Sitting around a campfire is magical. Watching bright orange flames leap and dance, the warm glowing embers radiate warmth to all those gathered. Over the fire crackle is the sound of laughter and sharing of stories as the radiating heat soothes weary limbs after a long day. Campfires leave lingering and lasting memories, including in your clothes and hair. What if you are responsible for lighting the fire, and you keep failing. Fire anxiety might creep in. It can be frustrating if your fire won’t light or constantly burns out. We’re here to help you relight that fire and keep it burning, ridding you of your anxieties and maintaining your reputation by explaining how to keep a campfire going.
How Long Will A Campfire Burn?
Let us say you do get your campfire going and want to warm up, cook dinner, and chill around the campfire. Excuse the irony because that will happen if you do not keep the fire burning.
A general rule is that your campfire will burn for roughly an hour for every half an inch of firewood.
Several factors affect this rule.
- Type of wood. Is the wood dry or wet?
- Size of wood.
- Campfire structure.
- Ventilation.
- Weather.
- Are you using it for cooking?
A bundle of wood is approximately 0.75 cubic feet, between 7 – 12 pieces of wood.
- A single bundle lasts up to two hours.
- You need 5 – 6 bundles for six hours of burn time.
How Do You Make A Campfire Last Longer?
Hopefully, now you have an idea of how long you want your campfire to last and how much wood to bring. So, how to keep a campfire going? You can try several things.
Wood Type
Once you have started your fire with dry kindling, it is best to use slow-burning wood to keep your fire going for longer. These woods are denser and provide a slower and longer burn. Campfire Temperatures. Types of wood to consider:
Hardwoods
- Oak
- Ash
- Maple
- Beech
- Cherry
- Hickory
It is okay to use softwood, and some prefer this kind of wood, for example, pine. Softwood ignites quickly and releases crackle and pop sounds that people associate with campfires. They can be smoky, and there are suggestions that smoke keeps mosquitoes at bay.
Add Rocks
Rocks are fantastic heat conductors, holding the heat for a long time and helping you in your quest to know how to keep a campfire going. If you use rocks, they are great but tread with caution.
Hot rocks can be dangerous.
Due to air pockets and cracks in the rocks, they can expand and explode when heated. Tiny hot shards of rock can fly and hit someone, causing an injury. Use smaller rocks instead of one big one. Line them up around the fire, so they warm slowly, then roll them into the fire when your fire gets low.
Cover The Wood With Ash
Covering wood with hot ash can keep your fire burning by trapping heat and diffusing it efficiently by radiating the heat around. It also restricts oxygen to the wood, making it burn slower. Remember to use a small shovel to move the ashes; they are HOT.
Ventilation
Without oxygen, your fire will burn out. Stacking too much wood on the fire will reduce the gaps preventing oxygen flow. There are different ways to build a fire that allows oxygen to circulate.
The Tipi Structure
The tipi or cone structure is an excellent design to build your fire. It allows for plenty of air circulation. While the bottom pieces of wood burn, it enables the top pieces to get warm and then fall into the fire.
Self-Feeding Fire
This type of fire structure is a sophisticated design of the tipi. Setting up might take some time, and you need a few more materials. Once established, your evening will be much easier. Set up two ramps secured to the ground. Fill the ramps with wood. As the fire below burns, a log will roll into the fire, constantly replenishing the fire, and making it last longer.
How Do I Bank A Fire Overnight?
What Is Banking A Fire?
Banking a fire is building a wall of rocks or stones around a firepit. Or finding a rock or dirt wall to shield the fire pit from the wind. The main principle is to slow down the burning of the fire and prevent the fire from going out. So first thing, when you want that morning cuppa and a bit of heat, it is easy to reignite the fire from the glowing ashes.
Campgrounds often have stone fire rings. They are there to safely contain your fire and stop the ashes from flying around. Before lighting your fire, it is essential to check the local area’s fire regulations, as these can change seasonally.
Why Bank A Fire?
If you want to know how to keep a campfire going, one key is to bank a fire. Providing you carry out safety precautions, you should be able to bank a fire enabling you to sleep without worrying the fire will get out of control. Due to slower burning, banking a fire saves wood, which is vital to preserving nature’s resources in today’s awareness of protecting the environment.
A banked fire is more suitable for cooking than a roaring fire. The heat is lower, making it possible to gently cook chilli and a baked potato instead of roaring flames burning everything while you dodge the flying red hot embers.
How To Bank A Fire
- Prepare the fire by waiting for it to die down. Ideally, you do not want flames. You need hot ash and embers.
- Using a poker, separate the ash and the coals.
- Add solid pieces of wood to protect the glowing coals from the wind. It also dries the wood, ready for the morning when you want the wood to ignite quickly.
- Cover the wood with the separated ash, preventing the wood from igniting.
- Suppose you have not chosen an area with a fire barrier, whether a stone circle or a little trench around the fire. It is best to do this now. Remember, you want to sleep easy, not worry about the fire spreading.
