Best way to start a fire Paper vs Fatwood vs super Cedars or make your own (from a Cedar fence)?

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firefighterjake said:
I find that there are two types of wood burners in this world: folks who tried Super Cedars and are now avid fans and folks who have not tried Super Cedars and so they cannot fathom the idea of paying for something like this.

Well in truth, I am sure there are a few folks who have tried them and opted to not purchase them . . . but I suspect it's a very, very low number.
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I haven't used them. I'm sure you guys aren't crazy and they are a great product...or you all wouldn't love them so much.

I have a thick waxed paper substance that came off of a roofing underlayment when I did my roof last month. It is crazy flammable. I'm going to give that a try before I buy anything.
 
Hmm.... I must be the only one that just hits the wood with a propane blowtorch for about 30-45 seconds and has a roaring fire that springs to life. I couldn't bring myself to spend money on fire starters when I pretty much have fire in a bottle sitting right on my mantle.
 
I'm surprised that not much people on here use pitch stump ( I'm assuming its the same as what you call "fat wood"). I see at least one every time I go out to cut wood and one 12"x12" piece is enough to last years, plus its free. I tried the super cedar sample that came with my stove and really liked it but, it required me to use kindling or create a space to place it. With the pitch stump pieces I can load the stove full without any kindling and slide a few into some cracks and light off. I do have a cat stove so now I am wondering if the pitch might be bad for the kitty and that is why you guys don't use them?
 
IIRC BK only recommends SuperCedars for fire starting. Not sure if fatwood would harm anything though. It doesn't don't burn very cleanly but that smoke should be going up the bypass in a cold startup.
 
I don't get the people who complain about crumbles from unwrapped Super Cedars. You don't need to smash them with a mallet to break them. I break mine into pieces all the time with minimal crumbling. I buy an unwrapped box, store them in the box they are delivered in, break them over said box, and in the spring, put the box and crumbles in the firepit to set that off.

Kindling and crumpling newspaper makes less mess than breaking a Super Cedar? You guys need to visit Colorado, Oregon or Washington, so you can smoke something that will put your heads back on your shoulders correctly.
 
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With the smoke dragon Orley using newspaper and kindling with her door cracked sometimes it would not catch fire. So far with the Hearthstone Hearitage news paper , kindling , side door cracked and whoof fire!
 
If you have to use newspaper I've found the method of rolling a couple of pages diagonally into a loose tube and tying it in an overhand knot works much better than crumpled newspaper to ignite kindling. The knot stays put when burning and last much longer. Usually 2 knots under your kindling is all it takes
 
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Shaggyant said:
Hmm.... I must be the only one that just hits the wood with a propane blowtorch for about 30-45 seconds and has a roaring fire that springs to life. I couldn't bring myself to spend money on fire starters when I pretty much have fire in a bottle sitting right on my mantle.
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I do it all the time. Fast, cheap and easy. It is especially good if I am lazy and used big scrap wood instead of good kindling and the newspaper did not ignite the fire.
 
Well it cooled off enough to use my free super cedar pieces and I have to admit they are pretty impressive. Sure beats the rudland safelite firestarters I had been using. I ordered a 72pk of them we'll see how long they last me. It ends up being like 20 cents per start which I think I can handle with as easy as it makes it. We'll see when I go through the batch I just purchased if I can't live without them going forward.
 
Propane torch works for me. I think it supplies extra air to the firebox and somewhat heats the firebox establishing initial draft.
 
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After scoffing at buying fire starters for a few years, then getting my free sample of Super Cedars, I bought the 100 pack. It will be a long time before I run out.... only need 1/4 of one to start a fire and only need them during shoulder season.
 
BCC_Burner said:
I don't get the people who complain about crumbles from unwrapped Super Cedars. You don't need to smash them with a mallet to break them. I break mine into pieces all the time with minimal crumbling. I buy an unwrapped box, store them in the box they are delivered in, break them over said box, and in the spring, put the box and crumbles in the firepit to set that off.

Kindling and crumpling newspaper makes less mess than breaking a Super Cedar? You guys need to visit Colorado, Oregon or Washington, so you can smoke something that will put your heads back on your shoulders correctly.
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With all due respect, BCC_Burner, I have had both experiences (non-crumbly and very crumbly) with Super Cedars. The first box I bought 2+ years ago made absolutely no crumbs when broken into smaller pieces by hand. They broke into nice even pieces. The second box I recently bought are impossible to break by hand without them disintegrating into many messy pieces. Seems like less wax or something.

I will have to use a chop saw if I have any hope of quartering these new ones. I still love and recommend them, but there is definitely a difference between batches.
 
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BrotherBart said:
I reach in the closet and take out a Super Cedar. I never want to see another piece of kindling or fatwood again as long as I live. Life is too short to mess with cutting up kindling.
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I can see where your coming from. Not there yet though.
 
I've said it before, at HD, Lowe's, they have enviro logs. A wax/cardboard log. You can break a log apart easily by hand and make the chucks any size you want. A few pieces to start a fire works fine. I get a whole shoe box of shreds/chunks from 1 log.

You folks in MA/RI, ocean state job lot sells em in singles, 1.99.
 
My go-to is to tear some holes in an empty cereal box, pop 12 pack box, etc., set some smaller pieces of wood on top so they cross over eachother and light it. The little random flakes and skinny splits from chopping firewood work great for this, as do trim scraps, random pieces of lath - really anything light and dry I can find.
 
I use diamond strike a fire. Get a box of 48 break it in half... The first half is like a match you strike on the box. The other half use a match and it will start the end you broke off. They work great... Never tried super cedars. I have a garbage can full of old lath that i use on hot coals... Rake the coals to the front where the air comes in. Then Put a piece or two on the coals a little blow And its going again. I only use these to speed up the restart from an over night fire even with only a few hot coals left i am set. I also pick up the bigger scraps of wood from spliting as i stack and mix it in the stacks... Then grab the ones on top of the stacks when starting a new fire. I only do this as it helps speed it up and i do t half to have a seprate place for those. If i run into them on a hot load they still get burned.. I am always makeing more of them so no reason to hord them.
 
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