Starting a Stove Fire

[CobyRupert]

I consider it a challenge to re-start a fire when there just one or two visible ember glowing. The challenge is optimal placement of that ember so that heat can transfer to you new material, yet air (oxygen) can still circulate and create combustion.
So it's a bit of contradiction. Having it tight, but having pathways for air.

Often it's important that the piece of wood you're trying to catch has enough low mass edges/splinters ("hair") that heat transfer and circulation are optimal so that the flame will spread.

Advanced placement involves having the pathways so the flame travels and heats more material, and your draft causes air speed through that pathway to be increased causing a blast furnace effect. When I stack the kindling in, leave these gaps/alleys between the pieces.

For me cheating is using a set of bellows. Or a match.

Use dry wood.

I use to start with placing some newspaper at the bottom of the stove and progressively building up with box board, kindling, and then firewood, but I found that taking two big pieces of wood setting them as a base to set the paper on has many benefits. (It's combustible. When you do get a fire going the new coals will get this burning too, plus the "base wood" creates pathways for air to reach the fire above. (- often once your starting material quickly burns, sometimes the fire gets smothered by the larger material on top, or in the ashes or the heat of your fire is being "drained" by the stove surface.

 

[Snobdds]

I just buy a bag of wood chips for animal bedding and some kerosene. I have metal coffee can I put some wood chips into then pour some kerosene on top of it. Then I just dump in the hearth and add a few dry pieces of wood. The kerosene allows the wood chips to burn slowly and it gets the flue temp up quickly. Then I add some logs and go about my day. Takes all of 3 minutes to light a fire.

 

[atsah]

I don't experience the issues you're having. Once in the heart of winter, my stove pretty much burns 24/7. I hardly ever starting a fire from scratch during this time. I make my own kindling by splitting splits in 1x1 or 1x2 splits. I'll fill a 40 gallon trash can with them. One or two fat wood sticks or those square compressed cardboard fire starters and I'm good to go.

This is pretty much my approach. OP don't soak anything is any liquid, not a good idea in a wood stove. If you have a big enough stove and use good hardwood in the evening you should be able to start the stove back up with little effort in the morning. Remove only the ashes on each side of the stove not all of them. My Hearthstone Heritage has an ash draw that I never use because most of the valuable ash comes out so I shovel the dead ash from the sides. Fatwood is good, I have a softwood mill that brings me dry hemlock slabs for free that I split and use for kindling.

 

[Looking4new]

Can one make something (cheap) similar to the store bought logs that come in a paper bag? You put a match to them, and they are good to go. They look like compressed saw dust, but what makes them burn?

Dollar Store sells fire starters. $1.25/each package of 12. 3 strips of 4 and they are scored where they will break off.. Use a couple and some birch bark .
I certainly would NOT use any chemical acceleration such as diesel, kerosene, gasoline or motor oil in my woodstove in the house.

 

[Gunny]

I use these, strike like a match on the side of the box, lay it in the stove, add some kindling, then your firewood. These burn for 12 minutes, so it easily gets the kindling going.

$8.40 for 48 starters

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Diamond-Strike-A-Fire-Firestarter-48ct/32468956

 

[RedNeckGeek]

A Google search turns up plenty of links on home made Presto logs:

home made presto log - Google Search

But my guess is makin' 'em yourself would be more work than just starting with dry wood and using a good starting technique. If you don't have a decent moisture meter for measuring your firewood, get one. No better way to tell what's going on.

Started using a wood stove as my primary winter heat source a few years ago, and found that the "top down" method works great:
A non-commercial service in support of responsible home heating with wood - Top-Down Fires Step-by-Step

Don't be fooled by the pictures though. I use the chips I gathered a few years ago when I split about 10 cords of oak. No more than a half dozen on top of the pile of splits, then one or two newspaper knots is all it takes, at least with my very dry wood. A quick light with one of those long nose disposable lighters and it'll take right off. Sometimes I'll close the door 'till there's just a crack open to create more of a draft, but usually I just close the door and latch it. The damper on the QuadraFire stove I use will automatically shut down in about fifteen minutes, which is more than enough to get the fire roaring. If there's a bed of coals left from the night before, I rake them to the front, throw on a few chips, then stack the splits on as usual. Then I use a foot long piece of aluminum tubing to blow on the embers until they flame up, and it's off to the races from there. If it's a big bed of coals, I just throw the splits on and close the door and it takes right off.

