Super Cedar Observations........

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With all due respect, I think many of us here on hearth.com are a) pretty cheap and b) always trying for the best and most minimalistic way to start a fire.
Probably many other folks - the ones who buy the wood in little bundles of 5 logs or whatever, someone who wants a holiday fire in their fireplace, etc, won't worry so much about using the least firestarter possible... and they will be happy using the whole long-burning puck.

And if I had to guess, I would say that for a small business, it's more of a big deal to have to change the packaging or shape or add an extra step once their setup is good to go.
 
Backwoods Savage said:
LLigetfa said:
I'm still waiting for BWS to post pics of using his log splitter to quarter them up.
Click to expand...
:lol: I'll have to give that a try some day.
Click to expand...
LOL I'm just having some fun with you since you posted those pics of makin' kin'lin on the log spitter.
 
Carbon_Liberator said:
Backwoods Savage said:
Probably because everyone might not like them in quarters or halves. Sometimes a whole one would be nice because they burn pretty darned good for 30 minutes.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the quick reply Dennis, but if this forum can be used as any sort of marketing survey, then it's pretty clear that the majority of people want them in smaller pieces. Even you admit you break them in two.
Click to expand...


I think were all Frugal to some point...if he made them smaller I sure you would still cut them...were wood guys that's what we do...
md
 
I should add, I think it is very progressive of Thomas to offer a "green" (i.e. minimal packaging) option.
That is a win/win/win for him, the customer, and the environment. I wish more companies took his lead.
 
sksmass said:
I should add, I think it is very progressive of Thomas to offer a "green" (i.e. minimal packaging) option.
That is a win/win/win for him, the customer, and the environment. I wish more companies took his lead.
Click to expand...
I agree. And I think it's smart that he makes the price the same for the same number of starters either way, and the same if you get it in the gift boxes too. That way we can't cheap out and just order the cheapest one, we order what we really want!
 
sksmass said:
I should add, I think it is very progressive of Thomas to offer a "green" (i.e. minimal packaging) option.
That is a win/win/win for him, the customer, and the environment. I wish more companies took his lead.
Click to expand...
Yes, when I was looking to buy a 100ct, the website did not have the green option in that size but Thomas came through for me when I asked for it.
 
Hi Folks...the Cedar folks sent me some samples...liked um...but I like the firestarters that I pick up by the box from Wally World or Home Depot. I cut a piece off with my pocket knife about an inch long and it starts my fire without a hitch. Oldmainer
 
Got my Super Cedar samples also - seem to work great.

But, I'm a bit of a cheap-skate.....
I still have some fat sticks laying around, and have recently found that cutting/breaking them
in half & lighting & laying them next to each other when starting a fire seems
to work as well as my 1/4 Super Cedar starter.
The mathematics seem to make it a bit cheaper too.
 
I'd rather that Thomas' kids have food on their plate than give my money to ChinaMart but that's just me.
 
NW Fuels said:
soupy1957 said:
With all due respect to the gentleman in here who is intimately involved with the manufacturing, sale and promotion of Super Cedars................

Ok, I figured I'd hold my tongue on further comment on the product, until such time as I have used a couple dozen or so.

Downside:
A) They light, but stubbornly (broken or otherwise)
B) They are messy (having to make sure I contain the crumbs is a pain in the arse)
C) The plastic wrap is stubborn to remove by hand when you are half asleep in the morning
D) They have to be ordered; they are not sold locally
E) You have to pay for them.

Upside:
A) They're relatively inexpensive
B) They burn well, once lit
C) You support a fellow wood burning buddy, when you buy them.
D) They give off a nice "sweet smell" (as my wife calls it) when burning
E) They are a conversation starter with folks who come to the house and
see them in a bucket by the wood stove.

So folks, as you can see by my (imho) fair and balanced assessment of this product, that it is a 50/50 rating.
I think that's as fair and balanced evaluation I can give.

Will I buy more of them? Haven't decided yet. I did some first year burns with "Fatwood" and am tempted to go back to them. Not sure if I will.

Are there any other "fire starter" items that are similar that you would recommend I try next?

-Soupy1957
Click to expand...

Thank you for taking the time to consider my product in your reviews.

In answer to your request for other firestarters may I suggest the following! While you are sitting in your rocking chair on the porch you might try rubbing 2 sticks together. This will save the $ and you can do it alone!

Have a great Holiday!

Thomas
Click to expand...

Thomas,

I'm disappointed.

