I need tips on lighting and maintaining a fire with North Idaho Energy Logs

[chekhonte]

Hi all, this winter I started burning north idaho energy logs. I used to burn a lot of wood about 8 years ago as a renter and I"m no stranger to getting a fire going and keeping it fed. I'm having some trouble with my NIEL's though. I don't have any kindling and paper is not nearly hot enough and doesn't burn long enough to get them going. I've resorted to whacking them with a hammer to knock off the end and use these disks of various sized to get a fire going along with those stupid waxy compressed sawdust starters. I feel like a total poser.

When I do get a decent fire going I'm having trouble with balancing the air intake. Either it's burning too fast or I'm choking it and creating a lot of smoke and soot which is no good for the environment, the flue or the stove. I'm used to dry wood which I could keep the vents near closed on my old stove and you'd get those nice, slow rolling flames. If I do that with the NIELS I suffocate them.

Is there some things I should know about keeping these logs happy while they're burning?

 

[mass_burner]

After extensive research with many compressed products and I've come to conclude that there's nothing like wood. It coals better that any other fuel.

I have similar results to yours when using Niels alone, that's why I mix them with wood splits. I usually break them in half and load north/south. You can't let them coal for too long or they tend to mush up, you've got to add more.

 

[Wood Duck]

One thing to keep in mind is that the amount of air a stove gets will vary according to the flue and weather conditions. If your old stove burned well at half air, for example, the exact same stove and fuel with a different flue might need to be set at 3/4 because the flues are different. Add to that the fact that the draw of a given flue will vary with the weather. I am not saying that the Neils are as good as firewood, but that you shouldn't expect the air control on the current stove to be comparable to the old one. With my stove I almost always have the air set close to fully open because my flue doesn't draw very well.

 

[jetsam]

I don't know anything about burning bricks, but I do know how to set stuff on fire!

I use a MAPP torch with a fat camping gas propane cylinder on the rare occasion my stove has to be relit. (Because I use the MAPP for plumbing, and propane is a lot cheaper, and the torch itself is happy with either one.)

 

[brad wilton]

Hi chekhonte,what i would suggest is to let them burn longer at start up.they are compressed wood they take longer to establish burn .very finnickey at start up but once they get going they give you a nice burn.ex :if you leave it for 20 minutes at start up before shut down air leave it for 35 see what happens

 

[chekhonte]

After extensive research with many compressed products and I've come to conclude that there's nothing like wood. It coals better that any other fuel.

I have similar results to yours when using Niels alone, that's why I mix them with wood splits. I usually break them in half and load north/south. You can't let them coal for too long or they tend to mush up, you've got to add more.

I was afraid of an answer like that. I think I'll go and get a cord of mixed wood this week end. I don't think I'll even go through the NIELS I have let alone another cord of wood since this winter in seattle is so mild but I'll pull out the madrona and let it season for another year since it's always too wet.

 

[chekhonte]

Hi chekhonte,what i would suggest is to let them burn longer at start up.they are compressed wood they take longer to establish burn .very finnickey at start up but once they get going they give you a nice burn.ex :if you leave it for 20 minutes at start up before shut down air leave it for 35 see what happens

I actually just lit the first fire of today after my post and did just that. I let it go with the door cracked a half inch until it was fulling going. I also changed up how I lay them out. I put down two logs right next to each other with a 3 inch broken off end on top of them and a wax starter under that broken piece and it started up much better than it ever has for me. It seems to be continuing to burn well a couple hours later though the intakes are open more than I'd like. I live in an older house and I just hate the idea that I'm sucking out so much warm air. I guess I'll just have to live with it.

 

[begreen]

SuperCedar firestarters are great for getting these logs ignited.

 

[bioman]

might try leaving a little space between them & see if that helps.

 

[begreen]

An air gap is important to assist combustion with these dense logs.

chekhonte what stove are you burning these logs in and how are you setting up the fire?
For a bit more info here is my review of NIELs burning in a Jotul F400.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/wiki/Northern_Idaho_Energy_Logs/

 

[PWash]

when burning only niel's and starting from a cold stove, i cut up two logs into about twelve 1 inch thick discs and arrange them into a tight stonehenge pattern with a firestarter. chopping the niels with a hatchet is a pain so i try to start a coal bed with kindling and normal wood. whole niels start up easy for me if i already have hot coals.

 

[mass_burner]

You can also lay down a half inch bed of pellets under the Niels, start a small kindling fire between them and the pellets wiil catch and get the Niels going. You won't need to have the door open until the Niels catch, just the pellets, which catch much faster.