A couple of things I forgot to mention.
1) I lay the cotton balls on top of the paper towel on top of a piece of cardboard to capture any soak-through.
2) Any accelerant (alcohols or petroleum distillates) will do and I have tried several and they all work more or less the same -
with the trade-offs being cost and smell. I settled on kerosene as the cheapest and not particularly foul smelling and even then it is only while you are dousing that you notice any odor (not when burning) and even then it is barely noticeable. Rubbing alcohol has the least odor and odorless mineral spirits are a close second. But they are 4 times more expensive than the kerosene. I only mention it because they can be used in a pinch. I have not tried gasoline simply because it is not much cheaper than kerosene and smellier. On the point of odorless mineral spirits make sure you get exactly that in the metal cans. There are some mineral spirits that have some kind of white film in them that "I think" is used to keep it from being flammable.
3) To find kerosene at the pump look here...
https://firstquarterfinance.com/gas-stations-with-kerosene-near-me/
you usually don't have to go far to find one and in any event you are only filling a two gallon can once a season.
4) I use a repurposed dish detergent bottle with a pop top to hold the kerosene. I refill a 16 ounce bottle from the can about once every two weeks using a small funnel.
5) If you are careful you can roll without getting any accelerant on your hands. To do that line up the cotton balls about an inch and a half from the small edge and then use that margin to start rolling over the balls. If you don't have that kind of finesse then a pair of work gloves will do. If you get anything on your fingers then just wash them off.
6) If you are used to using fatwood, burn burgers or squares etc. be advised that this burns hotter and faster (although generally no worse than newspaper). In any event I would keep an eye on the first couple of burns for the first 5 minutes so you get a feel for it. See 7
7) This technique all but eliminates the need for kindling except maybe on those bitter mid-winter days where you have to crank it up fast from a cold start to get the party started (and in that case see 6). In order to keep control of the fire, avoid stuffing the box at first but instead start with two big logs, form a valley in the center and lay the burn roll in that and some kindling on that and then lay a smaller log in the valley being careful to leave space for the fire to escape and let the burn roll breath. This way the fire can get burning hot and fast without there being too much fuel in the box and once you get some coals out of that then couple of big logs on top then cut your air and adjust for long term burn. This prevents a potential run away situation. I can go from cold start to red zone in about 10 minutes but if you overload the box in the beginning then you might lose control. I've seen some pictures that make me shudder.
8) HOMER SIMPSON D'OH! I know it goes without saying but I will say it anyway. Don't light these in your hand and then throw them into the firebox or at best you will have three stooges Curly moment (NYAAYAA) and at worst a visit from the FD. Lay them in the box then light.
9) Full disclosure - I stole this idea from a camping trick where you roll cotton balls in petroleum jelly. Unfortunately it gets kind of messy having to roll all of the balls and the jelly is more expensive than the kerosene and it doesn't burn as hard and fast.
