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How to light a fire pit every time: The easy 4 step guide
There’s nothing better on a cool autumn night than having your wood burning fire pit burning and friends and family around. It’s the perfect way to unwind.
That fire pit, however, has to be lit!
This may seem a bit daunting if you’ve never done it before, especially if you want to do it without using lighter fluid (which we highly recommend!)
However, The good news is that it doesn’t have to be. We have put together our definitive guide to lighting your fire pit without fail every time!
Let’s dive in…
Fire Pit Safety
Your first priority for your fire pit should always be safety. Maintaining and adhering to safe practices when it comes to fire and your fire pit is essential in avoiding any unnecessary damages or accidents.
Here are a few things to consider for your fire pit safety:
Keep your fire pit at least 10 feet from your house, trees, fences, or any structures
- Make sure your decking is safe for a wood-burning fire pit
Place your fire pit on an even surface
Don’t use any toxic products to light your fire
Don’t build your fire in windy conditions
Always keep a safe distance from the fire
Pay close attention to children when around the fire
Always keep an eye on your fire to make sure the flames aren’t getting out of hand
Now that we have these firmly implanted in our minds, it’s time to prepare everything we need to start the fire.
Prepare
There are a few things you are going to need to gather in order to start your fire. Let’s break these down
A lighter or fire starter – most commonly this is a kitchen lighter or matches, which work fine but can be slower and a little fiddly. Ideally, you would use a torch lighter which will start this fire much quicker. They aren’t very expensive to pick up if you don’t have one.
Tinder – this is the base and starter for your fire. Your tinder can be anything that is dry and nontoxic. So, leaves, newspapers, pinecones, tree bark all work well as tinder.
Kindling – this is the next level of the fire is your kindling which is smaller twigs and branches. Again, it is important that they are dry in order to take light and burn for long enough to get your firewood burning.
Firewood – your firewood logs are what we are ultimately aiming to light. These should be dry, seasoned, and well-stacked logs if you want to start your fire. We love the look of an outdoor wood storage area that compliments the material/design of your fire pit.
And that’s it. Once you have all of these together, you are now ready to light your fire pit.
Lighting your fire pit
There are four simple steps to lighting your fire. Here we go:
1. Step 1 – Tinder
First, we will create a little ball of tinder in the centre of the fire pit. It only needs to be about the size of your palm.
2. Step 2 – Kindling
Next, we will build a little pyramid of kindling sticks around the ball of tinder. It’s important to leave a bit of a gap to let air flow, but not too much so that the flames from the tinder don’t reach the kindling.
Tip - Leave a little gap on one side of the pyramid, too in case you need to add more tinder at any point.
3. Step 3 – Lighting
Now we light the tinder. Pull out your firelighter and burn the tinder until it catches fire. Your aim here is for the tinder to set light to the kindling. If your tinder is burning up too quickly, and the kindling has yet caught light, just add more tinder.
4. Step 4 - Firewood
Once your kindling is burning, it's time to add your firewood. Again, we are going to arrange the logs in a pyramid around the kindling, making sure to leave enough of a gap for airflow.
If the firewood takes a while to light, you can always add more kindling underneath to keep the heat up.
In general, however, the logs will take quickly if your kindling is burning well.
There you have it, the four easy steps to lighting your fire pit.
Be sure to keep an eye on your fire and add another log or two through the night to keep it going.
Putting your fire out
When you are done for the night, it is also important to put the fire out properly rather than leave it to go out on its own.
This is very easy to do – just get a hose and gently sprinkle water over the top. Don’t dump the water on, as this can damage your fire pit, just sprinkle until the fire is out and the embers aren’t glowing.
Once you’ve lit your fire pit a few times, you’ll realise that there is nothing to it, and you have it burning bright in no time, every time.
We hope this method works for you, and don't forget the best-kept secret of a fire pit is the amazingly delicious food you can cook on it.
Watch the video of lighting the Cook King Bali Fire Pit
If you're researching wood-burning fire pits and considering gas options, our Gas v Wood Fire Pit guide can help you decide.
Primo Grill Electric Charcoal Lighter
£120.00
Electric Charcoal Starter Improve your grilling experience and enjoy easy charcoal or fire wood ignition. The electric charcoal lighter takes the hassle and worry out of lighting your barbecue or smoker. First time, every time and in double quick time!… Read More
Post Code Checker
Using a wood burner outside is legal; being a nuisance with an outdoor fire can cause problems with the neighbours and the local council. Here is our local council checker for their guidelines. https://www.firepit.co.uk/pages/post-code-checker
This is currently for postcodes in England and Wales. It will soon expand to Scotland and Northern Ireland.
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Cook King Bali Fire Bowl 60cm, 80cm and 100cm
£139.00
Cook King Bali Fire Bowls - Various Sizes Make the most of your outdoor space with the Bali fire bowl by Cook King. Enjoy good food, warmth, and a stylish focal point from the comfort of your garden. The Bali… Read More
FAQs
Best tinder and kindling for lighting a fire pit
The best kindling is small, dry softwood twigs and split sticks, ideally around pencil to finger thickness.
Softwoods like pine and cedar catch fastest because their resin lights easily, while thin offcuts and dry garden prunings work well too.
Whatever you use, the key is that it is bone dry and graded in size, starting thin and working up to thicker pieces, so the flame builds steadily up to your firewood.
Can you use a liquid fire starter in a fire pit?
You can, but it isn't necessary and we'd recommend against it.
A fire pit lights perfectly well with dry tinder and kindling, and skipping liquid starters avoids the flare ups and fumes that come with accelerants.
This matters even more if you plan to cook on your fire pit, as residue and fumes from a liquid starter can taint food.
Build a small ball of dry tinder, surround it with a kindling pyramid, and light the tinder.
That alone is enough to get your firewood going, and leaves a clean fire to cook over.
What is the easiest way to light a fire pit?
A torch lighter is the quickest and least fiddly option, as it gets the tinder going faster than matches or a standard kitchen lighter.
Have your tinder, kindling, and firewood prepared and stacked before you light, so the fire can move up through each stage without stalling.
