Jimmy Fireplace Tools

Whether you have owned a house with a fireplace for several years and just want to update your old or worn tools  or if you have just purchased your first home and it happily comes with a wonderful fireplace, we can help you in your search for the perfect tools for your fireplace.

We have done numerous hours worth of research on the topic so that we can hopefully help you with any questions you may have on selecting  tools.

Our informative articles were put together to give you insight on the various types of the tools you may need to keep a great roaring fire going all winter long in your fireplace.

If you have found all the information you need to make a decision and you are ready to purchase your new tools you can check out our preferred vendor for a wide variety of them. We think you will enjoy your shopping experience with them.

Beginners Guide

If your new to owning or using a fireplace these helpful tips for handling its tools will hopefully help you get your fire going quickly.

“Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose”. These are signs that it is usually time to build a fire to warm your home, your family, the setting of a warm atmosphere. If you are new to starting a fire in your fireplace or wood burning stove, you might wonder what tools you need and how to use them.

You should have five standard tools on your hearth.

* Brush – this has bristles and looks like a miniature broom. Used for cleaning.
* Poker – usually the longest of the tools, this has a sharp, pointy end used for poking and moving logs as needed.
* Tongs – this tool looks like a very large pair of tweezers or kitchen tongs. Great for putting new logs on the fire.
* Shovel – fireplace shovels should not have a spade end but should be straight edged. Used for cleaning and removing ashes.
* Ash bucket – this can be any metal can or bucket that can hold at least 1 gallon. Recycle a large coffee or paint can or find a decorative can from a home design shop.

Start with a clean fireplace or stove.

Open the damper. A damper is a metal plate that opens your chimney to permit smoke to escape. You should leave this closed when the fireplace or stove is not in use but you must open it before starting a fire.

Crumple newspaper and put in your fireplace, on a grate if you have one. Top with kindling strips in 3 or 4 layers from the diameter of your pinky to diameter of your wrist. Top with 2 to 4 pieces of firewood.

Light paper. Once the first layer of firewood has ignited, add another layer, criss-crossed in the opposite direction of lower logs, using tongs.

Occasionally, you will see that all the wood is burning in one part of the fireplace while another section of wood is not. Use your poker to nudge the unburned wood toward the hot spot.

Clean the inside of your fireplace when ash has built up and at the end of each season. Use the brush to get ash from cracks and crevices as well as to sweep ashes into the shovel to be disposed of. Let ashes sit for a few hours to cool before disposing if you’ve had a fire in the past 72 hours. Ashes can stay hot for up to 72 hours and can cause a fire.