Good or Bad????

[CodyWayne718]

sorry if this has been asked before jus cant figure this thing out, is bad or no big deal to keep tryin to start a fire with news paper in your stove if you cant keep it goin??? this thing is really gettin me down

 

[BrotherBart]

Tell us how you are starting the fire.

 

[DAKSY]

Exactly how big is the wood you're trying to burn?
Wad up your newspaper into balls, I use maybe 8 - 10 of them.
On top of them, you should have kindling the size of your fingers.
On top of that you want to have wood the size of your forearm...
Light the newspaper & get the whole thing blazing.
THEN you put the BIG stuff in there.

 

[LLigetfa]

Why does the fire keep going out? Is it wet wood that won't stay lit? Burning newspaper can cause a chimney cap screen to clog. The large flecks of carbon can act as scaffolding on which creosote can form, just like the way ice crystals (snow) form on a grain of dust.

 

[pen]

If you have a modern stove (less than about 10 years old) you may benefit from starting backwards, well from the top with the top down fire building method seen in this video. http://www.ec.gc.ca/cleanair-airpur/videosWoodstove_mgt-Eng.wmv

If you have an old school stove (no epa baffles w/ secondary burn tubes at the top) then you may want to try it w/ the traditional bottom up method as seen below (just don't load your stove up so much w/ the biggest stuff since you aren't that familiar with it)

Or many people have luck when building w/ a combination of the two. Anymore, I take 2 med-large V's and set them in the base making a V in the center. Put a few pieces of kindling down, paper, then more kindling / med stuff. Kind of a hybrid between the two.

All of these are dependent upon your stove being able to burn logs North to South as I have shown. If your stove takes logs E-W, then you may need to experiment more on the line of big things in the back working to smaller stuff and kindling towards the front door.

BTW, other factors such as damp wood, a chimney that is too short or has too large a cross section will also aid in having fire starting problems

Also, the biggest problem with stuffing more and more paper or cardboard in is it's light ash has the potential to travel up the chimney and could plug a chimney cap.

BTW, did you make sure your flu is clear of obstructions?

pen

 

[CodyWayne718]

woddin up news paper with small stuff on top, its prolly bigger than my fingers, it was blazin for about 20 mins the first time with the door open but only the left side seemed to want to burn, damper wide open. what im burning was standing dead red oak or cherry...not too smooth on the wood IDs yet

 

[BrowningBAR]

woddin up news paper with small stuff on top, its prolly bigger than my fingers, it was blazin for about 20 mins the first time with the door open but only the left side seemed to want to burn, damper wide open. what im burning was standing dead red oak or cherry...not too smooth on the wood IDs yet

When was it cut and split?

 

[pen]

There is practice involved with learning how your stove best likes to have fires built in it. Each seems to be different for each wood burner! Only concern that I have is that even if that tree was dead standing, that doesn't mean the wood is completely seasoned.

One way to tell if it's your wood or your technique is to drop 10 bux on 2 bundles of the firewood that you see at the grocery store. That stuff is DRY.

pen

 

[CodyWayne718]

it was cut and split and stacked about a month ago, it seems pretty darn dry,,,,its poppin but not sizzlin....im nervous and paranoid really thou

 

[pen]

that sounds pretty fresh. Take me up on that grocery store wood offer and I bet you'll see a big difference.

Also, what kind of stove are you running? What is your chimney like in terms of dimensions? How is the stove connected to the chimney?

pen

 

[CodyWayne718]

its coalin up pretty good. i jus dont have what it takes to keep this little monster goin lol

 

[CodyWayne718]

vogelzan colonial, 6" liner to the top no block off plate, insulation at the top of liner, liner not insulated so i left chimney open, burns like a mo fo with the door open but as soon as everything is almost coaled up and i add more wood and shut door even with draft wide open it turds out on me

 

[CodyWayne718]

If you have a modern stove (less than about 10 years old) you may benefit from starting backwards, well from the top with the top down fire building method seen in this video. http://www.ec.gc.ca/cleanair-airpur/videosWoodstove_mgt-Eng.wmv

If you have an old school stove (no epa baffles w/ secondary burn tubes at the top) then you may want to try it w/ the traditional bottom up method as seen below (just don't load your stove up so much w/ the biggest stuff since you aren't that familiar with it)


Or many people have luck when building w/ a combination of the two. Anymore, I take 2 med-large V's and set them in the base making a V in the center. Put a few pieces of kindling down, paper, then more kindling / med stuff. Kind of a hybrid between the two.

All of these are dependent upon your stove being able to burn logs North to South as I have shown. If your stove takes logs E-W, then you may need to experiment more on the line of big things in the back working to smaller stuff and kindling towards the front door.

BTW, other factors such as damp wood, a chimney that is too short or has too large a cross section will also aid in having fire starting problems

Also, the biggest problem with stuffing more and more paper or cardboard in is it's light ash has the potential to travel up the chimney and could plug a chimney cap.

BTW, did you make sure your flu is clear of obstructions?

pen

my stove is itty bitty compared to yours, chimney is in good shape, clay liner is good to go

 

[pen]

vogelzan colonial, 6" liner to the top no block off plate, insulation at the top of liner, liner not insulated so i left chimney open, burns like a mo fo with the door open but as soon as everything is almost coaled up and i add more wood and shut door even with draft wide open it turds out on me

this description here points to wet wood imo.

Try some dry stuff and I think you'll be amazed at the difference.

pen

 

[gzecc]

Cut and split a month ago. It should only need 11 more months to season,unless its oak, than it only need another 23 months. I think we identified your trouble!

 

[tickbitty]

Hope you can find some dryer wood. Sorry for your troubles.

Just wanted to say that is a SUPER cute baby though!

 

[Pagey]

Oak can be a real pain to use for starting a fire. I'm burning some red oak that was split into small splits over a year ago, and I still find the occasional piece that will sizzle. Oak is bound very tight, and it does not like to give up its moisture. Try to find some dry pine or maple for starting fires.

 

[albertj03]

It might help if you create an air channel going down the middle of the stove. Take your shovel and just part the coals a little in the middle before loading the wood in. This will allow the hot air in the stove to circulate around the wood better.

Wet wood could be the problem but you may also have a poor draft. Where is the stove located? Are there other appliances near it that also take air from the space? Is the chimney new? If not, when was the last time it was cleaned,

 

[argus66]

1 month old wood is wet. i have 1 yr old oak here thats just getting ready. try the super market wood as stated. my stove is also small and i have no problems with starting.

 

[firefighterjake]

Sometimes you can get lucky with standing dead wood and being able to burn it . . . but oftentimes it's a crap shoot as to how well it will burn . . . maybe if it's been standing dead for several years . . . but in general, most folks here will tell you that attempting to burn wood that has only been cut and split a month earlier (even for most standing dead wood) will be an exercise in futility . . . it definitely sounds as though you've got unseasoned wood based on your descriptions.

In answer to your original question . . . burning newspaper is usually not that big of a deal . . . although as noted it can adhere to the sides of a flue and help creosote get a "foot-hold" so to speak . . . I wouldn't load up an entire firebox full of newspaper, but I do use newspaper to get a cold fire going . . . this time of year I rarely use newspaper except to clean off the haze on the glass . . . but in the shoulder season I end up using quite a bit as I am building fires and letting them die . . . just be sure to do a monthly check and cleaning (if necessary).

 

[quads]

it was cut and split and stacked about a month ago, it seems pretty darn dry,,,,its poppin but not sizzlin....im nervous and paranoid really thou

It needs more time before it's ready to burn. You are about two years too early. You won't see it sizzle until it gets hot enough, and then I bet it will.