Can you share a picture of the kindling you use to start a fire?

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20 sticks of kindling? Holy cow . . .

I'm a semi-traditionalist when it comes to starting a fire from scratch . . . I still use kindling and newspaper, but I do the top down method. I stick with the familiar materials because I'm too darned cheap to buy commercial fire starters . . . and fact is . . . they work for me. I do the top down method though since that also works very well.

No pics here of my kindling . . . unless you do a search and you may find a pic I took of the kindling in one of my sheds. I would guess I use 3-6 sticks of kindling . . . size ranging from half an inch to two inches . . . most of it is either slabwood I've split up, old dimensional lumber scraps split up or some type of softwood (mostly white cedar) I've split up.
 
exact same way as Savage.

2 large splits N/S.

1/4 Super Cedar in the middle

Two rows of kindling on the two splits (same as Mt. Ski Bum)

then 2-3 small splits on top of the kindling.

I light the SC after the stove is loaded with the wood listed above.
 
Ok, sounds to me like my issue has been wood. To get a very solid fire going, here's what I had to do last year (with pine and ash mind you).

2 middling/large splits on bottom in an open V shape with the open end towards the front of the stove (seems my air primarily comes from the front during a cold start).

2-3 kindling pieces (i.e. 1/2"x1", 1x1s) laid across E-W

3-4 kindling pieces on top of that N-S or diagonal

~10-15 wood chips, twigs, splinters/shavings interspersed between layers, sitting on top, or even resting underneath lifted up by the newspaper....

...

Newspaper would then be added underneath, on top, and on the sides. I'd use 6-10 full sized sheets per start-up (about 1/2 a wall street journal). I'd mainly roll it up, tie it in a knot, and then stick it under.

This way of operating led to good start-ups about 75% of the time, though I'd still need to keep the door open for ~5 minutes minimum.

Sounds to me like I should just be...

2 splits on the bottom

2-3 pieces of 1x1 or 1x1/2 pine E-W, 2-3 more N/S, 3-4 sheets of newspaper underneath... and should have a roaring fire going in no time.

Joe
 
joefrompa said:
Ok, sounds to me like my issue has been wood. To get a very solid fire going, here's what I had to do last year (with pine and ash mind you).

2 middling/large splits on bottom in an open V shape with the open end towards the front of the stove (seems my air primarily comes from the front during a cold start). Joe
Click to expand...

I use a medium/large split across the back, and a half length split each side, as mine burns from front to back. Few bits of crumpled newspaper in the middle and some kindling on top.
That way, the splits light up with the kindling in the middle. It works very well for my stove.
Don't think I have ever done two fires exactly the same, as my kindling is usually just some pallet wood or dried chips from splitting rounds out in the yard.
I'll get a picture later of the kindling as the thread did ask for pictures of kindling.

Not that my kindling will be as neat as that wicker basket full at the start of the thread :)
 
One thing that hasn't been mentioned is using (or rather, not using) newspaper. Here in the UK at least newspaper is made with some clay compounds which make a fairly dense ash layer. In itself this can be enough to smother a fire if you use lots of it.

My dad swear that newspaper back in his day was different :p

Anyway, better than paper is egg box - rip it up into a few pieces and use that to get your kindling going. Our kindling is bone dry oak lathes, extracted from renovating old buildings. These are splits about 3mm thick and 20mm wide and bone dry.

Mike

(NB should confess at this point that in my parents stove they routinely use paraffin firelighter blocks, along with a few pieces of kindling. Personally I think they are a bit stingy on the kindling and could do with keeping more within reach of the stove - they try and ration it rather than getting more in!)
 
Mesuno said:
Anyway, better than paper is egg box - rip it up into a few pieces and use that to get your kindling going
Click to expand...

Don't need much newspaper if some kindling is split really thinly, maybe just one or two sheets........

Egg boxes tend to have other uses here, we have a whole load of chickens free ranging around outside :)
 
Mesuno said:
Our kindling is bone dry oak lathes, extracted from renovating old buildings. These are splits about 3mm thick and 20mm wide and bone dry.
Click to expand...

Every time I renovate a room in my house I get another batch of these, (although they're fir, rather than oak), and nothing beats it for kindling.
 
Fire started with just three tiny branches of silver birch, one longer bit across rear, one shorter bit each side, and 2 sheets of newspaper each torn in half (3 halves underneath, and one half screwed up on top).
Kindling was split thinly, with some bigger stuff mixed in.

The three pictures were taken within 90 seconds, that's how easy and quick it is with very dry small kindling.

IMG_4894.jpg


IMG_4898.jpg


IMG_4899.jpg
 
My "kindling" is scraps from splitting. When running the splitter (vertical of course) I keep a rubbermaid container within reach and as scrap pieces break free I toss them in the bucket. Probably way overkill on the "waste not" mentality but it works for me w/o much effort. When I fill up a few containers I dump into a big brown garbage can.
Then to start a fire, I place a couple larger splits on the bottom, 1/4 or less of a super cedar, some of this splitter trash on top, then a couple small/med size splits on top.
 
