Who uses a LOT of kindling?

[spike60]

Opening disclaimer: This is not meant to be a debate about stove types and burn times, so please...........

But I'm one of those guys who goes through a lot of kindling and I'm curious how other guys approach this. Reasons are varied; burn time, wood type, time away from house.

Don't always need to start from newspaper, but even with some coals still in the stove when I get home, I usually have to toss some kindling in to get 'er going again. During the week, only loading the stove with white oak or hickory will leave enough coals to restart with splits. Other oak and hard maple, enough coals for kindling. Ash, soft maple and such, I'm wadding up newspaper.

My kindling source has mostly been wood from the pallets and tractor crates. Gotta expect to hit at least one unseen nail when cutting them up. Then bust them up with a hatchet. So, a little bit of work involved. Other source is to just go out and pick up branches laying on the ground. Pretty much an endless supply, and easy to just brake them up by hand. Sometimes I wonder why I mess with the crate wood, although I think the crates give better kindling. Thinking I'll use my almost empty chunk box and load up on branch wood and see how that does. Box is 6x3x3 so it should be interesting to see how long that amount lasts.

So, what do you other "heavy users" do for kindling?

 

[Deleted member 135597]

my stove is like the Olympic torch, it never goes out

 

[pweber]

We've got no shortage of poplar here in MD so that's my kindling of choice. It dries quickly and lights up fast with newspaper under it. I split it to about 1" to 3" and use approximately 4-6 pieces each morning to get the fire going. Then maybe 2-3 pieces in the afternoon if I've let the fire dwindle out.

 

[rburg]

Have you tried some noodles with some small splits?

 

[Ironworker]

When I buck up my logs I'll have some short rounds, 8-12" long and split them up and stack them and when I run into them during burning season I cut them in half and break out the splitter and make a whole bunch of small kindling stuff from 1/2"x 1/2" to 1x1 and 4-6" long. I probably don't need them but they do help in getting the stove temp up plus the wife likes to use them when starting fires, happy wife, happy life.

 

[USMC615]

Not a whole lot here. But geographics plays a helluva role compared to you northern folk. My kindling pieces are on the left side of the firewood rack. But I have an unlimited amount of fat lighter. Get a few pieces of fat lighter going, lay a few pieces of kindling lengthwise, start feeding the fireplace with splits front to rear, left to right...criss cross fashion to allow good airflow through the layers. Fire's a going and rollin in 8-10 mins after the fat lighter is lit.

Sent from my iPhone 6+ using Tapatalk

 

[Need2Saw]

I use a torch most of the time.

 

[cre73]

I use quite a bit also, mostly the way we cycle our stove and if we are home. Most of mine is from pallets.

 

[USMC615]

Hers a little something funny, and no derail from Spike's original post. Hear me out...my gal friend is from Ft Lauderdale. How many fireplaces and things you think get cookin in Ft Lauderdale?? Lol. I used to ask her, after showing her many times, get that damn fireplace going, woman. She's a great gal, but damn. Been trying like hell to get her to figure this out for a few winters...and still clueless, lol. Too damn busy at the manicurist and don't wanna jeopardize those nails nor the paint job. I guess I'm still glad that the structure is still standing, and I told her don't worry about a thing, run the heat pump til I get home...then I'll take over. No doubt the northern gals have a good sense of how to stay warm, other than pushing an up/down arrow on that damn thermostat..LMAO. Now, back to the kindling deal.

 

[Erik B]

I go thru a lot of kindling, mostly during the early and late part of the burning season. The stove goes out most every day in the fall when temps are in the 20's at night and 50's during the day. A quick fire in the morning and then let the sun keep the house warm. Having a wife that likes to cook and bake sure helps keep the house warm.

 

[USMC615]

I go thru a lot of kindling, mostly during the early and late part of the burning season. The stove goes out most every day in the fall when temps are in the 20's at night and 50's during the day. A quick fire in the morning and then let the sun keep the house warm. Having a wife that likes to cook and bake sure helps keep the house warm.

I heard that, about the wifes cookin. If my gal and I ain't together on evenings, I get a good ol sandwich, or a damn frozen meal. But when the wknd shows up, nothing but grillin for two days, if I ain't gotta work. I prefer not to work on the wknds during college ball season, I'm simply slave to how quick the military wants and needs their aircraft. Sux, but it is what it is.

