How to Put Out Duraflame Logs

Whether you're lighting a fire to warm a chilly room, trying to create a romantic atmosphere, or starting a cozy campfire, using a firelog like those made by Duraflame will make the entire experience even better. It's easy to light them, and if you need to, it's easy to put out Duraflame logs.

Firelogs are manufactured firewood made from recycled products, like sawdust, cellulose, and waxes, making them more environmentally friendly than natural firewood. They're appealing mainly because they're so easy to use. They light quickly and easily and burn clean, leaving little ash. A burning wood fire has to be constantly tended, but firelogs don't require the same sort of attention.

If there's any drawback to them at all, it has to do with the heat of the fire you'll create. Because you burn only one log at a time, you don't get as much heat from firelogs as you do from wood even though the Btu-per-pound heat content can greatly exceed that of natural wood.

Duraflame firelogs are made with a blend of sawdust, special fibers, and wax from vegetable oils, tree oils, and paraffins. When properly lighted, a Duraflame firelog should be aflame in under five minutes.

The Duraflame brand includes several different firelogs. Their standard 6-pound, 4.5-pound, and 2.5-pound firelogs burn for up to four, three and one and a half hours, respectively. The 100-percent renewable 6.5-pound firelog also burns for up to four hours. These can all be used in indoor fireplaces, open-hearth fireplaces, or outdoor fireplaces or fire pits. The ultra-premium Gold firelogs burn bigger and brighter, come in 4.5-pound and 2.5-pound weights, and burn for up to three and one and a half hours, respectively.

Duraflame's stackable, crackling Crackleflame firelogs can be burned in an indoor fireplace or wood stove and in an outdoor fireplace, fire pit, or campfire. They also make a stackable, crackling Outdoor firelog meant solely for outdoor use that has been designed and tested for roasting foods — but it's not for barbecues.

The Duraflame Every Night firelog works for weeknights when time available for enjoying a fire may be limited. It creates a robust fire that burns for two and a half hours.

There's nothing special or difficult to do when you need to extinguish your firelogs whether they're for indoor or outdoor use. As you would with any fire, simply douse them carefully with water. Another option is to use sand, making sure the flames are completely covered. Finally, you can use a dry chemical fire extinguisher to put out a Duraflame log.

Firelogs are convenient and easy to use, but as with anything involving fire, they still need to be used and handled with a number of safety considerations in mind. If your fireplace has glass doors, leave them open while you burn your firelog unless instructions for your fireplace direct you to do otherwise. Because Duraflame logs burn clean, they produce minimal ash, but once the firelog has burned out or once you have put out your Duraflame log, it's still a good idea to keep your damper open until all the ashes are cool.

Because adding other materials to a Duraflame log can alter the performance of the product, it's not a good idea to add wood to a Duraflame fire. Doing so can cause the firelog to break apart, possibly resulting in a sudden flaring of the fire and an increased burn rate. Flaring fire can create smoke and heat that your chimney isn't designed to handle, leading to an outpouring of smoke from your fireplace. This can also cause more heat than your fireplace can handle.

Although Duraflame logs aren't considered likely to cause toxic reactions if nibbled on by pets, the wood fibers they contain aren't digestible and could cause stomach distress or constipation in pets.