Ashful
Minister of Fire
Maybe bourbon has a viscosity too low for the wick to properly retain it? Did your breath smell of lighter oil?I filled it all the time? No problem, it possibly went upside down while I was drinking, er um fishing
Maybe bourbon has a viscosity too low for the wick to properly retain it? Did your breath smell of lighter oil?I filled it all the time? No problem, it possibly went upside down while I was drinking, er um fishing
You can waste your time soaking shipping boxes in waste oil, and then worry about what the metals in that waste oil is doing to your catalytic combustor.These are marketed to empty your pockets. Do not buy.
Try the free option: soak shipping boxes in waste oil. Really good for starting fire.
And explicitly forbidden in most stove manuals.Waste oil in the house and then into the stove? That sounds very messy and nasty. I'll stick with fatwood. I can get my stove going with a single stick.
IGoing into my 2nd winter with a wood stove (Kuma Tamarack). Last year I started my stove by taking splits and then splitting them down into thin kindling strips with my Kindlin’ Cracker and a 5lb sledge hammer. Worked great, stove always started up with ease and pretty fast. However, been having some problems with my right arm / shoulder and I’m no spring chicken anymore and just not sure I’m going to be able to use the 5lb sledge hammer and the Kindlin’ Cracker this year to make kindling.
Are there any really good wood stove starters that you can buy online or DIY ideas ? I’d like to buy some starters in bulk that will light my main splits from the top down without having to add kindling or newspaper to the process. Thanks in advance!
These are all good points. Though you'll have to take my blowtorch from my cold dead hands. 😉I like clean burning Super Cedars. There's no waste and usually, just a small chunk of about 1/6th of a puck will start the fire. A handful of pucks will last a season as we are normally burning 24/7 Nov-Feb. No waste or metal propane cylinders heading to the landfill. I also like supporting this small family-run business. They are good folks.
I have so much damn kindling in bags it is insane. I throw most of it in the fire pit. Every cord you split you should have enough to start that cord times ten. Pick out the longer pieces and throw the crap into a burn pile while drinking four beers that night.I can't imagine buying kindling when I have cords of firewood stacked up, waiting for a few pieces to become kindling. I just cut a piece or two of straight-grained wood in half with my chop saw, or chain saw if it's already out, and split it into kindling-size pieces with my kindling cracker. If well-seasoned, hardwood kindling works as well as softwoods for kindling, perhaps better, because it burns longer. Stingy as I am, I do buy fatwood to start the kindling with, rather than mess with newspaper. But I split the pieces into halves or quarters, to make the box start 2-4 times as many fires. I picked up a folding cleaver knife, which are becoming more popular, to split the fatwood. They have thicker, stouter blades. I just rest the blade on the fatwood piece, on a hard surface, and give it a hard tap on the back with with bottom of my closed fist. If your kindling is dry and you stack the pieces loosely, one small sliver of fatwood will get it going. Let it burn down a bit and add your firewood. This method evolved over 30 years of burning wood. I've never been so arrogant as to claim my way is the best or only way, but it works for me.
Part of me feels guilty wasting the garbage. A very small part.I don't bother with kindling anymore. When I come across anything smaller than 4" diameter in my stacks today, I curse my former self for wasting space and time on it.
I hear you. I struggle with that sentiment, myself. But when I step back and look at the bigger picture, I always end up feeling more guilty about wasted time, than wasted material. Nature enjoys the small stuff I leave behind!Part of me feels guilty wasting the garbage. A very small part.
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