Going to get some nice temperatures this weekend so I'm thinking about restocking my kindling wall in the garage. With that in mind, what do you prefer when it comes to kindling wood..Soft or Hard? I know seasoned Pine and Polar burn hot and fast...but they really don't coal up. On the other hand I feel funny about using Ash, Cheery or Maple for kindling...Thoughts??????
I use pine, but I have acres of it. Why does anyone want or need kindling to "coal" ? I'll use pine ( bigger splits, not kindling ) on top of oak coals just to get the fire box and flue temp hot again when it is real cold out and I want heat. When the oversize bed of coals is reasonable get back to the oak.
I only use a couple small pieces of kindling to light a fire anyway. Sometimes sticks or bark, but softer, dryer and whatever is the most flammable is what I pick. I'm not someone who uses a ton of kindling, I compensate by using really dry softer splits when lighting a fire, but I think if you did use a bunch of kindling it would just help get things going even faster. No harm in that... I also use softer wood to burn down coals and get a quick hot fire going when needed.
Cedar here also...white cedar. Then I always seem to have a few small splits of hardwood to lay on top of that....
I usually use pine cones because they are easy and I've got 1000's of them in my yard or pine wood because I have a lot of it and straight grained pieces are very easy to split to kindling. However, I have not used anything better than sweet gum. It is a major pain to split, in fact it doesn't really split, it tears. The splitting/tearing process leaves it covered with pieces such that it is essentially self-kindling. A few pieces of gum and a small piece of fatwood and I've got a hot fire going faster than anything else I've tried.
Sticks and bark mostly. I don't have a preference for hard or soft wood just use what's available. I take an hour or so and fill a few bins with kindling and that's usually all I need for the year.
I have mostly white pine and red oak in my woods. The pine is for starting the fire the oak is for the fire
I'll use soft wood kindling unless the next layer is going to be some black locust. We find that BL is reluctant to get going, even when it's really dry.
Well gboutdoors whatever you use doesn't really matter cause you have a backyard pit that rocks! Was that a creation of your own or a flea market find or you moved in and found it? Very neat....(as well as your backyard)
whatever is small and dry works. I once mentioned here that cedar shake shingles work like a house on fire, but failed to mention I had a lot left over from a remodel 15 years ago. I split them with a roofing hacket into roughly 1" strips and just lay 'em between the splits. Light them directly and in 5 minutes the pile is blazing. However I am NOT recommending going to HD and buying them new! Maybe this is the year I buy some FHC firestarters.
Doesn't matter...as long as its dry! If you have a hydraulic splitter, pick up the small pieces of wood (chaff) and throw it into a box. If you have any chunks or shorts, split them up into kindling
Thanks we love it and have made it our vacation destination. Scavenger that is the end of a 500 gal. Propane tank cut with a plasma torch to look like stormy seas. The "artist" will cut any shape you want for the right $.
