DIY log fire. Types of fires: Finnish candle

Swedish or Finnish candle- this is a simple and convenient alternative to a tripod with a pot or even a stationary outdoor stove.

Let's talk about something so simple, but very effective method build a fire, a real torch for lighting and cooking, like Swedish candle. This method has other names: “Finnish primus”, “hunting candle”, “Indian candle”, “Canadian torch”. The option is simple, but very interesting.

How to make a Finnish Primus

The Finnish primus does not require candles at all! All that is required to create a Swedish candle is a suitable piece of log or log.

The wood for such an original hearth can be anything. According to reviews, pine and spruce are often used as the most available options, however, these woods do spark when burning, so care should be taken. Birch burns very strongly and produces smoke. But the aspen - perfect tree for a Swedish candle.

A piece of wood about half a meter high is required, although sometimes a log is taken a little higher or lower. The main thing is that it is level and can stand vertically. The diameter of the log can be from 10 to 40 cm.

The size of the log depends on the purpose for which you will use it. If you want to cook food over an open fire, you should take a log that is thicker, but relatively short and stable. A taller, but thinner log is suitable for lighting; it can be moved if necessary.

Important! The piece of log must be dry! A wet log burns very poorly, smokes a lot, and most likely you won’t be able to light a fire at all.

The logs are cut using a chainsaw. You can use a regular saw, but the process will be much longer and you will have to put in more effort. The cuts should be approximately three-quarters of the log's height. They are made crosswise. It's very similar to cutting a cake, the pieces on top look exactly like this.

How many cuts to make is up to you. Four is the minimum, you can do six or eight. Remember that the more cuts you make, the faster your log will burn!

To start the combustion process, we recommend pouring a little gasoline into the center of the cuts and then setting it on fire. A Swedish candle burns much more economically than a regular fire. It burns for a long time, the flame is even, and you can put a kettle, pot, or frying pan on top of the log. You will definitely have time to cook food on a live fire.

The second way to make a Swedish candle is to saw and split the block of wood completely into four parts. The core is removed a little so that there is empty space inside. Then the four logs are folded back into one log, secured, and wrapped with wire. In this case, sawdust can be placed in the hole in the center, which will serve as kindling.

Making a Swedish candle or Finnish primus stove yourself is very simple, although you can buy blanks already cut if you are going into nature and are not sure that you can find a suitable log in the forest.

A simple but convenient fire that burns brightly and for a long time can be built on any flat area; sometimes the log is placed on stones or other support.

Even barbecue is prepared with the help of a Swedish or taiga candle. We are sure that you will appreciate this option for creating a fireplace, especially if you often go out into nature. However, during a picnic in your own yard, you can also surprise guests with this method of making a fire. published

If you have any questions on this topic, ask them to the experts and readers of our project.

(updated April 4, 2018)

About vertical fires a lot has been written and as soon as they are not called “Swedish fire”, “Finnish torch”, “Indian candle” and all possible combinations of these words, plus everything is the same only with the adjective “taiga”.

I decided to summarize their varieties and understand the pros and cons.

Kinds:

• Bonfire
• Torch
• Candle

General

A vertical fire is a fire in which the firewood is arranged vertically and acts both as fuel and as the walls of the firebox. Due to this design, good draft is formed in the fire. This makes the fire efficient and very voracious.

Another feature of it is that it top part can be used as a hotplate when cooking in hiking conditions.

Vertical campfire type "Bonfire"
(a fire is a fire)

This type of fire can be made from three logs. The logs must be the same size and have cuts perpendicular to the axis. Then they will stand steadily.

As they burn out, it is fashionable to move the logs towards the center in order to continue using it as a stove.

For efficient work This type of fire requires the flame to exit from above.

This can be achieved in three ways:

• do not move the logs too tightly so that the flame comes out in the spaces between them
• put two small logs or branches on the logs
• make special cuts in the logs

After the main part of the fuel has burned out, the logs need to be piled crosswise or in a “hut”. That is, bring it to the look of a classic fire and burn the remains in a natural way.

The main disadvantage of this fire is that the coals from the fire fall to the ground. This can lead to a fire or damage the surface on which the fire stands.

Vertical fire "Torch" type
(aka "Swedish torch" or "Finnish candle")

The most popular and promoted type of vertical fire. To make it you need to take a long block of wood and make longitudinal cuts not the entire length of the log.

Longitudinal cuts provide good draft and high combustion efficiency.

During the burning process, a longitudinal channel is formed inside the log, which provides higher fuel combustion efficiency than that of the “Koster” type design.

