Have you ever had the pleasure of sitting around a campfire?
I have and it is one of the most spiritual things you will ever do.
I will delve into the campfire and what it does that draws us to it.
An Insiders View of Sitting Around a Campfire
As I said, a campfire is something that we humans have gathered beside for nearly as long as we have been in existence.
So what is a campfire and how does it come to being?
I am going to discuss the campfire and some things that you probably did not know.
So let’s get some interesting facts about these ancient gathering places of man.
So What Does a Campfire Burn At
Many people might look at a campfire and know that if you get too close the temperature of it intensifies.
So we know respectfully to not get too close, so the overall internal temperature of a campfire can reach such internal temperatures of 1650°F (900°C) in the flames, known as the continuous flame region.
The cooking temperature of a campfire above the flames (called the thermal plume region) where no flames are visible.
You can expect such temperatures of about 600°F (320°C). So no problems with toasting those marshmallows that you were thinking of bringing along to roast…
Fuel for the Camp Fire
In order to understand the campfire, we need to know how the campfire comes into being.
And to many, it is an art form.
I am sure that rubbing two sticks away in frustration was never your thought.
But the ancients worked it out.
And just getting a match and lighting some wood is not going to end up in a raging campfire.
So what is needed?
Which do you think is the better fuel?
Wood or charcoal fires are a combustion chemical reaction you take some fuel add some heat and react those molecules with oxygen and then.
You Got fire!
And it is an exothermic reaction meaning it releases energy in the form of light and heat.
The flames that you see and feel and some other byproducts wood and charcoal are a little different chemically.
So charcoal releases more heat energy but less smoke when it burns.
Wood is made up of big long chains of glucose molecules called cellulose plus some other structural organic compounds.
When those compounds are heated to about 250 degrees Celsius they start to break apart in a process called pyrolysis.
These organic molecules break down into simpler molecular components and release volatile gases which evaporate easily and are combustible.
Water carbon dioxide and volatile gases combine to create smoke and all the gases reacting with oxygen create lots of heat which cause even more pyrolysis and combustion reactions and creates more flames.
If you try to start a fire with damp wood or fresh wood that contains a lot of water and heat will boil the liquid water into vapour which isn’t a combustible gas.
This basically releases energy into the air instead of generating more heat.
The remaining material from burning wood is called char or charcoal which is 70 to 80 per cent pure carbon and there are some other leftover minerals that become ashes.
Industrial companies can mass-produce charcoal by heating up wood or wood products without much oxygen.
This initiates the pyrolysis step but doesn’t really cause combustion since there’s not much oxygen for the volatile gases to react with.
So, from a chemical standpoint charcoal seems like the better fuel source because it’s mostly carbon, and burning it releases more heat energy for a longer period of time with fewer smokey byproducts.
But from an industrial standpoint, there are also big economic issues that come into play industrial factories need massive amounts of fuel.
And since charcoal is a byproduct of wood pyrolysis it’s become a big factor in deforestation in parts of Africa and South America.
so policies and research efforts need to be initiated to conserve these resources and to use them more efficiently ultimately whether you use charcoal for a smoke-free grilling experience or wood for a big toasty bonfire use whatever fuel suits your needs.
How Does Campfire Smell
When you are sitting around the campfire…
It is not just the flames that add to the experience.
Dru wood slowly releases many years of energy that has been stored up from the sun, and the air throughout its lifetime.
Not only then, but it is also from the ground around it.
The outcome is an intoxicating smell of Musky Smoke and what has been stored up. Those beautiful smells of nature drift into your nostrils.
It takes you to another place where nature played such a big part in our history.
Even if you are a city person, these smells must be hardwired to us from a bygone age.
Such smells that are comforting you our very being.
How Long Will a Campfire Burn
Basically, it is said that for every 1/2 inch of firewood, your supposed campfire will burn for about an hour.
Say if you had a 6-inch piece of firewood on your campfire, you can expect it to burn for about six hours.
Now…
If you are getting ambitious and plan to be sitting around the campfire for a long time or want to cook something quite large.
So if you have an even larger 8-inch piece of firewood, it will burn for about eight hours.
Or instead of just sitting around a campfire, as for this time I am sure that your bottom will be quite numb by that time.
You might be planning on sleeping beside a fireplace for the night.
When you sit beside a fireplace as I have you get lost in the flames and warmth. Minding not to put your hands or other things too close as it is fine at a distance.
But soon changes if you get that little bit closer.
The sounds of the campfire are comforting as it crackles and you have no idea why this is.
Again I say it is hardwired into us.
I have slept beside a campfire for the night. Sat near a campfire with a group of people on a cool night and also boiled and drank billy tea from a campfire at a horse event.
Sitting around a campfire is something that you never get tired of. But I must say that sitting around a campfire when it is windy.
Well…
You might just have to change planes as the smoke is blown toward you instead of rising upwards.
And not only that sitting around a campfire when the wind decides to change all the time. you can play musical chairs on musical logs if you are sitting on those.
But the smoke does feel like it is following you sometimes.
And because of that, you will be in need of a new pair of clothes the following day if you want to keep your friends that is.