DIY Fire Starter’s

[m7040]

We use news paper to start. Take 3 sheets and roll them and twist and make a loop.

 

[Doofy]

3 Fatwood sticks on crumpled newspaper with 2 or 3 small logs on top of that. Starts every time.

 

[Buggeroff]

We were wondering, what are some of the ways that you guys are making your own fire starter’s. I tried small dried fir cones dipped in wax not good. Now using shredded paper stuffed into an ice tray with melted wax works good! Any other ideas? Thanks in advance for any ideas.

Hi Alan, I cut small blocks of softwood, usually off a length of 3 x 11/2 and fill an old ammo box with them. I then fill the box with some kerosine and let it sit for a few days. Pour off any remaking liquid (back into the bottle) and use 1 or 2 to light the fire. I've been using these for years and I supply some of the neighbors around here with blocks as well. They add their own kerosine. Works a treat.

 

[Markioti]

I use newspaper knots. Open an old newspaper. Take about 3 pages and roll them into a tube then tie it in a knot. Make 3 of these and arrange them on a couple of pages of crumpled paper. Then arrange your smallest wood on the pile. This almost always works for me. Good luck!

 

[naturaledge]

I used to make fire starters using soy wax and animal bedding Pine shavings which are pretty big chunks not like sawdust and a friolator I put a spigot on it's just a pot electric Heats wax in a few minutes and silicone molds work like a charm I think the silicone molds made 24 at a time then you just pop them out work great. But now I use the same setup and I use pine shavings and I run the hot wax over the pine shavings that I shake them up coat the shavings don't have to go too crazy they work great sprinkle on as little or as much as you need. reposenow.com

 

[bgtexas]

We use to take old egg cartons and put dryer lint in each egg position. Then pore melted wax on each lint ball. After the wax dries we would cut the sections apart and store them in a container. Just takes one section to start up the wood stove.

 

[hunt4570]

WHAT is FATWOOD?

Fatwood is a pine that dies and remains standing, all the sap runs down into the stump. Its natural where I live , like someone said split it into pencil size pieces 6-8" long, starts with a match and will start almost anything. I have 5 gallon buckets of it already split and ready to go.

 

[newbury]

Egg cartons? Ours are plastic foam.
Amazon & Walmart are often using thin brown paper, about 6" wide, for packaging inside boxes.
Wife used to drive me nuts flattening that out so it took up less space.
Now I just save that up unflattened.
Maybe add a few drops of diesel.

 

[Ed ke6bnl]

I have a bag of wood pellets from last year that turned powdery from humidity, I will put them in a paper cupcake container and poor melted wax over it and let it solidify. best I have found so far. I just melt old candles. Burn for about ten minutes.

 

[renoel]

Been using a woodstove for ~40 years, 2 - 5 cords depending on how ambitious I am with putting up wood the previous year and how consistent I am starting morning fires ... While I used newspaper crumpled into tight balls along with some kindling in the early years, the last 10 - 15 years I've been using firestarter sticks (e.g. Duraflame), most of which are "Made with wax and a blend of recycled and renewable biomass fibers." However, to get the most bang for my buck, I use a cleaver to lop off a piece and then I cut that in half. For kindling, normally I use the hardwood pieces that fall to the ground during the process of splitting logs and that I store in a trash can. The kindling you see in the photo is the result of recently cleaning up my workshop and finally letting go of scrap pine boards that I was certain I'd someday use for small projects but never did.