Easy Way to Start Fires: No Need to Split Kindling!

I've been heating my home with a wood-stove for as long as I've been a homeowner, and over the years my method of lighting fires has evolved. The goal has always been less work and better results. In this video I explain why I stopped splitting kindling years ago, and how I set up all my fires all the time quickly, easily, and without the need to split any kindling at all. The secret was right in font of me all the time!
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[@anthonycollier7148]

Wood stoves are wonderful things. I love cutting and splitting firewood. There's nothing like reading a book in front of the fire with a glass of red wine. Appreciating the simple blessings is the way to go. Thanks for the video 👍

[@maritimegardening4887]

Couldn't agree more!

[@terrydriggers5217]

Saved our water lines in Texas this week. 53 hrs without electricity. Our wood stove kept us in the house and we didn't have a single bursted line in this freeze. Most of our neighbors had to leave and returned with leaks in their water line. We installed it 4 yrs ago and it just paid for itself in dividends!

[@patrapper7367]

I prefer beer over red wine. More masculine

[@Anonymous-km5pj]

@@maritimegardening4887 cool vid.... thank you. Will try this method as am having trouble fire starting since stove glass broke and there's an apparent shortage of ceramic glass here on Vancouver Island, BC Ohh, don't worry about safety....

[@woah6958]

Dried citrus peel (dried on the top of the woodstove til slightly blackened) works fantastically. The oils in the peel ignite like commercial fire lighters.

[@Redneck_Ed]

One gotcha with this approach is critters coming out when you peel the bark off. It really depends on your wood. In my area, pull that bark up and you'll often see about 20 red oak borer larvae crawling around. Best to peel the bark off ahead of time and outside away from the house.

[@StephenJelinek]

I pull bark 24 hours before I bring it in. Time enough for the chickens to purge the bugs and larva.

[@mattlindsayb9856]

I call them fire starters 😆

[@markhedger6378]

@@mattlindsayb9856 I call them dinner

[@zippitydoodah5693]

We have scorpions

[@stacieskelley]

I've been heating with wood for past 6 years. This for those mornings I sleep longer than my night burn is a game changer. Much thanks.

[@maritimegardening4887]

Glad to help

[@Lacroix999]

Before getting a wood stove, I never thought there was a science to starting a fire. I’ve learned so much since having to use one about the best way to start one in the most efficient manner!

[@maritimegardening4887]

That is awesome!

[@tomthomas4444]

I heated my house for years with a Ashley thermostat controlled stove due to high utilities. It was very efficient on wood usage. My home had central heat and air so all I had to do was turn on the fan on the central unit and it would put heat through out the house it worked great. Always enjoyed wood heat since that was all my grandparents had for heat when I was a small child with feather beds and quilts to stay warm with at night. FOND MEMORIES. Nice VIDEO. Thanks!!!

[@maritimegardening4887]

Thanks for sharing!

[@PinkSlippers70]

This year we didn't have to buy any wood...a guy in our area had a lot of trees cut down on his property and wanted them removed, so my husband and my son were happy to take them off his hands ...it was a lot of work and time, but we got about 2 years worth of hardwood and my son got a lot for milling boards...everyone was happy

[@maritimegardening4887]

Great exercise program!

[@marybillups8901]

That’s so awesome!

[@fjb4932]

Once the U.S. goes to electronic currency, barter ( to include "free" ) will be illegal. Everything must be reported to the IRS. ...

[@bmike3808]

Likewise I got a ton of hardwood from my neighbors land he had a ton of Cherry and oak trees taken down and put the word out in the neighborhood lol I lost a few wknds to removing that wood but I got at least a good solid 2 yrs worth . I love burning oak and cherry 👍

[@Wordsalad69420]

I've never bought wood in my life. I found wood every single year for free in my area. Split it all myself. One year I convinced a tree company to drop whole tree trunks in my yard. Best free wood I ever got, all hardwood.

[@dennisconrad6124]

That Birch bark is like gold. I hate to be critical but I’m north of the 46th parallel and heat with a 105 year old wood cook stove as only heat source. That Birch bark, peal off the layer under the white paper and cut it up with garden scissors to about 1 1/2”” squares. Let them dry. Since I have a oven that’s always hot, I stick metal baskets full of that in the oven for a while. But it would dry without. I have boxes of this cut and dried. I grab a small hand full, put some good starting wood on top, and light it off. The Birch bark smokes bad, so be ready to shut the door. Job’s done! Fastest fire you can get! Easiest too!

[@mattlindsayb9856]

this make's me feel better that I am not the only one that has such an intimate obsesion with being warm. haven't bought oil in years. It's worth it to be concious

[@daddyburkitt5893]

That's truer than u may think

[@bobr2959]

Thanks for the help. I learned a lot from you. I just bought a new 2020 wood stove like yours. I have had 7 fires in it so far and thought i needed tools for making kindling so i went to you tube for information. First thing i saw was your video. I learned more than just about kindling. Now I know how to control the process and all the factors involved.

[@maritimegardening4887]

Glad to help man. Stay safe and keep warm :)

[@joeschmo9124]

I was new to burning wood so had a learning curve. Top down was first revelation. I installed a Blaze King catalytic stove so getting the firebox up to temp quickly is critical for maximum efficiency. It troubled me to have 20 minutes or more of wasted smoke up the chimney. I have ditched the full firebox top down method for a what I have found to be much more efficient. For a new fire, or to bring up to temp in the morning before reloading (rake coals to front), I now use the 3 stick method. Two 1" bone dry sticks front to back over a third laid over coals or new kindling at front of firebox. Firebox being empty allows heat to radiate to surrounding brick/firebox. 10 minutes and hot firebox mass, minimal resources/smoke up the chimney. Sometimes I add a the first piece or two of wood to the back of stove half way through to "heat" that mass.

