I didn’t understand the purpose of Duraflame Fire Starter Logs when I first started looking into them. The fact that you could use them without traditional wood blew right over my head. A few years later my dad purchased a box of Duraflames to use on a small fire ring at his RV park. It didn’t take long to realize that I completely overlooked their purpose. They can be used on their own without regular firewood! So how many Duraflame logs do you use in a fire?
Standard Duraflame logs are designed to be burned one at a time. They have predetermined 1.5 hours to 4 hour burn times, so a single log can maintain a fireplace for most of the night. If you want to build a bigger fire with multiple logs or add more logs to extend the fire, use Duraflame Indoor/Outdoor Firelogs. the Duraflame Crackleflame Firelogs shouldn’t be stacked, but you can add additional logs at the end of the fire to extend the burn.
How Many Duraflame Logs To Use: What If I Use Multiple Logs?
When I first started looking at Duraflame logs, I couldn’t understand how people could afford to burn them. I go through 10-12 logs every night in the winter, but I couldn’t possibly afford to burn 2 boxes of Duraflames every night. Obviously I was overlooking a very important feature of Duraflame logs. They burn longer than firewood, so you don’t have to use as many logs.
The price made sense once I realized I could use a single log to build a fire. Duraflame sells multiple sized logs that have burn times ranging from 1.5 hour (2.5 lb Indoor/Outdoor Logs), 3 hour (4.5 lb Indoor/Outdoor, 4.5lb Gold, and Crackleflames), 4 hour (6lb Firelogs and 6lb Natural or 100% Renewable Firelogs).
It doesn’t matter which Duraflame log you choose, you can always build a fire using a single log. If you want to stack logs for a bigger fire or use additional logs to extend the fire, choose the indoor/outdoor versions or the crackleflame logs. Those are the only logs that are designed to be stacked or used as a fire starter for other wood.
You can stack Duraflame logs that are designed to be used alone, but it will negatively effect the burn. They’ll heat up faster, shortening the burn time, and cause an inconsistent fire. That’s probably not a big deal, but it’s not worth spending the extra money on a 6lb log if it burns like a cheaper 2.5lb log.
How Many Duraflame Logs Should I Use In A Fireplace?
Technically, you can stack multiple Duraflame logs in an indoor fireplace, but a single log should be able to fill a fireplace with flames.. You can stack a 2nd log in an X-Shaped pattern (using indoor/outdoor logs), but that’s rarely necessary. A single log is usually enough to provide ambiance and supplemental heat on chilly nights.
There are a handful of times where it makes sense to use multiple Duraflame’s in an indoor fireplace. A single log is good enough in most situations, but multiple logs would provide additional heat if your power goes out or you’re trying to warm up a large room.
You can always start your fire with a Duraflame and transition over to regular wood if you really need additional heat. Using fire starters would be cheaper, but it’s hard to beat the 4 hour burn time of a 6.5 lb Duraflame.
How Many Duraflame Logs To Use Outside?
The number of logs you will need in an outdoor firepit will depend on a few factors. How big is your fire ring? What’s the temperature outside? How many people will be sitting around the firepit? Do you want a hot/big fire or is an intimate fire ok?
You probably won’t need to use more than 1 Duraflame log for an intimate fire in a tiny fire ring, but you’ll need additional logs in a 24+ inch ring with a large group of people. A single log in a massive fire ring won’t throw off enough heat to accommodate a large group.
At minimum you will need to toss on a 2nd log, but you might need to switch over to wood. Duraflame logs are great for small fires, but it won’t be enough to heat up a large outdoor fire ring.
Stacking Multiple Duraflame Logs (Using Multiple Logs Outside)
Most of the Duraflame lineup shouldn’t be stacked, but there are a few exceptions to that rule. The only logs that you can stack are the indoor/outdoor versions. They’re available in 2.5lb logs (1.5 hour burn), 4.5lb logs (3 hour burn), and 6lb logs (4 hour burn). You can also add additional logs to the fire to extend burn times at the end of the night.
Stacking multiple logs may or may not be necessary depending on how many people will be sitting around the fire. A single log produces 3-4 inch flames throughout most of the burn, with larger 12 inch flames shooting up sporadically. That’s usually good enough for an intimate fire in your fireplace or a small campfire for a handful of people.
Add a second log for larger outdoor gathering or if you need additional heat on chilly nights. Stack your logs in an X-Shaped pattern and light them up like you normally would. Leave the paper on the log, light up each corner, and you’re off to the races.
Toss on 1-2 additional logs towards the end of the advertised burn time to keep the fire going. A 6lb log can burns for 4 hours, so you rarely need to use more than 3 logs to get you through a long night of camping.
Can I Add Regular Logs On Top Of Duraflame Logs?
Yes you can start a fire with a Duraflame log and add regular wood throughout the night, but it kind of defeats the purpose of using full-sized fire starting logs. It would increase the fire temperature and significantly shorten the burn rate of your log. The burn time would be cut in half and you would need to keep adding additional firewood.
It would be much cheaper to light your fire using cheap fire starters. You can buy a 50-100 pack of fire starters for like $20 so it doesn’t make sense to waste your money on a fire log. I usually cut one of my fire logs down into 2-3 inch pieces so I can use it to start wood fires.
I can get 40-50 fire starters out of a 6lb fire log and then use regular wood to maintain the fire. Just 2-3 fire starter chunks under your wood and light them up. It might take 10 minutes to light, but that’s usually enough to light a small log on fire (under 6 inch log).
At that point, you can keep adding additional wood to maintain the fire. You will have to regularly add firewood, but it’s much cheaper than wasting a full-sized starter log.