Fireplace tools

[bodywhomper]

That method ^^ often works for me, but not always.

Regarding pine, the challenging thing with pine is the quantity of wood necessary to heat compared to hardwood. I could see the relatively high quantity of wood would result in more creasote build-up with all other things being equal and all wood being seasoned/dry.

[cycology1]

I forgot that. My dad had a cast iron tray with a ceramic insert, poured kerosene in it. Burned long enough to dry wet wood and catch it on fire.

Your item I had not seen. Much easier to use on a daily basis.

these work well, but always wondered if it was overkill. Assumed that living at 10k, it was needed. A buddy up here in Breck used this method and seemed like a smart idea. They called in a smudge pot i think, then filled it with denatured alcohol and used a pumice stone on a metal stick and soaked it for a bit. After buying my house with an EPA2 fireplace insert, I ordered one from eBay.

Though, denatured alcohol isnt exactly cheap...but cleaner than lamp oil or compared to "fat wood".

Gonna try the top down approach as shown in the video.

[RustyGroomer]

Nobody Famous the Kindling Cracker is pretty awesome. Not ashamed to say I bought one & love it. Use it all the time. Nice to have to split large stuff down smaller for starts or for smaller stoves.

So safe & convenient I can split in the garage/barn too. Nice for rainy days.

[SumJongGuy]

Tech talk jongs..

[Nobody Famous]

Nobody Famous the Kindling Cracker is pretty awesome. Not ashamed to say I bought one & love it. Use it all the time. Nice to have to split large stuff down smaller for starts or for smaller stoves.

So safe & convenient I can split in the garage/barn too. Nice for rainy days.

I think one is in my future. Thanks for the input.

Back to videos, I really like the videos from CSIA, short and to the point. Below is one more with several tips, this link has an interesting one on what seasoned firewood sounds like.

[bodywhomper]

Or you could use a moisture meter...

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[DougW]

Seen that before ( starting at the top) by others but how many people have tinder? well i guess lots of people do now but not the kind people burn.

[babybear]

since it's been getting cold and we're making fires again I am reminded that one of my favorite odd fireplace tools is a chopstick
you can really get nimble in there

[Nobody Famous]

Or you could use a moisture meter...

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The downside is to use correctly you are supposed to split a log in two equal pieces, let both pieces rest for 24 hours, then take a reading on an inner (newly split open) surface, source (pdf file).

The guy in the video says weigh a sample log from your pile, repeat over time and once a log has lost 2/3 to 3/4 of it's weight it's seasoned. Interesting tip on that video is when bark falling away is a sign of lowerign moisture content.

I kinda like the ringing sound test in the short CSIA video, no meter, no weighing, just knock two logs together and listen.

[bodywhomper]

The downside is to use correctly you are supposed to split a log in two equal pieces, let both pieces rest for 24 hours, then take a reading on an inner (newly split open) surface, source (pdf file).

The guy in the video says weigh a sample log from your pile, repeat over time and once a log has lost 2/3 to 3/4 of it's weight it's seasoned. Interesting tip on that video is when bark falling away is a sign of lowerign moisture content.

I kinda like the ringing sound test in the short CSIA video, no meter, no weighing, just knock two logs together and listen.

You might want to check your reading comprehension of that epa site.

You can check the wood right after you split it.

The thunking of wood is fun. Do it if it floats your boat. But it may not give you a real answer. Different spp, different sizes will make different sounds. Of course, wet wood will sound different.

[ThreeRidges]

One more video, this one from CSAI/Chimney Safety Institute of America on how to start a fire.

I thought I knew this, from the 'that's always how we did it' chapter of life. Not so according to these guys.




Link

Top down burns rule. Use them all the time camping. Once you set it up, its light and forget it. You can get the rest of your camp ready, instead of standing there adding progressively larger fuel.


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[Nobody Famous]

Mid winter season update.

I hesitated but eventually got a kindling cracker. It works great, it's borderline addictive.

Have been playing around with the top-down fire starting method. It definitely makes less smoke, a lot less. I never realized all the smoke and soot came from the first 20 minutes of a fire start.

My place has a big stack effect going on, it makes getting the chimney warmed up really difficult. Cold air rushes through when the damper is opened and the chimney is cold. Through trying a combo of several different things I got on top of that to the point where I can get the chimney draft reversed and a top down fire started with one match most of the time.

[Woodsy]

Fire proof gloves & a blowpoke

[Grange]

I have fires just about every night through winter and early spring and for starting a fire I use 1/4 piece of Pine Mountain StarterLogg. They come in a 4 pack so out of one pack I get 16 fires started. So much easier than starting with kindling wood.

[XXX-er]

[old goat]

I just ordered a basket--like the ones restaurants use for french fries--that's supposed to separate ashes from embers, so you can save the embers. Hot embers make the fire start faster. Anyone tried using this? Seems like it might make too much dust. If it doesn't work well I guess I can make french fries with it.

[SumJongGuy]

Tech talk jongs

[FLS]

1:53 for the win!

[old goat]

Tech talk jongs

we heard you the first time.

[iceman]

Tech talk jongs

No.

[mcski]

Prodigy has a FireStarter

[Nobody Famous]

Nailed it. And don't get one of those stupid little shovels.. just get a metal dust pan. You'll also want a short metal trash can and these gloves. Between the gloves (you can pick up and hold a burning log for 20+ seconds), and stuff that would go in the fire anyway, no additional utensils should be required. You might want to check the gloves periodically... I've replaced mine twice - both times after realizing there was a hole in the glove while my hand was in the stove. I'm sure there's a better way.

I got a pair of those gloves from Amazon, very nice.

Places like Northern Tool still have reduced prices on winter items, but the mid summer discounts are slowly disappearing.

[sb]

The best fire tools are the ones you forged from fire yourself. Learn to black smithy and you will make fancy heavy and dangerous tools to do more than the simplest of tasks.

[Nobody Famous]

Latest must have is a special brand of fire starter, Super Cedars, www.supercedar.com. Made of cedar wood shavings in wax, they burn very hot for about 25-30 minutes.

For winter camping or a stay in a rustic cabin with green/wet firewood these are hot burning and will get things started. For home use with seasoned firewood they're overkill, break one of the disks into six pieces and start from there.

[XXX-er]

I got gf a propane torch with a pushbutton spark lighter for Xmas to light her stove,

No kindling no problem

It's also good for doing the crem brulee