[@markiobook8639]

Very neat. Sacrilege- all those hours splitting kindling and balling up newspapers, lol. We had a wood stove in rural Victoria State, Australia. Loved that heating. We had no softwoods aside from the plantation pinus radiata which burnt like siaked in kerosene. Best wasv"red gum" a real prick to split as its a burl grain, but dense and full of oil. You've not eaten till you've had wood stove casserole.

[@tritonslodge5124]

You're doing that thing again, where I'm wonderinfg vaguely about a topic and then you post the EXACT information I'm looking for. Thank you so much! Now that I have the firewood nicely stacked, learning how to build fires effectively has been a whole other interesting thing! Off to practice forthwith!

[@maritimegardening4887]

...and post haste. Give it a fortnight and let me know how it goes :)

[@tritonslodge5124]

Bahaha. Well, I've currently got a roaring fire that is lasting longer than any other I've tried....wonderful technique, thank you so much!!

[@fjb4932]

Triton's Lodge, STILL think you're not being monitored, eh ? ...

[@cassiebrindza8306]

Thank you for all the helpful tips, I'm always trying to up my game on building a good fire 😊 I loved your video on how to install a new gasket. You make it look so easy, it's something I need to do this year, wish me luck! My Husband passed away a few years ago, now I'm the one who has to do all the wood stove maintenance .

[@maritimegardening4887]

You're welcome. Sorry to hear about your man - I hope your gasket install goes well.

[@dancassidy7471]

My wife n I heat with wood she does a great job praying you do as well

[@Indeewoods]

The all mighty woodstove. Every home should have one.

[@vtmielfgirl]

I won’t ever be without one and refuse to get a pellet stove. But I just bought a bag of pellets to use as a fire starter. Seeing this will make that less of a need, but good to have some anyway.

[@dementedbowine8681]

yep it is amazing how it turns everything you throw inside in to heat

[@latitudeash]

Use the ash and water and it cleans off easy. That’s all I use to clean the glass on my wood stove

[@antonioguimaraes4049]

I agree that it’s not necessary to split kindling. I use the bark and slivers of wood that break off of the wood during the process of splitting large wood rounds. Great instruction on starting a fire in a wood stove.

[@maritimegardening4887]

Thanks

[@mjs3343]

I've been doing the same thing for years. Sometimes there's too much bark and so I spread it as course mulch around the trees.

[@leobiles9659]

Hello yes I use a wet cloth and dip it into the ashes in the grate - Thats the way I clean my class every time - Hoep that helps and thanks for your informative video Best Leo

[@pinkpanther6613]

i use wet paper and a dry piece to buff the glass the throw it in the stove

[@dorian3260]

I keep a package of baby wipes in the wood box. Dip in the ashes and finish with a piece of scrap paper.

[@annamfkelly]

The ashes work amazing to clean, perfect abrasive! Tried it for the first time!

[@vtmielfgirl]

Our woodstove dealer years ago told us to clean the glass by dipping a wet paper towel in water and then blot some ashes onto it to use the ashes as a scrubbing agent. Works every time!

[@dennisjudd6703]

I use windex & paper towel cleans real well! If a bad smudge on window use ashes from fireplace to clean window also I have used steel wool does not hurt window!!! Thanks great video!!!dennis

[@angelaforsyth1092]

my nephew dips pine cones in wax and sticks dryer lint to the wax before it hardens, he stores his stash in egg cartons. good fire starter. I use a propane torch now, im 53 yr single grandma and still split and pack my wood daily. just a bit easier starting with a torch, it is new to me and I like it a lot.

[@woodspirit98]

I use white pine cones. I just collect them in spring when they're fully opened. They about 6 or 7 inches long. I don't use any wax or lint. Just store them in cheap plastic garbage cans. They'll light with a single match.

[@angelaforsyth1092]

@@woodspirit98 that sounds like a lot less work and I would consider that, but I don't think we have white pinecones here where I live. but I may go cone hunting in the spring and see what I can find :)

[@RiverPlaid]

Very good info for those of us who are not familiar with wood stoves. I will be a new homesteader this year in June and I have been doing so much research on many things the last year. I am shopping for a stove now. Thank you.

[@maritimegardening4887]

Thanks and that's great to hear. The BTU count is a very important indicator of the heat output - but the length of the burn time is equally important. You'll go nuts if you have to keep feeding it all the time.

[@woodspirit98]

Yup I don't pay attention to BTUs at all just burn time. My cabin is less than 1000 sq ft. Makes no sense to go too small on a stove. Waking up at 4 am in an icebox isn't fun. How many times do you hear someone complain they wish they'd bought a bigger stove?

[@vtmielfgirl]

Excellent tip! I had seen the top down version where one builds from large to small, but this looks SO much easier! Thank you!

[@maritimegardening4887]

You're very welcome!

[@patcornwell9298]

I use yard stuff small branches,but I do cut cookies from small splits that will fit in my cut off saw about 4 in round 1 or 2 in thick , I keep a small basket by my stove as fire starters or just fire up the stove . Burn 24 /7 don’t start many fires. Stay safe, stay warm!

[@lostinmyspace4910]

We heat our home with a woodstove 100% of the time as we don't work in the winter, so we're always manning the stove. I never considered stripping off some bark for kindling, so I will try it. But what we use that gets red hot and a great starter is twisted, knotted doughnut shaped newspaper. Two sheets of standard size newspaper, and from the upper left corner to the lower right corner, on that diagonal line, scrunch it up into a long rope, and keep twisting it like a candy cane keeping it long and twisted. From the center, make a small loop, and create a knot, or a doughnut keeping a hole in the center. Tuck the tails of the newspaper inside. A couple of those ignited, they burn hot for a good length of time.

[@maritimegardening4887]

That n-paper trick's a good one!

[@lostinmyspace4910]

@@maritimegardening4887 Maritme...Is that a Lopi stove I detect? The telltale sign are the pipes with holes on the ceiling of the stove. Got a similar one in that it's a Liberty by Lopi. We have the electric motor blower that pushes air outside the double walls of the stove and it rally helps to distribute the warm air. Love the Lopi stoves.

