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Make It Easy:  Starting a stubborn fire...  |
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Libbie
Farmgirl Connection Cultivator
3579 Posts
Anne E.
Elsinore
Utah
USA
3579 Posts |
 Posted - Oct 04 2006 : 11:58:40 AM
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This morning is SO cold at our house! AND...to make matters worse, I don't want to turn the furnace on at all until I get new filters, AND...my fire wouldn't start! I burned up all of the junk mail I had trying to get it to start, then I remembered someone here saying something about dryer lint and paraffin - I didn't have any paraffin, but I had some dryer lint (thanks to the rainy weather lately) and so I stuffed an old 18-pack cardboard egg carton with it and then made the little teepee of kindling around it - then lit the carton, and voila! A no-fail fire-starter!!! Yay! Warmth!!!
XOXO, Libbie
"Nothing is worth more than this day." - Goethe |
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sunshine
True Blue Farmgirl
4877 Posts
Wendy
Utah
USA
4877 Posts |
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Nancy Gartenman
True Blue Farmgirl
9093 Posts
Nancy
West Seneca
New York
USA
9093 Posts |
Posted - Oct 04 2006 : 12:07:22 PM
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Libbie,
Wow to think of all the dryer lint that I threw out over the years, I do so much laundry we could all start a fire. Glad that worked for you, I will remember that tip should I run into the no start fire problem.
NANCY JO |
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sunshine
True Blue Farmgirl
4877 Posts
Wendy
Utah
USA
4877 Posts |
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~Tracey~
True Blue Farmgirl
351 Posts
Tracey
TN
USA
351 Posts |
Posted - Oct 04 2006 : 4:27:11 PM
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Oh Libbie, So glad you found some warmth today!!
Also coffee grounds (dried) with paraffin works and pinecones (with or without paraffin).
I am looking forward to fire weather. DH is out cutting up a dead oak, on our property, that he and 13 yo took down the other day. That should last a week or so LOL!!
Tracey,
mama to Callum 13, Katie 8, Wil 5.5, Benjamin 3 and Andrew 6 months!! |
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abbasgurl
True Blue Farmgirl
1262 Posts
Rhonda
USA
1262 Posts |
Posted - Oct 05 2006 : 11:27:41 PM
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Our boy scouts carry dryer lint on every campout. It's the VERY BEST fire starter! Never know if there will be enought dry kindling to be had! BSA motto is, after all, BE PREPARED!
Rhonda
I'm a one girl revolution. |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Oct 08 2006 : 11:35:56 AM
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| One thing I learned on a camping trip is about heat saps. Sometimes a cold fire place or cold ground can actually lower the temperature so much that even dry stuff won't get started, so next time build as "fire protector". If I was burning junk mail, I would lay two or three pieces on the fire grate or bottom of the fireplace and prop up two more in an inverted V shape. Then in the center of the inverted V ontop of the several pieces of junk mail I would try to start with crumpled paper and dry small sticks. Dryer lint is great too. Just remember to clean out the inside of your dryer as all the flamable stuff sometimes gets stuck around the heating element too! |
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bramble
True Blue Farmgirl
2044 Posts
2044 Posts |
Posted - Oct 11 2006 : 09:14:20 AM
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Another take on the dryer lint parafin Boy scout fire starters are to save all your candle remains(you know that last little bit you can't burn) and melt them all down in a low temp pan. Stretches the parafin/wax a little and dryer lint is never in short supply!
with a happy heart |
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kitchensqueen
True Blue Farmgirl
521 Posts
521 Posts |
Posted - Oct 29 2006 : 08:55:52 AM
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Here's another easy fire-starter. Form a bundle of wooden matches (6-8) and tie with cotton string, leaving about a four-inch tail. Holding the tail, dip the bundled matches into melted candle wax, getting the wax about an inch up the string. Let it dry on wax paper. To start you fire, just pile your kindling around it and light the "wick" on the bundle. It will burn down and once the wax melts the matches will ignite. It gives a constant, slow burn so the kindling has a chance to ignite. Another benefit of the wax is that it makes the whole affair water-proof (and thus a great light-weight fire starter for camping). Also would be a good activity for a scout group before a camping trip.
http://apartmentfarm.wordpress.com |
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willowtreecreek
True Blue Farmgirl
4813 Posts
Julie
Russell
AR
USA
4813 Posts |
Posted - Oct 29 2006 : 10:32:42 AM
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Here is what I make!
Save dryer lint, old candles and the cardboard style egg cartons. Fill each hole of the carton with dryer lint. I pack mine pretty full. Then melt old candles and wax and pour over the lint being careful not to pour too much too fast or it soaks through the egg carton. You probably want to set them onto a newspaper first. Let cool and harden. When you are ready to start a fire just tear or cut off one section of the eggcarton and take a match to the carton part.
It works great but MAKE SURE you store them in a cool place because since the wax is not tightly compacted it melts a little easier than a regular candle. Maybe even store them in the freezer in the warmer months!
Jewelry, art, baskets, etc.
www.willowtreecreek.com |
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brightmeadow
True Blue Farmgirl
2045 Posts
Brenda
Lucas
Ohio
USA
2045 Posts |
Posted - Oct 30 2006 : 04:45:43 AM
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Another fire starter -
We gather pine cones in the fall and put them in a basket next to the fireplace. They dry out and burn very quickly due to the resin in them, and they burn just a little longer than paper or cardboard. Sometimes that makes all the difference in the world when trying to start wood that is just slightly damp.
