Firemizer is manufactured from a special blend of stainless steel alloys using a patented process which involves displacing molten metal at >1600°C onto a fast spinning cooled drum to create the extremely durable and conductive metal fibres. These fibres are then welded together and cut to create a flexible heat grid that can be placed at the base of a stove or hearth to spread the heat evenly and make the fire burn longer.

The stainless steel alloys are cooled at 1 million degrees per second during the patented manufacturing process to give Firemizer its unique properties.

Firemizer is a unique solid fuel saving device manufactured in the UK by Microtex Products Limited and in the USA by Microtex Products Inc – both are wholly owned subsidiary of the market-leading Dynamic-Materials Group. The group specialises in the production of high tolerance metals for extremely demanding aerospace, automotive and industrial applications around the world with quality and environmental assurance certified to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 international standards.

Our first business was established in 1971 and the group now has more than 40 years’ experience in offering technical solutions in materials science for demanding high temperature applications. The group has worked with major global business partners such as NASA, Daimler Chrysler, BMW and Volvo. Dynamic-Materials Group products are used in a wide range of applications, including the launch pads of the NASA Space Shuttle, the high temperature baffles used in exhaust systems of high performance sports cars and motor cycles, as well as many other demanding high temperature applications within metal processing, cement manufacture and incineration plants.

Visit Dynamic-Materials Group website »

The beauty of Firemizer is its simplicity!

Simply place the Firemizer grid on the base of your stove or hearth and build your fire on top by adding your firewood or coal as usual. As soon as you start the fire the Firemizer grid will begin to heat up quickly. This is where the savings commence!

Firemizer will typically last up to 500 burning hours, which is equivalent to 6 weeks if used for 12 hours per day.

As Firemizer will ensure the fuel is burnt more thoroughly, there will be a considerable reduction in the amount of ash produced and any ash that is left will be a very fine powder with no lumps in it. This fine ash can simply be dusted off before each new fire.

Click here for technical data

There are so many choices when looking at the ideal stove or hearth for you and your home, so here are a few useful links to help you make the best choice for you…

• stoveindustryalliance.com
• fireplace.co.uk

It is really important to choose qualified professional chimney sweeps and stove installers to ensure your stove or open fire and chimney is fitted and maintained correctly.

Here are a few links to help you find a qualified chimney sweep or installer in your area …

• guildofmasterchimneysweeps.co.uk
• nacs.org.uk
• hetas.co.uk

Are you tired of trying to keep a fire lit but no matter how hard you try, the fire keeps going out?

Well, here is one great way to light a fire to keep it going. The top-down approach – a method that works well in fireplaces and wood-burning stoves!

Step 1

Begin by placing the bigger pieces of wood at the bottom of the wood-burner or fireplace. Ensure the wood is split, dry and seasoned.

Why not wet wood? Because wet wood contain a lot of moisture which when heated up, turns into steam, and can reduce the heat output by nearly 50%. Burning wet unseasoned wood causes excessive creosote to form in chimneys as the wet, high density smoke condenses onto the wall of the flue

Step 2

Stack the smaller pieces of logs across the top of the larger logs. Again, use dry, seasoned split wood.

Step 3

Using the same method, apply even smaller logs across the second layer. Can you see the trend here? (The logs are getting smaller and smaller)

Step 4

Now it is time to add kindling (small sticks or twigs). The traditional way to light a fire is by placing the kindling at the base of the fire and then placing the logs on top but with the top-down method it is the reverse way round.

Top Tip: It is best to let the small pieces of kindling to season before using it to light the fire to be more effective.

Step 5

Prepare 4-5 bunched up newspaper balls, or 4-5 knotted newspapers (by rolling up the sheets of newspaper from corner to corner and tying a knot in the centre). Whichever way you choose to do with the newspaper, it will still work. Place the bunched newspaper balls or knotted newspaper on top of the kindling and proceed to the next step.

Top Tip: By tying a knot to the newspaper, it will keep the newspaper stay put.

Step 6

Finally, light the newspaper, if you have a wood-burning stove, you might want to leave the door open slightly until the fire gets going or you might want to close the door and open the draft control completely until the fire has reached the main wood, then close the draft control half way.

All Done!

Please let us know below if this method had worked for you.

This is our advice on how to light a fire using the top-down method; therefore if you wish to act upon any of the information given you should do so at your own risk. We will accept no liability or claims from the activities arising from the information set out in our web pages.

We all love to sit in front of a real fire on a cold winter’s night, although it can take a little practice to create the perfect fire.

Please note: You should keep children and animals at a safe distance when lighting a fire and you should never leave them unsupervised in front of a burning fire or a hot stove.

Be Prepared

The first thing you should always do is ensure that your solid fuel stove is installed and is in good working condition. Remember to check the last time you had your chimney swept as all chimneys should be swept annually by a qualified chimney sweep to prevent chimney fires. Also make sure there is sufficient ventilation in the room where you wish to light your fire.