[@maritimegardening4887]

@@lostinmyspace4910 I don't think so but maybe it's a similar design. Works great anyway - good 6 hour burn for this one

[@ClickinChicken]

Right, you have to open your doors in house! I've been there!! *Cough Cough. good ready to go video. You can always hatchet split logs, but don't do it on ceramic tiles. been there!! I'll try and use bark and newspaper. This issue is having scrap ready to go, kindling w/o having pine lumber scraps about. Thanks, the bark. Most times I'll be starting from scratch. Thanks Greg.

[@leoblinn9764]

Thank you Greg you will help me to keep all my fingers from not splitting kindling. I was one that asked and I received quicker than I anticipated.

[@maritimegardening4887]

You can thank the fact that I have the flu and cannot do vids outside this weekend. :) Glad you liked it man cheers ::)

[@daddyburkitt5893]

Hey man if you like splitting wood buy a damn froe

[@djf8619]

The older we get, the more we learn. Thanks for this vid. This is the first year in this house that we have not used our wood stove. What a diff. I think we will go back to it. Oil heat is just NOT the same.

[@maritimegardening4887]

And oil don't grow on trees :)

[@edieboudreau9637]

DJ F agreed.

[@nickguthrie9309]

I suggest getting the use of a wood tester which gives a reading of the % moisture---most useful reading on surface of recently split sample of intended firewood. Should be 20% or less; our maple shows 6-8% moisture while Douglas fir is about 14%. TOO dry will burn too quickly unless your stove has good controls

[@lloydgulstone9636]

Dude, you are so right. I never split kindling. The bark burns very fast raising the temperature of heating system in the shortest possible time. The only difference between what you do and what I do is that start the fire only with bark. I have a box only for bark. When the bark starts to burn, I then add wood to it. To start the fire, I use wood shavings from my workshop. I make these too. Good video...cool

[@maritimegardening4887]

Right on

[@grumpyartist9416]

Any evergreen bark will add to creosode build up no matter how dry it is. Also, the "propaney" flames at the top of your fire chamber come from fresh air being introduced to the fire to burn the combustable smoke which would otherwise go up the flue. This reduces creosode build up and burns the wood far more efficiently. Thanks for the video. I'm sure it will help newbies.

[@maritimegardening4887]

Read this: extension2.missouri.edu/g1731 Main prob is moisture, not bark. Evergreen bark is often wet - that's why its a prob. Dry it out and the burn temp is higher and you get a cleaner burn. if it was full of creosote my flu would be a mess since I burn all the bark I can find every year.

[@IleneBarnes]

Hello, and thank you so much. I've just tried your advice and it's working-YES!! QUESTION-Have you ever tried cleaning your glass door with a 50/50% mixture of white vinegar and alcohol? It works for me on EVERY stubborn smudge, even glue on glass. You can also add a little water and liquid soap if needed, but the alcohol/vinegar usually does the job. Hope this helps, I also appreciate your advice on the wood, choosing pieces, identifying well dried wood,, starting a fire etc. Have a great fire going, and it was so easy. Thanks again.

[@marilyncourteau8951]

Cleaned my filthy glass today using oven cleaner...worked well.

[@maritimegardening4887]

Thanks Ilene. Glad it's working for you. Yes I've tried the vinegar/alcohol thing. Nothing works - the stain is immortal. Anyway it's ok - I've just learned to not care about it. I find that at 50 years of age there's a lot of things you have to learn to not care about to avoid going crazy - the glass stain is nothing in the broader scheme of things :)

[@LavenderLori406]

Hey, I just learned a trick from another woodstove youtube vid about cleaning the glass. Make a paste of the ash and wipe the glass. Maybe the gentle abrasion would do it. I'll have to try your newspaper and water idea. Thanks for this common sense ready kindling idea. I also collect the pine cones around my place and keep those and bark in a water proof bin.

[@maritimegardening4887]

Great tip!

[@szolanek]

I am to move to a house with wood stove. I started watching these videos. * As I see, probably our grandparent's solution is the best. It is to build a big tile stove (today a double burner), it keeps lots of the heat inside, and the easiest to handle, for large pieces have over 24 hours burning time, so have to start the fire only once a year. I am talking about plenty of embers, always.

[@maritimegardening4887]

Yes, that makes sense as long as you can get it built to code for insurance purposes.

[@CuriousinNY]

I look forward to reading your replies to my further 6 questions. You are such a wealth of information on so many subjects. I truly enjoy watching your channel.

[@earlhowze8622]

Thanks for that information on making a good start on your fire in your wood stove! 😊

[@rainlyte2003]

Our house came with a forced air wood burning furnace. We put in back-up electric with AC. I prefer the wood stove and use it as much as possible. Hubby on the other hand would just as soon let the electric kick in. His body isn't letting him do the wood cutting anymore and I help with the power splitter/ stacking. My goal for this year is to get as much wood in as possible for next winter. My wood box is a big plastic cattle feed tub. If you know a rancher, see if he's got a spare. They just pile up beside their barn. I don't recommend them for planting outside though as they become brittle and a mess clean up. Don't ask how I know LOL

[@maritimegardening4887]

I think I know how you know :) Must be tough for you hubby not to be able to do that stuff. I can't imagine losing my mobility.

[@bradleyacarter7472]

Thank you for this video. I am in awe of your positive draft. If I stuffed my wood burner that full there would be no positive draft. I will do as you do it with a little less wood.

[@lamplighter2085]

Try opening a window it should give you more airflow for starting

[@forest1tech]

I love the idea of just using the bark as kindling but peeling bark isn't much easier than splitting kindling

[@maritimegardening4887]

Most of the time the bark falls off the wood- kindling never falls off the wood.

[@angelaforsyth1092]

I split my own wood and find enough chips of wood and bark and rarely need to split kindling. only if i buy my wood already split is when i need to split kindling. love a wood stove. so much more cozy.

