paraffin wax firestarters in wood-insert?

[chrishearth]

I just recently got a Vermont Castings Montpelier wood-insert, and I was wondering if it is safe to use the following firestarters in it: http://www.amazon.com/Lightning-Nuggets-N100SEB-Firestarters-Fire-Starting/dp/B000KC009Y

 

[begreen]

As long as they are used only for firestarting they should be ok.

 

[chrishearth]

As long as they are used only for firestarting they should be ok.

As apposed to?

 

[begreen]

As opposed to burning a box of them or wax impregnated logs like a DuraFlame. That will void the warranty.

 

[chrishearth]

Great Thanks begreen !

 

[Sons924]

hey chris hearth. Welcome to the forum. I also have a monty. This will be my third season with the insert. Make sure your firewood is well seasoned in order to get maximum heat. This insert likes to burn hot. The fan will kick on once it reaches a hot enough temperature, and will shut off as its cooling down. I like to leave the door cracked until the draft gets established. Good luck with it.

 

[chrishearth]

Thanks Sons924,
The manual says not to leave the door open:

WARNING: Operate your Montpelier Medium Insert only with the door fully closed. If the door is left partially open, gas and flame may be drawn out of the fireplace opening, creating risks of both fire and smoke.

Why do you do that?

 

[begreen]

If the draft is not strong it's not uncommon to leave the door slightly ajar to admit more air when starting the fire. As soon as the fire is going well it should be closed.

PS: If one does need to have the door ajar while the fire is starting, stay with the fire. If you have to go away nearby for any reason bring a timer set to 5 minutes to remind you to come back and close the door.

 

[Sons924]

Exactly. If you use the Firestarters you probably won't need to Crack the door to get a draft started. If you light it without the Firestarter you could find that as soon as you lock the door down without a fire established it will smolder and go out. Due to the air tight nature of the stove. To avoid this, I light it and keep the door open just slightly, and it forces air to fuel the fire. Once the fire is going, you close the door.

 

[Fod01]

Welcome to the Monty family. Good luck with the stove.

Gabe

 

[Wood Duck]

The need to leave the door cracked open probably depends more on the chimney than the stove. You might have a stronger draft than Sons924 and not have to crack the door when starting. Once the fire gets going and there is a column of hot air going up the chimney, the draft increases and the door can be closed.

 

[SteveKG]

Many stoves need to have the door cracked a while to establish a fire and good draft. I have three good stoves; one will get going fine with the doors shut from light-off, the other two need a slightly opened door for maybe 15 minutes. Just be sure to be home long enough to get to the door-closing stage before leaving the premises and forgetting to do so.

 

[seabert]

I just recently got a Vermont Castings Montpelier wood-insert, and I was wondering if it is safe to use the following firestarters in it: http://www.amazon.com/Lightning-Nuggets-N100SEB-Firestarters-Fire-Starting/dp/B000KC009Y

I like to use a hot air gun that I bought at Harbor Freight to warm up the firebox before lighting. It gets the draft started so I when I light the kindling with a propane torch things get going nice and quickly. The trick I have found is that you should not feel any cool air coming from the stove before lighting. My chimney is just one of those that needs a little help when starting up. Once I have things warmed up its good to go.

 

[drz1050]

The Supercedar firestarters that everyone recommends around here are paraffin & cedar chips. I've been making my own lately by collecting the wood chips/ sawdust that comes off the envi blocks, putting them in an old egg carton and pouring wax on top. They light easy and burn for about 10 minutes.