Before you build a new fire, clear out the debris from the previous fire, bearing in mind that the remaining ashes may still be hot. Take care to ensure that everything has cooled down before you touch it.

Remove old ashes

If your stove or fireplace has a grate, rake the grate and remove any old ashes or make sure they fall into the ash pan. Sweep away the remaining ashes with a brush until the stove and hearth are clean.

If your stove or hearth does not have a grate, remove excess ash but leave a small bed of ash to build your fire on.

Once the ash has been removed, and everything is in place, you are ready to build the fire!

Building the Fire

First things first, place your Firemizer on the grate of your fire or ash bed of your stove and then add some tinder materials such as scrunched up newspaper, firelighters and/or small sticks of wood with a small amount of seasoned firewood or coal on top of the Firemizer to get started.

If you have already been using a Firemizer, you will have seen that all of the fuel is burnt more thoroughly, with a considerable reduction in the amount of ash produced and any ash that is left will be a very fine powder with no lumps in it. This fine ash can simply be dusted off the Firemizer before building your new fire on top of it.

The Fun Part – Lighting the Fire

Matches or lighters are a good way to light the newspaper or firelighters, some people prefer to use a taper but the choice is yours.

Once lit, you will notice that the flames will form and you should begin to add some smaller logs to the fire. When you see that they are burning well add some of the larger logs and ensure they spread out to fill the base of the stove or hearth. As the fire grows, the Firemizer will start to heat up and spread the heat across the full width of the grid to burn all of the fuel that you put on.

Top Tip: It is vital to let the fire grow slowly from the start to avoid the fire going out when there is too much fuel on it.

When there is enough fuel on the fire to keep it burning and you believe it is safe to leave it alone, close the stove doors or place the fire guard in front of the open fire, tidy up any fire making resources and refill your log basket ready for your next refuelling.

With coal fires, follow the same approach and do not add too much coal at once. Wait for the fire to heat the base first and then add more fuel on.

The Best Part

Sit back, relax and enjoy your long lasting fire! The benefit of using Firemizer is not only to help create the perfect fire, but it also reduces fuel usage by up to 38% and minimize emissions by up to 72%, which means that you will need to spend one third less time refuelling your fire and that gives you even more time to sit back and relax.

This is our advice on how to create the perfect fire and it may not be complete for every type of stove and fireplace. If you wish to act upon any of the information given you should do so at your own risk. We will accept no liability or claims from the activities arising from the information set out in these web pages.

Lighting a fire in a wood stove or a fireplace can be achieved quite easily. However, it is not as straight forward as people often think! There are various ways to light a fire, so with practice you will soon find the way that works best for you and we hope that the following tips will help.

Please note: You should keep children and animals at a safe distance when lighting a fire and you should never leave them unsupervised in front of a burning fire or a hot stove.

1. Remove excess ash when the fire has gone out

If your stove or hearth has an ash pan or grate, you should first of all make sure that the ash pan is either empty or that the remaining ash does not obstruct the air flow to the fire.

Alternatively, if your stove has no ash pan and the fire is built on the base of the firebox, the fire will normally burn better when it is built on top of a bed of ash

2. Open the flue damper before lighting the fire

The damper controls the amount of air flowing through the flue, so when it is open the smoke should go up the chimney and not reverse back into your room.

Top Tip: To avoid the air flow from drafting downwards, leave your stove glass doors open (if you have them) for 30minutes before you light the fire. This will also allow the inside of the stove firebox to come to room temperature so no cold air gets trapped inside the fire.

3. Add some tinder materials Begin with tinder materials such as scrunched up newspaper, firelighters and/or small sticks of wood before adding a small amount of kindling, seasoned firewood or coal to get started.

4. Make sure the chimney is drafting upwards Chimneys that have gone cold or have not been used recently can have a reverse air flow with cold air falling and this would bring smoke back into your room. So, to make sure that your chimney is drafting upwards you can take the following actions. With a stove, place the scrunched up newspaper towards the chimney, then light it and it should get sucked upwards and reverse the chimney with its warmth. Similarly, if you’ve got an open fire, simply place a scrunched up ball of newspaper in the centre of the fireplace. When it heats up you should be able to see that it will get sucked upwards.

5. Light your fire Light the tinder materials with a match, a lighter or a taper if you prefer.

6. Add more fuel gradually The flames will form once lit and this is when you should start adding some smaller logs to the fire. If your stove has an air vent on the top, slowly close the air vent on the bottom and open the vents on top, making sure this is done gradually as the fire develops. If your stove or fire has doors, open them slightly to help the logs catch fire.