[@dsnicker9719]

Believe me, as a very long term wood stove user, peeling the bark off dislodges hundreds of bugs like cockroaches, millipedes, ants, and spiders. Just try it!!! All you have to do is to use smaller wood pieces at first and simply douse lightly with a small squirt of diesel fuel. Even diesel can be hard to light when cold.

[@EFTTappingwithHeatherAmbler]

When wood is dry enough, peeling bark is very easy. I actually quite enjoy it. Have no interest in splitting kindling. An unnecessary and rather dangerous chore.

[@vickiroudonis4498]

Gasket adhesive - have you tried acetone? Obviously, during the summer lol Also, because the fire was our primary heat, it was almost always going. For this reason, we rarely needed to use kindling or even just bark the logs, just 'throw another log on the fire' every 1/2 or so and that would keep the house at a nice level, comfortable temp. And if we slept in and the wood needed help to catch and start burning good, a minute or so with a butane torch would do the trick. And yes, we left the door open for a better draft too, though usually, it was the door for the ash pan which was directly below the wood box door.

[@maritimegardening4887]

I've tried acetone - insofar as it is a key ingredient in nail polish remover - which I have tried to no effect. Perhaps 100% acetone would work better. Good suggestion :)

[@laszlonemet4425]

@@maritimegardening4887 howabout a tiny little plastic foil?

[@Keeshj]

This was so helpful thank you for creating this video especially since I am new to trying to start a fireplace

[@maritimegardening4887]

Glad it was helpful!

[@vmcshannon]

Makes me wish I had held out buying a house till I found one with a wood burner 👍😊 thanks

[@pamm2230]

Vi McShannon You can generally add a wood stove to most homes if you're really wanting a wood stove.

[@shermanhofacker4428]

Splitting kindling is a heck of a lot easier than peeling bark!

[@maritimegardening4887]

nope - I've done both.

[@shermanhofacker4428]

I came to check out a way of avoiding the use of kindling not to see all the types if material that can be used for kindling. I was hoping for a good demonstration if the propane torch adapter I have added to a few stoves to alow a soldering torch to be used to start a fire in a new compliant stove without leaving the door open. ANY stove that requires the door to be left open at any time in the burn cycle is porely designed. I worked with a stove manufacturer designing stoves that used afterburners and catalytic converters; we researched all designs that were in development. All of the designs approved were inferior to theirs, but they decided not to persue that line of products. They stayed with the products they sell thousands of; cremators for dead chickens that poultry farms use. They have to be exceptionally clean burning.

[@maritimegardening4887]

@@shermanhofacker4428 I don't consider using propane to start a wood fire to a better approach in terms of self sufficiency - you just become dependent on propane. I'm using something that is free to start a fire - you're using something that has to be bought. Makes no sense to me - but rock on and man do your thing.

[@michaellippmann4474]

Hey Greg I use kindling only because I create a bunch of it from my wood working shop so always have lots of offcuts of pine and hardwood so that is what I use in our fireplace (which is more for ambiance than heat!). Your approach is perfect though...that really hot quick fire you build is great for keeping your chimney clean! Very cool as usual... Have a great day and stay warm! Mike 🇨🇦 😁👍

[@maritimegardening4887]

The main thing is that you're not wasting time splitting kindling :)

[@michaellippmann4474]

@@maritimegardening4887 yep...for me just a by product! Last time I was splitting firewood for kindling I was using a big asset cleaver on Christmas Eve and gave myself an 15 stitch slice on my left hand!!!! Needless to say my clever is extremely sharp so no pain just a lot of blood!! At least there was no line up at ER!🤣

[@raysnediker8721]

you'll luv this mix the cold ash mix with water wipe with rag/paper towel clean glass

[@aarontafoya297]

Very helpful. Just bought a house with a wood stove. We haven’t been able to heat the house well all winter. We have not been able to get the house up one degree over 66F as our gas furnace is doing all the work. We’re a slab home at 1100sqft MN. I think all in all I haven’t been loading the stove to the brim, usually only 3 logs at a time throughout the day. So we’ve been doing it wrong I think? I also found prior owners intricately welded a chimney liner as this stove sits inside the chimney. We also hypothesized we must have been loosing a lot of heat from inside the chimney somehow. I looked up inside and found rust holes on a seam of the custom 1/8th metal insert fabrication which may or may not have lost heat. I used tinfoil tape to try to seal it a bit. It’s hard to tell how well they sealed the chimney where the vent enters. Looks tight from inside though. I was surprised how big of a space they left tapering up about 3 feet up above the wood stove. They also put a low and high 8x8in vent on birth sides of the chimney with no fans or anything. I think they were trying to create a draft and let the amiably heat escape. While it does slightly, were still hearing the furnace run while the stove is burning. 🤦🏻‍♂️ I could go on but any pointers or videos to help us out would be great. Gas bill was $175+$100 for electric last month. Lastly I vacuumed the top of the stove recently and we have welted almost slightly cracked metal up top there I’m the towards the middle near the vent. They must have ran this thing hot to have done that, perhaps this is normal?

[@maritimegardening4887]

I would get a wett certified professional in there to have a look. It will be money well spent over the long run. They will give you the best advice.

[@AllOtherNamesUsed]

I tried cut up cardboard boxes for kindling and it worked great for my wood fire stove.

[@grinning_owl]

I save all the cardboard boxes I get from shopping online. Hubby asked, "Why are you saving these boxes?" I just smiled and said, "One day you will find out and you will thank me." 😊

[@jesus.maryandjoseph8880]

Good video, but a word of caution for people. My husband did something similar last year with birch bark. Fire started great. He had to go outside to get some more wood and saw that the chimney was on fire! Some of the birch bark must have been sucked up into the chimney and caught there. He went up on a ladder on the roof to put it out. Scary stuff. Hasn't attempted it since, and will never use birch bark to start a fire again. Lesson learned. Safe to say now that we always use kindling. Lol. Take care.

[@rmc489]

That's called a chimney fire, it's caused by creosote build up by not burning clean, if there's smoke coming out of your chimney, it's not a clean burn. Then when you do burn clean and hot all that hydrocarbon buildup catches fire.