 

[deanocraft]

I am a woodworker and I build banjos for a living. A by-product of that process are very fine shavings off my lathe, which is an awesome fire starter. I generate this stuff by the bag full and a handful and a single match will get a properly laid fire roaring in no time. In the picture, you see me holding some walnut shavings. The 4 bags are filled with similar stuff of various wood species. I also generate a large amount small hardwood scrap that will go on top of the shavings between 2 decent logs. I light it with a single match and it will get going strong in a very short time. I do go back and add more wood on top once the hardwood scrap gets churning.

 

[jwalk2c]

Heated with wood for 30 plus years and this is the method I have settled on the past 10 years or so.
I have a Lopi fireplace insert that draws air in front center area under door.
So to create an air pocket for kindling, I position two pcs of split wood placed on coal bed, or if I just emptied ashes on floor of stove, from front to back about a foot apart, just something to create an air space for the kindling.
What I use for kindling is a handful of cardboard that I cut with a box cutter on a cutting mat, into 3 or 4 inch wide strips. I then lay 2 or 3 split pcs of wood across the cardboard that I stuff into that air pocket created with the two pcs of firewood that are on floor of stove.
I use a Bernzomatic TS8000 torch to ignite cardboard.
I probably made this sound more precise than it actually has to be. More times than not I will just stuff a bunch of cardboard in bottom of stove, throw the wood on top and hit it with the torch.
Of course this only works if you have a source of free easy to get cardboard, but it seems many people do.
Good luck
Johnny Walker
Forgot to mention. don't forget to give the stove plenty of air, and enough cardboard to generate the heat needed based on wood dryness and type.

 

[dodge man]

Anyone try gasoline? That will get a fire going in a hurry and you don't have to worry about feeding the fire, you house will get plenty hot on its own. Just kidding, DON'T USE GAS. I also use the fire starter blocks from Walmart. It seems like a box of them lasts quite a while. I place it between two pieces of wood, and them stack more wood at an angle across the top of it. Like someone above said, you kind of want it packed together but with enough gaps to allow air through it.

 

[4570Man]

I bought a metal cat litter scoop to sift out the coals from a nearly dead fire to help getting it restarted. It doesn't work as well as I'd hoped. The easiest solution is keep the fire going.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Thanks. Actually, my weekend companion usually looks after that. She wasn't here this weekend, so maybe that prompted the thread. I was fire-less much of the weekend. Talk about LAZY!

I used to use that gell in the downstairs stove, mostly because if you didn't get it right the first time, you could be smoked out.
But it's pricey.

My Dad told me about waxed cartons, that helps, and I do burn them all, but still too slow for starting.!

I know there used to be a gizmo that rolled up newspapers and would be curious if anybody has ever used that. Can't see it working myself.

I have a stove and fireplace in the house, and three more stoves in other buildings, so I would still like to find a faster, walk away, type method.

 

[Deere Dude]

I tried lots of different ways, store bought and home made things like cotton in egg cartons with wax, etc. I tried using shredded paper handfuls under small kindling building up to bigger pieces. They all seem to work to some degree and some were mentioned in this thread. They never worked as fast as I wanted them to.

I finally settled on diesel soaked lumber chips like 2x4 scrap pieces and small plywood pieces. I do some wood working so it is always available. With 2 or 3 foot pieces I either throw big pieces in the fireplace or small pieces for starter. Started pieces work for me.

The pieces are drained good and diesel only covers the outside of the pieces but is enough to get any manufactured wood going nicely as per post #15.

Don't use anything with a low flash point like gas or anything as messy as oil. Diesel or kerosene works great for quick reliable sure fire startling. I have been using this every morning every winter since about 2000.

Diesel is not flammable enough to worry about it jumping out and getting you like gas would be.

