How To Make A Fire Burn Hotter: 5 Simple Ways

Are you an experienced camper looking to extend your camping season by camping in the fall or early spring? 

Do you enjoy campfires, but the heat just never seems to get as high as you want it? 

A good camper and firebug should know how to make a fire burn hotter. 

You can make a fire burn hotter by using dry wood, providing more oxygen, using a softwood, picking the right type of wood in general, and increasing the surface area of the fire. Doing these things safely will increase the amount of heat your fire gives off. 

Read on for more details on how to do this all safely. 

Too cold in general? Check out the best halogen heaters for camping.  

What Makes A Fire Burn? 

In this section, we look at what it takes to make a fire burn and how to build your own fire. 

The Fire Triangle

The fire triangle is what experts describe to scientifically explain how fire works.

This is also used in most school assemblies as part of a fire safety program. 

The three parts of the fire triangle are: energy, fuel, and oxygen. 

Fire is a chemical process as a result of these three factors.

Increasing or changing one of these will also change your fire as well. 

Energy – The energy is the heat the fire uses to get started and continue.

As the energy increases, the likelihood of more fire rises. 

Fuel – This is the matter being burned.

In the case of campfires, we’re looking at the wood and any special starter, tinder, or kindling you may use. 

Some types of fuel have more energy potential in them while others may have a cooler but longer burn. 

Oxygen – Oxygen is key for fire.

As the energy level rises and fire begins, oxygen is used in the combustion which creates fire. 

To increase the amount and heat (energy) from a fire, you can increase the oxygen. 

Fire Building Process

In this section, we’ll give a quick rundown on how to start a fire. 

To build a fire, you need these things: 

• Tinder
• Kindling
• Fuel
• Starter (Lighter)

First, you arrange the fire pit with tinder in the middle surrounded by the kindling.

Around the kindling you can use some smaller fuel logs as well. 

Note: Whether you use cabin or tepee style doesn’t really matter, as long as you arrange it so the tinder lights the kindling which lights the fuel, and oxygen is available to the fire. 

Next, use your starter such as a lighter to start the tinder.

While this is starting, keep feeding more tinder until the kindling lights. 

Then, feed the fire more tinder and kindling until the fuel logs start aflame.

Continue to add more kindling then gradually larger fuel logs. 

For more details, check out our guide on how to build a fire. 

5 Easy Ways To Make A Fire Burn Hotter

Now that you’ve got your fire built, you may want to tweak things so the fire burns hotter.

This section gives you 5 easy ways you can do this. 

#1 Use Dry Wood

Wet wood can be started with time (see our tips on starting a fire with wet wood), but if the wood is still “green” you may find it difficult to light. 

Dry wood which has been sitting for a year or longer has all the sap dried out of it.

This is considered dry wood. 

With the sap gone, the energy is allowed to fill the wood faster than green wood.

The better energy results in a hotter flame. 

#2 Provide More Oxygen

Another great way to make a fire hotter is to provide an influx of oxygen to the flames.

This will make the fire energy and spread jump dramatically. 

However, this only works in the short term.

After the oxygen pump is gone, the fire will go back to its normal size and heat. 

#3 Choose Softwood

Woods tend to be classified into two types: softwood and hardwood. 

Softwoods are great for starting new fires and increasing the heat of fires in general.

They burn quicker and with more energy. 

Softwoods also “dry out” faster (see #1).

It may take them less than the recommended year to reach their burning potential. 

Hardwoods are the opposite.

They last a lot longer than softwoods, but burn with less heat. 

For those looking for a slow burn such as with a wood-burning stove or a long night of campfire, the hardwood may be right for you. 

But this post is on getting more heat.

At any time you want a hotter fire, add some softwood to it and watch the flames turn blue. 

#4 Opt For A Different Wood Type

As we discussed in #3, softwood will burn hotter than hardwoods, but not every type of wood burns the same in those categories. 

In general, these types of woods will be ideal for burning at hotter temperatures: 

• Apple 
• Ash
• Birch
• Black Thorn
• Cherry 
• Hawthorn 
• Maple
• Oak
• Pine 
• Sycamore
• Walnut
• Yew

For help identifying trees, check out this guide by the Arbor Day Foundation. 

#5 Increase Surface Area

For a longer and hotter burn, you may want to increase the surface area of the fire.

This will allow more oxygen to get at the fire and make it burn hotter. 

Does Some Wood Burn Hotter Than Others?

In this section, we’ll look at the BTUs of major hardwoods and softwoods.

Remember, softwoods burn hotter, faster while hardwoods burn hotter over time. 

The higher the BTU per cord, the hotter the wood is at its highest.

But softwoods will reach their number much faster. 

Note: BTU stands for British Thermal Unit and is the unit of choice for measuring heat from wood. 

Type Of Wood	British Thermal Units	Hard or Soft
Osage orange	32.9 BTUs per cord	H
Shagbark hickory	27.7 BTUs per cord	H
Eastern hornbeam	27.1 BTUs per cord	H
Black birch	26.8 BTUs per cord	H
Black locust	26.8 BTUs per cord	H
Blue beech	26.8 BTUs per cord	H
Ironwood	26.8 BTUs per cord	H
Bitternut hickory	26.5 BTUs per cord	H
Honey locust	26.5 BTUs per cord	H
Apple	25.8 BTUs per cord	H
Mulberry	25.7 BTUs per cord	H
Beech	24 BTUs per cord	H
Northern red oak	24 BTUs per cord	H
Sugar maple	24 BTUs per cord	H
White oak	24 BTUs per cord	H
White ash	23.6 BTUs per cord	H
Yellow birch	21.8 BTUs per cord	H
Red elm	21.6 BTUs per cord	H
Rocky Mountain juniper	21.6 BTUs per cord	S
Hackberry	20.8 BTUs per cord	H
Kentucky coffee tree	20.8 BTUs per cord	H
Tamarack	20.8 BTUs per cord	S
Gray birch	20.3 BTUs per cord	H
Paper birch	20.3 BTUs per cord	H
White birch	20.2 BTUs per cord	H
Black walnut	20 BTUs per cord	H
Cherry	20 BTUs per cord	H
Green ash	19.9 BTUs per cord	H
Black cherry	19.5 BTUs per cord	H
American elm	19.5 BTUs per cord	H
White elm	19.5 BTUs per cord	H
Sycamore	19.1 BTUs per cord	H
Black ash	18.7 BTUs per cord	H
Red maple	18.1 BTUs per cord	H
Jack pine	17.1 BTUs per cord	S
Norway pine	17.1 BTUs per cord	S
Pitch pine	17.1 BTUs per cord	S
Hemlock	15.9 BTUs per cord	S
Black spruce	15.9 BTUs per cord	S
Eastern white pine	14.3 BTUs per cord	S
Balsam fir	14.3 BTUs per cord	S
Eastern white cedar	12.2 BTUs per cord	S

Are Coals Hotter Than Flames?

No, given all else being equal, coal has the same potential heat as the wood beginnings, but due to the lack of oxygen and surface area, they produce less heat. 

Think about the heat color spectrum.

Red ⇾ Yellow ⇾ Blue. Each one is hotter than the last. 

Yellow flames show they’re hotter than the red coals. 

You still shouldn’t touch it though! 

For more details, check out this ThoughtCo article on how hot fire gets. 

Conclusion

Now you know how to make a fire burn hotter.

Giving it more oxygen and choosing the right kind of wood will make all the difference. 

Now get out there and enjoy the fresh air!