7. Add larger logs When you see that the logs are burning well, add some larger logs (with or without coal) , but ensure they are spread out to fill the base of the stove or hearth. Do not close the air control or damper until you are sure the stove and chimney has warmed up and has enough logs inside to keep the fire going and is ready to be left alone.

Please note: Do not fill the firebox with too much wood or fuel at once or it could extinguish your fire before it has even started ! To avoid the fire from smouldering, turn the air supply down a little enough to be able to see the flames and enjoy the heat. Remember, this is just one way to light a fire that works for us and we hope you find it helpful. If you have any other tips on how to light the perfect fire then please share them with our readers by submitting a review.

This is our advice on how to light a fire and it may not be complete for every type of stove and fireplace. If you wish to act upon any of the information given you should do so at your own risk. We will accept no liability or claims from the activities arising from the information set out in these web pages.

For Woodburning Stoves

Choose seasoned wood: Using dry seasoned wood is more effective in creating the perfect fire over wet unseasoned wood. Why? Because wet wood contain a lot of moisture which when heated up, turns into steam, and can reduce the heat output by nearly 50%. Burning wet unseasoned wood causes excessive creosote to form in chimneys as the wet, high density smoke condenses onto the wall of the flue. This not only makes your chimney more difficult to sweep but can also increase the chance of a chimney fire!

Top Tip: To find out more about using wood as fuel, please read this Guide from the Forestry Commission.

Choose high quality wood: Beech and ash wood/logs burn the best especially when seasoned for over a year or two. Both of these types of wood when dried out can produce quite a lot of heat output with a consistent flame. Burning hardwood is likely to give a stronger flame and appear to give out more heat than softer pinewoods because they are likely to burn faster and cooler than hardwood because they have a lower calorific value.

For Open Fires

Choose Anthracite Coal: Anthracite Coal is a natural smokeless fuel; it is hard, dense, very shiny and high in carbon. One of the main benefits of using anthracite is that it does not produce tar, which essentially means that it is very clean and therefore ideal for use in smoke-free urban areas and in glass fronted multi-fuel stoves. Read Pearsons of Duns reasons for choosing smokeless fuel coal.

For Multi-Fuel Fires and Stoves

Combine the use of high quality seasoned wood with anthracite coal as explained above.

Top Tip: Using Firemizer can help you decrease the amount of creosote emissions by up to 57% and will reduce your solid fuel usage by up to 38% because Firemizer slows the air flow to reduce the burn rate of the fuel and conducts the heat evenly across the fire to ensure that all the fuel is fully burnt.

This is our advice on how to choose a solid fuel, therefore if you wish to act upon any of the information given you should do so at your own risk. We will accept no liability or claims from the activities arising from the information set out in our web pages.

There are many ways to heat your home, one of the cheapest ways of doing so is by burning wood. Follow our six top tips and you will bound to save money on solid fuel costs!

• Avoid burning wet wood. It is difficult to burn unseasoned logs or wood that is wet because due to the dampness of the wood. Wet wood makes it harder for the wood to catch light and may not burn as well as dried seasoned firewood. Although unseasoned wood is cheaper than seasoned wood, it has a lot of disadvantages such as it sends out less energy and releases too much smoke. One way to keep your wood dry once it has been wet is to dry small amounts of wood indoors. Please note not to pre-dry large amounts of wood as the humidity being released will keep the logs damp rather than dry. If you are willing to season the unseasoned wood, you should allow the unseasoned wood to dry for at least a year in small quantities to ensure the wood is dried thoroughly.

• Wood storage. If the wood is being stored outdoors, it is crucial to leave gaps between each log and try not to cover the sides so that the air can circulate inside all around the wood. Ensure the wood is off the ground so that the wood at the bottom stays dry. This tip also applies to seasoned wood so they are always kept dry to be able to provide an efficient burn.

• Use Firemizer. This product is unique, it is a stainless steel alloy heat grid that can help maximise the duration and efficiency of the burn. The special blend of fibres that are welded together causes the wood to burn more slowly, which means up to 38% less wood is needed to keep the fire going and costs can be saved on fuel. Firemizer is available in 2 different sizes and the costs range from £19.99-£24.99 and will last up to 6 weeks or 500 burning hours.

• The smaller the pieces of firewood are, the better. To burn logs more efficiently, it would be ideal if the logs are split into smaller pieces, preferably around 5inches in diameter. Another quick tip is to light up the even smaller pieces of firewood before moving onto the bigger pieces of logs.

• Limit the amount of firewood in the stove or fireplace. In order for the wood to combust effectively, air must be able to circulate around it. By placing small amounts of wood into your wood burning stove or fireplace, it can be expected to produce heat using less fuel without any noticeable loss of heat.

• Mild weather but cold enough to need a fire? Try splitting firewood into smaller amounts and place them in a criss-cross design in your fireplace or wood-burner. This will reduce the amount of fuel used and not overheat your home needlessly.