I must admit when im wrong - Firestarters

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EJL923

Minister of Fire
Oct 29, 2009
599
Western Mass
I have to do it to save my name, as this is a big advice giving site.

people always talk about what kind of firestarters people use. Some trumpet traditional newspaper, same make their own, some super cedars, me i always use Starterlogg's. Until now, maybe.

Pine mountain changed their formulation. They say that they are now easier to light etc.. They are, in a word, terrible. The new formulation is downright awful. They light less easy, burn like crap and all that other good stuff. There must be a lot of the older stuff still out there, because i have seen the new reviews for a couple years now in which people say the new formulation is bad, but i never new what they meant. The new stuff is darker, and has a different smell, so i can definately tell the difference before i even light them. The old formulation is a lighter brown and always have enjoyed the smell. New formulation is darker brown and smells like rubber. I was at lowes last night and they have a box of the older Starterloggs, but i hate having to get rid of 48 of the new ones, which is actually about 96 when i split in half. Sometimes i even used a quarter. You couldnt beat them for $17

All of us have had a product which was discontinued, i am heart broken. I might travel to all local lowes and scoff up the older stuff. If i grab a couple boxes, it should last me 2-3 years.

Maybe those polite super cedar owners will message me and i'll FINALLY take them up on their free sample offer.
 
They sent me some Super Cedars back in the spring when I did my intall and I put them somewhere where I could find them real easy like when cold weather got here. For the life of me I still have not found them. Maybe I will in the spring when I don't need them. This time I think I will just put them in the dormant stove if I find them and they will be there waiting for me when I need them. Kinda like finding a $5 bill in your coat pocket the first time you pull it out.
 
Last year I had a $50 bill laying around. I thought I put it in my jeans pocket, but later when I went to the store I couldn't find it. I searched through all my pockets, both the jeans, my microfleece shirt, my down jacket. Nothing.

Last week I was going out to cut some wood. The wind was fierce, so I decided to dig out my old Carhartt coat to protect against the cold wind. I reached into the right hand pocket and guess what I found?
.
.
.
.
.
.

A SuperCedar.
 
I took advantage of the free super cedar offer - I like them. I will buy them but for right now I have at least 3 thirty gallon garbage bags of silver maple wood noodles that I am using a little at a time to start fires with.

Battenkiller said:
Last year I had a $50 bill laying around. I thought I put it in my jeans pocket, but later when I went to the store I couldn't find it. I searched through all my pockets, both the jeans, my microfleece shirt, my down jacket. Nothing.

Last week I was going out to cut some wood. The wind was fierce, so I decided to dig out my old Carhartt coat to protect against the cold wind. I reached into the right hand pocket and guess what I found?
.
.
.
.
.
.

A SuperCedar.

Ya know, I've got a friend whose husband was a sweeper at a big box store. He financed a couple of trips from Wisconsin to Florida with money/change he swept up over time from the floors in the store....... :)
 
I've used sample Supercedars, and agree that they work.

That said, firestarters are not what I'd choose to spend my $$$ on at this point in my burning career. Why save money on oil to blow it on firestarters, regardless of the brand?

I exclusively use a combination of pine cones and red maple kindling from the trees in my yard.

The Jotul 550 seems to like it, and I'm comfortable with my creosote management program. Hell, the Mrs can even get a fire started with cones 'n twigs.

Good 'nough...
 
I'm glad birch trees haven't changed their bark formulation - same bark every time! Cheers!
 
Biff_CT2 said:
I've used sample Supercedars, and agree that they work.

That said, firestarters are not what I'd choose to spend my $$$ on at this point in my burning career. Why save money on oil to blow it on firestarters, regardless of the brand?

I exclusively use a combination of pine cones and red maple kindling from the trees in my yard.

The Jotul 550 seems to like it, and I'm comfortable with my creosote management program. Hell, the Mrs can even get a fire started with cones 'n twigs.

Good 'nough...

This!

Pine cones and twigs is all I use. And lumber scraps sometimes I guess.

I've never even looked at fire starters. How much do they cost per however many you get?
 
To me, the time saved from gathering, storing, and fiddling with kindling is well worth the price of firestarters., and if you burn 24/7 like I am now, you don't need a firestarter very often.
 