How to split a round down to kindling with a froe

I found this video a while ago which shows a great way to split a round down to nice uniform kindling using a froe. I'm planning on processing a good few batches this way for us as my folks are always running out of kindling. Should be able to make all we need for a season in under an hour which I a lot faster than using a hatchet!

The froe is traditionally used for making oak roofing shingles which I hope to try and make when we build a cooking hut in the woods. Planning cob walls, a rocket stove bench heater built into it and shingle roof. If we keep it small and don't use it for accommodation we don't need planning permission (something to do with permitted buildings for storage and to support forestry work).
 
like Got Wood, I police up my splitting area and save any fragments in a tupperware bin for the up coming season. These dry out quick and make excellent kindling.

When I run out of fragments - I simply eyeball the splits I have in my storage bin by the stove and peel off any loose pieces (like husking corn). All I need is about 5 or so small splinter pieces the size of a finger.

I also position two splits in a V with the coals raked and piled in the middle. I drop the splinters on top of the coals and lay two more splits over the top. With the air intake fully open - it flares up quick!

I've often wondered if you could buy a bag of cedar shavings (bedding) and use a small handful of this to fire up. A big old bag of cedar bedding would probably last all winter. All you'd need is a small hand full each time.
 
My never ending supply of scrap wood,slivers from splitting,corn cobs,twigs/branches from the yard & a few sprinkles of noodles for good measure.Most of the noodles get used for yard/garden mulch,unless its Black Walnut - then I toss it.
 

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what ever is available.


split up kiln dried lumber.
buts up some tiny splits.

right now I am using cedar shims. I have about 600 of them.
 
This is what I use. There is a 1 inch piece of Starter Log in the middle to get it going.
 

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You may wanna light that inside the stove :)

I use splitter shrapnel & saw noodles & a top down fire. A C
 
I use what I have and that is usually newspaper or cardboard on bottom. Spliting debries, bark, or diminshional lumber sraps on top of that. I also save lath from home remodeling when
I come across it. Then a couple of seconds with a tourch and presto once that gets burning I throw some splits on top. I tried super cedars and wasn't very impressed. Wast of money in my
cheap mind. I don't pay for wood and I don't pay for fire starters.
 
I do it just like Backwoods (Dennis), I split a cord or two then find a round or two that looks like it has good straight grain. I use the splitter to make "shakes", I split them into small sticks box'em up and let them dry. Some guys laugh at me for making kindling with a splitter, but as long as it is set up it doesn't take long.
 
CTYank said:
IMHO, the traditional "fire down below" startup generates way too much poo in the exhaust. So, since about '75, I've been using the inverted startup.
From the bottom:
a few smaller splits N-S
a few small pieces of kindling (max section size ~1") diagonally (say NW-SE)
a few more small pieces of kindling diagonally NE-SW.
a handful or less of very dry scraps from splitting, or re-split kindling.
paper/cardboard on top and alongside.

This first batch serves primarily to get the the stove and flue up to temp, and establish a layer of coals; THEN the serious stoking begins, once it's all coals. (I've learned that there's a "zen" to this, and it's best to be patient and just enjoy the show.)

Kindling is primarily red/white pine from the odd storm blow-down. (Buy kindling? You're kidding!)
In mid-winter, cold-starts don't happen for months, so most of my pine is shoulder-season fuel, and kindling shortages do not occur.
After splitting a batch, I comb the area for wood fragments, so there's nothing to buy.
If there's a need to resplit splits for kindling purposes, even a maul is overkill; axe works great.

And ... you will almost never see any particulate poo emerge from the pipe. EPA test protocols allow particulates here. I don't.
Click to expand...


Propane torch, targeting the smallest split i have placed in the stove, gets it going within 1 minute, 2 max if its less than ideal wood.
 
Thistle: why do you toss the black walnut? Is it especially bug prone?
 
Here's a pic of a couple of years worth. I build a front-to-back fire. Biggest in the back graduating to smallest in the front, which is 3 or 4 of those thin long sticks. A 1/4 piece of Super Cedar, one match, close the door, and walk away. Return in an hour to adjust the air and toss on more wood.

100_0392.JPG
 
I just came across these this wood gathering season in a place where the county crews had thinned out some thick forest with a grinder. There are little bits like this all over, and they're super dry. I don't even think I could do that to a piece of oak if I had a hammer and chisel. I'll be trying these out this winter (otherwise I just use Lignetics disks).
 
Not just free kindling, I would not have thought it a good idea leaving that sort of stuff lying around in a wooded area with Summer coming up, seems like a potential fire risk to me......

So I reckon you were doing a service for removing it ;-)
 
Rcrozier said:
Thistle: why do you toss the black walnut? Is it especially bug prone?
Click to expand...

Black wallnut is toxic to animals. Maybe to plants to ?
 
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