Anyone else have a problem with...

[suprz]

The smell of fatwood sticks? I just bought a box and the wife started a fire in the stove using one and said that it almost made her sick. She said it smelled almost like it was full of chemicals. I want to get Super Cedars, but needed something fast and cheap.... (Hey, i have limited funds)

 

[JOHN BOY]

Ive never ued fatwood stcks so i cant say, if you limited with funds ive bought One fire starter log and broke off small pieces to start fires. Kmart had them on sale for 4.89 A log. Ive ued one log for a month and a half now.

 

[Hearth Mistress]

I bought a box at ACE Hardware. It was $15.99 for a .25 cu ft box and I had a $5 coupon so thought it was a good deal. I have had others that really stink but I specifically bought these because they said "no chemicals added 100% natural" it lasted us a long time & when I got another coupon I just went back and bought another one. We like these better than all the rest we have tried as they seem not only to burn stink free, but burn longer too. They are on the Ace website but here's a pic of the box too.

Good luck!

 

[midwestcoast]

Imagine it's just the resin (pine tar) she's smelling. I don't know that anyone puts chemicals in fat wood. It would cost them more money & the resin is what is so flammable.I used fat wood bought on sale at Menards for the last 2 seasons, but never really liked it that much
If any of that black smoke gets out of the stove when lighting it smells pretty bad too.

 

[Hearth Mistress]

I didn't think of the "pine-sol" smell your wife may be talking a out, but that is what they are all pretty much going to smell like at it is burning pine tar resin. My granny poured pine-sol on everything so while it may be weird, it reminds me of her when we use them in the stove

 

[suprz]

Ive never ued
fatwood stcks so i cant say, if you limited with funds ive bought One fire starter log and broke off small pieces to start fires. Kmart had them on sale for 4.89 A log. Ive ued one log for a month and a half now.

Never thought about doing that.....duh!!....sometimes its the simple solutions that are the hardest to think of. I don't know if I can use them in a cat stove though....even if just a chunk

 

[suprz]

Imagine it's just the resin (pine tar) she's smelling. I don't know that anyone puts chemicals in fat wood. It would cost them more money & the resin is what is so flammable.I used fat wood bought on sale at Menards for the last 2 seasons, but never really liked it that much
If any of that black smoke gets out of the stove when lighting it smells pretty bad too.

She probably did open the door to reload or put bigger splits on the kindling. I told her next time to just put some splits in and not to open the door for a while

 

[peakbagger]

I dont have an issue with it but pine tar can have some real interesting extractives that some folks can be sensitive to. I used to deal with wood pulp mill byproducts that were bascially crude pine tar and there were some real strange stuff that didnt smell but would makes folks sick. That said I dont see this happening with pine tar at room temperature.

One of the more strange byproducts is rose oil used to make perfume, most of the perfume in the world uses rose oil derived from pine extractives.

 

[Jack Straw]

The next time my wife asks "ugh,what's that smell? Was that you?" I'll say "no it's the fat wood" which is actually her nick name for me so this might not work out.

 

[Thistle]

The next time my wife asks "ugh,what's that smell? Was that you?" I'll say "no it's the fat wood" which is actually her nick name for me so this might not work out.

Blame the dog.

 

[onetracker]

i bought some fatwood starters just for the fun of it. sure they smell like burning pine resin because...

...they're full of pine resin!

i buy the 48 box of 'starter loggs' and break each one into 1/3's. that's 144 fires which easily carries me thru the season for $15. i never bother with paper or kindling anymore.

 

[Jack Straw]

Blame the dog.

We have a cat, I'll try that!

 

[basod]

The smell is similar to turpentine which is distilled from pine resin.
If you want to make your own, cut a pine in spring and let the sap cure on the stump, then cut the stump and split small next winter.
If you don't want to wait look around the woods for a long rotten pine tree, the pith usually is still intact - "lighter pine"

 

[Beer Belly]

The smell is similar to turpentine which is distilled from pine resin.
If you want to make your own, cut a pine in spring and let the sap cure on the stump, then cut the stump and split small next winter.
If you don't want to wait look around the woods for a long rotten pine tree, the pith usually is still intact - "lighter pine"