I read Soupy's feedback as fair, and possibly actionable in a future revision of the product or a competitor's product. The sarcasm I infer your response is not constructive, and unnecessary. It paints you, your product, and your company in a bad light.

I encourage you to reconsider. A polite 'thank you' in reponse to the feedback would be appropriate.

- BCT
 
I had got a sample with my stove and while I liked them, they were far too expensive with the shipping to get more. I can't remember the cost but it was something around $85 for 100.

I ended up making my own by cutting firelogs into little pieces, though I think I wasted my time with that as I have only used 4 or 5 of them. I have not had to light a fire in the stove since early October now. Even if I don't reload the stove everyday there is enough coals that a few pieces of small 2x4 lumber (scraps from my shed build) will get it going almost right away.
 
Nate, to each his own of course and sounds like you have a good solution but just wanted to point out that a box of 100 (400 starters if quartered) is $65 which includes shipping. And we usually get a hearth.com discount of 10% plus sometimes there are seasonal sales.

EDIT, you folks in Alaska often get screwed on free shipping though, don't you? Just noticed that's where you are from. Bummer. Sorry.

YOu must have a blaze king, eh? Lol, no relights. Actually even in my stove with the non-superior burn time, we usually can restart from coals without a starter too. Long as the air's been shut all night!
 
Biff_CT2 said:
NW Fuels said:
soupy1957 said:
With all due respect to the gentleman in here who is intimately involved with the manufacturing, sale and promotion of Super Cedars................

Ok, I figured I'd hold my tongue on further comment on the product, until such time as I have used a couple dozen or so.

Downside:
A) They light, but stubbornly (broken or otherwise)
B) They are messy (having to make sure I contain the crumbs is a pain in the arse)
C) The plastic wrap is stubborn to remove by hand when you are half asleep in the morning
D) They have to be ordered; they are not sold locally
E) You have to pay for them.

Upside:
A) They're relatively inexpensive
B) They burn well, once lit
C) You support a fellow wood burning buddy, when you buy them.
D) They give off a nice "sweet smell" (as my wife calls it) when burning
E) They are a conversation starter with folks who come to the house and
see them in a bucket by the wood stove.

So folks, as you can see by my (imho) fair and balanced assessment of this product, that it is a 50/50 rating.
I think that's as fair and balanced evaluation I can give.

Will I buy more of them? Haven't decided yet. I did some first year burns with "Fatwood" and am tempted to go back to them. Not sure if I will.

Are there any other "fire starter" items that are similar that you would recommend I try next?

-Soupy1957
Click to expand...

Thank you for taking the time to consider my product in your reviews.

In answer to your request for other firestarters may I suggest the following! While you are sitting in your rocking chair on the porch you might try rubbing 2 sticks together. This will save the $ and you can do it alone!

Have a great Holiday!

Thomas
Click to expand...

Thomas,

I'm disappointed.

I read Soupy's feedback as fair, and possibly actionable in a future revision of the product or a competitor's product. The sarcasm I infer your response is not constructive, and unnecessary. It paints you, your product, and your company in a bad light.

I encourage you to reconsider. A polite 'thank you' in reponse to the feedback would be appropriate.

- BCT
Click to expand...

What you are saying is I am not entitled to my observation. I see a avatar that shows a person taking it easy on a rocker. It brings to mind that there might be some opportunity to rub some sticks together. NO apology for observations here. Out west we have a dry sense of humor I guess.
Thomas
 
This year we had to make a choice--more home renovations so we could get our furniture out of storage, or have me get diverted into sourcing , cutting, splitting and stacking wood.

We decided to go for it on the house, & we are looking forward to Thanksgiving with house guests & have a new kitchen to cook the bird in.

With no wood, this year I'm burning WoodBrick Fuel, and they're a little hard to start. A full SuperCedar underneath the recommended pyramid stack is perfect--they burn long enough to actually get the bricks well started.
 
I find that most will break easily by hand using the score lines. For the more stubborn, I simply score the line a little with a big arse knife the wife keeps in the kitchen. Once they're halved, quartering them by hand is literally a snap.
 
For what it's worth, I had to read Thomas's response a couple times before I decided he must be kidding around... but then figured he must be. Tone is often lost in emails and internet forums, and things can be read different ways that have vastly different impressions.
 
LLigetfa said:
I'd rather that Thomas' kids have food on their plate than give my money to ChinaMart but that's just me.
Click to expand...

Same here, and Amen, brother.
 
