DIY Firelighters for Wood Burner

FreeBear

paperclap said:

FreeBear said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Interesting question, there are bricks of fuel made from coffee and DIYing it videos say to mix with wax.

I thought it wouldn’t be good for the stove to burn wax.

Damit. My name gets a mention again...

Wax won't damage the stove itself. What will happen though, is the wax vapours will condense out on the cold liner. As the liner heats up in use, there is a risk that the wax melts again, catches alight, and triggers a chimney fire. If you have been burning damp wood, or any old crappy scraps, there will be a build up of creosote which burns very nicely once there is something to get it going. But then.... You should be having your flue swept on a regular basis to get rid of any creosote deposits.

We have our chimney swept once a year. Though have thought about buying myself a kit and doing it myself! Not only save a bucket load of money, but also do it twice a year perhaps.

A set of rods is useful to have around - They can be used to clear blocked drains too.

Just make sure never to turn the rods anti-clockwise as you are shoving them up a flue (or down a drain). If the rods become unscrewed whilst up the chimney, you are screwed until someone can get them out again.

Eldi_Dos

With duct rods it is worth paying a bit more and getting ones with brass joints with triggerlock  (ferret type), these stay together even if you do have to twist and turn to get out of a blockage.

NeverTooLate

I started making firelighters out of A4 paper destined to be shredded by folding them in a concertina type way - think I read it on here somewhere, works a treat and there's less for the shredder.

SuzeQStan

@FreeBear - sorry mentioning your name
again 😉 - would wax be as much of an issue in a multi burner with external flue that is bracketed onto the outside of a house? 

FreeBear

SuzeQStan said: - would wax be as much of an issue in a multi burner with external flue that is bracketed onto the outside of a house? 

If anything, an external flue will be colder than one running up the inside of a brick chimney. As a result, tar & wax vapours would condense out lower down.

Woolsery

paperclap said:

Ectophile said:

If you can't light a fire with scrunched up newspaper and kindling, you're doing something wrong.

It’s not about that. It’s about giving things a second use.

You don't get a second life, though. There might be more useful things to do with the time. I suppose it depends on how full one's day is already and what other potential uses there are. I spread the sawdust from chainsawing in my field gateway area and yard. The decomposing wood robs the soil of nitrogen and stops the grass growing so fast, which saves time mowing and fuel for the mower.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

FreeBear said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Interesting question, there are bricks of fuel made from coffee and DIYing it videos say to mix with wax.

I thought it wouldn’t be good for the stove to burn wax.

Damit. My name gets a mention again...

A mark of respect for sure  

FreeBear said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Interesting question, there are bricks of fuel made from coffee and DIYing it videos say to mix with wax.

I thought it wouldn’t be good for the stove to burn wax.

Wax won't damage the stove itself. What will happen though, is the wax vapours will condense out on the cold liner. As the liner heats up in use, there is a risk that the wax melts again, catches alight, and triggers a chimney fire. If you have been burning damp wood, or any old crappy scraps, there will be a build up of creosote which burns very nicely once there is something to get it going. But then.... You should be having your flue swept on a regular basis to get rid of any creosote deposits.

Sounds as if even with burning dry fuel and sensible flue cleaning burning a fair amount of wax wouldn't be the best idea.

Coffee as fuel will have to stay in the realms of fantasy, for now at least.  

knightstyle

One other point, the flue needs sweeping once a year and if there is a house fire the insurance company may want proof of this.
We lived in France and the insurance company said we had to have it done by a professional every year. 

Apodemus

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

FreeBear said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Interesting question, there are bricks of fuel made from coffee and DIYing it videos say to mix with wax.

I thought it wouldn’t be good for the stove to burn wax.

Damit. My name gets a mention again...

A mark of respect for sure  

FreeBear said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Interesting question, there are bricks of fuel made from coffee and DIYing it videos say to mix with wax.

I thought it wouldn’t be good for the stove to burn wax.

Wax won't damage the stove itself. What will happen though, is the wax vapours will condense out on the cold liner. As the liner heats up in use, there is a risk that the wax melts again, catches alight, and triggers a chimney fire. If you have been burning damp wood, or any old crappy scraps, there will be a build up of creosote which burns very nicely once there is something to get it going. But then.... You should be having your flue swept on a regular basis to get rid of any creosote deposits.

Sounds as if even with burning dry fuel and sensible flue cleaning burning a fair amount of wax wouldn't be the best idea.

Coffee as fuel will have to stay in the realms of fantasy, for now at least.  

If we are just talking about DIY firelighters, then there is no way you should be "burning a fair amount of wax".  Just a couple of scrapings of wax from an old candle stub can make a huge difference to initial compbustion on whatever your firelighter of choice is.  A scraping or two on a dry pine cone works well and makes the cone burn long enough for kindling to ignite.  If you don't have an old candle, a few drops of cooking oil achieves the same thing.  Dried tangerine peel is quite high in natural oil and works well, too.  

Mistral001

paperclap said:

FreeBear said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Interesting question, there are bricks of fuel made from coffee and DIYing it videos say to mix with wax.

I thought it wouldn’t be good for the stove to burn wax.

Damit. My name gets a mention again...

Wax won't damage the stove itself. What will happen though, is the wax vapours will condense out on the cold liner. As the liner heats up in use, there is a risk that the wax melts again, catches alight, and triggers a chimney fire. If you have been burning damp wood, or any old crappy scraps, there will be a build up of creosote which burns very nicely once there is something to get it going. But then.... You should be having your flue swept on a regular basis to get rid of any creosote deposits.

We have our chimney swept once a year. Though have thought about buying myself a kit and doing it myself! Not only save a bucket load of money, but also do it twice a year perhaps.

Since the kit costs less than one visit from a chimney sweep, it makes sense.  I just tape an old cotton sheet to the top of the fireplace, take out the grate and shovel out the soot after it has settled.  No need for vacuum cleaners.  A plastic sheet on the carpet in front to the hearth is also a good idea.