house, cracking the door to start it might help. Once the chimney gets warm, the smoke should be drawn up. Have you had the chimney cleaned and checked? It could be plugged.