How fast can you light a fire, with the least amount of firestarters?

Very impressive you can shut the air down all the way after 10 minutes, that is not going to happen here, takes longer than that to get the logs blackened.

I sometimes cold-start the stove with only small kindling and a match, just for giggles. No newspaper or firestarter at all.

I always set the stove up the same way you do, but in reverse since my air comes in along the back. I build a very small tepee of match-size kindling right in front of the air inlet holes and light it with a match. I have a fist full of progressively larger kindling that I feed to the flames as the fire builds. When the flames are big enough (thumb size kindling is going well) I put a single log in front of the small fire and start adding larger splits, eventually having 3-4 well-involved dry splits (about forearm size) on top and then shut the doors. This all goes very quickly with bone-dry kindling and careful placement of each addition (I close the doors for about a minute after each addition of larger wood). Within 10 minutes I'm up to 400-500º. Flue temps are up to about the same 400-500º at that point. Not ready to close the bypass because the design of my stove won't allow efficient secondary combustion to occur until the stove is very hot and a good coal bed is established, but I am getting very good heat after 10 minutes nonetheless, with a fire burning in the box that I can walk away from with confidence.

I can get the temps up faster this way than by using a SuperCedar-type firestarter, but it does take about 10 minutes of hand-tending. Nice relaxing coffee drinking time for me, but others on this board must have Type-A personalities, because they think I'm nuts for wasting any more time than it takes to load the stove and start it with a firestarter. For me, I get to actually play with the fire, something I never seem to tire of. Good time to get the cobwebs cleared from my brain as well. To each his or her own, I guess.

Forty years of wood-burning and I've never used a firestarter. My long-running practice is to keep a bucket on the hearth to hold fire-starting materials. Before loading split chunks of wood into the stove I strip off any splinters attached, and into the bucket they go. These, and bits of wood scrap from my shop serve as ideal kindling. Close to the hearth as it is, this stuff gets super dry and fires up quick.

When starting a cold stove I gather a handful of dead leaves or pine needles from outdoors (rather than newspaper) and loosely pile small scrap from the bucket and then a few larger pieces and small branches. Done right, and one match will start the thing. If the bucket is empty (rarely), I simply grab a hatchet and split up some soft (coniferous) wood scrap from my shop. Usually I can rake some live coals from the ashes, and then do not need leaves or paper.

If you have white birch in your neighborhood, its peeled bark is highly flammable, a natural firestarter--though if you peel bark from a live tree you may hurt it. (Sometimes you can pull a little bit without damage.)

Y'all have WAY too much time on your hands. I just pile up splits, smaller on bottom, larger on top. I then rip a Rutland firestarter in half ( havnt had to do this in awhile, 24/7 now) and strategically place on second layer of splits - half a starter on left side,half on right. I then light them, knock then down off the splits so they fall to the botton of the pile, and shut the door so its only open an inch. Within 3-4 minutes, the whole pile is engulfed in flames. This whole process takes so much less time to do than it did for me to type it here. I then shut the door, and within 15 minutes, can shut down the air supply and not worry about adding fuel for hours. I must admit, the new non-cat insert makes this process pretty much idiot-proof. The fire really takes off and burns well, and I havnt had ANY problems keeping a hot fire going at all. The relatives all came over yesterday and LOVED the beautiful fire burning in the living room......nothing says "Holiday" like a beautiful,warm fire.

I haven't built a tepee style fire since I tried the top down fire. It is so much easier. Three good size splits on the bottom, two small splits on top of those. And then some 1" thick cedar or pine splits on top of the smaller splits, then either some kindling or two pieces of newspaper on the top. Use one match, shut the door and walk away. In 10-15 minutes I will shut the air halfway, then 10 minutes later I will close her off almost completely and I am good for several hours

I've never used a 'firestarter'.
I have plenty of old dead dry pine branches which really don't need newspaper, either.

Ha- speaking of challenges
I guess mine has been trying to make a box of busted up branches last all week.
Every now and then a few too little pine branch masss will cause a no light, and ya gotta start over.

Have had to put boots on on a Saturday night and walk about 100 yards into the woods to find some branches still on the tree that weren't covered with ice crusted snow. 11PM with a flashlight at 10 degrees with a foot of snow is for procrastinators.

I cheat - I carry a small shovel full of coals from the range in the kitchen, and chuck it on the Jotul F600 in the salon - it lights in about 30 seconds. I suppose that doesn't count...

I got a BK princess and haven't seen my matches in weeks lol

Compared to the good man I'm downright miserly with kindlin'! I use newspaper "bowties" for woodstove "chum". Kindlin' is what keeps the fire burning and ignites the small splits that go in next, it has to be dry, small and readily available. I tend to collect all the very burnable "debris" and toss that in whenever I'm starting a fire "from scratch" like Old CB), "waste not, want not" 'n' all that jazz. I treat kindlin' the same way I treat pan drippings from a roast... like platinum. From either comes, fire or GRAVY.

