What type of wood for kindling?

[rdust]

I'm curious what everyone likes to use. I made about a wheelbarrow full today out of white ash but I'll need a lot more. I figured I'd make a face cord or so of kindling for the winter.

I have white or red oak, ash, silver maple, poplar, hickory walnut, cherry or pine to choose from. What would you use? I'm leaning towards the silver maple or pine.

 

[LLigetfa]

I split 20" long Black Ash. It splits like a dream. I get them down to about as thick as my thumb.

 

[peterc38]

I like white pine for kindling

 

[JustWood]

I like OLD barn siding. Dam near light it with a match.

 

[branchburner]

I like anything that is dry and requires no splitting. Stray branch wood, lumber scrap, etc.
Labor is further reduced by putting the kids to work: kid-ling.

 

[Heem]

I really like maple sticks - of various sizes that drop off of my giant maple tree (future firewood). I gather them up on the weekend and put em in a box. Gets the fire started real quick.

Also Birch bark may as well be gasoline. I'll tuck a couple small curls of it at the very bottom and let it heat the stuff above.

 

[Birdman1]

Love splittin red cedar into thin splits with a hatchet, I get funny looks from the kids when they catch me smellin it

 

[ikessky]

Kiln dried lumber scraps. Starts easy and burns hot to create a nice start up draft. Then I start to add smaller chunks of white ash or hard maple (this usually comes from the ground where the splitter sat by the piles).

 

[quads]

I'm curious what everyone likes to use. I made about a wheelbarrow full today out of white ash but I'll need a lot more. I figured I'd make a face cord or so of kindling for the winter.

I have white or red oak, ash, silver maple, poplar, hickory walnut, cherry or pine to choose from. What would you use? I'm leaning towards the silver maple or pine.

I have no experience with ash, but I'm sure it will work great for kindling. If you are planning to burn 24/7, you most likely won't use a face cord of it. You never can have too much kindling though!

Dad always used jackpine for kindling. I use my seasoned oak and split it up real fine.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

Out of the choices that you listed, I would go with the Silver Maple and Poplar; both ignite very easily, but the Poplar will smoke a little bit. Cherry and Ash will work for kindling also, but I'd give the other two a try and you should be pleased, especially with the Silver Maple.

 

[flyingcow]

If there is a sawmill in area, slab wood works/splits well. I have tons of white cedar on my property, so that's what I use. A few cedar mills around, so if needed people can get slabs real cheap, if not free.

 

[Valhalla]

Split kindling, no way!

Much too much natural small branches to use here. My wife goes to work on this now and then. Breaks them up and puts then in the kindling bin and in a few old milk boxes. They dry really fast and are always handy for a cold start.

It works for me.

 

[rdust]

Split kindling, no way!

Much too much natural small branches to use here. My wife goes to work on this now and then. Breaks them up and puts then in the kindling bin and in a few old milk boxes. They dry really fast and are always handy for a cold start.

It works for me.

My front year is full of pines that are always dropping branches. I just figured it would be easier to split already cut to lengths into kindling rather then dealing with bending over and breaking up branches to fit the stove. Maybe I'll grab a 5 gallon bucket and take a walk out front.

 

[madrone]

oak branches from the yard, oak pallets from work.

 

[rdust]

I have no experience with ash, but I'm sure it will work great for kindling. If you are planning to burn 24/7, you most likely won't use a face cord of it. You never can have too much kindling though!

Dad always used jackpine for kindling. I use my seasoned oak and split it up real fine.

This will be my first year so I'm not sure if I'll burn 24/7 right off the bat. I figured it couldn't hurt to have too much. I want to learn the stove and then I'll have to teach the wife how to use it. She works from home though so once she's comfortable running it we should be all set.

 

[Valhalla]

I have no experience with ash, but I'm sure it will work great for kindling. If you are planning to burn 24/7, you most likely won't use a face cord of it. You never can have too much kindling though!

Dad always used jackpine for kindling. I use my seasoned oak and split it up real fine.

This will be my first year so I'm not sure if I'll burn 24/7 right off the bat. I figured it couldn't hurt to have too much. I want to learn the stove and then I'll have to teach the wife how to use it. She works from home though so once she's comfortable running it we should be all set.

