Firewood kindling idea

[Matt J Leppek]

I wanted to share with you guys something i found makes great kindling, and also ask your opinion if you think if it would sell. I was thinking of bagging it up in say walmart bags, and sell it for 3-4 dollars a bag. a little ball of it, shown in the picture, burned for 38seconds, and it burns pretty hot due to the spacing between the noodles, allowing lots of oxygen flow. My father, his gf, and 6 grandparents think it will be a decent sell, but my mother is skeptical, seeing as you can use newspaper instead. In my experience it works better then newspaper...but hey i am trying to market it so ill be bias...heres some pics

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going to talk to owners of local gas stations and convenience stores, see if they would be willing to sell them

 

[bryanr2]

belongs in the firewood thread. I think it may be difficult to market. you'd need a bag of it to get a decent fire going and still need an accelerator to keep it going. dont think it would get hot enough and stay hot enough to get a fire up and going. I use the little firewood starter blocks and a map gas torch in my woodstove in the winter, and diesel or kerosene out in my brush pit that is 5' wide 12' long surrounded by block.

 

[DarkTimber]

Walmart around here tried to sell the stuff like that a few years back in a sealed brick sort of bag not that many people bought the stuff started out at $5.00 they didn't sell the last of that stuff till they knocked the price down to $0.25 a brick. I'm not trying to rain on your parade and it might sell better in your area but in Northern NC it didn't sell
shoot what I don't use I give away to anyone who wants it as it attracts ants and yellow jackets to my yard.

 

[MarineScott]

I do that with pine and then add some finely split pine on top and away she goes....don't think it would sell well., all you can do is try. Can't hurt!

 

[Matt J Leppek]

thanks for the input everyone. i thought for as cheap as it is to make, worth a try. i made a wheelbarrow full with 3 16" long 15" diameter rounds, took bout 1/2 tank gas to cut it all. can make about 10-15 walmart bags with 1 log, which equates to about 30 dollars a round. not bad if itd sell! i used it to start a couple fires, worked pretty nice imo.

 

[TonyRumore]

It's a neat idea for personal use, but I think most potential buyers would just use the "free" newspaper that they are about to thow out anyway.

Tony

 

[lmbrman]

might be worth more as animal bedding - just a thought

 

[Ifishsum]

Newspaper is nearly dead. Fastest declining business in the US for the last several years in fact - so I can see the market maybe expanding for firestarter type of stuff (It's really more like tinder than kindling). Whether it can be profitable or not, hard to say. I'd probably use it, but I wouldn't pay more than a couple of bucks a bag - but I also have no trouble finding/making my own tinder so it would simply be a convenience for me. Less skilled fire builders might find it more valuable. If you are in an area where camping is popular, or along a major route to such an area, it might be worth feeling out the market. It might be more marketable to campers if it were bundled into a clump or a brick mixed with some paraffin wax to burn longer - 38 seconds probably won't start damp kindling unless it's very fine itself. It could be used to light charcoal briquettes too, using one of those metal chimneys. Gotta create as many uses for it as possible.

 

[Zombiechopper]

this is a not a money making plan. Your income will be $30. How much time does it take to cut and bag the noodles? Then you have to label and price the bags, and deliver them to retail outlets. Now add your fuel, oil, lube, files, etc costs and amortize the cost of your saw and chains. Now factor in that retail selling is about presentation and businesses probably aren't going to want a pile of used walmart bags stacked at their place of business. Add to all of that the fact they most people already have an endless supply of newspaper and then you should come to the conclusion that this isn't a viable business plan. You would be losing money from the start.

I'm sorry if that sounds harsh, but this is how you make business decisions. You probably think I'm an A hole but it's better to hear it now than it is to learn it the hard way. Hope that makes sense.

 

[2dogs]

It's a neat idea for personal use, but I think most potential buyers would just use the "free" newspaper that they are about to thow out anyway.

Tony

Wait, I read the newspaper online. What do I do now?

