Nothin' but newsprint!

[woodgeek]

This evening/WE burning really runs through the kindling and starters....in the end, you find yourself with a bunch of good sized splits, and nothing else but the Grey Lady--the New York Times.

Yeah, I know I can make my own kindling with my maul, raid the dryer for lint, grab that wax I saved after the candles burned out, etc, I've done/heard all that, but I'm lazy and I want my fire NOW.

Can you light a pile of splits with nothin but newspaper?? Keep reading for the surprising answer.

I had long been doing a weird mix of wax (or S Cedar) starters AND a few newspaper 'bows' for a long time now, modified top down method. I've also been hating the bows for a long time--take some skill/time to make and then they don't light easily (am I doing this wrong?? Rolled newspaper doesn't want to burn??).

What I do (for a cold start): stack my splits in a 'criss-cross' with some wadded single sheets in the spaces (here and there). Then I put a few knotted rolls on top (they do have longer burn time than wads), and then load all the free space on the ends with wadded single sheets. Light it, the thing goes off like a rocket, step the door closed in steps over a few minutes, and we are off to the races.

Now I'm wondering why I should bother with that other stuff? I do get some ash, but for an eve/WE burner, not hard to deal with? Anyone else do this? Conversely, anyone mastered an even lazier, more instant gratification method (that does not involve, um, kerosene)?

 

[LLigetfa]

A few pieces of kin'lin and a quarter of a Super Cedar in a front-to-back burn configuration give me joy. No crumbling paper, no tying bows, no stepping the door, just toss in a match and close the door. Glass stays nice and clean and no need to babysit it. It's so easy a cave woman could do it.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

The only time we have to mess with cold starts if just a little time early fall and late spring. Use any method that works well for you. Some like fire starters and some like newspaper. Even some dead branches off pine trees work well. But in the long run, you will still get the fire going faster and easier if you have kindling vs. just a pile of splits. About the smallest kindling we use is maybe 1" x 1" and we use soft maple for kindling simply because it lights quick and easy and burns hot, causing the splits to light quick and easy. It takes only a small amount of kindling per year for us as we keep the stove going regularly; that is because it is our only source of heat.

 

[Bobbin]

This season the wood that is "ready" to burn is shedding its bark almost as soon as it's handled. I simply plunk the shed bark into a pail and set it aside. Whenever we split wood I collect the debris left behind and put it into buckets and then set those aside, under cover. We also have loads of kindling that is leftover wood from the construction of the "bahn". I roll a few "bow ties" of newspaper (if I think the coal bed is too wimpy for quick ignition), and toss in some of whatever is handy (bucket o' bark, some construction kindling). Bingo! in no time flat it catches and the splits readily follow suit. There really is no substitute for properly seasoned firewood. And ater many years of burning and a year of reading this forum I'm really beginning to appreciate what some planning and foresight brings to the wood stove "game".

Interesting aside, I find I use a lot less kindling that the husband does. I've teased him about it a few times and he hasn't found it particularly funny. Better lay of the chops for a bit, huh? But the goddess Hestia would be mightily proud of the conservative way this lady tends the hearth! Now I need to learn how to make a fire by twirling some twine and sticks together... then Hestia would smile upon me at all times.

 

[andybaker]

I was going to try and master the top down fire this year but didn't have good luck with it my unit. However, I did find a better way as a result. I take two somewhat smaller splits and lay them down east/west and put a few crumpled pieces of newspaper in-between and lay a few pieces of kindling straddling the splits and then I take a larger flat split and lay on top of the kindling. Light, leave the door about an inch open til the fire is going strong, a few minutes, and then close the door and turn the air supply to half way if needed. It will burn for a couple of hours before it needs tending again. Sure beats starting a pile of kindling and letting it burn awhile as you babysit it then load splits on and doctor it til the fires going good.

 

[myzamboni]

I was going to try and master the top down fire this year but didn't have good luck with it my unit. However, I did find a better way as a result. I take two somewhat smaller splits and lay them down east/west and put a few crumpled pieces of newspaper in-between and lay a few pieces of kindling straddling the splits and then I take a larger flat split and lay on top of the kindling. Light, leave the door about an inch open til the fire is going strong, a few minutes, and then close the door and turn the air supply to half way if needed. It will burn for a couple of hours before it needs tending again. Sure beats starting a pile of kindling and letting it burn awhile as you babysit it then load splits on and doctor it til the fires going good.

I've done it the topdown method, the OP's method and your method. The amount of startup smoke creation from least to most is he order they appear in my previous sentence.