Not everyone has wood stoves or lights many fires anymore, so here we want to introduce how to use both types and light them.
Lighting the stove
NEVER leave the fire when the door is open. The Harvia wood fired Sauna stove has a bottom grate sucking in air - Do not leave this door open at all.
After about 15 minutes the fire should be burning well. Do not smother the flames too early with big pieces of timber and do not leave it too long so the fire essentially goes out.
Introduce smaller pieces of timber and gradually build up to bigger, heavier pieces.
We leave a lot of kindling and small timber so you can have multiple fires, it is best to use it wisely. If you need more let us know with good notice. It has to be gathered from the bush or split from bigger stockpiles. ONLY burn what we have given you.
Do not burn tissues or paper that you find lying around.
Harvia wood fire Finnish DRY Sauna stove
This great little stove is perfect for small saunas. It has a much smaller fire box and retains heat through the use of dense, heavy stones on top.
This wood stove has an ash box and draws air up through a grate in the fire box floor. It has no air intakes and the door should never be left open, even while starting the fire.
Because the firebox is small it needs to be fed timber regularly to keep burning. Once established and one larger heavier log is placed in the firebox it will stay hot for the duration of your 40-60min sauna session.
For more on using the stove to have a great sauna see this blog post.
Harvia - all set. Never leave this door open.
Timber
The timber used here in these stoves is mostly StringyBark, Ironbark, Grey Gum and White Maghony. All excellent Australian hardwoods. We mill some of our own timber here but these are off cuts or unsuitable for other uses.
The StringyBark is the lighter colour timber with straight grain. We split it into smaller kindling as it burns easily and it burns hot. The Ironbark is red in colour and is very dense and heavy. It burns long. The others are somewhere in between. Making great fires is often about choosing different timbers to achieve what you want.
Kindling and mixed sized & species of timbers.
Enough timber for 3 days.
Building your own fire
Setting or building your own fire is probably a post all of its own. But as a very simple overview of different ways to set fires this video is helpful (although not comprehensive).
I use a small “log cabin” it starts easily and has enough timber so stay alight for people to add to. A '“teepee” is a traditional way to do things, but works a little more easily in a campfire like the video. I would NOT do a “pyramid” as you don’t really have enough room and it is too much wood which may end up burning too hot.
(if you know a better, Australian, video let me know. I just did a quick search).
Please ensure you note our check-in times so we can meet you and cover the health and safety of all wood-fired facilities. You will not be able to light them until we cover our H&S upon check-in with you. If you are late for check-in then you will have to wait until the next day to meet up and show you. Your safety and ours is a priority.