Got the sample pack of Super Cedars awhile ago and really liked them. Ordered a small box and I expect them to last at least a year. I don't burn 24/7, so I relight daily. No problem breaking into quarters by hand and no mess since I just leave them in the box they came in on a shelf in the garage. I just grab a piece and go.
I like them much better than the wax fire starters. The wax ones seem to always give me a tough time getting lit. The SC lights very quickly. I highly recommend them.
 
To the guy blasting Tom for his own observations and comments:

Go burn some wet wood.


Show me another company that offers any new stove owner free fire starter samples delivered to his door. Make that even to someone living in Alaska. I know damn well my free starters cost him a pretty penny to get them to me.


I wrote Jotul asking for a free sample of the new F50 TL but I ain't holding my breath.
 
I received my free samples relatively quickly, not bad for across the country. I get home to the wife making dinner with a fire going. I dont pay much attention to it and go about other things. shorty there after when i bring in more wood for the night she tells me with delight that
"oh your things came today"
"what things?"
"the fire-starters, I tried one"
"you what?" - as I run to the stove to see an entire puck still on fire with only three or four whole splits in the box
"you used a whole one?!"
"yeah works pretty good huh?"
"sweetie i think you only need like a quarter of one, and I wanted to see it"
"oh well they work good".....

Thankfully I was able to try the other one last night as we had the stove off for finishing the hearth. this time I got to light it and only used a quarter with some kindling, works great.

I am also the type of person that on a warm fall day tried to start a fire by rubbing sticks together, more like rub a stick on a dry spilt piece of wood, takes awhile. i'm also the type that carries a flint in my hunting pack should i ever need it (trust me I wont, either the water proof matches or the fact I dont live in 'wilderness' will prevail before I'd even get a chance to strike it) You appreciate a fire a whole heck of alot more when you start it from nothing. just dont drip sweat from your brow onto the ember!
Its a product, nothing short of it. its not going to cure disease or solve world hunger, or bring peace to man on earth. But when this holiday season rolls through and am sitting around enjoying the fire with family and friends I will remember what does bring peace to me and mine. I recommend that we all do. (dry humor aside)
The supercedar just helps get the fire going a tad faster.
But whatever you use, slow down and take the time to give thanks to everything that allows you to burn whatever it is that you burn.
Happy Holidays
 
Stump_Branch said:
I received my free samples relatively quickly, not bad for across the country. I get home to the wife making dinner with a fire going. I dont pay much attention to it and go about other things. shorty there after when i bring in more wood for the night she tells me with delight that
"oh your things came today"
"what things?"
"the fire-starters, I tried one"
"you what?" - as I run to the stove to see an entire puck still on fire with only three or four whole splits in the box
"you used a whole one?!"
"yeah works pretty good huh?"
"sweetie i think you only need like a quarter of one, and I wanted to see it"
"oh well they work good".....

Thankfully I was able to try the other one last night as we had the stove off for finishing the hearth. this time I got to light it and only used a quarter with some kindling, works great.

I am also the type of person that on a warm fall day tried to start a fire by rubbing sticks together, more like rub a stick on a dry spilt piece of wood, takes awhile. i'm also the type that carries a flint in my hunting pack should i ever need it (trust me I wont, either the water proof matches or the fact I dont live in 'wilderness' will prevail before I'd even get a chance to strike it) You appreciate a fire a whole heck of alot more when you start it from nothing. just dont drip sweat from your brow onto the ember!
Its a product, nothing short of it. its not going to cure disease or solve world hunger, or bring peace to man on earth. But when this holiday season rolls through and am sitting around enjoying the fire with family and friends I will remember what does bring peace to me and mine. I recommend that we all do. (dry humor aside)
The supercedar just helps get the fire going a tad faster.
But whatever you use, slow down and take the time to give thanks to everything that allows you to burn whatever it is that you burn.
Happy Holidays
Click to expand...

Bravo.....well said!!!

We all take for granted our woodburning "system".
The effectiveness of the Stove, FLue and decent Fuel.
Take away anyone of those item (especially Flue & Decent Fuel),
and we begin to see your posts on Hearthnet.

In all sincerity, I can definitely see a "nicht" for these
firestarters. Some woodburners may not have access to
sufficient amounts of kindling, and that's where the
Super Cedars fill a void rather well.
 
PapaDave said:
Wait, there's a score line?
Maybe Soupy isn't using the line to break.
Click to expand...

Soupy should try filing an edge on his rocking chair's rocker and use it to split the cedars! :)
 
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