How to Start an Oak Wood Fire

A well-established oak wood fire

Whether you're building a fire in an open hearth, in a wood stove or while camping, slow-burning oak wood is an excellent choice of fuel--with one important proviso: It must be well and truly seasoned. According to the Wood Heat Organization, up to half the mass of freshly cut oak wood is water. Since converting water to steam robs the fire of thermal energy, the wood should be dried in a sheltered spot for over a year before it is ready for the fireplace.

Things You'll Need

• Newspaper
• Fir kindling or finely split oak kindling
• Matches or lighter
• Well-seasoned oak firewood

Instructions

1. Make sure the chimney is drafting upward. If you feel a downward draft, the chimney is too cold and has reversed itself. See step 4 to correct this condition before lighting the fire.

2. Place a log on each side of the grate or fireplace and put three or four sheets of tightly crumpled newspaper between them. Lay a crisscross pattern of four layers of fir kindling over the newspaper, starting with twigs and progressing to pieces about an inch in diameter.

3. Set larger split oak wood pieces crosswise on top of the kindling. Add another two layers of progressively larger logs crisscrossed on top, allowing plenty of space for air to circulate.

4. If you detected a downward draft in step 1, heat up the chimney. If you're using an open fireplace, put a crumpled sheet of newspaper up through the damper. If you're using a stove, position the paper near the flue above the baffle plate. Light the newspaper. If the burned paper residue falls, repeat the process until it gets sucked up the chimney. Ignite the kindling and start the fire.

5. After reversing the chimney, the fire should sustain itself. If you're using a stove, keep the draft control open and the door ajar until the fire is established; an open hearth should take care of itself.

6. Once the chimney is sufficiently hot and you have a satisfactory bed of coals, your oak wood fire is fully established. Stack more logs in a random fashion if you only need the fire for a few hours. For an extended firing cycle lasting through the night or while you're at work, stack a tightly packed pile of logs behind the bed of coals.

Tips & Warnings

• Unlike green wood, seasoned wood is dark gray. It also has cracks radiating outward on the ends of the log. A split piece of seasoned oak is bone white on the inside.

• Avoid white oak--it doesn't burn very well.

• Buy your firewood a year in advance and burn last year's supply, because dry wood makes a hotter fire

• Never light a fire with a flammable liquid.

References

• The Wood Heat Organization: How to Build and Maintain a Wood Fire
• Fireplaces and Wood Stoves: How do I Start a Wood Fire?