Since this will be my first winter with a stove people have recommended that I use fire starters instead of just newspaper. Are these safe to use in my stove? I keep seeing the fatwood ones. Are they good or is there another type you like better?
fire starters
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One of our members, NW Fuels, makes Supercedar starters and will send some free samples to any member requesting them.
I have used fatwood, and it is OK but it smoke a lot because of the excess "pitch" contents. SuperCedar burns longer - up to 20 minutes. Thomas (the SuperCedar) guy has also been a part of this site for 10 years or more.....
Give them a try.....I got addicted to them, and in most cases even 1/2 or 1/4 of one will start a fire.
I have used fatwood, and it is OK but it smoke a lot because of the excess "pitch" contents. SuperCedar burns longer - up to 20 minutes. Thomas (the SuperCedar) guy has also been a part of this site for 10 years or more.....
Give them a try.....I got addicted to them, and in most cases even 1/2 or 1/4 of one will start a fire.
I got some of those samples, they are awesome
I will be ordering some b4 winter. I am one of those 2 match guys for the main season but inbetween they are great I broke mine in 3rds and am sold on them
I will be ordering some b4 winter. I am one of those 2 match guys for the main season but inbetween they are great I broke mine in 3rds and am sold on them
Has anyone used Seymour Fireblox? I got some free samples in the box my Seymour stackit brackets came in.
Webmaster said:
Supercedar it is. I dont want excess smoke and I would like to support another member.
Im assuming this is the site where i should place my order?
www.supercedar.com
I've not yet tried the Supercedars, I've always been a newspaper & kindling guy, but splitting a bucket full of real small kindling in the snow really isn't as much fun as it might sound like. I think for next season, I'll give the fire starters a try, and at least keep some on hand for when I feel lazy (which means I'll get a big bunch of them to keep on hand). Rick
the last time he offered free samples I got one and they are very good fire starters. light easy, burn hot, and burn quite a little while for a fire starter. I found that 1/4 of it was all that is needed to start a fire.
So if you want to use fire starters give Supercedar fire starters a try.
So if you want to use fire starters give Supercedar fire starters a try.
Fatwood is adequate. A piece or two will reliably get the fire going. They do smoke a fair amount though.
Recently I got the Supercedar sample and have tried one (actually, 1/4 of one). Vastly better than fatwood. I will definitely be placing an order.
Recently I got the Supercedar sample and have tried one (actually, 1/4 of one). Vastly better than fatwood. I will definitely be placing an order.
Andy you want a good fire starter put some diesel fuel in an atomizer squeeze bottler ...3 or 4 shots and your fire is going...Done!
Think maybe I'll skip the diesel fuel idea...too expensive, and I actually read the owner's manuals for my stoves, as well as lots of other resources about safely using a woodstove. I e-mailed Supercedars earlier today asking about the samples and I heard back shortly thereafter (on Sunday, no less), from Lara, that she'd put some in the mail to me tomorrow. That, in itself, is impressive to me. Of course, it's finally summer here...upper 90's today...so it's gonna be a while before I get a chance to try 'em out, but I'm pretty confident they're going to prove to be a safe and effective aid to my woodburning. Rick
fossil said:BrotherBart said:...I think I will stick with C-4.
Oh yeah, that works too...I keep a little stick on hand for when it comes time for my final fire. :ahhh: Rick
Actually when not under pressure the stuff burns with a hot almost clear flame. Some guys started using a chunk to heat C-rations. The bad part came when they stomped out the fire and their foot exploded. :ahhh:
I'll be going over to see Thomas at his shop again before burning season and picking up another box of 100 as he is located pretty close to my house. I read that he is now perforating the supeceaders in quarters now instead of halves so they can more easily be broken into quarters . I open one up and put in a zip lock bag and either break them into quarters or half's, the mess stays in the bag
I bought 100 at beginning of last season and only have a few left even though for the most part I was only using a quarter at a time. Problem was I ran out of cord wood in about March and we had a long burning season here, I ended up buying alot of North Idaho logs , those things take a good coal bed to ignite, so I would stick 2 full superceaders under the N.I. to get it going, did that quite a bit at end of season and ended up using alot of the superceaders
I have a much better supply of cord wood for the upcoming season, so I should not have to resort to doing that again, For the most part a quarter of the superceader will get your kindlin going real good, heck a full one can pretty much preheat your stove by itself
I bought 100 at beginning of last season and only have a few left even though for the most part I was only using a quarter at a time. Problem was I ran out of cord wood in about March and we had a long burning season here, I ended up buying alot of North Idaho logs , those things take a good coal bed to ignite, so I would stick 2 full superceaders under the N.I. to get it going, did that quite a bit at end of season and ended up using alot of the superceaders
