Perpetual fire?

As the weather has turned cold and I have no heating here yet, I lit a turf (peat) fire the other day. It took ages to get going, but eventually it was burning merrily and when I went to bed, there was the expected glowing ashes. The next day, I thought I'd better clean out the ash and light another - but the ashes were still glowing! Since I had been stoking it up until after midnight the day before and this was early morning, I shruuged my shoulders and build a new fire on top. Again, it took ages to really get going. This was yesterday, and today I was off nearly all day at a show so when I came back, I was convinced that this time it would have cooled off. Not a bit of it! It was still glowing, 15 hours on! I took an old (metal) biscuit tin and carefully removed most of the ash, which by this time was spilling out onto the hearth, and lobbed it onto the waste ground outside which will one day be my garden, where it smoked like a volcano for a while. Luckily it is still cold and rainy here.
The grate still had odd lumps from which smoke was gradually rising. I tossed on a piece of paper which burst merrily into flames. I topped it off with a few broken pieces of briquette (compressed peat block) and within seconds it was roaring away. I threw on four briquettes which normally results in a lot of smoke for hours but not this time, ten minutes later the flames were well up the chimney!!
Things have settled a bit now but there's plenty of heat coming off it!
I am new to open fires, is it normal to have one which doesn't go out, where re-lighting is simply a matter of throwing on more fuel?????

sorry no idea! but that sound great and SOOOOOO warm!

Alex
xx

Well the %@$* thing had gone cold tonight so I had to start from scratch again! Must get some marshmallows, I have the toasting fork....... hmmmmmmm

Yes deccy my grandpop had an open fire an his could burn by peat for days xx

Only ever had coal fires in the past. But a little incident the other day comes to mind. I was in the garden at 9a.m. and threw my cigarette end into a plant pot. At 3p.m. Ithought somebody has lit a bl***y fire as I had washing out I could smell smoke. Then at 8 p.m. I could see smoke drifting across my garden so went out to have a look and lo and behold my rose tree in the pot was on fire. Got the hosepipe out as a bucket of water wouldnt stop it smoking. The pot was all melted. But the rose bush has recovered and I have had the best roses on it ever. Needless to say I don't throw cig ends in pots anymore but it does go to show how long it was smouldering for.

I have an open fire, if I stoke it up with coal and then put a log on it and put the front on it will stay in all day.
Lovely on a cold winters day!!!! it is the best thing ever Deccy and you will never want a 'pretend' fire ever again now you have experienced the joys of an open one. I clear the ashes in the morning and put them in a metal bucket for them to cool. If I have just had a wood fire I can put the ashes in a carrier bag in the morning as they cool very quickly,and that is it, cleaned out as fast as it takes the kettle to boil!

I had a bash at a bbq when camping never got it hot enough to cook by, went to bed, woke up in the morning and it was still hot lol!

It seems that most of my neighbours have solid fuel ranges and they burn peat all the time. Constant hot water! As I live on the bog, it's tempting to go walk up the track and dig some, but it is actually owned by various people! I have been promised a "row" of turf for the winter. Or is it a "line"....

It's not for snorting you know lol!

Free heating and hot water Deccy, you can't beat it!!! I get unlimited off cuts from a bedroom place local to me, plus my eldest son has just moved into a shop and gutted it, he has sawn all the worktops and various pieces of timber into handy bite sized pieces and has delivered a vanful to me already, my log pile is full now, my 2 wood bins are full, I have half a coal bunker - and that is it. He is staying here at the moment whilst he finishes the shop and gets the living accom sorted, and has just come in and told me he has another vanful for me coming tomorrow, he must have seen my face as he said, just take the dogs out Mum and I will find places for it!!!! I'm going to be warm this winter, and so will you Deccy, it is a lovely cosy warmth, far better than any gas fire I assure you, the hot water is unlimited as well - I take it the peat is just appearing at your front door without charge as it were?