But while I am miserly with "kindlin'" I'm even more so with my very valuable time. Jackassing around in front of the stove waiting for one newsprint "bowtie" to ignite the next load? Unhuh...

I use 1-3 pieces of trash mail and pine/red maple brush that are all over the woods around my house. It's all free and works fantastic. Recycling.

This is my first year with the Super Cedars. Just ordered more. ( Had the free sample deal ). I can use a piece of Super Cedar that is about 1 inch square ( or smaller ) . I set it on a piece of bark or flat wood and stack wood around and over the starter. I dont use kindling, just smaller splits. Within 15 or so minutes I'm shuttn er down...
I've got good kindling and I've got newspaper, but I love the Super Cedars.

old CB said:

Forty years of wood-burning and I've never used a firestarter. My long-running practice is to keep a bucket on the hearth to hold fire-starting materials. Before loading split chunks of wood into the stove I strip off any splinters attached, and into the bucket they go. These, and bits of wood scrap from my shop serve as ideal kindling. Close to the hearth as it is, this stuff gets super dry and fires up quick.

When starting a cold stove I gather a handful of dead leaves or pine needles from outdoors (rather than newspaper) and loosely pile small scrap from the bucket and then a few larger pieces and small branches. Done right, and one match will start the thing. If the bucket is empty (rarely), I simply grab a hatchet and split up some soft (coniferous) wood scrap from my shop. Usually I can rake some live coals from the ashes, and then do not need leaves or paper.

If you have white birch in your neighborhood, its peeled bark is highly flammable, a natural firestarter--though if you peel bark from a live tree you may hurt it. (Sometimes you can pull a little bit without damage.)

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I have you beat for time with wood burning and I never used to use fire starters either. This year though we are using the Super Cedars. Do we really need them? No. But they sure do work nice and the best thing is my wife can now start a fire if I am not there. She still has a few problems but most times can get it going okay. The Super Cedars just make the task of fire starting much easier.

Old dogs can learn new tricks!

[quote author="GolfandWoodNut" date="1290803745"]

On a cold start I use six pieces of basswood kindling with two firestarter squares (one in the back and one in the front) then once the kindling gets going I add some smaller splits of cherry and once they take off I add some bigger stuff.


Last year I timed some stuff but not this year so I'll guess 10-15 minutes the flue temp can get to 500 and that is with cherry.

Zap

GolfandWoodNut said:

I set my record this morning. I have been challenging myself to see how quickly I can get a fire going without any firestarters. I cleaned out the stove this morning, since we were not home for Thanksgiving, so it was nice and cool. Cleaned the glass with a little ash on a newspaper(so the paper was a little wet) and one paper towel. I put a big log in the back, like I always do, and put the single piece of newspaper (and one paper towel to finish the glass) over top of the dead remaining coals. I put a few small twigs over the paper (I find this to be the key since they start easily), 1 5X5 piece of scrap wood, laying on top of the log in the back and hanging over the paper. I angled two small cherry splits over the paper and twigs, leaning on the log (Teepee style). I lit the paper and the fire almost instantly caught (I leave the door cracked). Within 5 minutes I added two splits and closed the door. At 10 minutes I shut it down the air the full way. It takes the Jotul 30 minutes for the fan to automatically come on.

I know this might be silly since we can use fire starters but I like to see if I can get a fire going on one piece of newspaper. I usually tie it in a loose knot, but today I just crumbled it up and half of it was wet. I do find that just collecting twigs in a box is well worth the effort. You only need a handful to get the fire going. I do not find bark that great for starting fires (although I get alot from splitting wood).

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Two firestarters with kindling, add two small splits let them get going then add some bigger cherry splits and had the flue temp at 500 in 6 minutes from a cold start.

zap

Firestarters???? Is that a new nick name for wife????

New stove for me this year-Vermont Castings Intrepid over 20 years old but like new. Have to start fire every morning, doesn't seem to hold coals very well. No cat easy to start but pain to find no coals in am. Maybe have to "learn" this stove. Still a lot of fun. Enjoy hearing everyone's input,am learning a lot.

First time trying a top-down fire. The wood was well seasoned oak and some poplar. Put four "large" splits N/S (fat but less than 10 inches in length). Three triangular long splits (18 inches in length maybe three inches in height) were placed across these. Next I put on some 1 inch or so oak splits crosswise, then some twigs, some newspaper knots and more twigs. Lit the newspaper. Left the door cracked for about 15 minutes. Then it really took off. No smoke and a nice bed of coals. I am convinced by this fire starting technique.