This design has many advantages:

• Easily made with a chainsaw
• high heat generation
• The dishes can be placed directly on the log, without creating additional cutouts or installing a wire rack
• the fire does not reach the ground and the “torch” can be placed on the lawn or paving slabs

There is only one minus - after the upper part burns, an unburnt base remains with protruding charred “teeth”.

It will not burn out naturally and must be disposed of somehow.

Experience using a torch

Vertical bonfire type "Candle"
(aka “Indian candle” or “taiga primus”)

This design is the most complex in manufacturing and use, but also the most powerful in terms of heat generation.

Technically, it's a jet stove.

To make it, you need to drill two channels in the block.

One is along the axis of the block, not the entire length.
The second is at the bottom of the first channel, from the edge to the center.

The advantages of this design are:

• high combustion efficiency
• very high combustion efficiency
• absence of coals outside, until the very last moment (in the Torch and Bonfire, the fire can escape along the entire length of the fire through the side gaps)
• the surface on which the “Candle” stands is not damaged

Of the minuses:

• unburned bottom (as in the case of the Torch)
• You need to install a grate on top or make cutouts so that the fire can be used for cooking.

Finnish/Swedish/Indian/taiga bonfires/torches/candles are almost not represented on the site.

There is only one dead topic - + several mentions in other topics.

Finnish candle - simple and effective for boiling water and cooking in the field.

Its essence lies in the fact that two longitudinal cuts are made in the log, perpendicular to each other, as a result of which an X-shaped crosshair is formed at the end. The depth and number of cuts depends on the desired time and intensity of combustion. The positive thing about this configuration is that you can choose total length logs and the depth of the cuts, thanks to which you have the opportunity to raise the burning part of the log above the surface or snow to the required height if you do not want your fire to fall into the snow or leave noticeable scorches on the ground. Commercial and field representatives of this configuration are often cut with a chainsaw, the chain of which is wide enough so that such a Finnish spark plug can be easily ignited later.

However, my attempts to make it using a folding camp saw were not successful, and I see the reasons for this as follows:

• The thickness of the saw is small, which is why the existing cuts do not provide the proper air flow to ignite the insides of the log.
• Inability to influence the processes occurring inside the log. A log with cuts is a kind of monolith that cannot be moved apart or looked inside. Anything that falls back into the cut is unlikely to be removed, again due to their small width. If you make a mistake, there is no way to correct it and, most likely, you will have to break the existing one or cut another log.
• Smooth cuts of wood inside the cuts, which is why it burns poorly. The flame emitted by the kindling in the early stages of combustion is not sufficient for tangential ignition, and the combustion temperature is not yet sufficient to burn the fibers deep.
• When the cuts are densely filled with kindling (sawdust, leaves, bark fragments, etc.), the air flow is further blocked, thereby disturbing the balance.

In addition to attempting primary ignition (by igniting kindling inside the cuts), I also tried secondary ignition (using coals from another fire), but although success increases, such a Finnish candle requires another fire, as well as an impressive amount of time for burning and fanning. Not that this is a pleasant and 100% reliable option.

In general, I consider this configuration not the best. If you have a chainsaw - yes, but only with a camping saw - it is better to use other configurations. Wider holes can theoretically be obtained by making not one, but two cuts on each side at a distance of about a centimeter from each other, with further removal of the wood between them. But in this case, I consider the labor costs too significant and ineffective to even start doing this. In addition, for this configuration you generally need to have a saw with you, otherwise it is not at all possible to make longitudinal cuts in the log.

Finnish candle - configuration 2

This configuration eliminates most of the problems with narrow cuts and the need for a saw, because to create it, you can get by with an ax, or even just a knife if you don’t have any other tools with you. Moreover, for this configuration, not only a smoothly sawn log will be suitable, but also its severed counterpart, which will not have such a smooth surface.

With an ax or knife using and/or, the log is split into quarters. If they are not completely even, it’s not critical, because... We are interested, first of all, in the possibility of installing dishes on top of a Finnish candle, and not in appearance.

Next, on the inner surfaces of each quarter, using the same ax or knife, many notches should be made, peeling off part of the wood in the form of splinters and feathers. Their direction should be opposite to the direction of fire movement, i.e. the fire inside the log should flare up not along the chips, but “against the grain.” This wood chips will subsequently play the role of kindling for the Finnish candle, significantly accelerating and simplifying its ignition.

