DIY Fire Starter’s

[bcp]

Bruce

 

[MF RED in MT]

Extra virgin?

Hand sanitizer, might have to try that, just to see if nothing else. I use fatwood too.

Load wood, piece of fatwood on top, a few pieces of smallish wood and there it is, a nice fire.

Fatwood for the last 3 years and forever...

KC

 

[jjeff]

I know other folks that have nothing but glowing reviews of "fatwood" fire starters.
Why?

 

[Kernopelli]

I belong to a fishing club and we meet every morning for coffee and we light a fire every morning through the winter. We keep a supply of corn cobs soaked in diesel. They are kept in a metal bucket w/lid on the deck. Tongs are the preferred method of grabbing one out of the bucket and placing it in the fire place. Keep a paper towel under the cob to catch any drips when you bring it in. They light easily and safely with a match and burn for a considerable amount of time.

 

[MAX-24-Dean]

Ok, im guilty of thread drift, but what lamps do you have?

They are all homemade olive oil lamps. Mason Jar (with a handle if you can find them), wick material, wire and olive oil.

Starting in the middle of a piece of wire, close the pliers over the wire and wrapped the wire around the head of a pair of pliers (large needle nose pliers have given the best results for me) to make a spiral that gets gradually larger in diameter with a large base for the wire and wick to sit on. Placed inside a pint or quart jar to size it up for the location to place a hook on the top of the jar rim. This holds everything in place.

Go back and bend part of the narrow portion (tightest wound part) of the spiral open, so you can insert a wick through the top part of the spiral. Re-adjust the hook on the rim of the glass jar if necessary.

We need to let the wick soak for 10 to 15 minutes before lighting it. To light, I lift the wick and spiral assembly out of the mason jar and light with a match, then lower it back into the jar catching the rim with the hook in the wire.

The last ones were made using coat hangers for the metal wire.

Probably the safest type oil lamp to use. The flame will only burn on the wick, if the wick burns down to the oil height the flame goes out.

When we used them regularly, we burned 2 to 4 ounces of olive oil per night per lamp and 3 lamps put out about 100 lumens. Placed in front of a mirror it helps light up a room fairly well.

Most of our light is now from our solar inverter battery storage.

 

[WranglerX]

Plain old newspaper wadded up and small kindling wood..... Out of desperation propane torch....

 

[WranglerX]

WHAT is FATWOOD?

 

[Eagle1]

I thought we asking for something take a spark and go from there. Otherwise paper, cardboard and kindling work fine. If it's moist wood and outside add a milk jug or similar. In my burn pit feedbag are the starter because that's were I throw em

 

[Eagle1]

WHAT is FATWOOD?

Pitch rich pine....

 

[Gordon Gould]

Newspaper and kindling made from cut-offs from the softwood landing split small

Fill this rack behind the stove almost to the ceiling.

It is good to make it easy for the wife I have found.

gg

 

[rangerfredbob]

I know other folks that have nothing but glowing reviews of "fatwood" fire starters.
Why?

Being fuel rich (as stated above it's sap soaked pine) it lights super easy and is kinda like a candle so it burns for a while with flames so it adds heat and flames to the kindling and firewood. Splitting it up to smaller pieces it lasts me forever, getting I think is a 40 pound box for around $60 lasts me for years so like $12 a year? it's waterproof, compact and stores forever... like said we don't get news paper and don't like burning shiny print paper or paper at all really... Walmart has small boxes of fat wood usually for around $10, maybe pick up a box and try it... using big pieces is hard to light (and smokey) but small lights easy.

Using it just for starting fires shouldn't hurt the chimney... it would take forever for that to accumulate from just fire starter...

 

[dodge man]

Fatwood is from the heart of the pine tree, usually down near the stump and has a lot of resin in it. It burns nicely.

I usually pick up thin stray pieces of wood when I split. They are usually a quarter inch thick roughly. I like them just a few inches wide and at least 6 inches long. I then put a fire starter block on top of these pieces to get the fire starter block off the floor of my fireplace and up on the rack. I then stack wood around and above it.

 

[BnRidge]

I used to make up a batch of egg carton wax and sawdust firesrarters. Then I got lazy and skipped the sawdust. They work just as well.

 

[Smokeydog]

Oak dried two, three, seven years out of the rain requires no kindling. One or two sheets newspaper to start a full charge. Insulated stainless liner flu pipe is self cleaning and has Strong draw. Starts like a blow torch every time. Buck model 91 stove going for 32 years.

 

[JohnnyMX]

Usually, a sheet or two of crumpled newspaper (penny savers) and then we have tons of scraps/slivers from small wood working projects that we do throughout the year. I also have a mix of wood loaded so when stacking I will mix in some incredibly dry staghorn sumac that has been split. It turns into balsa wood after minimal drying to the point you could almost just light one directly.

 

[Cougsfan]

I have been putting a tablespoon or two of diesel on a used paper hand towel that I have saved to start the wood stove in my shop. Works great.

 

[sdquick]

When we get frisky we take dryer lint and push it in egg cartons then drip melted wax on the top then cut those up, works GREAT

My go to is fat wood, buy it in huge quantity like HERE, they come in big pieces, take a hatchet and split them into pencil size pieces, take say 3 of those and light one and put them under some kindling then put firewood directly on top of that and you have a fire... as far as quantity and storage, one of those boxes fits in 3 of the christmas style popcorn tins and one box lasts me 3-4 years (they're cheaper in the off season)

The other dumb option is hand sanitizer, it's amazing what 3 squirts on some kindling will do , I found gallons of hand sanitizer at home depot clearance (it's crazy what they do once they're not required to supply it...) for $1 a gallon so I bought a bunch of that so I'm covered for years...

I also have saved egg cartons through the year and then use cotton balls (to lazy to collect lint) and candles that my wife is getting rid of, or find some cheap ones at a good will. Make a bunch at one time and cut them up and keep in a galvanized bucket next to the wood stove.

 

[shooterdon]

Never needed any. Normally just use coals left from the night burn. If starting without coals, juice/cream cartons, Amazon boxes etc.

 

[TractorTYMe]

Sawdust and used motoroil, works great for gittin the stove running on a cold day. 3/4 coffee can of sawdust, add used motoroil until it looks like thick tar. Add to stove with some kidnling, lite it and add firewood.

 

[DynamicD]

I personally have had good results with the Duraflame Fatwood. (found the best price at my local walmart)
Id usually crumple up some newspaper for a base (or put down a paper egg carton)
put 3 fatwood sticks on top of that followed with some smallish logs on top.