 

[Zombiechopper]

a quick search turned up those compressed wood and wax fire logs for $15.99 for 6 logs that burn for two hours each.
That's your competition. Packed in a pretty box. Each log lights with one match and burns 2 hours for $2.67 each.

A better business plan would be buying those logs wholesale and repackaging individually for local sale at campsites for $5 each.

 

[TonyRumore]

Wait, I read the newspaper online. What do I do now?

I am not sure what you would do, but a normal person would just burn some junk mail instead.

 

[Mac88]

Matt, good luck with your endeavor. I personally wouldn't use it. I light the woodstove with a paper napkin
and a match. But that's just me. If you followed Zombiechopper's idea of packaging firewood for the local
campsite market, you could enclose some of that stuff as a starting aid for the campers that forgot to bring
their charcoal lighter, gasoline, blowtorch or whatever else it is that they use to start a campfire.

 

[bryanr2]

Enviro-Log 24-Pack 2.5 Lb. Firestarter
Item #: 361503 | Model #: 1000012


2 reviews | Write a review
$9.98


Found this at Lowes.

This is similar to what I use in the woodstove. It's clean and it's fool proof. I have tried noodles in the woodstove- Kari near beat me out of the house with her broom Remember- Happy Wife/ Happy Life.

 

[Matt J Leppek]

Newspaper is nearly dead. Fastest declining business in the US for the last several years in fact - so I can see the market maybe expanding for firestarter type of stuff (It's really more like tinder than kindling). Whether it can be profitable or not, hard to say. I'd probably use it, but I wouldn't pay more than a couple of bucks a bag - but I also have no trouble finding/making my own tinder so it would simply be a convenience for me. Less skilled fire builders might find it more valuable. If you are in an area where camping is popular, or along a major route to such an area, it might be worth feeling out the market. It might be more marketable to campers if it were bundled into a clump or a brick mixed with some paraffin wax to burn longer - 38 seconds probably won't start damp kindling unless it's very fine itself. It could be used to light charcoal briquettes too, using one of those metal chimneys. Gotta create as many uses for it as possible.

Yes I agree as many uses as I can find. But also uses that isn't more work then what its worth. The noodling to me is easy and doesn't take long. Biggest question is will people let me sell it and if it will sell

 

[2dogs]

normal person

You assume much. :msp_biggrin:

 

[Matt J Leppek]

a quick search turned up those compressed wood and wax fire logs for $15.99 for 6 logs that burn for two hours each.
That's your competition. Packed in a pretty box. Each log lights with one match and burns 2 hours for $2.67 each.

A better business plan would be buying those logs wholesale and repackaging individually for local sale at campsites for $5 each.

No I don't think your an a hole, but I do think your giving me a well due reality check. Everything you said is true. Although it really isn't that time consuming to make. My mindset was 30-40 bucks a facecord, or 30 a log, you know? And that's a good idea but the local campsite may already sell them

 

[Matt J Leppek]

Matt, good luck with your endeavor. I personally wouldn't use it. I light the woodstove with a paper napkin
and a match. But that's just me. If you followed Zombiechopper's idea of packaging firewood for the local
campsite market, you could enclose some of that stuff as a starting aid for the campers that forgot to bring
their charcoal lighter, gasoline, blowtorch or whatever else it is that they use to start a campfire.

Thanks Mac, and I seen the mark thing :msp_wink:

 

[Jim Timber]

a quick search turned up those compressed wood and wax fire logs for $15.99 for 6 logs that burn for two hours each.
That's your competition. Packed in a pretty box. Each log lights with one match and burns 2 hours for $2.67 each.

A better business plan would be buying those logs wholesale and repackaging individually for local sale at campsites for $5 each.

Not here: they're $10/6 and burn 3 hours.

I use junk mail for dry wood, fire logs for wet brush piles. I've found them more effective than gas, and easier than lugging the weed burner out.

 

[Gologit]

Hang in there and don't give up on having ideas. The Wright Brothers crashed a lot before they ever flew.