How do you Light up your FP?

[oskar470]

Perhaps a stupid question but seriously I’m running out of options. I have been using my wood inserts every night from November to April for the last 35 years (22 in the current house and the rest in my previous one). I know how to stack the wood to light it and use a few pages of old newspapers to get the fire going but problem is newspapers are getting hard to find now days.

Local HD sells stuff for this purpose but they are expensive for continuous use. What you guys use to get your FP going?

 

[begreen]

In the states there are several options. SuperCedars made in WA are good, but I am not sure what is available locally in Quebec.

 

[Stir224]

Sawdust in cardboard egg cartons. Melt a little wax and pour it over. Cut them up into individuals. Lights with a match and burns well for 15 or so minutes

 

[Riteway]

I get bags of Fatwood from a big box hardware store near my house. It's relatively cheap and works well.

 

[vbu]

I use the white firestarter blocks sold at walmart (duraflame firestart cubes). I break them in half. My fire takes off long before the cube is burnt up

 

[Highbeam]

Really, this is a great solution for the long haul, every day, serious fire starter.

It’s basically free, fast, effective, useful for preheating flue too. Finger tip ignition and shutoff, no matches or valve turning. Just press the yellow button and fire shoots out!

 

[oskar470]

Out of curiosity what’s SuperCedars? Kind of Cedar sticks?

And what’s Fatwood?

Never thought to look at Walmart but searching my Walmart they have:
Natural Firestarter cubes, CAD$14.72 for 20
Xtraflame Firestarter cubes, CAD$7.48 for 48 cubes or CAD$9.98 for 60 cubes
I will go and have a look, looks promising.

Also the idea of sawdust (which I have a lot in my workshop) in egg cartons and wax also sound an excellent idea.

My thanks to all for the excellent ideas.

 

[EbS-P]

Fat wood is the super resinous parts of conifer trees. It’s very rot resistant so it’s what’s left after the rest had rotted away.

I use it with a small kitchen torch.

 

[begreen]

Supercedars have long been a favorite. They burn long and very cleanly. Usually, 1/4 piece is all that's needed for a start. Hearth.com members get a discount. Not sure about sale in Canada though or shipping there. You'd have to ask.

Super Cedar Firestarters | Manufacturer and distributor of fire starters

Super Cedar Firestarters are for fireplaces, bbq, wood & pellet stoves, survival kits, and outdoor cooking. Our fire starters burn cleaner, hotter & are longer lasting.

www.supercedar.com

Fatwood is a natural product found in the resinous base of some pine trees. They are split into small sticks, filled with pine tar which burns readily, but with oily black smoke.

You can also get a DuraFlame log and cut off pucks to use for firestarter. Break the puck into halves or quarters. Just don't burn a whole one of these wax impregnated logs in the woodstove! The whole logs are strictly for fireplace burning.

 

[oskar470]

A few more good ideas, thank you.

We do have DuraFlame logs here but I think the Xtraflame Firestarter cubes sound less expensive and perhaps easier to use but I will have a look on DuraFlame logs and then compare

 

[kborndale]

I use the rutland squares, 144 in a box and most fires I only need 1 square to get it going.

 

[PaulOinMA]

Newspaper. Kindling. Small branches, logs. Like dad did.

I have two large kindling piles just off the driveway and two smaller piles in the woods. Two garbage cans of kindling and one of small branches and logs in the garage.

 

[ksks]

os, I just buy the cardboard egg cartons that hold 30 eggs and pour in melted candle wax. I've tried other fillers but found just wax works fine. Heat it on the stove and pour it in, let it cool. Very simple. They always light the kindling.

 

[oskar470]

Regardless the Firestarter cubes used you still need newspaper or kindling to get going. I never used any Firestarter cubes so far but I will assume these cubes will not generate enough heat (at the beginning) to heat the air in the chimney and create the required draft so some newspapers or kindling will also be required.

Talking about kindling, that stuff takes lots of space which I don’t have. At the beginning of the season I have some but by the end of the first month they all are gone and then I use the smallest logs I can find to get going.