The next step is to cover the treated quarters with soil and tie them with wire or rope at the bottom, which provides the necessary support and stability when placing the utensils on top of the log. After fixing, the spaces between the quarters are filled with kindling and small combustible materials (sawdust, leaves, pine needles, bark fragments, etc.)

The significant advantage of this configuration over the previous one is the following positive aspects:

• The ability to influence the width of the gap between the quarters of the log. They filled too much kindling and blocked the flow of air - the quarters can always be moved apart and some of the materials removed, after which the soil can be compacted again and one step back. This Finnish candle forgives some mistakes that the previous configuration does not allow.
• Notches on the inner surface of the quarters flare up much faster and easier than the smooth walls from the previous configuration due to the increased contact surface. Thanks to this, less external kindling is required.

Among other things, this configuration ignites equally well using primary (ignition with tinder and kindling) and secondary ignition (with coals from another fire). So, in the photo above, several coals were simply thrown into the Finnish candle, and then everything happened by itself. There was no need to inflate anything, because... To control the air flow, simply move the quarters apart to the required width. The notches inside the log quickly raise the flame above its surface, and the Finnish candle goes into its working mode.

Finnish candle - configuration 3

This configuration requires the most materials to create, but it also has the highest efficiency and run time in my experience.

For the third configuration of the Finnish candle, you will need as many as three logs of approximately the same length. Fortunately, it is almost always possible to cut them from one tree trunk. The length and diameter of the logs are selected based on the desired operating time and the duration of cooking of certain dishes.

Try to choose a log without bark, or additionally debark it before proceeding. Bark is a tree’s natural protection from many negative factors, including fire, so logs with bark, due to their increased density, flare up much worse. On outside For three of the six log halves you will need to make notches that are already familiar to you from the previous configuration. They, as in the previous case, will act as kindling and help spread the flame over a large area inside the future Finnish candle.

After the notches are made, place the halves with them in the shape of a triangle, with the notches inward. Remember also that the flame inside the Finnish candle should go against the “wool” formed by the notches. With the remaining three halves, prop up the notched halves as shown in the photo above.

Next, the channel inside the three halves should be filled with tinder and kindling and ignited. Until the moment when the logs themselves ignite, you will get some kind of semblance inside the logs, therefore in the early stages you will observe mainly a large number of smoke coming out of the bowels of a Finnish candle.

But as the temperature rises and the coal base accumulates, the logs themselves will light up, and your Finnish candle will go into its operating mode, accompanied by a high flame. This design resembles an eternal flame, with long tongues of flame and a clearly distinguishable roar during operation. But this configuration is good not only, and not so much as the ability to replace logs as they burn out. This is not a monolith (like configuration 1), there are no connected or twisted elements (like in configuration 2), so you can replace any of the burnt-out internal logs with one of the spacer halves at almost any time. All that is necessary for this is to lift the dishes from the Finnish candle, take one of the supports, place it in place with the burnt inner log and lower the pot or frying pan back. The place of the support can be taken by the next half, prepared for the next replacement of logs.

In terms of labor costs, efficiency, success and flexibility of the organization, the Finnish candle in this configuration seemed to me the most effective. You do it independent choice, and feel free to share your experience of organizing a Finnish candle in the comments.

Many tourists, hunters and fishermen, in order to boil water at a rest stop, had to decide how to light a fire in windy weather. More than once or twice they thought about how to make it so that they did not have to constantly adapt to the changing wind, placing firewood on the right side, or moving a stick with a pot hanging on it. And the way out of this situation is not difficult. It is enough to light a “Finnish candle”.

This memorable name hides a whole group of wood structures that allow you to warm up and cook food in camp conditions with sufficient comfort. The ability to make a Finnish candle, both among tourists and among hunters, fishermen and simply lovers of outdoor recreation, is not common. Let's try to fix this. So, let's begin.

Today there are many names for this method of making a fire:

• Finnish candle;
• Swedish candle;
• Indian candle;
• hunting candle;
• wooden primus stove.

Underneath them are hidden fires that are fundamentally similar in design, built inside a specially prepared chock or between several combined chocks standing vertically.

Application area

Such options are suitable for both cooking and heating.

Moreover, a full-fledged fire can be lit even with a lack of fuel, sometimes making do with just one log.

This long-burning fire It tolerates windy weather well, it is quite compact, economical, does not require the installation of additional devices for cooking and tolerates precipitation quite tolerably. Since even heavy rain, with the pot on the fire, will not be able to extinguish it.

