Seasoned Oak
Minister of Fire
Junk mail makes the best fire starters.. And the white paper comes free in the mail. Often in the form of bills. Bills burn great.
What do you light your fire with?
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I found paper makes more mess than it's worth. Just a couple small pieces of kindling and a small amount of tinder. That said, I really never need to use it. Generally always have at least a little red coal to get her going. Sometimes it takes a few breaths to fire her back up though.
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Birch bark, or pine cones. Plus three medium dry pine splits.
If really cold three sheets of news print on top to start the draft
And a strike any where match.
If really cold three sheets of news print on top to start the draft
And a strike any where match.
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Firedancer
Member
I always smh when I see my husband bring the torch in the house lol
JotulOwner
Feeling the Heat
"Strike Anywhere Matches" (the kind that you can strike on any rough surface). It's definitely not any easier than using a lighter. I bought them years ago because it was something different and I just kept using them. Anyway, these matches are getting old and don't light as well as they used to. Maybe I should just get a lighter.
Matches and a 1/4 to 1/8 super cedar. My wife found this perfectly sized tin at marshals. Holds 6 perfectly! Those guys should market these things!
How can you tell the draft has started with a torch? I've tried this but can never really tell.
dafattkidd
Minister of Fire
I have a few different lighters. I generally do a modified top down fire with construction debris as kindling and news paper to get it going.
Rearscreen
Minister of Fire
RobbieB
Feeling the Heat
I just do a minute or 2, wave the flame across the top. I can tell from the lack of cold air falling on my legs, but you can verify with a match too. You just want to get that slug of cold air moving up the flue before you hit the paper with the flame.
I've never had a "smoke out" as long as I get the draft started first.
On a cold start..I save all (most) of the stuff leftover from the wood splitter from that days splitting..light it with a BBQ lighter..
Jeremy8916
Member
I've got the same deal going on with both my fireplaces. Only 12' and 20' of 7", but both of them will nearly suck a lit newspaper up the stack if I'm not careful. Couple piece of paper, couple splits, light another piece of paper with a bic and use it to light the paper in the stove, mostly close the door until the paper is gone. Close door and come back in 15 minutes to load more wood
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Jeremy8916
Member
Pinecones work? I've got a bunch of huge pines around my house, and if they ever stupid dropping off my weekly firestarter (store fliers) I'll need and alternative lol
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Knots
Minister of Fire
I use cones from white pines. They're like little flares. I prefer white birch bark since it will fit in smaller spaces, but the pine cones sure are easy to pick up.
This morning the stove was almost dead cold. I filled it with big, but very dry, red oak splits. One pine cone and off it went...
firefighterjake
Minister of Fire
My wife collected a large trash bag full of pine cones this Fall. I'm letting them season before use, but yes . . . they work pretty well . . . not as well as Super Cedars, but they're free which is nice.
Seasoned Oak
Minister of Fire
I mostly use lathe boards(since i have so many) i chop into thin strips that light easily with a single piece of paper. THy a have a lot 100yr old dried pine sap in them and burn pretty fast.
Greenmonster304
Member
I put two splits in the stove one in back one up front creating a little valley which I place crumpled brown shopping bags (our town outlawed plastic bags so I have tons of these). I place some cedar shingle scraps on top and some kindling from the kindling cracker then one small split atop all that. Light it with a bic BBQ lighter and its off like a prom dress,
Mainewoodchucker
Member
I have a MAP torch that sits in the corner to light my stove . I get gaylords of cedar trim scrap from a barrel/bucket maker that is really dry and only need to hit it with the torch for about 15-20 seconds to get the fire going .
CentralVAWoodHeat
Minister of Fire
A long lighter and whatever fire starter Amazon has in a big quantity, for a good price, that gets good reviews. Right now it is a product called 'Fire Liters'. Love em. They ignite very easily and burn for a long time. Came in a pack of almost 200 for around $22 I believe.
Bmore
Burning Hunk
Propane torch and a handful of last years splitter scraps. A 10 second job. I split in my driveway, easy to clean up and reused all the small stuff.
Sawset
Minister of Fire
Wife gets candles - a buck for a bunch. Mix with sawdust from the seperator, spent cartons from the chickens, heat and serve. They work pretty well. Only a few cents a piece. The labor to make is relative, it all depends on ones motives.
I like this lighter. Given my personal experience, I find that they are also very suitable as survival lighters.
1. They are battery powered and do not have to worry about evaporation or leakage. And the battery can usually be used for more than one month.
2. They rely on coils (single arc / double arc) to ignite without flames. Even in windy weather, they can still ignite objects.
3. They are simple to use. You just need to open it and click like a regular lighter.
Although its price is many times higher than the price I paid for other lighters, from the time of use, it is still a good deal.
A basic BIC lighter will last for over a month, simple to use and cost a magnitude less. We use a cheapy BBQ lighter equivalent.
Prof
Minister of Fire
I found a bic lighter on the sidewalk 2 yrs ago. I've lit every fire since then with this lighter, and it seems to have at least another season left in it. These things sell for about a buck. I previously used matches, but this lighter has be questioning that practice. I use homemade egg carton fire starters. I did switch over from using lint to pine needles because I got tired of smelling burnt hair (2 daughters, one wife, and 3 cats) ever time I sparked one. Now, it smells like Christmas until April!
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