Gel Fire Starters

KatWill said:

Hi all,

Can someone explain to me the reason or purpose of Gel fire starter in a pellet stove? Is the ignitor not enough?

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Not all stoves have igniter though I'm guessing most of the new ones do have them. Mine has no igniter so I used to use the gel starters but now use the paraffin based starters.

If you have an igniter you don't need any other starter helper.

Not everyone has a igniter. Most early stoves and some new stoves never came with them so you need the gel or something like it to get the fire going.

its also fun to squirt on your neighbors pets and....ok, dont do that.

KatWill said:

Thanks Ro3rt. Didnt know that. so you had to light it manually then it will just stay on after that? Never seen a pellet stove without an ingiter.thanks again.

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I used gel starters when I first got the stove but often had to start over because sometimes the gel didn't work the first time, also had to put a handful of pellets in the pot first. Now with the paraffin squares I just tear them into pieces, light them, start the combustion air and then the pellet feed. No need to check on the progress since the squares burn for about four to five minutes.

I'm so used to this process I'm not sure I would even want an igniter.

What's an igniter? :coolgrin:

KatWill said:

littlesmokey said:

What's an igniter? :coolgrin:

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Ignitor

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Frequently a device that fails causing much consternation until the owner discovers another way to start their fuel burning.

In the process of finding an easy way of getting the fire going they have used just about every safe and unsafe method of doing so.

Some things that have failed, TNDs (vaporizes everything within a few thousand yards, very loud, known to disturb the prior neighbors), gasoline (works well, frequently goes boom, causes fire department to respond, wakes neighbors up).

Some things that work, propane torch (just make sure you aim it in the right direction otherwise the last two things in the gasoline portion of the above sentence apply), various starter gels (make sure you use enough and get the pellets well coated).

Why'd I have to move, you should have. You're one of those radical ignitors, I can tell.

I say TORCH IT !

I used that PITA gel for about 10 years, then I bought a 25.00 butane torch from HD and never looked back. The gel was finicky, would't always start the fire the first time, had to wait a while, add a few pellets, add some more gel, real pain. Now put a handfull of pellets in the pot, hit the auto light on the torch, hit the pellets for 10-15 seconds, turn on the auger and walk away.