During its use, many changes were made to the design, depending on the conditions of use. The classic “Finnish Candle” fire originally consisted of a log split into two halves, which were then fastened together in places where they were chipped using wire, rope or other available materials. Over time, for better combustion, the chock was no longer split into two halves, but into more parts. Then, instead of splitting, they began to make cuts and even assemble a fire from several logs pressed vertically against each other.

How to make a Finnish candle

First of all, you need to decide on the design. This depends on several factors:

• the presence of thick logs at the resting place and good tools;
• the presence of wire for tying thin logs and split logs;
• soil composition;
• number of people in the group;
• the need to dry things.

Almost all options are divided into two groups according to manufacturing method:

• from one fairly thick piece of wood;
• from several logs with a smaller diameter.

Now let's proceed directly to manufacturing.

Solid block with cuts

To do this, take a piece of wood with a diameter of 20 cm. We make cuts in it so that we get several lobes. Usually their number ranges from two to eight. Then, in the center of the log, using wood chips and available materials, a fire is lit. To do this, you can lightly chop off the central parts of the lobes.

Gradually the fire spreads down the cuts. The fewer cuts, the longer the combustion, the more of them, the hotter the fire. The cuts are made to a depth of up to 3/4 of the height. Oxygen penetrates through the cuts to the combustion site. Over time, this version of the Finnish candle burns out the upper middle part, and the open fire turns into smoldering. After this, cooking will be quite difficult, but for heating it will be quite suitable.

Split Wood

This option is very similar to the first. In it, all parts of the initially chopped lump are tightly connected with wire to each other. First, the central parts of the lobes are slightly planed. This will provide enough wood chips for ignition and create channels for air draft. After this, the parts of the block are tightly tied together with wire, starting from the middle.

You need to tighten the bottom especially carefully, otherwise your fire will fall apart as it burns out. You can also use rope instead of wire, but this option is less reliable. Please note one nuance: unlike sawn wood, the chips are pressed very tightly. There is practically no fire coming through the sides, so this option cannot be used as a heater. But it burns longer without disintegrating, it can be moved quite easily from place to place if necessary, and it has a fairly strongly directed flame.

Chock with two holes

As the name suggests, a couple of holes are made in a vertically standing block. One from top to bottom, to the same length as the cuts in the first option, at 3/4 of the height. The other is at right angles to the first at a height of 1/4 from the bottom of the block, so that the holes are connected.

You can ignite both through the top hole and through the bottom. This method is the most effective for cooking, but also the most difficult to make due to the need to use additional tool.

Assembly of thin logs

The option will do in the absence of a tool. In this case, three to five logs are placed on their ends and tied in a vertical position.

Such a stove is easier to manufacture and ignites much easier, which is important if you have insufficient experience.

The first three options require a log with a diameter of 20 to 30 centimeters. Large diameters are not advisable. The height should be approximately two times the diameter. With this ratio of diameter and height, your hearth will be the most stable.

Now let’s take a closer look at perhaps the most important issue. How to light a fire, which is described above. Even for experienced tourists, this problem will arise during their first attempts. How can you make a Finnish candle burn faster? Yes, very simple. It is enough to remember the elementary laws of nature:

• the flame burns only if there is a sufficient supply of oxygen;
• heated air always tends upward.

Therefore, for successful combustion it is necessary to ensure that these two conditions are met. Namely, there must be at least a small gap between the parts of the chopped wood so that the flame moves freely upward, and there must be a free flow of air from below. This can be achieved in the following ways:

• slightly cut off the central parts of the chopped logs with a knife or an ax;
• using available means (for example, stones or a pair of thin sticks) raise the fire above the ground;
• chop off the lower parts of at least two adjacent parts so that a small channel for air flow is formed into the center of the fire.

The second option is not very successful, since a fire lit in this way will not be stable enough.

Cooking

Finally, let's move on to the most “delicious” part. How to cook on a Finnish candle? It turns out that it’s also nothing complicated. Any cookware that can withstand cooking over a fire will do.

But we must not forget that the fire must be provided with a way out. If you place a saucepan or kettle directly on the chock, the fire will stop burning normally and the water will not boil. This issue can be resolved in the following way:

• place a stand on top of the log in the form of two freshly cut sticks up to 5 cm thick;
• When assembling, two or three parts of your candle should be higher than the rest by the same distance.

In the second case, this can be achieved different ways. If we assemble a candle from several thin logs, then in advance, when cutting, two of them are made longer than the others. When placed vertically, they will provide the necessary gap between the dishes and the surface. Or, when assembling, you can move two logs slightly upward compared to the rest. You can do the same in the case of chopped logs. This method allows you to simultaneously provide two channels for air supply from below. And the fire will burn more steadily and hotter.

