Quite a fair amount of time and thought has been put into fire starter no less. I was looking at stoves and likely to have an insert installed soon. The stoves were fitted with an electric starter that blew hot air around 1200° or so and fire would be achieved in seconds. What was for sure is more emphasis was put on dry wood and new stoves and inserts are coming with moisture meters.
I hope i do not draw fire, but I get the Rutland safe lite squares that come 144 to a box for $20. I cut them in half, so I go the entire season on one box. I also fill up totes with small twigs, splitter waste and other stuff for ease of start. Super Cedars look great, but I am cheap on some things
Cheaper, but at the expense of “opportunity cost,” e.g. one’s time... and for hoarders with children such as yourself, sometimes ease and cost of purchasing a finished good leaves more time for the important stuff.
I bought some Rutlands. They work fine. I think I like the cedars better but there's time for that to change. Either way, I like the convenience so much, I won't go back. My time elsewhere is valued more. But that's just me.
I just used part of one a couple of weeks ago that I got at the GTG at Backwood Savage's. Since then I have ordered a set of them; they really are easy. I don't mind using kindling one bit to start the fire but for the days that I wake up later and need to get off to work or the days my wife wants to start a fire I think these will more than pay for themselves in time saved and hassle avoided.
Well I bought a small box of Rutland's. I like them. It's hard to compare how well they work because I'm lighting cedar -- everything goes up in flames -- but I will say these squares are easier to store, probably less messy, and seem to start faster. But I don't know how they'll fair on harder woods or those PITA hard to start fires that just want to be difficult. But so far so good. The super cedars may start a little slower but they've got stamina to start most anything.
These? I’ve used these in the past and fully believe that they could be split even smaller. With cedar that lights up that quickly, it doesn’t take much but even then these were able to be bought not long ago for about $2 a box if I’m remembering correctly. Not much of an expense where we live as often we’ll build new fires, letting last night’s cool down first. Not necessarily a problem if we’re prepared for the morning start. Have you tried these on coals or does your fire go out every night?
These are the Rutland squares I use. I cut them in half or quarters. I burn dry hardwoods and start with dry kindling. I have no issues. I think it comes down to personal preference right.
It does. I am a big fan of super cedars but these Rutlands are growing on me. If they do the same job and are cheaper, that's a good argument to use them in the future. I want some experience though starting something other than cedar logs. I'll try my cherry soon.
I'm also a fan of the super cedars. I learned about them on this site. On really cold days I'll burn a quarter piece on top of the heat shield to start a good draft. Before super cedars I used a torch to start a draft.
I like the combination of the duraflame firestarters and the Weber cubes for my fireplace and firepit. I tried the fatwood sticks in my firepit and they give out a strong pitch like Odor and a lot of black smoke.
I sheared these into quarters and have zero issues. With that on days when I am not rushed, I have this weird thing where I try to start the fire with only a flake. If we get into a real winter, I have enough coals that using starters is not required. Mother Nature is a bipolar mess this year....
Between my stove having an automatic self closing dampener and using a torch iv never used or had the need for a fire starter. However the super cedars have caught my eye and maybe id try them one day. So i could basically light a 1/4 of that thing set the flu on auto and go to bed. Sounds good!
So an update on those Rutland fire starters vs super cedar fire starters. I find the Rutland's work great if I'm burning a softwood like cedar but dry hardwoods like cherry are hit and miss. Basically, the Rutland fire starters started my cedar fires about 100% while they started cherry fires about 50%. Thus, in my book, super cedar fire starters are still king -- but I ordered some Rutland's anyway because I like their size, less mess, and ease of starting. But for everything else, I'll use the super cedar fire starters. It can never hurt to have different arson-al. The right tool for the job kind of thing. Either way -- no kindling!