[@MountainMonkey]

Great video, thanks for posting. We recently moved to a home with a wood stove, still learning how to make it burn for longer, without feeding it all the time.

[@maritimegardening4887]

Hope it helped :)

[@vickiroudonis4498]

You'll get a much more even heat if you just toss another log othe fire every 1/2 hour or so. If you fil 'er up and then let it burn down you'll get a roller coaster of temperatures. So, unless you need it really hot for cooking or something, I'd save the stoking it up for just before bed.

[@stevieg.4816]

After I do that with bark, my wood stove has a fan that blows out from under the top so I stack the wood that's moist or wet in front of where the hot air comes out and by the time I have to feed the stove again it's killer dry throughout. I don't leave the house with that on top nor with the stove burning at a full blaze only while I'm home. Secondly, While splitting there's always strands and smaller pieces that accumulate so I gather them and put them in a couple of buckets near the stove, that makes for great kindling I didn't have to do anything extra to get. I have never seen the potential or had an issue where the wood could or would catch on fire in the hot air. 2, 3 hours your banking it again anyway and the wood is now used to replenish the stove, but I also replace what's on top according to what I put in the stove, easy, peasy, just as simple as that.

[@MrJorgvankleef]

Thanks for the video! It burns grazy fast 😀 greets from overseas France 👋🏻

[@maritimegardening4887]

Thanks for watching!

[@kevinrowbotham545]

I don't split much kindling anymore and fires are in an open pit, but I grew up splitting wood for an open hearth fireplace and a woodstove at the cabin. We had Manitoba Maple and Green Ash mainly. I might try Acetone on the adhesive but on a cold stove though... Nice fire!

[@semiprofessional8470]

I know this is an old comment but did you have much success with Manitoba maple? I have a ton available and not sure how it will burn once seasoned. Thanks

[@kevinrowbotham545]

@@semiprofessional8470 The maple needs to season for a long time to burn very well as I recall.

[@Olga-ut8sm]

Work smarter not harder, well done.

[@trishoconnor2169]

I generally strip the bark during the year the wood is seasoning outside, then char it in my grill by light a small fire with sticks, piling the bark over the burning sticks, then putting the cover on the grill. After it has completely cooled, I open it and the bark has all turned into thin pieces of charcoal, which will light at the touch of a match. The "char bark," like "char cloth" in a traditional tinder box, serves as tinder, then a few sticks as kindling, then that's generally enough to get the fuel logs going.

[@abdyvence6729]

Thank your for the added info about burning bark. I knew about burch bark but I will be burning and saving other barks.

[@maritimegardening4887]

Glad to help

[@deanminiacci7663]

Use the wood stove ash and make a paste to clean the glass👍

[@maritimegardening4887]

Tried that - no dice :)

[@stickybun3996]

Then you are doing it wrong. Use a fairly wet cloth, dip it in the ash pan/ floor of the fire. It’s the water with the dry ash that works. The chemical reaction that cleans the glass. By the time you have faffed around with paste you’ve lost the reaction.

[@denisecomeau6847]

We bought 2 wood/coal furnaces off a local ad,2nd hand. One for the house,one for the garage. Both places are toasty warm and run without electric blower power if needed to. One small Chubby stove for the liv. room with the same little Ecofan that you have. Thats mostly used in spring or early fall when you just have to take the chill off but not needing whole house heat. This was after we ripped out the oil furnace cause oil spiked and the price pissed me off. Have never looked back since. We only have one duct work pipe into the living room,the rest comes up thru the cellar door and floor boards. Hubby and I are both familar with burning wood from childhood anyways. We store 5 cord in the barn & sheds,have 8 cord on hand for this year,and another 8 cord seasoning up for next year. Have a brand new electric splitter for the big pieces. We have been buying boxes of paint sticks from a local mill for $3.00 a box for our kindling,but recently I used a bunch of bark for starting the fire to use it up and it worked pretty good. And after splitting wood,we have alot of bark,so next spring that is also on my list to gather up-that will cut down on the boxes of paint sticks that we buy also. We also have a propane log stove for another back-up,and 2 small electric heaters if needed.We've covered all our bases no matter what! This is also our entertainment budget by the way....! For the heat and price we get -it has blown away the competition of oil heat hands down!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Most days I have to open a window just a little bit to let in fresh air!!

[@maritimegardening4887]

Awesome! Great to hear that you're saving money :)

[@True-crime-junkie]

good info. I have been using bark to bank a fire for several hours. depending on the type of bark it can be used to start or bank a fire very well. some burns hot and fast and some hot and slow.

[@maritimegardening4887]

Good stuff

[@deleahcortes3027]

I have two retractable clothes lines that are hung by my stove so that I can hang my laundry up to dry during the day when I'm gone or at night while I'm sleeping and then when company comes over I just retract those splines into the holder and I don't have laundry lines hanging across my living room

[@maritimegardening4887]

Very simple and effective!

[@mntgardener9246]

Thanks for the tip!

[@joandorsey2242]

We’ve had a wood stove for nearly 50 years. I altered jeans for 30 years. I use the cut off pieces for starting the fire. Works great. Any kind of cotton fabric works, too.

[@maritimegardening4887]

That's a great idea!

[@jolkraeremeark6949]

Heck, even lint from the dryer works great.

[@chrisduggins3435]

Save the toilet paper rolls and stuff the dryer lint or even cloth from old clothes or sheets in them and I use rubbing alcohol to soak the lint at the point of fire starting or even wax on the lint

[@LambieSamba]

@@jolkraeremeark6949 Clothes nowdays are a lot of synthetics, this can off gas chemicals in your home, not good

[@yesican2012]

​@@LambieSamba True. It shocked me that, at thrift stores, almost evert piece of clothing was synthetic. I was looking for wool sweaters. Found only TWO pieces out of 7 racks! Read that the super rich will only wear natural fibers against their skin. Get caught in a fire, and that plastic stuff will MELT on your skin.😖

[@yolo_burrito]

The reburn works by adding hot fresh air. That oxygen reacts with the gasified wood and burns all the gasified wood.

