A use for creosote?

[jefec77]

This might be a stupid question, but could/should a person use compacted creosote from his previous cleaning as small fire starters? I've searched around and haven't seen anything about it, so am I stupid for thinking it's an option, or is it just something that no one has tried?

My thought is mix a small amount of creosote with some alcohol, let it get a little goopy then dish a little into old egg cartons, let it sit and evaporate then use. Thoughts?

 

[turn_n_burn]

You could, and it would certainly work, but I'm pretty sure it's not allowed by the EPA to intentionally burn it. They used to use the gooey tar form of it to weatherproof railroad ties, and I made the mistake of burning some in my firepit. You could see the smoke for a mile and the five-o stopped and told me to put it out. I'll still say it was a novel experience. In concentrated form, it would build up on the inside of a chimney very quickly, and that would be bad if it caught on fire. That stuff burns hotter than a white dwarf.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

I have never not re-burned the soot/creosote from my chimney

 

[Ashful]

Probably has a high light-off temperature in solid form, no? Fire starters should light easily, at low temperatures.

 

[Prof]

I do burn my creosote. I usually get enough to fill a 16 oz ice tea container (the cardboard kind). The first really hot fire I have I throw the container in the fire--it's completely anticlimactic, but it burns.

 

[brenndatomu]

I do burn my creosote. I usually get enough to fill a 16 oz ice tea container (the cardboard kind). The first really hot fire I have I throw the container in the fire--it's completely anticlimactic, but it burns.

I burn mine too, like you said...burns kinda like coal. Would make a terrible fire starter.
Maybe if you mixed it with fuel oil and then rolled balls of dryer lint in it...but then why, there are much easier/less messy methods of makin fahr

 

[markam]

I tried to burn some on the driveway with a propane torch last year. I had the creosote glowing red but absolutely would not light. Guess that means I am using my insert correctly.

 

[Smoked]

I tried to light it with a torch too and could not get it to strike off. Think mine is mostly ash and stink bugs

 

[Ashful]

I tried to light it with a torch too and could not get it to strike off. Think mine is mostly ash and stink bugs

Stink bugs have a fairly high ignition temperature. A few here may remember my "stink bugs roasting on an open fire" thread, maybe two years back. I was running around the house one day, trying to figure out what had died, expecting to find the half-rotten corpse of a mouse somewhere. Turned out it was just a stupid stink bug roasting on top of my stove, which must have fallen down from the chimney onto the stove top. It smelled worse than any road kill I've encountered.