When you are camping and it is dark and cold outside, you may really miss the fire! As is known to all, any fire can give us a feeling of warmth. However, the most fundamental outdoor skill –making fire is also often one of the most misunderstood. Here learn these four campfires and you’ll be able to stay warm, cook food, scare off wild animals or just have a bonfire on the beach.
They’re simple and easy to make, and everyone can probably learn something. So at first, let me teach you something about fire. The combustion is based on three elements: fuel, oxygen and heat. The fuel is the material that will start and keep the fire burning. Without oxygen, the fire could not burn.
The oxygen combines with gases emitted from the fuel is which released by heat applied to the fuel. And the fire can provide much heat when burning.
The common thread leading to sustained combustion is the progression of thin-to-thick flammable material. The three basic categories of material are referred to as tinder, kindling, and fuel. Tinder might be dry grass, leaves, bark or twigs, or kindling might be pencil sizes branches.
Knowing what lights quickly and produces enough heat to start your tinder burning is a key skill in becoming a competent fire starter. As you image, tinder is the base of your fire. Most any larger fire will usually be started from a tiny, burning pile of tinder Fuel might be arm-sized branches or larger logs.
Because heat rises along with the flames these materials generally are stacked with the tinder at the base followed by kindling and the fuel placed beside or on top of the fire once it is established. The materials should be close enough to transfer heat but loose enough to allow air flow.
So, how are you going to build your campfire? Here four kinds of fire you can choose and practice. Hope you like them.
Teepee Campfire
Teepee Fire
Teepee fire is probably the most basic of fire designs. It is often used as a starter upon which bigger, longer-lasting fires are founded. It’s also a great fire for a quick warm-up or water-boiling snack break. Compering with the council fire (log cabin fire) and counting all factors on, the teepee fire with a bigger, taller flame and produces a more concentrated, long-lived coal bed.
And it is incredible that mere 2.25 pounds of twigs and sticks can produce a half-hour’s worth of fire and coals. This fire uses mostly kindling, but most large teepees fire can be produced by putting larger logs vertically to it. There is a tremendous number of beach fires are large teepee fires where pole-sized driftwood is laid upright against others to form the same kind of shape.
This style produces a fast flame and quickly falls into itself in a pile of coals. The heat is directed up to a single point and is useful for boiling water in a single pot on a tripod. Once the teepee collapses, fuel wood can be laid around it like a log cabin or just criss-cross on top of the flames.
How to Build a Teepee Campfire ?
- Sticking a few sticks into the ground to supply support for the rest of the kindling. Then place your tinder bundle on the ground or on a small piece of bark. Stick three or four kindling twigs in the ground to form a teepee above the tinder.
- Leaning small kindling twigs against the downwind side of the tinder. Leave an opening on the upwind side all the way to the center tinder where you can light the fire.
- Continue to lean twigs around the teepee structure. And then get some slim sticks, leaving plenty of air space between sticks and poke three or four this kind into the ground forming a larger teepee structure.
- Lean some smaller fuel wood pieces against this support structure. Gather additional small fuel wood and kindling ready in case it is needed.
Lean-To Campfire
Lean-To Fire
This fire keeps air space open because of the support stick and a steady, and as you can image light wind really helps the Lean-To fire get started. This is fun to light, but it is difficult burning up all the tinder without catching the kindling for there is too much air space is left open. Once it gets going, it’s fun to anticipate the main support stick burning through and falling.
How to Build a Lean-To Campfire ?
- Stick a long, large piece of wood in the ground at a flat angle. It must point into the wind. Then you need to place your tinder bundle under the stick.
- Lean very tiny pieces of kindling on the tinder bundle and put many small piece of wood against the support stick.
- Put bigger kindling against the first layer. You can create a second lean-to of larger sticks over the first lean-to and follow the rules ahead.
Council Campfire
Council Fire
Council fire burns hot, bright, and it can burn for a long time without adding anymore wood. To build it, we do need bigger logs. It is suitable for entertaining big crowds as you can image.
How to Build a Council Campfire ？
- Lay 4 logs, each about 6 inches across and 4 feet long, and be sure make about 4 inches of air space between logs. Across these, lay a platform of about 6 logs, each about 5 inches across and 3 feet long. Across this, lay a layer of 4 inch logs, 2.5 feet long.
- Then you need to build up the council fire by repeating the steps and choose smaller than below to put..
- When build up the cabin like that. Make a lot of split kindling sticks and stick them into any open air space in the log layers. Create a teepee structure on the last layer of split wood. Then leaving a space to light up the teepee, continue placing more pieces around the teepee to make few more layers. Finally light up the teepee and the fire burns its way down through the layers.
Hunter’s Campfire
Hunter’s Fire
Hunter’s fire is built between two long logs. It is good for cooking and has good wind protection. And it is totally not for entertaining or warming. If the logs are the same size, the tops of the log can be used to place pots for cooking. As for the advantages, It can prolonging the fire since the insides of the log are burning too. And it is easy to direct the fire up or down the length of the side log until the entire log eventually consumed. In addition, you can pile or spread the coals to create hotter and cooler cooking areas.
How to Build a Hunter’s Campfire？
- Find two short logs about 7 inches in diameter and place them nearly parallel about 6 inches apart at one end and 3 inches at the other.
- Create small teepee fire between the logs and let it burn until there are good coals. Use the two logs as a platform and you can place your pots on for cooking.
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