If you have ever seen an active outdoorsman in the act of starting, or maintaining a fire you have likely noticed at one point in time that they knelt down on the ground next to the fire, and began to blow heavily into the base of the fire. Well, this is not just for show.
There is a real, and rather large reason as to why blowing into a fire can help bring the fire to life, as well as make it burn better. But the reasoning behind this may not be exactly which were thinking. That is, if you had assumptions beforehand. Today we’re going to go over at the actual of reasons as to why this act of blowing into a fire is so commen as well as required, especially in the beginning phases of starting a fire.
But before we go into detail as to why blowing into a campfire can be so useful in the beginning phases of starting a fire, we first need to go over what elements are required in order to have a complete, and properly burning fire.
What Makes A Fire Burn?: In order for a fire to burn you need the following 3 elements:
- Heat
- Oxygen
- Fuel
Without either these elements your fire will not burn. However, emphasizing the amount of either these elements can help the fire to burn even better. For example, say in this example we have all three elements: Heat, Oxygen, Fuel. But say we add an excessive amount of fuel to the fire, shortly thereafter we will see an expansion in the fire size. Same goes if we had an excessive amount of oxygen, or heat.
What is happening when someone below is on a smoldering fire is, they are adding an excessive amount of oxygen to the already placed heat and fuel. With an excess amount of oxygen added to the equation you will get an excessive amount of heat buildup after a short period of time.
Now, you’re probably thinking “But the exhaled element is no longer 100% oxygen, it is rather carbon dioxide, along with water vapor” and you would be totally right. Let’s dive into it a little bit deeper below.
What Blowing On A Fire Can Do
Blowing on a smoldering fire can create a surplus of oxygen that is funneled directly into the source of the heat and fuel. This surplus of oxygen will elevate the temperature, and spread the heat across the fuel, which in turn creates a larger heat source that enables the flame to better sustain itself for a moment while the user applies more fuel. Eventually the fire will no longer require the need of feed oxygen, and will rather rely on fuel (wood) provided at different intervals, and the oxygen that is lurking in the area.
However, it’s important to know, the exhaled element when a person blows on a fire Is not 100% Oxygen, it contains carbon dioxide, and water vapor. The Real surplus of oxygen occurs when the wind tunnel created by the blowing force produces a vortex that pulls the oxygen lurking around the fire into the fire.
Think of it like a river with a notch out along the river bank where the river is free from any current. Now picture yourself sitting on an inner tube in this river side notch out of water. As you float closer to the current of the river you will notice the current wants to pull you out of the notch and take you down the river. Well, The vortex created when blowing into a fire is similar. But in this case the river is essentially the blowing force, and you sitting in the tube is the oxygen setting in the vicinity.
Simple Methods For Blowing On A Fire
Like many things in this world, there are multiple ways to provide a surplus of oxygen to the next fire you build. You don’t always have to go about doing so by sticking your face in the smoke and exhaling excessively. Below are a list of ideas to make blowing on a fire involve less of your lungs and more of an extremity motion:
- Fan The Fire
- Us A Bellow Or Foot Pump
- Use Power Tools (Leaf Blower)
Fan The Fire: Really you could use anything that has the ability to move the oxygen in a somewhat directed manner. I personally have fanned some of my past fire using a shovel, after I began to feel dizzy from blowing on the fire by mouth. I found using a spade shovel held the opposite way you would hold it if you were going to dig, and simply swinging it back and forth like you would a fan can work. However, it can be dangerous if you don’t have a precise swing with the shovel, as it can be easy to hit the wood, or other objects near the fire, possibly sending hot debris flying.
Us A Bellow Or Foot Pump: A Bellow is basically what many old school forgers use to heat their forge. One of these can be great for blowing on a fire, both to start the fire, as well as maintain it if the flame begins to go down. Also you could likely make a foot pump or bike pump work. The only downside to methods like this is you are required to bring along excess equipment. If your in the backcountry backpacking, odds are you’re not going to want to spend your weight on something like a bellow. But in the case of a backyard bonfire something like this would work great!
Use Power Tools: This is more ment for the backyard bonfires. Simply because power tools aren’t exactly something that are commonly taken on camping trips. But power tools like Leaf blowers, Air compressors, Electric fans and other common tools alike can be used to help fuel a fire when it’s either in its infant stage, or maintenance phase.
Personally, my favorite method is to simply use my lungs (Blow by mouth). The way I see it is, your lungs act as a multi tool in this sort of a situation. The provide your body with oxygen, as well as the fire you are in the process of building. However, if you find your fire, whether its a campfire or bonfire, requiring a prolonged excess amount of oxygen to get the fire going then I would suggest you look for a different method for applying oxygen.
Simply because, after so much heavy exhalation your body will begin to act in non desirable ways. Truly the only time you really need to blow on a fire is when you are starting the fire. This is when the fire will be at its most fragile, and require and excess of heat, oxygen, and fuel. Once you get the fire to the point it can sustain itself for a moment, you should only really need to apply fuel to it (Wood).
Common Questions Regarding Blowing On Or Fanning Fire
Why Does Blowing On A Fire Make It Bigger
Like when a fire is provided a surplus of fuel (Wood) it gets bigger. It also gets bigger when it is provided with a surplus of oxygen. However, the size of the fire is going to sustain much longer when it is provided with a surplus of fuel (Wood), rather than a surplus of oxygen.
Why Do We Blow On A Burning Fire
To spread the heat to different portions of the fuel (wood) as well as provide a surplus of oxygen to the fire when it is in its infant stage.
Conclusion
In final, in most cases you will need to blow on a fire when it is in its infancy stage. Just like a baby requires a surplus of attention and care. A fire requires a surplus of oxygen and fuel. By blowing on a fire you essentially provide it with a surplus of oxygen. Given that most provide a surplus of oxygen by blowing using their mouth it is important that we note it is not 100% oxygen that is flowing from the lungs.
Rather it is a made up of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water vapor. You likely noticed two out of the three elements are rather an enemy to fire then a friend. Though the small amount of oxygen coming from someone’s lungs can help fuel a flame it is essentially canceled out by the carbon dioxide and water vapor that follows.
What really occurs when somebody’s blowing on the fire by mouth is as follows:
The wind funnel that is created by the person who is blowing on the fire is actually working like a vortex and sucking in the oxygen that is lurking around and pushing it directly into the heat source (coals / embers). So interesting enough, what comes out of someone’s lawn was actually doesn’t necessarily provide a whole lot in terms of usable elements to a flame, rather it is the oxygen that is pulled in to the stream of air flow coming out of one’s mouth that helps fuel the fire.
I hope you were able to find some value from this article! If you have any further questions regarding campfires, or bonfires be sure to check out the Outdoor Luxuriez Making Fire: Everything Campfire’s section of the site. There we have our battle tested campfire gear recommendations, as well as a plethora of information regarding campfire Tips, Techniques, Safety and more!
This Is Colt Signing Off!
