Better Firestarter than Super Cedars

[partybob99]

I've been using Super Cedars for the last three years to start fires in my Napoleon 1402 insert. I usually use 1/4 to get a fire going, but sometimes have to use a half. The cedars light and heat up quickly. They usually last 20 to 25 minutes before burning out. My primary complaint is the mess when trying to break them up into pieces. I always break them while they are still in the plastic and then try to carefully open them into a ziploc bag so the crumbs dont go everywhere. I am not sure how the "naked" perforated cedars perform.

For XMAS this year, I received some new firestarter squares made by Rutland. They are basically sheets of compressed cardboard material that are perforated so they can be broken off easily WITH ZERO MESS. There are 144 squares in the box and costs around $17.00. I usually break off two squares and bend the two into an L shape - keeping them attached - and place them into the stove on their edge. They light instantly and get very hot very quickly. I have noticed the fires seem to rage even hotter and get going faster compared to Super Cedars. Their only shortcoming is the short burn time, but I've had no problems getting my stove going. I love them because there is no mess, no crumbs, no ziploc bags, etc.

Link to them on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Rutland-Safe-...=1390572860&sr=8-1&keywords=rutland+safe+lite

I plan on using these exclusively as long as they are available. Overall, I believe them to be a slightly better product for the reasons I've mentioned. Have any of you used these, and have you had a similiar experience?

On a site note: I've also used the Duraflame Quick Start firestarters. They work fairly well. They burn longer but take longer to heat up. I still have to deal with a little bit of a mess when breaking them into pieces.

 

[blazincajun]

Naw. I use fat lighter and coals. I look for old pine stumps all the time.

 

[AK13]

Nope. I tried the super cedars, but having to break them up and make a mess was a no-go for me.

I use fatwood and the jellied alcohol stuff. Run a bead down the fatwood. Light it and walk away. I use 1 stick if I have smaller kindling or pine to get it going. Two sticks if I'm starting with standard size splits. Works like a charm. No mess.

$17 for 144 starters doesn't seem bad. I wonder how many fatwood sticks are in a 35 lb box? Guess I should weigh a few sticks to find out.

 

[blazincajun]

My father used to mix sawdust and diesel and spoon it on.

 

[begreen]

I like SuperCedars for their long flame. They were a godsend for starting the surface damp maple we had in the fall. If a short flame will start the kindling, balls of newspaper work fine for me and cost nothing.

 

[Jags]

2 squares of the rutland stuff @ $18.00 = $.25 per start
I get 6 starts from a super cedar
Just bought a box (100) of nekkid ones
total cost to door = $61.00
600 starts at $61.00 = $.10 per start.
Not too mention but that pixie dust crumbs that come from breaking them is one heck of a booster shot to all but dead coals.
I have no argument that there are other quality starters on the market, but I have found none that work as well and yield the bang for the buck that Super Cedars do.

 

[WiscWoody]

Your too far south to have any Birch around but up here I look around the woods for fallen Birch bark. It's all over the place. The deadwood inside rots fast on a dead Birch but the barks holds up for years so I just shake the pulp out and throw the bark in the stove to light er up!

 

[jdp1152]

Lately I haven't needed anything more than a couple of sheets of paper...maybe some scrap lumber if I've been doing any home improvement projects. When I was burning less than ideal wood in previous years, I tried super cedars, fat wood, and chunks of those waxy ones th super market sells. I preferred fat wood over all because they were clean and smelled pretty good. I got a few of those rutland ones free from my stove shop with my purchase, but only used em to get the fire going in the Big Green Egg.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

We've used the super cedars for many years now and do not understand why people say they make a mess. We have none except for a very few crumbs. We do break them (go easy as they break easy) and then place them in a ziplock bag. Also use 1/4 per fire. No mess but nice for fire starting.

 

[begreen]

I always snap them over the center front of the firebox. Any crumbs just add to the fire start.

 

[BrotherBart]

Three pound coffee can works wonders. Crack'em in the plastic on the edge of the kitchen counter and then open them over the can and dump the pieces and the pixie dust in the can. Five or six at a time fit and the pixie dust is pure magic for tossing on the wimpy coals first thing in the morning.

 

[Jags]

and the pixie dust in the can.

When you gonna TM the term "pixie dust"?

 

[Butcher]

Try some stale Fritos corn chips. The oil in them burns long and hot. Myself, I use the bills the mail man delivers to start a cold far.

 

[daleeper]

I used the Rutland fire starters when I spotted them on sale at season end a couple of years ago. I thought they worked ok, I had more trouble getting them lit than the SS, and I didn't think that they burned quite as long. Decided to support Super Cedar maker instead, as I think they work better for my needs. Rutland never sent me a free sample, and don't give me a hearth.com discount.

I can live with the mess, I try to break them up in the plastic wrap, and crumbs for the most part stay in there and get thrown away. Will have to find a can to dump them in, and use as pixie dust on coals. Maybe a paper bag, and light the whole thing up would work well. Thanks BB.

 

[tarzan]

We use the "quick start" fire starters also with a little poplar kindling. Nothing magical but we haven't lit a fresh fire since November and weather permitting it'll be March before we need another one.

 

[SteveKG]

I never would have thought anyone would consider breaking Super Cedars "making a mess." Live and learn. There are a number of other wood-stove-operating chores that make a lot bigger "mess."

 

[Makers Mark]

Heart pine burns hot and is easy to light. Pretty easy to find around here.

 

[fossil]

Myself, I use the bills the mail man delivers to start a cold far.

I just use a handful of all the extra cash I have laying around.

 

[transmogrifire]

Dryer lint

 

[NWfuel]

I just use a handful of all the extra cash I have laying around.

Fossil, That is why I say" relax and watch your money burn"

 

[bag of hammers]

I never would have thought anyone would consider breaking Super Cedars "making a mess." Live and learn. There are a number of other wood-stove-operating chores that make a lot bigger "mess."

Yeah the dust from the pucks is nothing compared to the crap I drag in or knock around the hearth. It all gets swept up. Brother Bart good idea with the coffee can....

 

[firebroad]

I've used just about every commercial firestarter out there, and a few homemades--I sent for the free sample of SuperCedars two years ago, I have been hooked.
I am still on my first box of 100, and I haven't found anything I like any better. Plus, I feel like I am helping out a small business owner, even if they aren't local.

 

[Firewood Bandit]

I cut noodles with the saw, throw them in feed sacks to store and light with a match.

They are a little messy, but the stove is in my garage.

 

[mac cloud]

I feel so ashamed...newspaper and split cedar/shop scraps have worked for me forever .
I've never even seen the things you guys are talking about

 

[BrotherBart]

I feel so ashamed...newspaper and split cedar/shop scraps have worked for me forever .
I've never even seen the things you guys are talking about

Send a PM with your address to member NWfuel and posthaste you will have free Super Cedar samples to try. I held off for five years and kept using paper, crap and scrap before I tried them. I ain't going back.

The quote on their website is mine. "Super Cedars are like finding a bed of hot coals in a cold stove.".