 

[begreen]

Regardless the Firestarter cubes used you still need newspaper or kindling to get going. I never used any Firestarter cubes so far but I will assume these cubes will not generate enough heat (at the beginning) to heat the air in the chimney and create the required draft so some newspapers or kindling will also be required.

Talking about kindling, that stuff takes lots of space which I don’t have. At the beginning of the season I have some but by the end of the first month they all are gone and then I use the smallest logs I can find to get going.

If I am using a chunk of SuperCedar I don't use any newspaper. A nice steady flame under the kindling is fine. With good dry doug fir I don't even need much kindling.

 

[SpaceBus]

I break down construction waste into small kindling sticks (.25-1.0 inches) which I light with a torch like Highbeam or matches. If I run out of 1 x or 2 x cutoffs then I take my sharp carving hatchet and break down small splits into kindling. We have a coniferous forest so there are always tiny limbs on the bottoms of older trees that work well for starting fires. Sometimes I use old paper bags or junk mail, but paper stinks and doesn't burn as well as very dry pine, spruce, cedar, etc.

 

[xman23]

There are multiply factors that go into starting a fire that doesn't fissile out. And lights up quickly to a roaring fire. Any one not done will be an issue. Do this and it will lite ever time. Guaranteed!
Seasoned wood
Proper log cabin style stacking in the fire box. Spaced off the floor. This is key.
Fire starter between the 2 bottom closely spaced splits.
Firestarter, 1 Paper tube. and 1 starter, I now like Diamond strike a fire. they burn for 12 minutes.

 

[webfish]

Super Cedar Firestarters and I never looked back. Easiest thing ever.

 

[nola mike]

made some fire starters today

I've done it the last couple of years, and can never remember what works and what doesn't. So my half azzed how to: Materials: old candle, saw dust. I've tried dryer lint, but it's harder to break when dry, and ends up with hair in it. Gross. Wax is super messy, and super hard to remove. Keep...

www.hearth.com

 

[St. Coemgen]

I use a top down burn myself. Only needs a few pieces of white paper (much less than a bottom up burn). I currently still get enough white paper in the mail for my needs (I save it up all year, also in summer). If you do not, a ream or two of paper from a stationary store should last a winter season.

Start at the Top — Or How To Build the Perfect Winter Fire

As I have mentioned before, we heat with wood. In fact, wood for heating has been part of my life since childhood and continues to be a common heating method for many in Hungary. For years, while I…

stcoemgen.com

 

[qwee]

I saw where some tests were done to see if the top down method was the best way to start a fire (for reduced pollution). Surprisingly, it was found not to be. The best method? The best method is to do whatever it takes to get your fire up and burning as fast as possible. This could mean starting a side type fire with a torch and lot of stuff that will flame up quickly.

 

[ericm979]

I pick up the small pieces that come off the wood I'm splitting on the splitter. They go into garbage cans which are stored in a dry place. I never need to make kindling, I just pick it up.

I'm still using newspaper to get the kindling going but a propane torch works well too.

 

[RobbieB]

I do 2 ways;

The traditional newspaper, kindling, small splits followed by whole splits.

Wax log. These are big (5 pound) compressed waxed paper (cardboard) that can't be otherwise recycled. Unlike the duraflame stuff (waxed sawdust) they are OK for stoves and inserts. Don't get much heat but they burn a long time. Good for the flame show w/o the heat. If heat is needed splits can be added later.

 

[MoDoug]

The top down method, as detailed in the starting a fire by @begreen, has changed my life as far as this goes. I place a few good solid splits in the bottom of the wood stove, then a couple more on top of them (I don't have a huge stove) then I put a few pieces of kindling on top of all of it, then light with a propane lighter like @Highbeam. It works great, I even mentioned to my wife just a few minutes ago how well this works! I'm sure it would work great for a fire place.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/starting-a-fire.179714/starting
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/how-do-you-light-up-your-fp.183964/#lg=post-2467940&slide=0

 

[ksks]

If your wood is very dry, it likely will start with the fire starters.
You could split little curls off a log with a hatchet.
Use the stringy wood at the beginning.
Toilet and towel paper inner rolls.