 

[WMW050588]

People give away tobacco sticks these days. Most are made of various types of Oak. I bundle them, cut them into 1/3 or 1/4 length and then split some in half.

Back in the day tobacco sticks would bring a nickle each. They make great kindling for next to nothing today.

 

[Whitespider]

I don't use kindling, I use an accelerant.
Typically, dryer lint or a piece of greasy shop rag soaked with some sort of fluid that burns.
*

 

[zogger]

I use my regular firewood, the stuff 1/4 inch to 1 inch diameter. Then I switch to the big stuff, 2 inch or..gasp..even larger!!1 HAHAHAHAHAHA

Seriously, with all the smalls I keep and fiskarized oddball stuff laying around the block, I never run out. That and I scrounge cardboard boxes and tear them up to get the smalls going. Got a stack I have accumulated over the summer, they'll disappear over the winter. The only kindling I split on purpose is to add to bundle oak wood as a freebie, a nice handful wrapped in brown paper in the middle of the bundle. Started doing that last year and people like it. I use real dry pine for that, and brown paper that was used for slipsheets with the bags of this or that at the local farm store. Score that from their dumpster..

 

[mn woodcutter]

My stove doesn't go cold most of the winter unless we leave for vacation so I don't use much kindling. In the spring and fall when the temps are all over the place I like to use white pine. I just split a chunk up to 18" toothpick size and some dryer lint and she's hot real quick.

 

[Mike-M]

I have to relight almost every morning. Newspaper, and white cedar for kindling.

 

[spike60]

Hers a little something funny, and no derail from Spike's original post. Hear me out...my gal friend is from Ft Lauderdale. How many fireplaces and things you think get cookin in Ft Lauderdale?? Lol. I used to ask her, after showing her many times, get that damn fireplace going, woman. She's a great gal, but damn. Been trying like hell to get her to figure this out for a few winters...and still clueless, lol. Too damn busy at the manicurist and don't wanna jeopardize those nails nor the paint job. I guess I'm still glad that the structure is still standing, and I told her don't worry about a thing, run the heat pump til I get home...then I'll take over. No doubt the northern gals have a good sense of how to stay warm, other than pushing an up/down arrow on that damn thermostat..LMAO. Now, back to the kindling deal.

First, I gotta say I like that wood rack that's also a workbench. you have there. Great combo. Gonna have to build one of those items for my back deck. Gal pal of mine get's it on the firewood deal. And she's really the one who made me think more about the branch wood for kindling. She has a big wood furnace for the house and a real neat wood fired hot tub by the waterfalls on her property. (was in that tonight in fact. Need to post some pics of that thing for you guys.) She has plenty of land and I help her out with the firewood stuff. So, she rounded up a bunch of kindling and I'm thinking, Geez I got this stuff all over the place myself. Might as well use it up.

 

[spike60]

I use my regular firewood, the stuff 1/4 inch to 1 inch diameter. Then I switch to the big stuff, 2 inch or..gasp..even larger!!1 HAHAHAHAHAHA

Seriously, with all the smalls I keep and fiskarized oddball stuff laying around the block, I never run out. That and I scrounge cardboard boxes and tear them up to get the smalls going. Got a stack I have accumulated over the summer, they'll disappear over the winter. The only kindling I split on purpose is to add to bundle oak wood as a freebie, a nice handful wrapped in brown paper in the middle of the bundle. Started doing that last year and people like it. I use real dry pine for that, and brown paper that was used for slipsheets with the bags of this or that at the local farm store. Score that from their dumpster..

Hey Zogger! Yeah, that little under and inch stuff is what I've been using so far this year. Start there and move up in size. It's literally lying all over the place. Not much work involve either. Just collect it and brake it up by hand.

I didn't know you were selling some bundled wood. Nice touch to have some kindling in the middle of the bundle like that. Lot of people who buy bundled wood have a tough time getting it going.

 

[svk]

When I'm running the boiler even the tiniest ember can have a roaring fire going shortly if a dry split is placed on it because there's so much draft when the damper is open.

On the sauna stove I use dimensional lumber scraps from carpentry projects with a touch of diesel fuel to convince things to light up. I do have a third cord of cedar rounds on hand to make kindling if I ever run short on scraps.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Burn a fair amount of "kindling" in the shop stove. We just shovel in a wheelbarrow or three worth at a time. The rest gets burned in a bonfire or in the "bum heater" (55 gal drum by my processor)