How to Bank a Fire

classicalgeek | Nov 26, 2011 |

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Banking a fire sounds kind of like saving for a rainy day. While banking a fire is really not quite that simple, in fact, what you are doing when you bank a fire is saving yourself from having to start a fire completely from scratch, by preserving embers (coals) that allow the fire to being burning and slowing down the rate at which fuel is used.

When should you bank a fire? Primarily the purpose of banking a fire is to allow the fire to be less attended (you should never leave a fire unattended), such as when you sleep, or leave it temporarily to get more wood. Other instances when you may wish to bank a fire include certain cooking techniques, where you want long, slow heat for cooking.

The first step in banking a fire is understanding how fires work. In order to burn, a fire needs three ingredients: fuel, heat, and air. Too little of any of these and the fire goes out. But in the right proportions, the management of fuel, heat, and air allow fires to burn fast or slow, hot or cool. Some experimentation in arranging these three ingredients will help you get a feel for managing the burn rate of your fire.

Banking a fire involves the management of airflow between the burning logs. When air flows freely, fires tend to have a lot of flame (not one of the necessary ingredients!). When the airflow between the logs is slower, the fire burns longer (because the fuel is not being burnt up as fast). However, since you are reducing the air and the fuel, you will need to increase the heat on the fuel to keep the fire burning. In order to increase the heat, you can use the embers that fall from the fire to help close the air spaces between the logs. Take embers from the bottom of the fire, and shovel them onto the top of the logs until the flames die down to almost nothing. Don't worry, the fire will still burn, it will simply burn at a much slower rate, allowing you to add fuel far less often. When you want to restart it, simply pull the logs apart a little to allow the air to flow through a little more, and increase the heat by adding some fast-burning wood, such as pine or magnolia.

By banking your fire and regulating the rate at which it burns, you will be able to save money on fuel, keep it burning longer, and be able to cook your food without burning it . . . and you can save yourself the time and trouble of starting your fire completely from scratch the next morning. So try it for yourself next time, and learn how to manage your burn rate, and you can bank on being able to bank your fire every time!