Winter is scheduled to arrive here in Northern Utah at 1735 tomorrow evening. The firewood has been cut, split and stored.

Now I don’t know much about Model T’s other than the fact that I am enjoying being involved with them in my old age. However, in return for the entertainment, both humorous and verbal fisticuffs, as well as the invaluable information, assistance, advice and help that I have received on this forum, I am willing to share my vast knowledge with you on how to start a wood fire, quickly, easily and cheaply.

You old dogs that have been starting wood fires all of your life probably will not find much of interest here, but there may be some newbies to the fine art of heating with wood out there that can benefit from this post.

The first item on the ToDo list is to acquire a large mouth GLASS jar with a Metal lid. Think old peanut butter jar, but since they are all made of plastic these days, find a suitable substitute. If your wife still does any canning, you should be able to find what you need there. Next you will need to buy a bag of the cheapest cotton balls you can find, think Way-Mart and while you are there, pick up a can of the cheapest charcoal lighter available. When you get home, stuff the jar with the cotton balls then fill it with the charcoal lighter fluid. You are now the proud owner of a bottle of Flash’s (that’s me) patented Fireballs.

The next item on our list is to go out to the scrap pile (wood) and find some pieces of chipboard. Cut them into small rectangles about 2”X4” MOL (More or Less). Now find some scrap pieces of 2X4’s, split them lengthwise, then cross cut them into 1” cubes. You should now have 1 each Air Force type non-flying, light brown box of miniature bridge building components.

This is where the rubber meets the road. Put down 2 cubes, lay a plank of chipboard across them, then insert 2 Fireballs under the bridge. Light the fire, add kindling and stand back!! For those of a frugal nature, you might be able to get by with just 1 Fireball.

This information is offered with tongue firmly in cheek, so hopefully it will be enjoyed and used as intended!!

Cheers,

Ron “Flash” Horton

When we travel camping on motorcycle they put me in charge of fire starting. Not because I'm a firefighter but the sandwich bag of cotton balls with a little petroleum jelly rubbed into them makes me look like a genius.
Drive safe and often

Sounds interesting. I just use an old candle. in many different setups. sometimes I just break it up and place it above my tender.

Sometimes I take woodchips, cardboard egg cartons, while melting the wax (double boiler, with an old metal coffee can), add woodchips to the slots for the eggs. Pour the liquid wax over the woodchips. and ensure the egg carton is fully sealed. It is fully sealed, safe to carry, easy to light. The courser the wood chips the better.

I buy those fire-starter "cheater sticks" from Menards...packages of 4 strips, I break each one in two, so I end up getting 8 starts per package. I'm wore out from buying wood, stacking wood, moving wood and re-stacking wood, bringing wood in the house, bringing the burnt wood (ashes) out of the house. So next year we're puttin' in a gas insert fireplace. Flip the switch and go! And then when we wanna "go" on a moments notice, flip it again and off we go!

I’m about at the end of my wood burning days also Tim, due to my age and as you mention, the work involved, but when Momma sits down on the “Bun Warmer” in front of the fireplace, it’s tough to say no more. One more year!!

I've traded in my log splitter and chainsaw,back injuries,broken vehicles,and endless quest for next year's wood for a gravity wagon load of corn.two 5 gallon buckets a day heats the house.i had about $500 in corn last winter. I get to spend more time with my T's.

This years walnut crop was huge and we were left with about 40 gallon of walnut shells.I use about 1/5 cup of cherry pits and 1/2 cup walnut shells mixed with a little Mennards fire starting jel. Lite and wait until the corn starts to feed.Bud.

I split and carried wood when I was a kid and swore I wouldn't ever depend on wood heat again. I use gas in my house and I have propane in the main garage. When we go camping every year I take the cotton balls soaked in Vaseline and paper. That's all the real fires I have anymore. With my broke back and neck and working 12-15 hrs a day I will just have to pay the gas bills. I wouldn't be able to cut and split wood all the time for full time heat anymore. Tim

Born in January 1939, beside the wood stove, still heat the garage with wood, split some today (55* here today) stove keeps the coffee hot, the house has a pellet stove, I like wood! And the exercise, burning wood insures you get fresh air !

Some thing about wood is hard to beat. I have gas forced air and a wood stove. The problem is at its lowest setting the wood stove will force you to open a window or two unless its blowing and darn cold out. The gas furnace in the shop will raise the temperature about a degree a minuet then hold that temperature for a day with the concrete floor warmed up.

When starting a fire, use Fritos. The scoopers work best. Depending on the conditions, maybe 5 or 6 with paper should do it. It is slow but will work. Each one will burn abut a minute. Then you can tell your friends what you use.

I wish we had a gas bill but with so few houses around i doubt i'll see it in my lifetime! Most of my life we burned wood but for the last 10 years we have burned corn stored in a large gravity box.Bud in Wheeler,Mi.

I have gas in the shop, but several years ago I added up my winter gas bills and moved the gas heater out of the kitchen and brought in this:


Wood is free and I have more of it than I'll ever use. In the house it's a wood stove in the kitchen, a fireplace in the living room, and electric blankets upstairs.

I've had an Aquatherm hot water wood fired furnace for 28 years. It is out in the shed across the drive way from my house. It's a good set up. It heats the water in the system and pumps it to a heat exchanger in the house that is located in the ductwork. It is thermostatically controlled to regulate the temperature in the house. The heat of the water is also regulated by a thermostat that shuts or opens a damper on the stove.
It might sound complicated but it is not. Hey I put it in.
Some years I only use one match after Thanksgiving.
I have found out one way though to light a fire is to use paper that has been shredded by a paper shredding machine. Use a pile of that under some split pine lumber scraps and you can kindle a fire in a stove quite easily.

I have a wood stove upstairs that does most of my heating. Also have a big force air wood furnace with a hot water loop downstairs hooked into the duct work with the LP furnace for those really cold stretches. Wood probably does 98% of my heating. Haven't bought a tank of LP in 5 years. Like Steve Jelf, there's plenty of wood around here for the taking. All you need is the ambition to go get it. Besides, the approximately $1600/heating season it saves me allows me more to invest in old cars. And of course, the dog likes it.

I was raised in town with a gas furnace. As soon as I left home and got married, I got a wood stove and have only been without one for maybe two years.

We have an LP furnace that burns 600 gallons per year, but wood does most of the heating. My wife won't let me put in the second stove in the back of the house.

With all the dead ash trees around, I'll have a life time supply if I get them cut before they fall down and rot.

By the pictures your trees are a nice size------try splitting spruce three to five feet in diameter------without a hydraulic splitter you will give up unless the limbs only are used. One part I like with forced air is the summer cooling fan it works well moving air around the shop or home while the wood stove is used. Bride brings home a ton of free candles from G-sales or free fire starter logs.

I used to do this.


Now that I'm old and feeble I do this.

The California Air Nazis have just about killed heating with wood in the Central Valley. There are some exceptions, though, and we fortunate (?) that no natural gas service is available in this particular spot.

Have mail from a Canadian friend yesterday stating cows in California are not allowed to fart! Thought he was kidding but guess its true!
If true I wonder how it will be enforced?
Nice truck Phil!
You would have to use splitting wedges all the way across the round in your wheelbarrow Steve and a ten pound sledge if that round was spruce. Even with a hydraulic splitter its tough.

It's called Cali-Whacky of the Gov Jerry Moonbeam Brown. The Ca. State will just place a carbon tax on cows. No wonder the once great Ca. dairy industry is selling herds and leaving. Another business bites the dust.

Always just use kindling and OLD newspaper. The old newspaper works better than fresh stuff.