[@jbbolts]

id try steel wool for the glue with various solvents as well if needed... will def use this method as needed thanks for taking the time to post this

[@joatmonjoatmon8911]

I agree...0000 steel wool will not scratch your glass.

[@richards2072]

Thanks very much for the tip. Since watching your video I've been peeling bark off my wood as I go and have cut my kindling needs by nearly 100 per cent. Your method of starting it is interesting. I'm wondering though how long that fire will burn that you started in the video. It's a lot of wood but if the fire burns long enough may be worth it. I usually start my fires top down but don't use nearly as much wood or kindling as you do.

[@maritimegardening4887]

Awesome man thanks!

[@dgb56bgd]

NICELY DONE. Thanks for your instructions. Good to know, time and energy saving.

[@maritimegardening4887]

You bet!

[@TheBoatwizard]

Nice video, thanks for the information. Every region has different types of wood available. Where I live, we have fir, alder, and (rarely) maple to burn. Fir bark burns, but not like your birch does- good luck using it as kindling. Woe to the person who tries your method with fir bark that has been "out in the weather". Cedar bark is a different matter, but also less available as it is a prized species. Not wanting to be a "hater", again thanks for your video.

[@maritimegardening4887]

Get the fir bark good and dry and it burns fine. In fact, I've actually read that douglas fir bark has more BTUs than douglas fir wood

[@vetteconnoisseur9531]

You may want to consider removing all the ash in your firebox before loading new wood for starting a fire. Believe it or not, ash is an insulator to the fire. Great vid BTW 👍

[@tjlee9901]

lol

[@BobK5]

Wood burns more efficiently on a bed of ash in a Woodburner, but not a multi fuel burner.

[@vetteconnoisseur9531]

@@BobK5 bed of hot coals...not ash if the base is cast iron - the ash will insulate heat xfer to the cast iron below it if ash is sandwiched between

[@BobK5]

@@vetteconnoisseur9531 Woodburners don’t use coal Vette

[@karlsborgwi.jewell9919]

Hahaha😂😂😂

[@2naturesownplace]

For anybody that's wondering about this. And I've been dealing with firewood and building fires for now on 49 years. The only reason he's not having to use candling. Is because of the birch bark. If everybody had access to birch bark they could do this too. Birch Mark has an exceptional amount of oil in it that burns at a very high heat. That's why it's recommended to start fires even with a spark. If you do not have this then you have to have kenlin.

[@maritimegardening4887]

Ridiculous - this method works with or without birch bark - you don't need candles. If you've been building fire for 49 years, you must not do much experimenting.

[@devilman3806]

@@maritimegardening4887 The guy can't spell kindling apparently, but he has a point. That bark is why you are not using kindling. I have red birch locally, it doesnt flame up like that. My buddy's property is an hour from here he's got a couple of those paper bark birch. The other birch I know that peels like that is river birch, but its on the opposite coast from me. If you have it, use it.

[@codyrebone4288]

Been heating with wood 25 years just need paper and dry split wood

[@blast091000]

I just use fat wood to start, found a whole tree of it. Been chipping off of one foot long piece for four years now

[@trishoconnor2169]

I think some of the issue is that he's treating "kindling" and "tinder" as if they were the same thing. Tinder is what lights with a spark or the merest touch of a flame from a match or lighter, while kindling is what will get going within several seconds in the flames from lit tinder. The "fuel" in turn is the bigger logs that need to be in the flames of the kindling for a few minutes to get going. Birch bark does make good tinder, because it lights as easily as paper, but on its own, unless you have a LOT of it, it burns away too fast to get the fuel going. Heavier kinds of bark don't make good tinder, but they make good kindling. His cigarette lighter isn't going to light that thick maple bark very easily, but if he puts some birch bark near it, he can light that, and it will then light the maple bark, which will then light the fuel logs.

[@jefflary5457]

Good job using the bark you are right splitting kindling is one more job to do. However just so you know that is not a catalyst or catalytic converter stove it is just a secondary burn stove the tubes you see at the top just bring in a secondary air supply to the fire. Gases rise up to the tubes that are very hot and when supplied with fresh air from these tubes the gases combust.

[@johnsteed265]

Good basic video. I would add keep a pot of water on the stove to add humidity to the air in the room, that fan is a joke (if anything, let it blow on the hot stove pipe), clean out ashes daily and throw them on your lawn (great basic fertilizer), safety: keep a fire extinguisher nearby and use a fireproof carpet in front of your stove to protect the floor and your knees when loading, chimney sweep every other year to avoid chimney fire.

[@acanadianineurope814]

Good vid, some floor vents would help getting the heat upstairs, along with a cold air return tube. I remember the times everyone in the Maritimes were told to convert from oil to electric, 'it's cheap, it's clean'... yeah, it was. Enjoying the content.

[@maritimegardening4887]

I wish I could put floor vents in but it would void my insurance policy. The stove doesn't have the opening for a return tube - next wood stove will definitely have that option. To heat with electricity would cost about 3,500 with electric baseboard

[@beulahboi]

I'm still using oil and thankfully right now I can heat all winter for under $500. Hopefully less this year as I'll have a usable fireplace.

[@woodspirit98]

@@beulahboi fast forward to 2021.. holy cow. Inflation. Destruction of the US energy independence.

[@andrewabdalla5869]

This video was really helpful! Thanks for sharing it.

[@maritimegardening4887]

Thanks

[@williammarvin8365]

Vinegar and water works good on the glass on the stove and won't compromise the glass. I was told you have to be careful what chemicals cuz the glass will crack if you use the wrong chemical like a degreaser like I did when I had my wood stove for the first time. It's a drolet Savannah

[@richardbinell2053]

Matches are so old school. Use a propane torch to start your stove, and you'll never look back.