I have a much better supply of cord wood for the upcoming season, so I should not have to resort to doing that again, For the most part a quarter of the superceader will get your kindlin going real good, heck a full one can pretty much preheat your stove by itself
6 pieces of crumpled up full sheet newspaper will do a fine job as tinder (colored ad paper is not recommended). Then build a matrix of of 3/4" pine split to 3/4" strips. Lay four pieces of pine about 2" apart over the newspaper then procede to laying 4 more pine strips on top of these at 90 degree angles. And again lay 4 more pieces of pine over this at 90 degree anglels. and finish with a 4th application of 4 more pine pieces at 90 degree angles to the proceding one. Light the paper in 3 or 4 places and slowly add small pieces of hardwood. This system will collaspe but not before you have some good fire and coals to start a good fire. Keep the vents and door open slightly until you have a good blaze going... Nothing to it. I've done it hundreds of times. No magic involved. I usually get my kindling wood at the dump from discarded building materials which are mostly spruce, pine and fir. These are all softwoods with a high level of pitch/resin and they burn fast and hot. It is best to ask the propriator of the dump for permission before you go rooting around. Some of the dump people get real upset if they see you scrounging around without permission. But if you tell them your purpose sometimes they will help you out. Old discarded building materials usually have no worth to dump rangers.
Learn the top down method from Vanessa in the video and get a good smoke free start every time. Did it this way all last season and won't do it any other way again.
http://www.ec.gc.ca/cleanair-airpur/videosWoodstove_mgt-Eng.wmv
http://www.ec.gc.ca/cleanair-airpur/videosWoodstove_mgt-Eng.wmv
Smoke and woodstoves go together and so does the ashes they create. If you burn wood your house will need dusting twice as much as before. Englander makes a couple of vacuums made for ash disposal and they are also protected against the occasional hot coal that may be sucked up.
Got the free sample of supercedars just in time for the last fire of the year and in a word, awesome. I will be ordering more for this year's burns.
BrotherBart said:
That video did more to boost my wife's confidence in operating the stove than all my gentle tutoring. I think it had a lot to do with Vanessa's skill and ease at handling the stove. After a while I could just lay in bed until the morning fire was blazing, whether she decided to build it top-down or bottom-up. She's become quite the stove woman, and I'm a happier guy for that. Great video. Rick
here is a better link to it
http://www.ec.gc.ca/cleanair-airpur/default.asp?lang=En&xml=8011CD70-F864-415A-B4DF-C69EE99D6101
http://www.ec.gc.ca/cleanair-airpur/default.asp?lang=En&xml=8011CD70-F864-415A-B4DF-C69EE99D6101
Elderthewelder said:
Thanks Elder. I linked directly to the video and the forum software takes three characters out of the middle of the link. Groan.
What I discovered this year with top down was that all of the crud from start up fires didn't collect in the chimney. With the goofy weather here I was doing a lot of start from scratch fires and the chimneys never showed it like prior years.
That and not having to wait for secondary burn temps for the exhaust to go clear.
Never heard of C-4 til you guys corrupted me, and not a fan of diesel in my wood stove, just a NJ country boy transplanted to NH so I use birch bark. I'm fortunate to have plenty of it and a small piece works great to get kindling going. If you don't have it then I'd say Super Cedars got to be the way to go. Back to birch bark...amazing stuff. It's so water proof that the Indians made canoes out of it (remember?) Course when you cut it down that waterproof function works in reverse to keep the water in the wood so you gotta split it quick or the wood will rot fast. I started wondering why it was waterproof and what made it burn so easy and for so long. Turns out it has a number of essential oils in it which I guess repel water and also are volatile. Also contains salisylic acid (asprin) and other good stuff. Yellow and black birch are rich in oil of wintergreen. My dogs love to chew on white bich bark and I may have to join them soon in that endeavor. My favorite find about birch bark was this: "For ages, Birch Oil has been in use as a skin toner. A regular external application (in low dosages) effectively reduces wrinkles and sagginess of the skin and the muscles. Its astringent property strengthens gums, hair and tightens muscles. Thus it makes you look younger and may help you get new girl friends even in your forties." Wish I was still in my forties. 
Dang it! I had a beautiful 3-trunk Birch growing right outside my workshop in Virginia, and I never once thought to go out and chew on it. All those headaches I never had to have...all those new girlfriends I could've had...oh, I wish you'd never posted this. :down: Rick
Were they uh..splitting headaches..Rick? And you know, all those extra girlfriends most likely would have been even more headaches. ;-)
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