This is the exact thing I'm trying this season......I have Pine that has been sitting 2 years, and split some of it into small 1x1 pieces this past spring, and use it as starters....works great. I also have starter blocks that the wife likes to break up and use pieces of the same as onetracker does.....never noticed a strong odor

 

[Backwoods Savage]

The smell of fatwood sticks? I just bought a box and the wife started a fire in the stove using one and said that it almost made her sick. She said it smelled almost like it was full of chemicals. I want to get Super Cedars, but needed something fast and cheap.... (Hey, i have limited funds)

My wife got some fatwood and she really liked them. I didn't. One big reason I didn't was they were hard to light! That really surprised me but I remember one time burning about 8 matches just trying to get them to light. Now for sure we won't burn them because we have a catalyst in the stove. Super Cedars all the way here.

 

[midwestcoast]

Yeah the larger pieces can be kinda hard to light. I also found it was rather slow to come up to a full burn on the whole stick, so I would sometimes light both ends. I always wondered if my Menards fatwood was as good as other sources. I believe it said product of Honduras.

 

[firewoodjunky]

Yeah the larger pieces can be kinda hard to light. I also found it was rather slow to come up to a full burn on the whole stick, so I would sometimes light both ends. I always wondered if my Menards fatwood was as good as other sources. I believe it said product of Honduras.

I had the same problem with my fatwood - it was a Christmas gift, LL Bean, product of either North Carolina or Maine. The thinner ones would usually take off like a rocket but the thicker ones were kinda a PIA to get going. I asked for a box of SuperCedars for this Christmas, I'm curious as to which one I will like better.

 

[Pallet Pete]

The smell of fatwood sticks? I just bought a box and the wife started a fire in the stove using one and said that it almost made her sick. She said it smelled almost like it was full of chemicals. I want to get Super Cedars, but needed something fast and cheap.... (Hey, i have limited funds)

They don't smell to me but they ooze out a black tar like substance that makes a mess out of the ash compartment because it does not burn off. That stuff sticks to everything . The only good fatwood I have found is Georgia fatwood from my stove dealer it lights as easy as Super Cedars only takes one to get it going. The problem is they are still messy so I figured its time to go Super Cedar only. I have been able to cut Super cedars into six peices and get six starts out of one so far . That is 13 cents a fire for the 30 pack and 180 lights. I love those Super Cedars and they smell good I would use them in a closet except that would make one hell of a accidental fire.

Pete

 

[Ehouse]

I cut my ash limb wood up to about 3" dia. into 12" lengths and split it with my shingle hatchet. Super dry super clean and free. I can do a months supply in about ten minutes.

Ehouse

 

[thewoodlands]

The smell of fatwood sticks? I just bought a box and the wife started a fire in the stove using one and said that it almost made her sick. She said it smelled almost like it was full of chemicals. I want to get Super Cedars, but needed something fast and cheap.... (Hey, i have limited funds)

http://www.tractorsupply.com/rutland-reg-safe-lite-trade-fire-starter-squares-pack-of-144-3198454
The above fire starters work great.

 

[Gasifier]

I cut my ash limb wood up to about 3" dia. into 12" lengths and split it with my shingle hatchet. Super dry super clean and free. I can do a months supply in about ten minutes.

Ehouse

Yup. Ash splits so nice and quick it is perfect for kindling. I use to use a lot of kindling in the wood stove. Don't need it anymore in the Gassification boiler. That has a fan on it and it will start your coals roaring from just a small piece of paper lit and thrown in.

 

[Tuneighty]

I had used some fatwood but didn't want to keep spending the money. So I made my own.

1.Melt Paraffin wax - (or old candle wax)
2. Place 2 cartons of eggs on their lids. (Split the pack down the hinge.)
3. Place small amounts of wood shavings or dryer lint in each egg spot.
4. Pour wax in each egg spot. Once cool I cut them apart with a sharp knife.

Let cool and enjoy. I spend about $3.00 on the paraffin wax to make 24 starters. They are working out better than the fatwood. I'm sure I can make it cheaper using old candles, just didn't have any at that time.

 

[tcassavaugh]

i use about a quarter of the disc fire starters.....and keep the home fire burning. i've used one piece so far this season.....haven't really had the need to use any more. i bought a box last year and only used two or three discs all season. at this rate, they will last about 10 years

cass