Thread: campfires

How long does it take for a campfire to become hot enough to cook on?

Fires burn differently depending what sort of wood you are using, there are also different sorts of cooking. A fire of dead holly twigs will give lots of almost smoke free instant heat, ideal for stir frying in a wok for example. If you wanted to cook a stew make a fire from beech logs and wait half an hour until they burn to embers that will glow hot for an hour and a half. Standing logs, dead trees which have not fallen over, are always worth looking for in a wood, they are dry and burn well with a minimum of smoke, green wood you will have to wait some time for the smoke to die down or it will keep chasing you around the fire every time you approach it, even if the wind seems steady from one direction, and you will need a fair size fire as most of it will be gone by the time it has stopped smoking.

Hope this helps.

If you have the right soil the Dakota fireplace heats quickly and cooks efficiently because the heat is concentrated and not dispersed by the wind.

You need heavy clay soil. Dig two holes about ten inches in diameter, about 18 inches deep, in line with the general direction of the wind, and about 18 inches apart. Tunnel between them at the bottom. Cut your firewood a bit shorter than the holes are deep and furr it. Put wood shavings in the bottom of the downwind hole and stand your firewood on top of it. You can reach in from the upwind hole to light the shavings. As the fire begins to burn, the heat will cause the air in the fire hole to rise and atmospheric pressure will push air down into the other hole and create a draught through the tunnel to the fire. The heat will build up rapidly and be concentrated over the fire hole.

An alternative is to slant the upwind hole so it ends at the side of the bottom of the downwind hole. I've tried it this way, but for me it does not work as well. It's more popular, though, because it's easier. In theory it should work better because the slant will catch the wind, but in practise I've found that the vertical inlet works better.

Cover the firehole with a wire grid and use small cooking utensils for best result. If you can liberate a personal mess kit from an army somewhere you will find the pots and pans just the right size to mostly cover the firehole yet leave enough space for the air to rise from inside the hole and maintain the draught. If your cooking utensils are larger than the hole, use two pieces of green wood about an inch in diameter to hold the wire grid off above the hole and allow air to flow.

In just a few minutes you will have a fire hot enough for cooking. Smoke will tend to go straight up unless there is a stiff wind, but the wind will not affect the fire the way wind affects fire built on top of the ground. An added advantage is the near invisibility of the fire. The fire can only be seen from close by.

The Dakota fireplace will not work in loose sandy soil. You need a clay soil for the holes and the tunnel to hold their shape. If you do have soil that will work, the Dakota fireplace is the best way to build a cooking fire.

Thanks for the advice, both of you

All I can say is that I hope no one ever asks garza the right way to make a baby.

Originally Posted by The Backward OX

All I can say is that I hope no one ever asks garza the right way to make a baby.

always stay on the "upwind side" and keep it sizzling hot.

As with making babies, the explanation of the Dakota fireplace makes the process sound more complicated that it is in practise.

One point I forgot to mention. While a standard-issue entrenching tool works quite well for digging the firehole and the windhole, a small hand-held garden digging tool - a miniature shovel of the type sold in garden supply shops - works best for the draught tunnel. In a pinch a large spoon can be used.

And SeverinR offers good advice. A hotter fire produce less smoke, cooks faster, and creates a stronger draught through the tunnel. If the tunnel is large enough, fuel can be added at the base of the fire a bit at a time.

Edit - In the event anyone is wondering, none of this is theory but is based on my personal experience in the field. The Dakota fireplace is efficient and relatively safe when there is the possibility of a fire drawinag unwanted attention. An open area on high ground is best at night. The soil will be dry and there is less chance of the fire being seen because a person needs to be above the level of the fire to see the flames. Any nearby trees will reflect the light from the firehole. In the daytime, on the other hand, trees can help in dispersing any smoke that is generated.

Of course, one could always eat raw, uncooked food, and the problems associated with fires would vanish like a puff of smoke.

Ox, have a Steak Diane on me.