Lighting Coal/Anthracite Aboard

Check that your stove can use coal etc......I used coal and it burnt the bottom out the stove and melted the cast iron grid.....some makers prohibit the use of coat etc....
 
Not sure about coal, but the gas flame lighters don't do well with Charcoal - the blue flame just seems to lance through the charcoal and I never get it to light.

Useful little space saving firelighters a mate told me about which are easy to make and carry for lighting fires when out in the sticks is to take a tub of Petroleum Jelly and a bag of cotton wool balls - melt the Petroleum jelly over a warm flame and drop in one ball at a time, retrieve and let it "dry".

Each impregnated ball then makes an excellent firelighter.
 
I had problems occasionally when starting a charcoal burner until I made a chimney barbecue starter.
You can buy them commercially, but a big can with the top and bottom cut off and a grate one third the way up from the bottom will do. Oh... and a handle 'cos it gets hot.
Rolled up newspaper in a do-nut under the grate. Fill the top with charcoal and light the paper.
The chimney effect increases draw.
When the fuel is lit, pour into the stove.
It would probably work just as well with coal... and no smelly firelighters or faffing with gas.
 
Jam jar filled with short kindling wood then fill with parrafin, leave to soak for as long as possible, wood then thin layer of coal, light, small amounts of coal frequently until a good fire is established. Well thats the way model loco`s are started with a means of supplying air as well, works about 99% of the time.
 
Roll up individual sheets of newspaper to make small diameter tubes. Form these into rings or pretzel shape to stop them unwinding.

I have used these to light coal, wood and charcoal. If you use that free sailing newspaper (I can't remeber what it's called) it will cost you nowt.
 
pampas said:
Jam jar filled with short kindling wood then fill with parrafin, leave to soak for as long as possible, wood then thin layer of coal, light, small amounts of coal frequently until a good fire is established. Well thats the way model loco`s are started with a means of supplying air as well, works about 99% of the time.
Click to expand...

doesn't the jam Jar crack on the fire?;)
 
parsifal said:
Roll up individual sheets of newspaper to make small diameter tubes. Form these into rings or pretzel shape to stop them unwinding.

I have used these to light coal, wood and charcoal. If you use that free sailing newspaper (I can't remeber what it's called) it will cost you nowt.
Click to expand...

Paper logs my Mum used to call them. Coincidence that, I was making them to light our stove tonight and thinking about her. :-)
 
You'll struggle to light anthracite in the conventional way with kindling, paper and matches. Nor will a gas poker readily do the job. You need some serious sustained heat under the stuff to get it going

Several of the bigger commercial firelighters in amongst some serious kindling under a good heap of the stuff will generally do the job but as somebody already mentioned the easiest way to get it started is to first light a fire with normal house coal, get a good hot bed of fire and then start feeding it with anthracite*

* Note that we tried this technique with Coalite (aka Coal-no-lite, see other thread on this subject) and it just put the bl**dy fire out!
 
Making a ball out of kitchen roll, placing it at bottom of grate and pouring paraffin over the top works very well for good sustained heat. make sure fire is well out first though.
 
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