Biff_CT2 said:
That said, firestarters are not what I'd choose to spend my $$$ on at this point in my burning career. Why save money on oil to blow it on firestarters, regardless of the brand?
That's what I thought at first. But when they were selling 30 for $23 (including shipping), and given that 1/2 of one works just fine, and since I start a fresh fire at MOST twice a week, I figure that $23-worth will last me well longer than one winter and it's about comparable to what I'd spend on a tankfull of truck gas or similar incidental expense ...
 
sixman said:
They sent me some Super Cedars back in the spring when I did my intall and I put them somewhere where I could find them real easy like when cold weather got here. For the life of me I still have not found them. Maybe I will in the spring when I don't need them. This time I think I will just put them in the dormant stove if I find them and they will be there waiting for me when I need them. Kinda like finding a $5 bill in your coat pocket the first time you pull it out.

Hehheh . . . same thing happened to me . . . sent away for the free sample for hearth.com members . . . put them away for safe keeping to try out some day . . . and promptly forgot where I put them . . . I suspect they are somewhere in the kitchen and since my wife and I will be renovating the kitchen soon I hope to find them and try them out.
 
EJL923 said:
I have to do it to save my name, as this is a big advice giving site.

people always talk about what kind of firestarters people use. Some trumpet traditional newspaper, same make their own, some super cedars, me i always use Starterlogg's. Until now, maybe.

Pine mountain changed their formulation. They say that they are now easier to light etc.. They are, in a word, terrible. The new formulation is downright awful. They light less easy, burn like crap and all that other good stuff. There must be a lot of the older stuff still out there, because i have seen the new reviews for a couple years now in which people say the new formulation is bad, but i never new what they meant. The new stuff is darker, and has a different smell, so i can definately tell the difference before i even light them. The old formulation is a lighter brown and always have enjoyed the smell. New formulation is darker brown and smells like rubber. I was at lowes last night and they have a box of the older Starterloggs, but i hate having to get rid of 48 of the new ones, which is actually about 96 when i split in half. Sometimes i even used a quarter. You couldnt beat them for $17

All of us have had a product which was discontinued, i am heart broken. I might travel to all local lowes and scoff up the older stuff. If i grab a couple boxes, it should last me 2-3 years.

Maybe those polite super cedar owners will message me and i'll FINALLY take them up on their free sample offer.


All you need to do is send Thomas a PM or email. I'm betting he will happily send you a sample or two. He is a nice guy with a great product.

btw, I also would not need the firestarters but now use them anyway. For sure it is nice having the super cedars because now if I am not in the house and the wife needs to start a fire, she can very easily with the super cedars. They really do not cost that much and the box we bought will last a long, long time.
 
I asked for the sample figuring I'd use them once for free. After using 1/2 to start my fire, I ordered the green special. At $0.35 per fire it was money well spent. My wife can now start a fire, she couldn't do that with paper and cedar kindling.
 
Hey mcollect, try breaking them into quarters and you'll probably find they work just as good. Or with quarters you could even place 2 quarters in different spots to get the fire started in 2 areas which should hasten the burning.
 
Yep, all kinds of trash out in the woods I could pick up and use. But a hunertpack of SC's will probably last three years. And stupid simple to use.

OH, and yeah they changed starterloggs some how. The ones I bought at the end of last year, and still had at the start of this year, I swear they wouldn't light for anything and just sputtered and fizzled once lit. I still have three sleeves left, I think I will just start throwing one in with reloads..
 
I have firestarters and fatwood. While both do a bang up job of starting a fire I have to say I prefer the fatwood simply because its mess free.. I could scrounge for branches and such in my back yard but just can't justify the time and effort. I would rather spend 30 bucks for a 25lb box of fatwood that will get me through at least a season. I use a single stick per fire start so a 25lb box goes a long way. I think newspaper is the worst option.. messy ink on your hands and all kinds of black crap up the flue and all over the yard.. And yes I am a bit of a neat freak when it comes to my hearth. I like to keep things clean.. Between the fatwood and my dustbuster I'm happy..
 
I get a box of 12 large pencil looking starters at the local Menards for $1.98. Then I break them in half and get twice as many fires.
 
I ordered the special after the sample...something like 70 of them. I use a quarter and only restart in spring and fall if needed. I have a 5 years supply for 46 bucks now :lol:
 
I'm sure you don't all have access to Pine trees depending on your geography. . . but find one thats been dead for a while and the turpentine soaked bottom foot or so of the stump works just fine. I cut one up about 2 years ago and I am still using these sticks to get my fires going for free. About 4" - 6" long and one inch square does the trick when combined with a few pieces of dried bark or twigs. I start a new fire only once every week or two when outside temps get into the 50s. Don't want to let it get too cold inside for my wife to take off her clothes!
 
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