Camp Fires

NeilandRaine · Guru

Camp Fires

bowlerbear · Senior Member

Why did you stop lighting one and what sort of attitudes have you noticed?
Chris

dING · Senior Member

A must have tis one of the most enjoyable

Parts of camping out bush but firewood can

Be a problem nowadays but I alus carry a

Small amount enough to get started cause

I cook 90% of my tucker on the fire and

It does not taste the same on the gas

And not to mention billy tea n damper

A absolute must where tis not banned

NeilandRaine · Guru

I am not anti campfire I love to sit around one but unfortunately Raine has been diagnosed with emphysema so we now we steer clear.
I don't advocate people not have a fire and if they are that bad we have the option of closing the windows or moving on.
I may have been guilty of some things myself. Like being extra careful when setting up my fire that smoke doesn't get into our van............. but forget about other vans
camping right in the middle of a lot of vans at a free site and lighting my fire (never did that one)
Just thought it was a good discussion point and some things may come up others didn't think about

GaryKelly · Guru

Yep, one of the things I'm really looking forward to is a campfire... probably not at every camp but at least some. Can't wait for a sausage on the end of a stick, or toast, or whatever. Sounds awesome!

jetj · Guru

A small cooking fire in Winter for a bit of warmth as well, and a raging campfire in Summer or Fire Season are very different. I have nothing against the first.

dING · Senior Member

Well tis true I like a small fire for cooking

And keeping warm by But SWMBO likes

A large fire so I keep warm by the fire

She keeps warm collecting wood and a

Damper made into a sausage like form\

And wrapped around a stick and cooked

In the fire tis pretty good to

-- Edited by dING on Thursday 5th of June 2014 06:04:05 PM

neilnruth · Guru

We recently camped with our kids. It was bitterly cold so they turned the weber charcoal BBQ into a campfire so we could sit around it (No open fires allowed). It wasn't long before son no 2 was remembering our family camping days and damper on a stick drizzled with golden syrup. 'Mum can you make a damper to put on the coals?' I did and they loved it.

rockylizard · Guru

Gday...

I'll let Johnno say it for me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WzQLy5cGQU

Cheers - John

Kendo · Senior Member

Wow, Just about a perfect anthem for Grey Nomads.

"Drovers, Dreamers, Poets and Aborigines" pity John didn't put "Nomads" in there as well biggrin

Willow · Veteran Member

We don't have a stove at home and cook on a fire every night so it is no big deal to cook on a fire when camping. If we can't have a fire we move on as that is our only means of cooking.

yeoeleven · Guru

After spending a couple of weeks at Boulder Creek last year, every night round the campfire, I decided to have a box fitted on the rear of the coaster specially for campfire implements.

I have a cut down gas bottle, chain saw, axe, tripod, camp oven, jaffle iron and frying pan. Also spent 2 months looking after the fire at Greens Lake last year.

I rarely use an open fire and only fire up the choofer for cooking but in the last 2 days have cooked up potato bake and damper, after running out of bread and wraps.

After lighting a fire you cannot control the direction of the wind especially when it is gusting and swirling but I try to avoid lighting up when those conditions apply or in close proximity to other campers.

I am all in favour of lighting campfires unless there are fire bans in place but only responsibly and with due regard to the neighbours.

A campfire can be a great opportunity to create a get together and enjoy a good yarn or two.

John

wendyv · Guru

I like a small and cosy campfire, but get really cross with those who insist on having huge great bonfires - unnecessary waste of wood.

Mousey · Senior Member

gotta love a camp fire

pondsmob · Senior Member

Love a good camp fire!

neilnruth · Guru

We stopped at a rest area just out of Peterborough SA. It was amazing the stories that were told and the sense of friendship with total strangers around the camp fire. Those who didn't join us were the ones who missed out on a good night.

moblet · Senior Member

You don't necessarily have to give up campfires if you have an issue with smoke. I rarely lit campfires because of the smoke (especially having the smell of it permeate all my clothes) but now do most of my cooking using a fan-forced wood-gas stove, which can cook a meal on a few handfuls of twigs. It smokes while the fire's getting going (the wetter and greener and wood the worse the smoke, just like any other fire) but once it gets going it's basically smokeless, with the exhaust smelling like a coal fire and doubtless laden with carbon monoxide, just like it says on the warning label. It reduces wood to fine ash like a slow combustion stove, and, once hot, can run entirely on burnt coals scavenged from the ashes of fireplaces. The key disadvantage is that it needs electrical power.

cooee · Senior Member

Hi Moblet

I have just viewed a few videos and the wood gas fires look good.

How do you get on in the summer ? You would not be able to use one during the bushfire season would you.

What sort of cooking utensils do you use ? I imagine it would be too hot for most stuff

moblet · Senior Member

cooee wrote:
How do you get on in the summer ? You would not be able to use one during the bushfire season would you.

Correct, as an open fire and solid fuel stove it's one of the first things to get banned. I have a liquid fuel stove that I can use most days through summer.

cooee wrote:
What sort of cooking utensils do you use ? I imagine it would be too hot for most stuff

A light saucepan or billy for boiling, a camp oven for frying. Between the controllable fan speed and controlling the fuel (i.e. how much of it and what size twigs) there is a fair amount of control over the output. It's not as easy to control as my pressurised liquid fuel stove, but my liquid fuel stove struggles to sustain really low heat outputs too, e.g. simmering a single serve of rice. I have the XL size (2nd from smallest).

If you were into fancy cooking you'd likely find yourself acquiring a tripod.