Black and white newspaper getting harder to find

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Festus Haggen

Festus Haggen

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It's the glossy stuff you don't want to burn. The finish and inks are what give off the gases. Almost all, if not all newspaper printing is soy-based ink now, black or color. I have a hard time keeping enough around, don't ever buy newspapers anymore. Reduced to burning the Pennysaver and school newspaper that comes in the mail...

Learning the "newspaper knot" is what got me using much less paper. 3 or 4 knots will get a good stack of kindling burning nicely, you'd have to use probably 3-5 times as many sheets of crumpled stuff to do the same. First time I used them, AND lit a top-down fire at the same time really got my friends riled up. But most of them do both now themselves.
 
user 19670

user 19670

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A newspaper knot

It's the glossy stuff you don't want to burn. The finish and inks are what give off the gases. Almost all, if not all newspaper printing is soy-based ink now, black or color. I have a hard time keeping enough around, don't ever buy newspapers anymore. Reduced to burning the Pennysaver and school newspaper that comes in the mail...

Learning the "newspaper knot" is what got me using much less paper. 3 or 4 knots will get a good stack of kindling burning nicely, you'd have to use probably 3-5 times as many sheets of crumpled stuff to do the same. First time I used them, AND lit a top-down fire at the same time really got my friends riled up. But most of them do both now themselves.

I should like to learn about the Newspaper Knot.

Anyway, the glossy stuff we get can actually smother a fire rather than start one. luckily we only start one fire in the fall and let it go out in the spring. There was always enough coals to start the next blaze and now that I am retired there haven't been any long absences yet so the fire never goes out.
 
Adkpk

Adkpk

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I should like to learn about the Newspaper Knot.

Anyway, the glossy stuff we get can actually smother a fire rather than start one. luckily we only start one fire in the fall and let it go out in the spring. There was always enough coals to start the next blaze and now that I am retired there haven't been any long absences yet so the fire never goes out.

"Start one fire...", wow that's something. :clap:
 
Festus Haggen

Festus Haggen

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These folks explain it better, stupid simple once you see it, and works great.

http://www.woodheat.org/tips/newspaper.htm

I try to keep one fire going all winter, but I'll let it go out on real warm days so I can check the liner and give it a quick swab with the brush if it needs it, which it never does. (brush it anyway)

The "top-down fire" is also another trick I like now. Guess the internet is useful for something. Well, something other than that.
 
Firestarter

Firestarter

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still black and white here. Funny though I Only had to start the fire twice this season once in October to start the season and once in december after a 60 degree warm up.
 
coppermouse

coppermouse

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I use old paper towel core tubes and toilet paper ones, or plain brown cardboard boxes. I try not to contaminate my catalytic combuster with anything else
 
PA. Woodsman

PA. Woodsman

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Learning the "newspaper knot" is what got me using much less paper. 3 or 4 knots will get a good stack of kindling burning nicely, you'd have to use probably 3-5 times as many sheets of crumpled stuff to do the same.

I should have clarified that I do use 3 or 4 "knots" rather than crumpled paper. Wasn't thinking I guess...:greenchainsaw:
 
chowdozer

chowdozer

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Phone books work good. They are nice and compact, they throw four of them in my yard every year. Just tear off a few pages.

Bad thing about newspaper, it's a great way to start a chimney fire. (if you don't want a chimney fire)
 
Festus Haggen

Festus Haggen

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If you have proper draft, newspaper can be easily sucked up the flue while burning, if you get enough of it burning up there, it can reach "critical mass" and ignite the creosote in the chimney. That's actually how I started my chimney fire, but I was using a "draft assist device", aka a vent fan to get it going. I had just loaded some wood that wasn't dry enough, and it was already charred so I got lazy and instead of taking the wood out and trying with dry stuff, I tried to force it. Won't do that again! Of course, my chimney is in much better shape now with really seasoned wood and an insulated SS liner.
 
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