Starting a Stove Fire

[jk96]

I've played around with a few different methods and this seems to work best for me. Keeping the small stuff on top gets the fire burning hot and fast. You can see how little smoke there is with this method as well. Much better than stuffing paper over and over into the bottom of the pile trying to get it to light. Another poster mentioned using a hair dryer. A little battery operated fan such as one from those mist bottles works well also if your in a hurry. A little air movement really hurries things along.

 

[airbiscuit]

I splashed a little diesel on my pants last week while tinkering with a tractor.
When I got back to the house,, the wife would not let me in the house with the pants,,
too much diesel smell,, I had to change pants on the porch.

Those pants are STILL outside airing out,,,

NO diesel is coming in our house,,, :confused2:

You need to spill some diesel on her pants

 

[airbiscuit]

Getcher wife to light the fire.

Back in the day, when we all burned wood, my neighbor used to complain about the massive amounts of kindling his wife used to start a fire. Earlier that year, the Oak Lake Fire burned 11,500 acres of forest and 159 buildings.

He said my wife could have put out the Oak Lake Fire with a truck load of kindling

 

[scdeerslayer]

Thanks. I will certainly try that.

If you find those rotten pines and get to the preserved part in the middle, break or split some off and smell it. It is a unique smell you'll never forget. The more it smells the better it will burn. Might not want to keep it inside because it will make the whole room smell. Even keeping it outside you'll smell it every time you walk by until it airs out a little. Also, with the really good stuff, just handling freshly split splinters will make you feel like you have glue on your hands. You can get some good stuff that still has the rotten wood on it but the best stuff has no sign of rotten wood.

 

[turnkey4099]

Have you ever left out the middle bottom piece and put the starter and kindling in there and then wedges above them. I would think you could get it rolling in half the time.

In the time it takes to do all that I will have my 2 or 3 full sized splits blazing from the bottom up like fire normally burns.

 

[Egon]

What are the round sections? Is that pine for fire starting?

What's on the camp fire? A big trunk and roots?

As a kid, I used these white blocks (ESBIT?), to fire my toy steam engine. I always loved the smell and wonder what they were comprised of.

Small disks picture was inadvertently posted. The lake fire is a tree stump.

 

[4570Man]

Here's my method. I start with this and in the time it took me to go upstairs and change clothes I had this. The time difference in the pictures was 3 minutes. That was more kindling than required, but my brother thinks splitting kindling is fun so I have stacks of it to burn.

 

[TemporaryKubotaOwnerMark]

Back in the day, when we all burned wood, my neighbor used to complain about the massive amounts of kindling his wife used to start a fire. Earlier that year, the Oak Lake Fire burned 11,500 acres of forest and 159 buildings.

He said my wife could have put out the Oak Lake Fire with a truck load of kindling

ROFL!


I've got a boy like that. After all the years we've been wood burning I can't understand how he can still be so bad at starting and tending a fire.... And he's an Eagle Scout!!!! :confused2:

 

[D7E]

Don't think my woodburner has been out since has gone out since end of October . Last fill around 1am rake coals in the morning and fill it up .

 

[Industrial Toys]

Well, I am just trying to start my stone cold stove in the usual way. Some small apple branches, waxed milk carton, fast food garbage and one piece of pine slat. I had a few boxes of the stuff I salvaged from the center of a cable reel. It was clean and stored nice and neat. I have one piece left!

It amazes me. If I build a careful fire, those pine slats catch and burn good. If I sit there with a propane torch for five minutes (like I just did) , have the pine blazing, and leave, the thing goes out!

It's out! Back to square one.