What is meant by banking the firelogs?

[Hinotori]

I used a quarter of an egg carton to start my fire since I always have old beat up ones that aren't any good anymore. I've tried some drier lint under the cardboard. The cardboard works just as good alone. I set some small kindling on top of it and build a chimney with wood around it. Piece of wood on each side, then one on top of that in back and one in front, then sometimes I can get another level with wood on the sides.

We have a small firebox so I have to use smaller pieces of wood. If I adjust the logs right when I load it at night, it will still keep some coals 8-10 hours later.

 

[Denim Deb]

When I build a fire w/out any coals, I build it backwards. (I got the idea from Nifty) It actually works quite well. In fact, more often than not, it's easier to get it to burn doing it this way.

 

[Hinotori]

At the apartment we lived in before moving here, I would build the upside down fire in the fireplace. It worked very well with the room I had. I've tried it several times in our wood stove here and haven't had much luck with it. I rather liked that method as the heavy logs could go on the bottom and not roll.

Just measured, our firebox is only 10 inches high, so that would be the issue.

 

[Denim Deb]

Ours isn't very high either. It took a bit of practicing, but I was finally able to get it done. I'll use smaller logs at the bottom. Then, when it's burning good, I'll put something heavier in.

 

[Hinotori]

I'll give it some more tries. It was a very nice method. That's how my brother always builds fires in their stove as well.

Now it's amusing to watch my husband try and build a fire. He is not good at it. He's really good at getting the kindling to burn bright and totally without catching the logs.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

I'm halfway between putting the boxwood and tackling my instructions for making a rocket mass heater down there. It would be awesome to heat my whole house with just one load/day. One way or the other, I do need to get with the program and start taking pics.
I realize I'm normal over here on SS, but in real life, I've been told many times by visitors that I need a website. I'm sure all of you have been told the same. In fact a lot of you have websites, I think.
I really do have to get with the times and learn how to download pics....right after I learn how to use a digital camera. I haven't been good about taking pics since my oldest kids were little, with a 110.
My to-do list is growing bigtime lately and, really, nothing is stopping me from doing whatever I want. One thing at a time.
But thanx for all the tips on banking, cuz us southerners don't see much extremely cold weather. I heard it was going to get cold again, but DS informs me that its getting cold, but not as cold as it was a few days ago.

 

[Beekissed]

I don't have a website either, though I have a good many pics on these forums. We did just get a camcorder the other day...my first! Now, to learn how to use it. My digital camera is getting older and didn't take too good of films and I was wanting to document a how to for YouTube, so a camcorder was the thing...and I was so pleased to find out how cheap they are! Got a great one for $170 and they are so compact...couldn't believe it but they now fit in the palm of your hand.

The last time our family(my parents) had a camcorder it took the VHS tapes, was huge and cost over a $1200...and was pure junk. Don't even know what happened to it.

 

[Denim Deb]

Bee, that's what kind of camcorder we have. Have no idea where it is, or if it still works. I'd love to get a camcorder, but don't have the money to spare, or time to even use one.

 

[Beekissed]

If I had known they were so cheap, I'd have had one all these years to film my boys' teen years. We did a lot of living in the past 8 yrs that could have used some documentation. I lost all my pictures of that time because I hadn't stored them to a back up and had just downloaded them to my PC, which crashed and lost all of them.

Now I'm going to be using it as a tool to document some how-tos with chickens that folks have been bugging me to write a book about and I just can't seem to sit down and get finished. I'm thinking of starting a YT channel and then just referring them to it for things like deep litter, processing from start to finish, checking for laying, natural management methods, free range setups, coop tweaking, simulated natural nest incubation, DIY projects, gardening methods, canning or making bread if need be, and misc things.

I'm also getting my first granddaughter next month, so that will be another good use of it.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Yay - a granddaughter!

Can't wait for you to get some stuff on YT - I'll be watching!