[@terryfinley7760]

He used a lighter

[@onedegreeofffcenter6104]

Used a torch for 13 years a small bottle of propane lasted all winter , less mess and less work , it’s the way to go

[@codyrebone4288]

Did that once with an acetylene torch cuz it was handy

[@ontogeny6474]

I'm sure people will have their own opinions on this but I use a tea light candle. A pack of 100 will set you back about 4 dollars. I'm in mesquite country so I use twigs and small branches to get things going. Set the tea light candle under it all and spark it up. The paraffin ultimately burns off and I don't get any build-up issues. That might be because mesquite burns so dang hot.

[@CuriousinNY]

Thank you VERY MUCH for all of your responses to my very lengthy comment. It was interesting that you said you only empty your stove out once a week. We have to empty ours out every other day! When you fill your wood-burning stove in the mornings to get it going again is there a bed of ashes mixed with charcoal? Is your stove completely out? I’d love to see a video where you start the stove from the night before and maybe some advice and another video on when it is time to empty the stove what it looks like when you do. I think you hit the nail on the head with the wood being to moist. If it is too moist will that prevent my temperature output from getting to 90? The warmest I could get it this year is 82. I got wood from two different places this year and both wet and unseasoned. How many cord of wood do you go through in a winter season? I almost fainted when you said how much you pay for wood. Here in central NY accord is $75. But when I ask for and paid for 4 cord this year I definitely didn’t get that much. So I ordered three more from a different place and after stacking it - it too was short. I hate being taken advantage of. Any advice for me on this? I had to smile when I saw where you keep your wood next to the stove. I have a similar box next to the stove which is a big blue bin which holds 45 gallons plus another 45 on top as I place the bin’s top against wall and continue to stack to the top of that. So for my aunt and I we have wood stacked outside behind a shed under cover. From that we bring in a cord into the garage and from the garage we fill a similar sized bin in the basement from which we fill the one in the family room. The wood I received this year was also huge not like the first year when it was cut into nice small evenly shaped pieces like you put in your stove. I’m lucky if I can get three pieces on the bottom and two to three pieces on top of that before it is hitting the top. Could that be another reason why we are getting low heat out put? Or if it were properly aged the size would not matter? When you said you shut the draft once the wood was burning good, do you mean all the way? I understand about shutting it gradually, but am wondering how much you are able to close your draft.

[@maritimegardening4887]

I'm thinking of making all your questions into one big video :) I put all the ashes in the middle, with the wood on either side, make V, put the bark/etc on either side and light it up. advice for buying wood - if someone rips you off, don't buy from them again. Don't know how you get wood for $75 a cord that's amazing. A cord is 4'x'4'x8' when the logs are in 8' lengths. One of my pyramids is 2 cords. Always buy a 2 years ahead of time if you can - buy 2021 wood in 2019 for eg.. probably getting low heat output because the wood is still quite green the smaller it is when split, the better it dries out. Eventually I close it all the way. you can only do this when you know you have driven out all the moisture and the flame is yellow.

[@CuriousinNY]

Maritime Gardening Thanks again for your reply. I look forward to seeing that video. Great advice on the wood, buying more than one year at a time and making sure the pieces are small enough so they can dry out properly, especially important when you live in a humid area which I do in central NY. Showing what would be considered good size and too big for all the newbies out there like me would be very very helpful, especially if the wood is green. I would have thought the bigger the better as it would mean a longer burn time and less refilling times of the stove. What does it mean when the flame is blue on the bottom and white on top, instead of a yellow flame you say it should be. I’m guessing you are going to say it’s because the wood has too much moisture. LOLS 😆. Here is another newbie question, how can the fire continue to burn in the stove if you shut the damper fully depriving the oxygen? Does the fire still get oxygen when the damper is fully closed? I try to close mine a little at a time (no big adjustments like you said) and the flame practically goes out by the time I get it to a quarter turn forget get the damper to half or fully closed. All I have left at a quarter turn are tiny ity bitty red flames. I open the damper back up and the flames get bigger again. Have a great day and I’ll be looking out for your follow up video.

[@intelligentdesign9911]

Beautiful fire! Wish I had one too.

[@stevenbolin7688]

Ya bud I hear ya on the 6 hour burn, I've got to get up every few hours to reload the stove. So during the 5-6 months of usage, not much sleep,lol.

[@raymcneal7601]

Use the ashes and a damp cloth to clean glass it works

[@obekai1648]

Try the Scandinavian way to light fire. Everything opposite with kindling and paper at the very top. Amazing results with paper and kindling heating up chimney first.

[@maritimegardening4887]

This basically the same idea, an upside-down fire

[@johnserrano9689]

I used MaP gas to burn the old adhesive off my old stove. It took the heat better/longer than I would've thought but it easily scraped off with my straight razor after

[@maritimegardening4887]

cool thanks

[@BryanSeigneur0]

27:35 I'm guessing that ISN'T a catalytic stove. This is a secondary burn stove. The air intake into the chamber is near the top . It's air that is *injected* into the chamber by the heat of the burn itself--I think it sets up an updraft from a bottom air intake of the stove somewhere thru a sleeve between the burn chamber and the outer stove wall and into the top of the burn chamber. The intake on that fire is at the top, and it's preheated [that is, once the fire is going]. This system of 400F O2 hitting, nee, *injecting* the top of the stack really works well to combust *everything* in the fuel. I believe it results in the almost magical looking ignition you describe seeing at the top. I'm not sure how a catalytic system works, except that there's what amounts to a catalytic converter right before the flue/outlet that magically burns pollution things after it gets to hi temp, exactly like your car. I worry about the ageing of the space-age alloys and ceramics in a cat converter that I would eventually need to replace. (Also the converters are known to take damage and need early replacing from abuse--wet wood, non-wood-based kindling.) Never-mind all that trouble and special materials if we can get the exact same effect with the secondary burn system, right? It seems like they could combine both the systems if the cat really helped a lot. Maybe your stove does that, and I can't think of a technical downside to that, but I've never heard of a stove being *both* secondary-burn *and* cat-converter. From all I can gather secondary-burn stoves are the simpler manufacture and maintenance and performance way to go, and I think you have one. I really need to do or find a paper or video condensing the history of wood stoves and how they've become more efficient over time, from the Franklin stove to modern EPA-certified log stoves. There seems to have been a lot of refinements, not that I get the impression that this final iteration of the machine exemplified by yours would be considered complicated compare to an engine from any century, but I gather it's not the same as the generations before.

