I think I solved my "brown glass" syndrome...

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recppd

New Member
Aug 30, 2006
124
North Shore, MA
A week or so ago I posted about the "brown glass" problem I was having with my Jotul Kennebec. In a nutshell, the glass would ALWAYS brown up, even with a hot fire. I lived with it for the past two seasons and finally posted about it recently in an effort to discover a solution. Well, I think I did - by mistake...

This week I received my 200 (yes, 200) Super Cedar firestarters. They claimed to burn longer than other other starters, with much less smoke. Well guess what, they do! I've been using them now for 4 days and my glass is the cleanest it's EVER been!!! Up until this point I've been burning fatwood and have been very satisfied with its fire starting abilities (not as much as the Super Cedar though!). Problem is the smoke generated during the initial startup was causing the "brown glass" syndrome in my insert. Since using Super Cedars my glass has been 95% cleaner, with only the bottom corners getting dirty. Go figure...

I'm in no way connected to the company, just a satisfied customer. If you haven't tried them, do so! They are well worth the money...
 
How much fatwood were you using!??!?!?!?! I sometimes use a stick or two, usually if I am out of kindling inside. My glass never browned up using a couple small pieces of fatwood.
 
I dont have any prob with fatwood either, but like wahoo, im unsing one stick or maybe two. I do like super cedar starters, but me, im not that picky. I use what i have at hand, I have been out of fatwood for about a month (yes, i sell it, pathetic) recently i have been using plain cardboard and 1 x 4 spilts. Still clear glass.
 
I think my problem is two-fold. First off, when I use fatwood the firebox fills with smoke and it billows down across the glass. That initial billowing "fogs" the glass with a translucent brown coating. It's almost like the smoke is sticking to the glass. As the fire begins to burn that "fog" begins to darken and eventually turns dark brown.

With the Super Cedars the smoke is only a fraction of what the fatwood produces and doesn't coat the glass. Throughout the burn process the glass stays clear and only clouds at the extreme lower corners - like it should. I know it's only been a few days, but the glass is the cleanest its ever been! Typically I burn 2-3 pieces of fatwood to get a fire started, which I don't think is an excessive amount.
 
Great endorsement. Thomas will be approaching you soon.
 
recppd said:
I think my problem is two-fold. First off, when I use fatwood the firebox fills with smoke and it billows down across the glass. That initial billowing "fogs" the glass with a translucent brown coating. It's almost like the smoke is sticking to the glass. As the fire begins to burn that "fog" begins to darken and eventually turns dark brown.

With the Super Cedars the smoke is only a fraction of what the fatwood produces and doesn't coat the glass. Throughout the burn process the glass stays clear and only clouds at the extreme lower corners - like it should. I know it's only been a few days, but the glass is the cleanest its ever been! Typically I burn 2-3 pieces of fatwood to get a fire started, which I don't think is an excessive amount.
Click to expand...

Yeah that can happen with "native fatwood" too. The stuff I cut from pine stumps, the same place the commercial packs come from. If you get a real juicey chunk of the stuff thick back smoke boils out of the top of it and if it hits the glass, fog city. I ususally wait and put those juicy chunks on top of some dry burning small pine kindling.

With the draft I have it is inferno city in a heartbeat.
 
BrotherBart said:
recppd said:
I think my problem is two-fold. First off, when I use fatwood the firebox fills with smoke and it billows down across the glass. That initial billowing "fogs" the glass with a translucent brown coating. It's almost like the smoke is sticking to the glass. As the fire begins to burn that "fog" begins to darken and eventually turns dark brown.

With the Super Cedars the smoke is only a fraction of what the fatwood produces and doesn't coat the glass. Throughout the burn process the glass stays clear and only clouds at the extreme lower corners - like it should. I know it's only been a few days, but the glass is the cleanest its ever been! Typically I burn 2-3 pieces of fatwood to get a fire started, which I don't think is an excessive amount.
Click to expand...

Yeah that can happen with "native fatwood" too. The stuff I cut from pine stumps, the same place the commercial packs come from. If you get a real juicey chunk of the stuff thick back smoke boils out of the top of it and if it hits the glass, fog city. I ususally wait and put those juicy chunks on top of some dry burning small pine kindling.

With the draft I have it is inferno city in a heartbeat.
Click to expand...


recppd,

Iam happy to hear about your results with the Super Cedar firestarters. Thank you for posting them and your purchase also. We are always pleased to hear about the experiences with our product.
I would like to add the fact that the Super Cedar burns clean enough to be the ONLY firestarter tested in the past 10 years by Sud Chemie to be recommended for use with their combusters. My point is that they burn clean enough to prolong the life of their combusters, thefore they must have a effect on your glass.

I would also like to ask the fatwood users how they start their fatwood, as when we had a Fire Forensics Lab.(MDE Seattle) do the comparison tests with Duraflame and Fatwood against the Super Cedar the tester had to use three matches before igniting the Fatwood.

Finally I would like to offer again to any members who would like to try a FREE sample to email [email protected] with shipping address. Use them for a stocking stuffer instead of coal!
Thank you all again for your support and kind replies.
Happy Holiday's
Thomas and Lara
 
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