Does Fatwood Season?

[Phoenix Hatchling]

I bought (actually got it free with my coupons from the cc) a 30 pound box of Fatwood from Llbean last year, and it burned poorly with several attempts to light it. It was LOADED with resin and heavy. This year I go to use the same stuff and poof, up it goes in a blaze of glory. So, does Fatwood season even with all that resin which it is laden with?

 

[Jags]

Yes - it is still a living part of the tree and needs water to survive. It burns like junk when green or freshly off of the stump.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I've never like it but my wife claimed to like it. Too many times it took too much to get a fire going and I, like you, found it was hard to light. Danged matches would burn out before the fatwood would light off.

Now we have a cat stove and fatwood is not good for the cats so hooray! No more fatwood here.

 

[Applesister]

LOL...never thought of fatwood being green. But if its sold by the pound....
Thats too funny.

 

[cptoneleg]

NO - Fatwood is from a pine tree usually a stump, which is Turpentine, the real stuff is like a piece of wood soaked in lets say Diesel fuel (actually Turpentine), that you can just light with a match, If you are out in the woods and need to start a fire to survive , its a great old trick, it will burn in the rain. The more saturated it is the more powerfull it is, I would not use it in my stove, my wood is Dry and needs no Fuel to Light, or to keep burning.

Fatwood It is not what I would use in my stove anymore than soaking kindling in Kerosene

 

[Phoenix Hatchling]

NO - Fatwood is from a pine tree usually a stump, which is Turpentine, the real stuff is like a piece of wood soaked in lets say Diesel fuel (actually Turpentine), that you can just light with a match, If you are out in the woods and need to start a fire to survive , its a great old trick, it will burn in the rain. The more saturated it is the more powerfull it is, I would not use it in my stove, my wood is Dry and needs no Fuel to Light, or to keep burning.

Fatwood It is not what I would use in my stove anymore than soaking kindling in Kerosene

This is the "real" stuff, hence my original question of whether or not it seasons, and the fact that it did NOT readily light as it should have. What works for you to get your fire started is up to you. Maybe you rub two sticks together or go with flint and steel. Lightning works well, but will probably take a while. Me... I take two pieces of Fatwood and call it a day along with my dry wood.

 

[cptoneleg]

10-4 on the dry wood

 

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

This is the "real" stuff, hence my original question of whether or not it seasons, and the fact that it did NOT readily light as it should have. What works for you to get your fire started is up to you. Maybe you rub two sticks together or go with flint and steel. Lightning works well, but will probably take a while. Me... I take two pieces of Fatwood and call it a day along with my dry wood.

Yes to each their own, I have a big pile of fatwood that I bought last year, I actually re split each and every one, tripled my volume, this year I take 3 of those splits, probably equal to one piece, and I roll it in newspaper, I tuck this in my kindling, I light the newspaper with one match and I am done. It really is very simple and works like a charm.