Twigs get a very hot fire almost immediately. Great for starting from coals. And you can't beat the price. I keep a couple of President's Choice Green Boxes near the stove, full of twigs. When I let the fire burn down to just a few coals I put some in the bottom of the box before adding my other wood. They are raging by the time I get the door closed. Have to shut the air to 1/2 or less immediately. Starts the main wood quickly every time.
Bio Bricks or Logs in Ontario Canada?
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Blueguy, where did you see that there was a BMR in Peterborough? I looked at their store locator map, and the closest to Peterborough were the Bobcaygeon and Mamora store, both about an hour away each for me.
So I snagged a couple of boxes of the Smartwood Smartbricks, and gave them a spin from a cold stove. One thing's for sure, they aren't going to spontaneously combust! As per their lighting instructions, I placed two bricks next to one another with a 1/4 SuperCedar inbetween. Lit the SuperCedar, and placed a third brick on top. Opened up the air and set a timer for 15 minutes. After 15, there were barely any flames and the stove was dead cold. This time I opened the door a crack and set the timer again. When I came back to it ( I was sitting about 5 feet away around the corner, so I could hear the stove it suddenly went crazy ) the bricks were smoldering but no flame. Reached in and pulled the top brick off with my fire glove, and then split a whole SuperCedar in half, lit it, and put the top brick back on. Wow, in less than 15 minutes all 3 bricks were aflame and I was at 500F on the flu. Stopped the air down to around 3/4 closed and they've just been cruising around 450 and it's about 1.5 hours in.
Now close to 2 hours in, they've dropped to just under 400, and look like they're coaling. Opened up the door and gave them a poke, and they're still solid. Since they seemed pretty under control, I threw another one on and it lit within a minute.
I think I'll buy another couple of boxes and experiment with more bricks and completely stopped down, as well as using them to keep my not so dry stock this year burning.
So I snagged a couple of boxes of the Smartwood Smartbricks, and gave them a spin from a cold stove. One thing's for sure, they aren't going to spontaneously combust! As per their lighting instructions, I placed two bricks next to one another with a 1/4 SuperCedar inbetween. Lit the SuperCedar, and placed a third brick on top. Opened up the air and set a timer for 15 minutes. After 15, there were barely any flames and the stove was dead cold. This time I opened the door a crack and set the timer again. When I came back to it ( I was sitting about 5 feet away around the corner, so I could hear the stove it suddenly went crazy ) the bricks were smoldering but no flame. Reached in and pulled the top brick off with my fire glove, and then split a whole SuperCedar in half, lit it, and put the top brick back on. Wow, in less than 15 minutes all 3 bricks were aflame and I was at 500F on the flu. Stopped the air down to around 3/4 closed and they've just been cruising around 450 and it's about 1.5 hours in.
Now close to 2 hours in, they've dropped to just under 400, and look like they're coaling. Opened up the door and gave them a poke, and they're still solid. Since they seemed pretty under control, I threw another one on and it lit within a minute.
I think I'll buy another couple of boxes and experiment with more bricks and completely stopped down, as well as using them to keep my not so dry stock this year burning.
blueguy
Feeling the Heat
I didn't. Bob is North of P'borough, no?
Now that I reread that, I can see where it could be misinterpreted.
Bluguy, I thought I was just missing something.
Update on the bricks. Tried to combine them with some of the not so seasoned wood. Not a good idea to try to do that when you're starting the fire. Ended up with a smoky mess that I had to dispose of in a bucket. It really does take a whole SuperCedar to get these things going. Also, you can't just open the draft all the way, you have to leave the door open. It takes about 45 minutes to where you're actually getting heat. After their initial light, it's a breeze, though. After the initial load dies down, just throw in a couple of bricks and open up the draft again. 10 minutes later I'm back up to about 700F, at that point I stop it down to almost completely closed. It then settles to about 600 and change for the next hour. It then starts declining through the next hour to settle to about 400F at the end of two hours. Rinse and repeat. Easy peasey.
Update on the bricks. Tried to combine them with some of the not so seasoned wood. Not a good idea to try to do that when you're starting the fire. Ended up with a smoky mess that I had to dispose of in a bucket. It really does take a whole SuperCedar to get these things going. Also, you can't just open the draft all the way, you have to leave the door open. It takes about 45 minutes to where you're actually getting heat. After their initial light, it's a breeze, though. After the initial load dies down, just throw in a couple of bricks and open up the draft again. 10 minutes later I'm back up to about 700F, at that point I stop it down to almost completely closed. It then settles to about 600 and change for the next hour. It then starts declining through the next hour to settle to about 400F at the end of two hours. Rinse and repeat. Easy peasey.
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