Best Practices When Building a Great Campfire

A campfire in your backyard is a great way to end the day and relax. Something about staring at a burning campfire is good for the soul. A firepit can be the center of your backyard entertainment or the gathering place for your next camping adventure. You want to have a beautiful and successful fire no matter your reason. These best practices can help you create the greatest fire. 

The Best Practices For Building A Great Campfire? 

While you can build a great fire anywhere, the location of the type of fire dictates the steps you want to take to build a fire. This is also true for a firepit.

Safety First When Building a Campfire

Before you start any fire, you want to ensure you understand the firepit regulations in your area. You want to make sure you level the firepit to not tip over when the fire is lit. You should ensure that the firepit is at least 10 feet away from a structure. They should not be placed under any branches where embers can catch the branches on fire. You should also keep water nearby, such as a bucket or a hose, if you need it. 

Material Needed For Building a Campfire

If you want to build a traditional fire from scratch, you need some materials. 

Fire Starter - Matches and lighters are among the most common fire starters. There are many more, including a butane torch lighter which creates flames in a small amount of time. An Arc Lighters is a great option for consideration because they are rechargeable and environmentally friendly.

Tinder - Tinder is the fuel your fire needs because it combusts easily. Tinder can be just about anything from newspaper, dry grass, tree bark, leaves, and straw. It is essential to keep all of the tinder dry so it can catch on fire. You only need a small amount of tinder for your fire because that is all that is needed to light the other parts.

Kindling - Kindling is the material that catches fire from the tinder. It is usually small dry sticks that are about one inch in circumference. A good length for kindling is somewhere between five inches to eight inches. Kindling should be thin so it can easily catch on fire. However, your fire will not be effective; it takes too long for the kindling to catch fire. 

Firewood - The firewood is the base of your fire. The firewood for your firepit must be dried out, such as kiln-dried firewood. You want to avoid wet or greenwood. You can use any wood that you would like for your firepit. Some types of wood burn longer and hotter than other types. For example, Oak burns hotter and longer than pine wood. The wood should be sized based on your firepit but typically sixteen inches long. 

You only need enough kindling and tinder to light the wood. However, you should have extra wood available in case you want to extend the fire. 

Arranging Your Firewood

You want to ensure the tinder is in the middle of the firepit. You should put it in a mound that is about the size of a fist. The fire should be lit at the bottom of the pit to allow the tinder to catch the kindling on fire. 

You should consider how you want to position the firewood. Teepee, log cabin, and lean-to are the most popular ways to lay the wood. 

Teepee - The kindling placed in a teepee formation with the tinder underneath the point is the Teepee. With this method, you leave an opening in your kindling teepee where you light the tinder. This allows oxygen to fuel the fire. When the fire begins to burn, the kindling adds wood to the flames.

Log Cabin - The Log Cabin layout places the tinder and kindling in the same place as the Teepee style. The wood placement is different as you begin by placing two pieces of wood parallel with the Teepee in the middle. Lay two more pieces of kindling perpendicular to the other pieces, and it forms a square. Do this until there are three layers.

Lean-to - This method works ideal for wind or breeze. One piece of firewood is placed in the fire pit, putting them perpendicular to the direction of the wind. The tinder goes against the firewood, ensuring it is centered in the fire pit. Next, place kindling at an angle to touch wood and the firepit, with the tinder directly underneath.

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