[@DClarke1954]

My stove manufacturer warns against "too-rapid" heating as it can warp the firebox. Mine is welded steel and not cast-iron though.

[@gathercreatelivewithleslie8340]

Yes, most do and cardboard is never recommended, it can create chimney fires. Plus card board usually has a lot of chemicals mixed in.

[@robertlivingston360]

Old fashion Bon Ami glass cleaner in are-sol spray works wonders. Cover glass with spray foam and wipe with paper towel. Comes right off!

[@maritimegardening4887]

Thanks for the info!

[@rbb2292]

You mentioned after you filled your woodstove that if your stove is cold, and you don’t have a positive airflow, that you might not want to start off filling it as full as you have here. That’s exactly what happens with us frequently. It warms up outside for a number of days so we don’t use the stove and then it gets cold and there’s a good downdraft. What is the best way to reverse the airflow and get the stove warm so the chimney pipe gets warm and smoke does not come into the house? Thanks for any tips.

[@johncrowe5164]

Most Instruction Manuals Say Not to Do it But, Wood Ash Makes a Geeat Glass Cleaner on Woodstove Glass. I Take a Wet Paper Towel Dab it in Fine Wood Ash . Lye is Made from Wood Ash & Water. Lye is Oven Cleaner & it Works on Soot. I Found that the Residue from the Ash Keeps the Glass Cleaner Overall. Woodstove Manuals Usually Also Tell you Not to Do that with the Door. You're Supposed to Burn with Door Fully Open or Fully Closed.. Just Sayin.

[@FernCurtis]

Wow…interesting because the manual that came with our stove 20+ years ago, did tell you to use a bit of the white ash to clean the window!

[@jamescartee8949]

You can use an essential oil..like peppermint o anything else you have on hand ...sometimes the process is a bit slower...but it's generally pretty reliable.

[@austenhead5303]

Pine cones, people. If you have a pine tree or two around, you're golden.

[@johnthree1611]

Yellow pine needles as well.

[@minnesconsinprepping7856]

Spruce is also GREAT for creating Creosote in your Chimney! Yes.......it's full of pitch as you say! Yeah.....that stuff clings to your chimney......So....hopefully you get your chimney cleaned regularly.

[@maritimegardening4887]

It's not a problem if you run the stove hot when burning it. We get it cleaned & inspected once every 2 years and there always very little creosote buildup.

[@PinkSlippers70]

Just another normal home...our treadmill makes a great clothes drier....and we also have a 2 story home with a walk out basement that has a woodstove that we use constantly ....same as you the house has electric heat that we refuse to use (except the upstairs bathroom when it gets really cold, nobody likes a cold bathroom in the winter ! hahaha)

[@woodspirit98]

Good use for a treadmill. In north korea they use refrigerators as shoe racks. They don't have electricity.

[@vinnettepope8255]

Thanks for the wood stove tips

[@brianoconnell3652]

Use the wood ash to clean the window.

[@ellenbuchegger5211]

you can use fine sand paper to clean difficult things off of glass.

[@juliopelca9385]

Great video sr I was wondering how hot it gets your wood stove?

[@maritimegardening4887]

I try to keep it in the "burn zone" which I explain and show on the thermometer at: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n2O1p5xofbV8mKM

[@inhocsigno9151]

Bark works well. I've noticed that some cardboard seems to be treated with fire retardant, and it does not burn well. That's frustrating to deal with. Open a window If there is one) near to stove to aid the initial draw. Thanks.

[@rogerknights857]

If one has cardboard that is too thick to cut easily / safely with a utility knife, a reciprocating saw will rip through it speedily, even through reinforced corners.

[@susanmill2394]

My woodbox is the outer casing of a twintub washing machine!

[@maritimegardening4887]

Nice :)

[@kylepayant6903]

Have you tried using acetone to remove the gasket glue? Great video btw!

[@maritimegardening4887]

yes - no effect, but thanks for watching anyway :) It wore off eventually so it's all good.

[@truthseekertoday2377]

We never split kindling we use tiny branches and branches with news paper at the bottom. Easy peasy.

[@MrWuhisn]

@Johnny AppleStead says the pot head. Edit: Sorry... I mistook you for Johnny Apple Seed.

[@laineparnell]

perfectly described that sound when the door is ajar - fuf fuf fuf fuf

[@cadcad4974]

Acetone will remove the residue on the stove glass, but use caution, there must be no fire or heat in or around the stove when using acetone!!!

[@squibboops9651]

My problem is locally when I buy hardwood it's soaked. I plan on buying in advance and getting a ton racked Seasoning is key. Cheers from Miramichi.

[@maritimegardening4887]

I tend to have the same problem - you always have to be a few years ahead, They all say its well aged - even if they cut it down last week

[@udavidism]

This took a long time and you have a third of your stove full of bark that will burn up before you can even walk away from it. Forget kindling, cardboard, bark and fill you stove with dry firewood. Stack it full and tight. Leave a small hole at the top center about three inches in diameter. I then strike a 50,000 BTU propane weed burner and go into the top of the stove for long enough to push heat up the chimney and start a draft. Then let that intense flame have it's way with the wood you have placed in your stove for just a few seconds. Leave a small crack in the door while you move the propane torch away from the stove then come back and shut the door. Now you have a stove full of wood that will burn a long time with out fiddling with trying to get a hot fire started.

[@maritimegardening4887]

Or, don't buy a weed burner, save money on propane, and start your fire using bark and cardboard.