Happy travels!

Anyone who loves outdoor recreation (especially not a picnic, but an active one - hunting, fishing, hiking) knows how important a properly lit fire is. If you don’t carry a barbecue with you, you need to worry about safety so that you don’t have to run away from a forest fire and feel like a criminal. And lighting a fire in the snow, so that it doesn’t go out every minute, seems to many to be the pinnacle of fire-making skills. However, experienced travelers know how to build a fireplace in a fire-safe manner so that it burns for a long time, does not go out even in slush, and does not require regular feeding. Everyone calls it differently: Finnish candle, taiga candle, Indian or Swedish, but the essence remains the same. There are even several ways to make it.

Maxi-bonfire

The Finnish candle is most successful if you “land” not far from sawn logs. No effort is required: select three saw cuts of approximately the same height and diameter, place them in a circle close to each other and light a fire in the middle. In order for the fire to burn evenly and the burnout to be the same in all directions, you need to choose the logs wisely in height. The Finnish candle lasts the longest; the logs should be twice their diameter in length. The power of such a fire is enough to boil a five-liter cauldron in a third of an hour, and you don’t even need to hang it - it will rest on the logs themselves. As the logs burn, they seem to form into a hut. If you need a Finnish candle fire for a long time, at this stage you can maintain it as usual, by adding firewood.

If you have a chainsaw

If there is no need for such a large hearth and the presence of an appropriate tool on your hands, you can do otherwise. A piece of thick log half a meter long is taken and sawed crosswise (not all the way, about three-quarters of the length). If the diameter of the cut is large, you can work with the chainsaw a little more to get eight “slices”. You should not make more cuts, because the narrower the sector, the faster your Finnish candle will burn out. The log is firmly fixed to the ground (you can dig it in or support it with stones), kindling is placed inside (from sawdust, or just liquid ignition) - and for several hours the fire is at your service.

Field method

Suppose there is no saw, but do you need a Finnish one in this case? Well, there is an ax in nature anyway. The log of wood chosen for this purpose is split like regular firewood, only a little more diligently so that the logs do not vary too much in thickness. Then they gather into the original log, only around a thick branch - this will be the hearth. Below, closer to the ground, and approximately in the middle, the Finnish candle is tied, preferably with wire - it will definitely not burn out. But if you don’t have it, twine, fishing line, and flexible rods will do. It is especially important to tighten it securely at the bottom, since in the middle the logs will burn out faster, and without good fixation near the ground, your fire will fall apart. The central branch is pulled out three-quarters from below and sawed off, after which the Finnish candle is placed on the ground. By the way, if the original log is not too massive, you can use this branch as a leg and simply stick it into the ground.

Hand candle

If there is no nearby (either a suitable dry object for sawing, or a saw or even a normal ax), then the Finnish one is made a little differently. Quite thick poles, at least five centimeters in diameter, are collected around the area and gathered into a bunch, again around the center branch. The side of the poles that will be inside needs to be cut a little with a knife - it will work better. The rest of the manipulations are the same as when creating a “finca” from logs.

Primus candle

It is used specifically as a stove for cooking. The main points are the same as when making a fire-candle using the field method. There are two nuances:

1. The original log must be partially hollowed out from the inside. Alternatively, you can not plan the core, but split it into logs and peel them. Such a fire is assembled in the snow using the same method, around a branch, but the cavity inside must be made artificially, and the outer walls are closed, if possible, without cracks.
2. On two opposite sides, the logs are either trimmed less or pushed upward more, by five to six centimeters. Due to this design, the fire in the center will be fanned by air, and its tongues will be directed predominantly upward.

Such a Finnish candle is not suitable for heating - the fire is all concentrated inside. But the food cooks much faster.

What can a Finnish candle be useful for?

In addition to cooking and heating (except for the Primus stove), such a fire is simply irreplaceable as a beacon. Experienced fishermen who go out at dawn leave it on the shore as a signal for those who are late - in the dark it can be seen from afar.

It is very convenient when using Finnish candles that almost until they burn out completely, they can be moved from place to place without difficulty and without causing burns. The long-lasting nature of the fire can be considered a significant advantage: a medium-sized log provides light and heat for about four hours. And a maxi-fire without additional fuel can perform its functions all night long.

If you are not a fan of “wild” tourism and fishing, but you like to meet New Year at the dacha, Finnish candles placed along the paths will bring romance and decorate the garden no worse than garlands and Chinese lanterns.