Keeping A Coal Fire Burning

[Vasquoy]

Can anyone advise on the way I should build, then feed a fire so that it produces maximum heat when I am in the room but also to then how to stock it so that when I go to bed it will last as long as possible (hopefully so it can be rekindled in the morning)

My fireplace is quite small with no back boiler and my chimney has been checked and cleaned.

[abstibus]

Hi, Vasquoy
I don't know if you can buy a type of small coal called 'slack'. What I used to do was put slack in a plastic bag and wait until the fire was burning well, then put it on top of the burning coals towards the back of the fire. I made sure the dampers were closed off so that there was no draught, but if the fire seemed a bit dull, I gave it a bit of a rake (maybe opened the dampers a bit).
At night, I did the same thing, but dampened the slack first and put enough in the bag to cover the fire well. I raked it in the morning - hey presto! If you try this, don't forget the fireguard.
Any environmemtal campaigners out there - don't pick holes in what I did - I just wanted to stay warm in an old, cold house with no CH.