types of fire starters....

When I use Fire Brinks to start a fire there is only one method, my own. Take the fire bricks posted earlier. I use the one on the right. Some may use two or more, but I only require one brick. I don't use newspaper too often unless they begin to pile up. My kindles compose of branches not very small splits the size of shims, so I need a good fire at startup.

You could probably get by on 1/2 a brick or less. Seriously, I ignite using a piece the size of an ice cube.

Right on. Oak splitting scraps are what I collect and use. Little goes to waste here. And they start really well with only about three 1/16 size sections of newspaper wadded up under them. Small Oak tinder straddles a couple of ~2x2 Oak splits to hold them up. then I feed the growing flame some progressively larger Oak splits.

The pine cones are also a great sounding idea. I have gotten some of them some from a friend who has several big White Pines. Will try them in the Fall. BTW I have kept them stored in paper shopping bags for a year to make sure they are dry. Could replace the newspaper under the Oak splits, I imagine.

When I use those wax and sawdust logs, I cut little tiny pieces, up to a quarter inch thick. Almost shavings. I put some on the Oak splits. It helps make a hotter initial flame. At the rate I use that stuff, a few logs of that would last me years.

I'm going to experiment with top down burns this season, BB.

Do pine cones need to be seasoned, if I start collecting now will they work this winter?

pine cones especially from white pines , have a fairly high resin content and are likely going to burn soon after hitting the ground ive used them in the past when i ran out of regular firestarters and they did quite well for me. but you want ones that have opened , not "green " ones

I get kiln dryed wood from local cabinet shops. Lots of shops give away the off cuts for free. They collect so much they are glad to get rid of them. The moisture content is about 7 to 9% and most of it is hard wood. I have a local shop that puts them in chicken wire cages and they will re fill the cage for you when you bring it back. They used to pay for a dumpster to get rid of it. I always have more of this stuff than I can handle. One year I even used it for primary fuel mixed in of course. Call a few shops and see if they do this.

Also if you use pine cones dip them in hot wax. They work even better.

Pallets too, just make sure they are not P.T.

If one has to go to such extremes, you might just as soon buy fire starters

It all depends how frugal you are. Pine cones are free and candle wax can be had by melting down the unused ends or portions of old candles that you are going to discard anyhow. I personally would rather not buy anything that I dont have to.

Well one can always make napalm by mixing jello with gasoline...Makes a nice burnable jelly but without the danger of vapors escaping...One tablespoon and you got instant fire....Sorry spreading military secrets again

If my kindlen and stove isn't real cold.. A half brick will do.

FWIW I have seen some pretty fancy, expensive kindling assortments. They would look real nice under the Christmas tree. One of them was offered by LL Bean, if I am remembering right. They had an attractive bucket container with a small amount of fatwood, and a bunch of real pretty pine cones which had been dyed different colors and wax impregnated. Maybe a few of those long, wood starter matches thrown in, too. Sort of like a gift fruit basket for a wood burning friend.

For the price of 4 or 5 of these, you could get anywhere from a face cord to a full cord of wood from the most reasonably priced sources. But hey, I can pick these (pine cones) up for free off a friend's yard every fall, and I bet they will burn like a house on fire if you just season them. The ones I get (White Pine) are already open and they look pretty resinous. I have 3-4 big grocery bags of them that are all at least a year old, some much older. Will let you know how they work out this fall.

I bought a case of 100 super cedars. I have used them a couple of times to start camp fires. After seeing them in action I think i will only need a 1/4 to a 1/2 to get my stove going.

supercedars RULE great product! andy is right , one disk will give you at least 4 fires from a cold start.

Just for giggles I tried this. Melted some pariffin wax i stole from my wife(2 blocks from the box) then mixed it with saw dust from my chain saw. Put in foil muffin pans let cool and tried one. It burned for like 25 minutes. The only cost would be the wax. Uh took it out of the pan first befor i put a match to it. Might not be cost effective cause i dont know how much that candy wax is in the grocery store but it was kinda cool to make.

Were you refering to super cedars or the brick firestaters? I got the case of SUPER CEDARS and am wondering how much of a biscuit to use?

Thanks Jags, I shall start out with 1/4 biscuit and go from there...1/4 would be great, these puck shaped firestarters would last me 2 years

Wow, at that price I may have to take a look at them as well.

I just picked up some free produce boxes at supermarket. The cardboard is waxed I bet it will be a great addition to the news paper I use.

I use "Fatwood" as well. According to their web site "The firestarter comes from the stumps of pine trees that were cut decades ago from logging. The stumps have aged over many years to create what is called Fatwood. The resin from these stumps creates the ultimate firestarter and has been used for decades to easily light fires. "

It smells and burns great.

I get paraffin free by the 5 gallon buckets. Last year I mixed sawdust from oak, and this year all from cherry. I mix small woodpieces, pinecones, and sawdust. They work well and I make plenty for the family. They really spoil you. I have found its 10x's easier to light a fire in the new furnace, than the old. I do have a top down fire in the firebox waiting to be lit for me to try. Normally I put down large splits, then kindling, a firestarter and pinecones on top to flame quick and heat the flue.