Yes, the wife should know how to use and respect stove. Very important! My wife now loves to care for the stove when I am away. Then there are no statements like "Honey, the stove went cold while you were out, since I did not know how to use it!"

 

[Backwoods Savage]

We use mostly soft maple. Pine is also excellent as is birch. Use anything that is quick and easy to light and gives a good flame.

I doubt that you would need that much kindling though even if you don't burn 24/7. I'm betting once you get that stove working you will be like a lost puppy without the wood heat so you should not need a lot of it. Still, what is left over this year will be even better for use next year.

Even the chips you rake up after splitting will work well for kindling.

 

[rdust]

We use mostly soft maple. Pine is also excellent as is birch. Use anything that is quick and easy to light and gives a good flame.

I doubt that you would need that much kindling though even if you don't burn 24/7. I'm betting once you get that stove working you will be like a lost puppy without the wood heat so you should not need a lot of it. Still, what is left over this year will be even better for use next year.

Even the chips you rake up after splitting will work well for kindling.

I just filled 3 5 gallon buckets with splitter trash this morning. I figure I'll fill my garden cart with splits to make into kindling and hope that is enough. I can also make more later if I need. I think I'll use the silver maple and maybe some pine.

 

[Duetech]

Saw shavings and splitter trash. Saw shavings come from rounds too big to lift up on the splitter. Lay the rounds on their side and halve or quarter them with the chainsaw cutting lengthwise with the grain. A sharp saw will put a mound of shavings on the ground in seconds and when dry the shavings light with a match.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Don't forget that kindling also has to season so storing it in tight containers is not a good idea.

 

[CowboyAndy]

IMO pine is the best kindling. burns hot! the best is kiln dried dimensional lumber (2x4). pallets also work great and can usually be found in abundance.

 

[fossil]

I'm set for a couple of years, I think. Last year we did a pretty major remod on our home, and one little part was to demolish the old deck on the west side. This was all 30 year old untreated cedar 2"x6" decking that we salvaged...didn't keep any of the underlying treated wood. We cut between the joists with circular saws and sawzalls, and stacked all the ~16" 2"x6" boards. Musta had ~1/3 cord of it when we were done. Might have had some finish on it at one time, but there's nary of trace of it now. Splits by waving a hatchet at it. When I get a piece without knots, I can take it down to as small as I want. Pieces with knots just get whatever they'll give up, and those all become the "mid-sized" stuff. I like having a mix of sizes...makes it easier for the wife to get a nice fire going in the morning while I roll over and lay in bed for a while longer. This stuff bursts into flame if you whisper, "Match". %-P Rick

 

[freeburn]

I use any brush that I find in my yard or nearby, throw it in the ditch and wait for it to try enough to break off the small branches. Free, virtually labor free, and I have to use it up anyway. The other place is a scrap kiln dried wood dumpster at my local cabinet maker shop.

 

[Valhalla]

I'm set for a couple of years, I think. Last year we did a pretty major remod on our home, and one little part was to demolish the old deck on the west side. This was all 30 year old untreated cedar 2"x6" decking that we salvaged...didn't keep any of the underlying treated wood. We cut between the joists with circular saws and sawzalls, and stacked all the ~16" 2"x6" boards. Musta had ~1/3 cord of it when we were done. Might have had some finish on it at one time, but there's nary of trace of it now. Splits by waving a hatchet at it. When I get a piece without knots, I can take it down to as small as I want. Pieces with knots just get whatever they'll give up, and those all become the "mid-sized" stuff. I like having a mix of sizes...makes it easier for the wife to get a nice fire going in the morning while I roll over and lay in bed for a while longer. This stuff bursts into flame if you whisper, "Match". %-P Rick

The key words here are "the wife to get a nice fire going in the morning while I roll over and lay in bed..."

Well said! Oh honey, light the stove I need another 80 winks!

 

[Wood Duck]

I think out of your choices I'd go with the straight pieces of maple, poplar, or pine. Among those three the decision would be made based on which splits most easily. Find the easy to split pieces and split those down small. The ones that don't split as easily, don't fight them.