Stupid funny question but I would like a answer

[Brumeiser]

Well after our first summer last year there is one more thing to tackle this summer and I am sure I can get some brilliant helpful hints from this forum and the knowledgable answers from you. We have the worst luck in starting a camp fire. Yeah go ahead and laugh but seriously we can never get one going. We would like to learn this summer so we can start one and start cooking that way with dutch ovens etc. We are lacking one thing in our camping experience and this is it. I don't want to try anything stupid that will end up blowing something up like me or my RV . One suggestion from a relative was to use old car oil has anyone tried this? Not sure if they were joking or what. So help how do you start a man fire as they said from the Jungle book movie, and keep it going? Thanks

 

[MomofPirate&Mickey]

If there's a KOA near you, they sell some fire starters that work really well. They can get a little expensive, but they do work!!

 

[2goofycampers]

dry wood, newspaper and a LITTLE bit of charcoal fluid, put wood in TEE PEE style to begin with. ..............Denise

 

[Us3]

The fire starters work great...you can pick them up near the charcoal in most stores!

 

[PolynesianPixie]

I really should get my DH to answer this......

but after 13 years of watching him do it, I would tell you to make sure the things you use are very very dry. Take some kindling and stack it up like a teepee and put some newspaper or dry leaves in and around it. Use a lighter, matches or (I hear) steal wool and a battery will do the trick Once it catches, blow on it until you have a significant flame, then add larger pieces of wood. Poke it a lot, add stuff to it and enjoy!

Make sure to hold a plastic bag over the fire and listen to the melted plastic droplets scream as they fall into the pit. Fun times....

 

[BigDaddyRog]

Well ya get a big can of gasoline, and a match, and a small woodland animal, and then..........

 

[2goofycampers]

Well ya get a big can of gasoline, and a match, and a small woodland animal, and then..........

call BDR for bail money.............Denise

 

[Colson39]

Yea, gas, lighter fluid, don't worry, it's not cheating Fire starters work great as well.

And as others have suggested, make sure it's dry wood, wet wood can be a pain to start (and not necessarily just wet on the outside).

Now, personally, I always enjoy trying to get the fire started the old fashioned way first, depends on how many beers I have in me...lol.

 

[VACAMPER]

I'm not good with fire. Lost my eyelashes to a propane oven this summer. My family was no help either. Couldn't get my DH or DSIL up off the ground laughing long enough to put my hair out. Worthless people.

 

[disney4dan]

Old cranckcase oil will work, but is not so easy to come by unless planning ahead. Smokes like crazy as well. New motor oil will not work, but used will work every time.

There are many ways to start a campfire, and I even had a Boy Scout leader show us how to use cigarette lighter and a can of spray paint to get 'er done. No kidding. Same guy used to hit us up for $2 each for beer money. But I digress.

One method that I did learn in scouts was to take a whole bunch of small wood, about 1" x 1" by about 1 foot and stack it in a square, with about 1/2" to 1" spacing between the pieces, going several layers high. Crumpled newspaper in the very bottom row and maybe some newspaper in the front. The newspaper will get it going pretty well. The wood really has to be dry, and should have been aged for a long time (not wet inside at all). This stack of wood will make a good bed of coals to get things going. The air spaces between the pieces of wood are needed to circulate air to the fuel, just like in an engine. Not enough air in the mix and you get a smoky, pitiful fire.

Some of the Wal Marts sell a fire starting paste as well. Comes in a tube like toothpaste, but a little bigger. Fire sticks are at www.campmor.com

 

[Brumeiser]

but the fire never lasted long and it just burned out. Maybe we had the wet wood, but the wood looked like it was dry and in a sheltered area when we bought the wood. So we will have to keep trying this summer. Thanks everyone.

 

[lauralana9]

I usually use dryer lint. There are ways to make fire starters with the lint and wax in cups but i don't bother with that. I just stach the logs like a teepee and put some smaller branches inside, put in a big wad of lint and light it up. Make sure there is plenty of room because it needs airflow. Be patient, the big ones take a bit to catch. DH's first tirp (I had been camping for years) I couldn't get him to understand that. He kept fussing with it. At one point i look over and he is standing holding a stick lighter directly on this giant log. He was really expecting it to catch. I will admit to using lighter fluid a time or two, mostly if the wood is wet. Works nicely, but i do feel a bit guilty for cheating.

 

[big kahuna1]

I use the fire starter logs made by Duraflame or
http://www.duraflame.com/aa_products/firestart01.php.

If I am at hunting camp...I soak my wood with diesel fuel first. Works like a charm.

 

[clkelley]

Charcoal works much better for dutch oven cooking than a wood fire. A wood fire actually gets too hot. We had some dutch oven cobbler one Scout trip on a regular fire and only cooked it about 1/2 the recommended time and it still burnt.

 

[kc5grw]

Just use a Boy Scout Match as we call em. One is more than enough to get a fire started. They're about a foot long, maybe an inch in diameter and emit a very bright red flame. You can usually find them at auto parts stores. Sometimes called a flare.

 

[MomofPirate&Mickey]

Just about any alcohol will work too as an excellerant (sp?). I know, sacralege.... "Why is the rum always gone??"

 

[MomofPirate&Mickey]

90 proof works really well!!

 

[gon2wdw55]

I allways take my scoop shovel to next door campfire a big scoop of hot coal and his wood works great! sssshhhhh.

 

[Rhonda]

I usually use dryer lint. There are ways to make fire starters with the lint and wax in cups but i don't bother with that. I just stach the logs like a teepee and put some smaller branches inside, put in a big wad of lint and light it up. Make sure there is plenty of room because it needs airflow.

DH says to say that if you don't have any dryer lint, that belly button lint works just as well!

 

[PrincessKsMom]

We use fire starter candles from Yankee Candle and some kindling wood. You can use newspaper too, but the candles are the best because they burn slowly so you have plenty of time to get the fire going. Good luck and keep the fire extinguisher handy if you decide to go with the gasoline or aerosol can method!