Trick to get paper to burn longer

[MishMouse]

A friend of mine suggested that I spray cooking spray (lightly) on a piece of newspaper and crumple it up loosely when starting the wood stove. The cooking spray will allow the newspaper to burn more slowly allowing the wood to catch. I tried a test this morning and it did stop the paper from burning to quickly and it did allow for it to create the draft and catch the wood I had in there.

 

[Jags]

This also works for starting "chimney" type charcoal starters. A little squirt of canola on the paper and crumple it up.

 

[bmblank]

Essentially making an oil lamp with paper as a wick. I could see how it'd be useful. I sometimes have issues with that and need a TON of paper getting it going. This would require less paper and therefore less ash clogging stuff up.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

cooking spray is essentially veggie oil, so by adding that to the paper the additional burn time is from the oil itself. small amounts on startup would not IMHO cause any issues with any stove.

 

[Dave A.]

I always put aside the paper used to drain bacon and other fried food for starting fires in the stove.
And will make my own fire starters with sawdust and wood scrap pieces swept up from wood pile--put them in small cardboard half and half container (top cut off) or other small cardboard containers and pour melted bacon & other meat fat on it, let it solidify (basically recycling--otherwise'd throw that stuff out -- or rancid veg oil poured on scrap paper in a small cardboard container works too). If I got the paper egg containers would use them (unfortunately get best prices on eggs at Bottom Dollar and they are styrofoam.)

 

[Hogwildz]

I use firestarters;-)

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Super Cedars!

 

[Jags]

Super Cedars!

You burn paper with Super Cedars? Sounds extravagant to me.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Nope. We just read the papers. Well, sometimes we read them...

 

[katwillny]

Dennis, dont read the paper, its nothing but bad news, Unless the Yankees win, then its good news. to the OP, I'd recommend fire-starters from Walmart, you get 24 for 10$ and if you break them in three you get enough to last you almost the entire winter. At least that's what has worked for me.

 

[lopiliberty]

I ran out of fire starters this year and its very hard or impossible for me to get a fire going with news paper so my dad and I plained some super dry oak boards a couple weeks ago and there was a whole garbage can full of sawdust so I decided to keep it and use it for fire starting. I just sprinkle a potato stick can full of the super dry sawdust in the stove make a tunnel in front of the doghouse air lay the kindling on top and I have a roaring fire in seconds.

 

[BrotherBart]

And the reason you want the paper to burn more slowly is exactly what?

I want the stuff to giddy up and go.

 

[fossil]

I use Super Cedars to start fires. I use newspapers to quiet all the beer cans in my recycle bin.

 

[bmblank]

The problem with the plain paper is it burns up so damn fast that it doest have time to bring the wood to combustion. Sometimes it takes a crap load of paper just to burn long enough to get the wood going. That creates a ton of ash, you know, as if you're burning a crap load of paper.

 

[BrotherBart]

Thirty years blowing on sticks to start a fire. Three years using Super Cedars. What the hell was I thinking all of those wasted years?

As some really wise individual is quoted as saying on their website: "Super Cedars are like finding hot coals in a cold stove.".

Put the paper in the trash bag. Or burn it on the lawn.

 

[Cynnergy]

I have a friend who recommended using wax paper for lighting the oil stove - works a treat - the paper burns a lot longer and no ash left over in the burn pot. I'm planning on using Super Cedars for the woodstove though - I got a sample and those things keep burning for ages!

 

[coldkiwi]

IF you are going to use oil on paper make sure it is olive oil... way more healthy!

 

[begreen]

If you are using any oil in the firebox you may be in warranty violation.

 

[Dave A.]

Or paper, cardboard, and other non-firewood combustibles, depending on what it says in the user manual, I suppose. Point taken.

 

[nate379]

Same other than the Walmart here has boxes of 48 for $10.

Dennis, dont read the paper, its nothing but bad news, Unless the Yankees win, then its good news. to the OP, I'd recommend fire-starters from Walmart, you get 24 for 10$ and if you break them in three you get enough to last you almost the entire winter. At least that's what has worked for me.

 

[Seanm]

Since the day I started using fat wood I havent used paper. Its so easy, light two pieces, stick them in and close the stove for 2-3 hours before reloading.

 

[DoubleClutch]

Sounds like a good way to apply a nice coating of cooking spray onto your chimney when the oil vapor from the cold woodstove goes up the flue and condenses on the cold stack.

Personally, I would just use more paper (or some cardboard on top of the paper) to avoid that sort of thing. Any sort of oil, tar, resin, sap, creosote, whatever will build up fast on a stack cold enough to make the vapor condense, which is exactly what you have when you start a cold woodstove.

 

[savageactor7]

I roll up a crumpled used paper towel so it looks like a blunt, lay it in between and under a few splits and spray with diesel fuel form one of the atomizer bottles. DONE!

Started doing it that way after the temperate winter of 2 years ago requiring so many restarts from a cold box.

 

[rideau]

Warranty issue with a number of the suggestions. Woodstock doesn't allow cardboard, for instance, let alone the diesel fuel. Like the idea of curls of wood from planing. I might just try that sometime.

 

[Dave A.]

Sounds like a good way to apply a nice coating of cooking spray onto your chimney when the oil vapor from the cold woodstove goes up the flue and condenses on the cold stack.

Personally, I would just use more paper (or some cardboard on top of the paper) to avoid that sort of thing. Any sort of oil, tar, resin, sap, creosote, whatever will build up fast on a stack cold enough to make the vapor condense, which is exactly what you have when you start a cold woodstove.

What about the wax in firestarters -- doesn't that contain resins, oils or fats?