 

[dodge man]

The newspaper roller was meant to get something that looked like a log, you'd burn that instead of wood. Not really meant to be a fire starter.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I really don't want the smell of diesel in the house, but might try kerosene. Curious, if particle board would swell and soak up kerosene like it does water. Because, normally it doesn't burn well.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

I really don't want the smell of diesel in the house, but might try kerosene. Curious, if particle board would swell and soak up kerosene like it does water. Because, normally it doesn't burn well.

Kerosene stinks worse than modern low-sulfur diesel. Paraffin lamp oil may be an alternative.

I just use kindling and leave the door open until the fire is well caught. For restarting from embers, go to your local farm store and buy a small bellows. 30 seconds of whoofing will start a fire fine if there is any life in the coals.

 

[TemporaryKubotaOwnerMark]

If you need all that fancy stuff your wood is wet.

 

[PILOON]

Another thing to consider.
There is a bunch of cold air in that chimney and B4 it will draw you need to fill it with hot air and push out that cold.
One simple trick is a 100 watt bulb for a short while to start that draw or flow.
Sure a fire will eventually work but with a certain amount of smoke in the house.
Sometimes a wad or 2 of fast burning paper will do the trick but still with some smoke but the light bulb or maybe the butane torch will speed things up.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I burn a lot of standing dead elm and just garbage from wind fall. Even though kept out of the weather for a couple of years, it is hard starting.

I keep old bacon grease in the fridge that I use to help get a fire going. Smells good outside.

 

[MossRoad]

I bought a metal cat litter scoop to sift out the coals from a nearly dead fire to help getting it restarted. It doesn't work as well as I'd hoped. The easiest solution is keep the fire going.

I found that cat litter scoops are too open. So, I got a cheap metal ash scoop and drilled a bunch of 1/8" holes in it to use as a sifter. It catches all the charcoal and hot coals that are left. I just push everything to the left side, take a scoop, hold it over the cleared right side and shake it. The ash falls through and the coals/charcoal remain. I toss those in the back right corner and repeat. Once all the ash is sifted, I scoop it into the metal ash can (we have an ash drawer under the stove), and move the coals/charcoal back to the front of the stove. Set in the new wood, a couple pieces of paper go in last, shut the door, open the air, and about a minute later... POOF!

 

[MossRoad]

Thanks. Actually, my weekend companion usually looks after that. She wasn't here this weekend, so maybe that prompted the thread. I was fire-less much of the weekend. Talk about LAZY!

I used to use that gell in the downstairs stove, mostly because if you didn't get it right the first time, you could be smoked out.
But it's pricey.

My Dad told me about waxed cartons, that helps, and I do burn them all, but still too slow for starting.!

I know there used to be a gizmo that rolled up newspapers and would be curious if anybody has ever used that. Can't see it working myself.

I have a stove and fireplace in the house, and three more stoves in other buildings, so I would still like to find a faster, walk away, type method.

As others have mentioned, this is what I do to start a fresh fire in our woodstove, as well....

Take two dry pieces of split wood and set them 2" apart down the center of the stove with the split edges facing the center. Not the bark side.

Then take a couple more and set them against the outer edges of the first two, towards the outer walls. What you're aiming for is a bed of wood across the bottom of the stove with a 2" gap running down the middle.

Next, build a second layer, also with a 2" gap down the middle.

Then open up some newspaper, then crumble it lightly and put it in the gap all the way towards the back of the stove. Stick in about 3-4 more pieces the same way until the gap is full. You don't want to pack it. But you don't want to get it too loose, either. If you want, you can put some kindling on top of the paper, but I haven't used kindling in about 4 years. I still have a barrel full of it in the woodshed. I just don't need it. If the wood is dry, and the gap isn't too large or too small, the wood lights directly off of the paper.

Make sure all your air controls are open, light the paper at the bottom in front, throw the match in, close the door and off you go.

My fires light up well this way. I set the alarm on my iPhone and come back in about 20-25 minutes and check it. If its burning well, I shut down the air control to the level I want. If not, I let it burn another 15 minutes and check on it again. :thumbsup: