How to use a Blowpoke

How to Use a Blowpoke

When people ask how to use a blowpoke, I always recall the movie line – Lauren Becall to Humphrey Bogart – “Just pucker your lips and blow.” And that’s pretty much it.
A good Blowpoke does the rest.

Tips for How to Use a Blowpoke:

• Use a blowpoke to start a fire – light the kindling, aim at the base of the flame, and blow softly, regularly from 3 inches away. This can take soft 2-3 blows on the left and 2-3 blows on the right.
• Use a blowpoke to stoke a fire – Aim your poker tip at the Base of the Fire – at the Embers. And move the poker tip close in.
• Usually 3 – 4 blows is all your fire will need to flame on. And 2-3 steady blows is usually enough to Flame-On a new piece of seasoned wood.
• Blowing force does not need to be high. Longer and steady blows will help your fire sustain it’s growth with a long feed of Oxygen. If you are worried about wrecking the fire, don’t be. The key thing to remember is that you won’t hurt the fire by blowing too hard, or by blowing in the wrong place. And you’ll learn very quickly how to use a blowpoke with your fireplace and your firewood.
• Kindling – Having and using good kindling makes building a fire so much easier. Small scraps of dry wood are easy to start with crumpled newspaper because there is so much dry surface area to catch fire. Kindling is the “bridge” to burning your bigger logs. If you sense you need more kindling, try adding more kindling. And start your fire with smaller pieces of firewood, before adding your big wood.
• NOTE: Wet wood, and unseasoned wood is always a challenge to burn. Wet wood can be burned if you can blend it into a burning fire with seasoned wood. Note that wet wood must first evaporate it’s moisture before it can burn. That means it steams off at 212 degrees as the water boils off – before getting to 451 degrees where carbon burns.