How To Reignite The Fire
Hopefully, you will have enough glowing embers to restart your fire the following morning. It should be easier than starting a fire from scratch because you already have some heat.
- Make a small heap out of the warm ashes, trying not to disturb them too much.
- Place the kindling or fire starter in the centre of the pile.
- Position twigs and small branches around the fire, remembering airflow.
- You should see flames flickering very quickly, then add slightly larger sticks.
- When the larger sticks have caught, add your small logs.
- Pat yourself on the back, and enjoy a cooked breakfast over your campfire.
Should You Keep A Campfire Going Overnight?
Yes, and no is probably the correct answer. Leaving a fire unattended is never a recommended thing to do. However, if you follow a few safety precautions, there is no reason why it should not be safe.
How To Keep A Fire Going With Coals
The answer to this question can get rather tricky. When people talk about coals, which coals are they talking about, traditional coal, anthracite, smokeless coal or charcoal? So, will coal help us with how to keep a campfire going?
Yes, it will. You can use traditional coal for campfires for those who are not sure of the difference. Conventional coal is a rock dug from the ground. Charcoal is a manufactured product made out of wood.
If you use a fire pit, it is worth checking if your firepit is up to the task of using coal.
Charcoal is a popular fuel for campfires. It is cleaner, burns hotter and longer than wood, and is probably more accessible to buy and readily available from places such as Amazon.
Charcoal, or coal as often mistakenly called, lights quicker in a campfire than wood. It is easier to control and less volatile. Charcoal stays at a relatively stable temperature and doesn’t require large quantities to keep it going. Adding charcoal as and when needed is easier to keep a fire going.
Why Does My Fire Keep Going Out?
You gather around the campfire, ready to discuss the day’s adventures, hoping to keep warm, but the fire goes out. You have thrown sticks, newspaper, matches, and firelighters at the fire, and it just won’t stay lit.
There are many reasons a fire keeps going out. The wood might be too wet, the weather too humid. Is the fire appropriately built? Are you using the wrong fuel or controlling ventilation inadequately? So, how to keep a campfire going?
What Does A Fire Need To Burn?
You need three key things to make a fire, oxygen, heat and fuel, and if you are missing one of these factors, you won’t have a fire. These three elements together are known as the Fire Triangle.
If you have a small pile of sticks on the ground and do not add heat to the triangle, you won’t get fire. The same principle works if you have a fire but remove one element, for example, oxygen. The fire will extinguish.
What Can You Put On A Fire To Keep It Going?
After a long day in the great outdoors, you are hungry and want that campfire roaring with no messing. You need some easy, reliable go-to firestarters. Here is a list of tried and tested firestarters:
- Crumpled newspaper.
- Cotton pads soaked in wax.
- Corks soaked in rubbing alcohol.
- Vaseline coated cotton wool.
- Rolled duct tape.
- Chips, save a few from your snack earlier. The greasier, the better.
- Dryer lint.
Then, how to keep a campfire going once you have fired up your fire?
- Good quality dry firewood such as oak, ash and beech.
- Kiln-dried logs these are logs dried slowly in an industrial kiln.
- Pure hardwood charcoal.
- Smokeless fuel such as coal.
- Gel fuel.
Never use gasoline. It is highly flammable!
How To Keep A Campfire Going In The Rain?
Not everyone’s idea of fun setting up camp in the rain. But if you are a long way from home, needs must. So, where is the best place?
Before gathering wood, make sure you can find somewhere to camp out of the wind and shelter as much as possible from the rain. Ideally, use a designated campsite fireplace. Find dry wood. Look under bushes or tree canopies. If you cannot find dry kindling, peel off the wet bark from thin branches. The wood inside should be dry.
Hopefully, you have remembered your faithful firestarter.
Get the fire off the wet ground. The easiest way is to dig away at the earth, soon finding dry soil. Or make a large kindling base with two layers, each layer going in the opposite direction. Then build your fire on top. This keeps the fire off the wet ground. The fire will dry the sticks below, giving you hot embers.
Build the A-Frame or Lean-To structure, making a wood shelter over the fire. You will have to add wood to the top of the frame, as the fire will eventually burn these overhead logs.
A fire reflector is a huge help. It can be a cliffside, or you can build a wall of sticks. The reflector will let the heat bounce off the wall and radiate outwards, keeping you cosy.
Ontario Parks provide a few more tips for setting up camp in unpredictable weather.
Conclusion
How to keep a campfire going is easy when you know-how. Remember a few guidelines. The half an inch of wood for an hour’s burn gives you an idea of how much wood you need. Practice banking a fire in a safe environment before venturing into the great outdoors. Understand the importance of the correct fuel, the fire triangle, and the weather. Practice making a fire in the rain, preferably in light rain. You never know when you might be doing it for real.
Understanding how to keep a campfire going will add to your enjoyment and create lasting and glowing memories.