
Top tips when you're out and about

Burning our rubbish in our gardens is a traditional way of clearing plant and household waste, any time of year. If you live in an urban area, it is best to be mindful of your neighbours and how the smoke or even flames may harm their homes. Many of us, have believed the urban myth of having to wait until after 6.00pm before lighting, but there are no time rules to say when you can and can’t light bonfires on your property.
Legally, there are no specific rules on lighting bonfires, but the Environmental Protection Act 1990 does make it an offence to burn plastic, rubber or painted materials, as this will create poisonous fumes that can have a damaging effect on your health and that of your neighbours’.
Under the Highways Act 1980 anyone who lights a fire and then allows the smoke to blow across a public highway could be liable for an offence, if the smoke affects visibility on the highway and endangers the safety of traffic. So think about the wind direction before lighting.
Here are a few tips to ensure that your neighbours still remain your friends…
All you need to get your bonfire going with no fuss at all, is to use Zip™ block or individually wrapped firestarters, just 3 or 4 cubes will easily light your fire in a safe and controlled manner. All that is left to do us stand back with a cup of tea and watch your waste turn to ash. Great for digging back into the garden!
Now you’ve read our very best bonfire advice, we would love to hear any ‘pearls of wisdom’ that you might have. Share your very own Bonfire top tips on our Facebook page, tweet us or
send us an email and we will upload our favourites on to this page!Cooking over a campfire can be a really fun experience that feeds into our primal caveman nature. Make sure you enjoy a successful outdoor experience by following a few simple rules when it comes to building and lighting your campfire.
Prepare your site
Lay kindling
Once lit
Now that you’ve read our campfire advice, we would love to hear your campfire pearls of wisdom. Share your very own tips for the perfect campfire on our Facebook page, tweet us, or send us an email and we will upload our favorites to this page!
Firing up the grill is a great way to spend your leisure time while feeding family and friends. However, owning a grill involves more than simply lighting the fire. We call it S.L.C.
Safety
Follow these simple precautions to minimize the risk of injury or fire:
Location
Selecting the right location for your grill reduces the risk of fire. Check that there are no buildings, trees, hanging laundry, etc. in your chosen grill location. Once you have selected your site:
Care
It is all too easy to neglect grills during the winter months. We recommend getting your grill in shape by:
If you have any of your own top tips for Responsible Grilling then we would love to hear them! Please share to our Facebook page, tweet us or send us an email.
Check the safety tips on packs!!
Not only are we passionate about lighting fires we really want to share our love and enthusiasm for all things fire.Especially about which woods will make your fire hot and toasty and those which, quite frankly, are a bit of a damp squib.
Wood is a natural and sustainable choice of fuel for domestic fires and has been in use since the first fire many millennia ago. When we warm our homes with wood, we participate in a natural cycle that we share with our ancient ancestors. Wood fuelled the open fires of the hunter-gatherers, the brick ovens of the first bakers, and, until the 19th century, all our homes.
Today, we still love to sit in front of a fire and coming in from the cold naturally draws us to the fire. We all know that feeling of returning home after a busy day out, to a cold chilly house and really wanting a warm and cosy fire as quickly as possible.
Knowing which wood to use will help you achieve a speedy, toasty house leaving you more time to relax and enjoy your well-earned rest at the end of a busy day. Whether it is gazing into the magical flames or unwinding with a glass of your favorite wine, enjoy your fire with Zip™ firestarters and the right wood:
Aspen, basswood, cottonwood, chestnut, yellow poplar and spruce produce relative low amounts of heat and whilst easy to burn also pop, throw out sparks and produce a fair amount of smoke. They are most suitable for use as kindling.
If you have further advice on which woods to use, we would love to hear it! You can tweet us, share on our Facebook page or email.
Briquettes are very easy to purchase and are found in local supermarkets, gas stations, and DIY retailers. They are produced from the smaller pieces of wood or dust left over in the furnace once the lump wood has been removed, which are then compressed into a briquette using a binding agent. They are denser than lump wood and take more time to light, but burn longer and hotter. Many brands may contain wood by-products, combined with additives, starches and sometimes waste material, which sometimes give off a chemical smell. Zip™ briquettes are 100% natural and contain only wood, making them cleaner burning and producing great tasting food.
Zip™ 100% Natural Hardwood Briquettes
Every grill master has their own individual way of cooking their outdoor food, and we expect this debate to continue for many years to come. Rest assured that both Zip™’s Lump and Briquette charcoals are of the highest quality, producing fabulous tasting outdoor food for families around the world.
If you have any of your own top tips for Briquettes then we would love to hear them! Please share to our Facebook page, tweet us or send us an email.
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