Coal Mice Recipe

Does anyone have a recipe to make their own coal mice? Ive used them and they work great, Id like to make my own.

thanks,
mark

PLUS MIX WELL USING: ALL DONE!!

What size bag do you use?

I heard that match light charcoal is easy to use.
maybe it's that with a mixture of wax. (just guessing)

I have some 'starter bags'. These are not quite the same as the coal mice, but they work.

Ingredients:
4" wide sandwich size paper bag 4"x2" bottom size
shreded newspaper, about 1/2" wide strips
'cowboy coal'.. this is not charcoal brickets, but chared wood-coal


The coal is in small pieces about buckwheat to pea size, wrapped with several layers of crumpled paper strips,
all stuffed in the bottom of the bag, the bag folded over and stapled..

Just place bag on the stoker's grate, light it, cover with a hand full or two of rice/buck coal, turn on the stoker..

I was surprised to not find any pieces of road flare [magnesium] in the mix.. I think I once had some starter bags that had
curly wood shavings, pieces of coal, and some pieces of road flare.. I think this recipe would work very well.

Or just a 2-3" long piece of road flare, light it, set on grate, cover with handfulls of coal, start stoker, close door,
come back in 15 minutes to a nice fire.

Greg L
.

I have wondered about using half or a quarter of a magnesium flare to start my hand-fired stove. But, would it burn so hot as to damage grates or firebrick or steel if it was pointed the wrong way?

I was told that they do contain Magnesium. I have only lit my stove twice, but both times it was via coal mouse. One match, and 20 minutes later I had a nice fire going. I bought 10 at my dealer just to keep them on hand. I will never use anything else. And someone once told me starting a coal fire was hard....

Whatever is in a coal mouse it burns hot and fast like a flare. For 1.50 it isn't worth messing around. I lite my stove 2-3 times during a season. I only shut down to clean periodically.

matchlight or equal broken up into smaller chunks. A piece of paper and some coal, works every time. (so far)

I don't mind paying for things but everyone here (within 1 hour) is out of coal mice or coal starting bags.

So, I may have to try and make up some and see what works.

My guess is there is some charcoal and contents of part of a road flare. I will see if I can make some up and report back with pictures.

I've used a Mapp gas torch several times to light mine. Turn the stove on...pile up some coal and hit it with the torch. Takes about 3 minutes to get it started.

AV: I'll have to try that just to see. I've tried a torch before with out luck but maybe I was too impatient.

I tried it with a regular propane torch when I first got my stove. It didn't cut it. Never thought of trying map gas. May be worth a try.

Jeff

The coal mice work great but they are smelly so if mapp gas would work I would probably go with that.