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands - You shall be happy and it shall be well with you. -Psalm 128.2
Visit my blog at http://brightmeadowfarms.blogspot.com ,web site store at http://www.watkinsonline.com/fish or my homepage at http://home.earthlink.net/~brightmeadow |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Oct 30 2006 : 08:14:45 AM
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Not a fire "starter" but fun...I keep little bundles of dried herbs and things from the garden to toss into the fire...sure makes it smell wonderful in here!!
It has been wood stove weather for sure this past week...brrrrrr
Jenny in Utah
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
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doglady
True Blue Farmgirl
435 Posts
Tina
Howard
Ohio
USA
435 Posts |
Posted - Nov 04 2006 : 2:45:58 PM
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We just lay the wood like log cabin style, place rolled paper under them, and open the door a little as we are lighting it. The opened door creates an updraft helps the fire to start much quicker. Our electric went out last night due to an accident close by but the house was really warm. My puppies were pretty warm with mom even though they did not have their heating pad. There's nothing like the warmth from a woodburner.
Tina
The dogs own the house but the people pay the mortgage!
www.kennelcreations.com |
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MsCwick
True Blue Farmgirl
775 Posts
Cristine
Farmville
Virginia
USA
775 Posts |
Posted - Nov 04 2006 : 3:31:03 PM
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If you have any cedar trees, even small ones, anc can cut them down, instead of cutting 18inch pieces, cut them into 6-8 inch pieces, and then you can use a hatchet to slice off some slivers each night. Our littel 6-8 inch piece will start 3 or 4 fires. Cedar is easy to chop with the little hatchet and it burns well too.
Cristine |
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Libbie
Farmgirl Connection Cultivator
3579 Posts
Anne E.
Elsinore
Utah
USA
3579 Posts |
Posted - Nov 06 2006 : 3:42:47 PM
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MMMMMmmm....I'll bet the cedar smells just wonderful when it burns, like the herbs would. Those are the reasons that I'd just love an open fireplace, but the woodstove just heats the house so well, it would be REALLY hard to give it up.
Thank you all for all of the ideas - it's no fun to have the "makings" for a fire and then not be able to get it to light. Never again!!!
XOXO, Libbie
"Nothing is worth more than this day." - Goethe |
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KittyJo
Farmgirl at Heart
1 Posts
KittyJo
Morral
Ohio
USA
1 Posts |
Posted - Dec 11 2006 : 2:03:14 PM
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Mornin', Ya'll! I just ran across this thread (and this site, for that matter)by accident when I was looking for ornaments to craft, and had to join to add my 2 cents worth.
We've battled the fire starter thing too, and have gone through many, many boxes of newspaper and sales flyers (the glossy ones are definitely no good!) I really like the dryer lint idea... I'll be saving mine from now on! 
We've had more of a problem finding kindling that will burn long enough to catch the wood on fire. The other day I was looking out and realized that we have a vast supply of kindling all around us.... Cornstalks! We're surrounded with harvested fields covered in short pieces of cornstalks that are just the right size and they burn just the right length of time! Now I can just wrap them in waxed fluff and light them! 
~Be Blessed!!!~
KittyJo |
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Libbie
Farmgirl Connection Cultivator
3579 Posts
Anne E.
Elsinore
Utah
USA
3579 Posts |
Posted - Dec 11 2006 : 5:29:40 PM
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Hey - we have cornstalks all over the place, too! I'd never thought of them... Thanks, KittyJo! And welcome to the 'Connection! Be sure to head on over to the Welcome Wagon section and introduce yourself so we can all give you a proper farmgirl welcome...
XOXO, Libbie
"Nothing is worth more than this day." - Goethe |
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BarefootGoatGirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1495 Posts
Corrine
North Carolina
USA
1495 Posts |
Posted - Dec 13 2006 : 6:02:01 PM
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I finaly got a new dryer (after 2 years) and have started using the lint as fire starter...it is wonderful! Not only does it start the fire quickly, but it is free and abundant! This was a great tip!
'
Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds. Proverbs 27:23 |
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LynnMarie
True Blue Farmgirl
612 Posts
Lynn
Staunton
IL
USA
612 Posts |
Posted - Dec 14 2006 : 5:54:51 PM
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I hate to burst everyone's bubble about the dryer lint but I have some concerns.
I too used dryer lint as well as the cardboard toilet paper rolls as a fire starter the past couple of years.
We had several chimney fires which was unusual so that got me thinking as to why this was happening.
I decided that it could be from the glue in the toilet paper rolls OR it could be the polyester/nylon/etc. in the dryer lint.
So this year, I banned these items from the wood stoves. Instead I have been melting old candle pieces and pouring the wax (thinly of course) over sticks, bark, popcicle sticks, corn cobs, and cardboard egg cartons (got a bunch at an auction with other stuff). I use newspaper, NOT the colored glossy stuff, that's bad stuff, crinkled up in a pile laying wax sticks on the newspaper then putting kindling over that. Once it gets going I add the firewood.
So far, the chimney is not showing any signs of build-up. |
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livelife
Farmgirl in Training
45 Posts
Penny
Michigan
USA
45 Posts |
Posted - Mar 20 2007 : 1:45:37 PM
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Libbie.. I share the same routine every morning. We have no furnace and the wood stove is a antique round oak parlor stove in my dining room. It happens to have a vent on the top and my trick is to use the lint stuffed into a toilet paper tube along with a pine cone, I make up a bunch of these. And to really get it ripping I use the hair dryer in the vent, works great!!! Nice to hear that I'm not the only one freezin'
In His presence |
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Make It Easy: Starting a stubborn fire... |
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Starting a stubborn fire...
