Alternatives for Lighting Coal

Store bought starter bag torn apart

Bought some supplies and got some free shredded paper

Few minutes of my time

And they work great

Use a 1500W or higher heat gun. It will light the coal in a couple minutes..Heat plus air = ignition That's all I use now. Learned it from my son who found it out by desperation. Mother of invention.

I will have to try that as I would like to have multiple ways to start the fire.

Cap wrote:I must be missing something! I've tried the torch, my Mapp turbo torch, no luck. I've tried charcoal lighter, I've splashed kerosine on top of the coal which was in a pine wood fire. I've lit good sized wood fires using scrap 2x4 pine. None of this ever worked.

The only method that works for me is a good old hardwood ( oak, ash, etc. ) fire burning really hot leaving red hot wood coals. I sprinkle on some coal, just a small amount at first and slowly build it up over the next hour. Shortcuts never worked! What am I missing!! I'm talking about using nut coal in a hand fired unit.

Same here. Good ole wood first then add coal to the hot embers. Nut coal and stove coal. I use the fire starters to get it going.

Cap wrote:I must be missing something! ........The only method that works for me is a good old hardwood ( oak, ash, etc. ) fire burning really hot leaving red hot wood coals. I sprinkle on some coal, just a small amount at first and slowly build it up over the next hour. Shortcuts never worked! What am I missing!! I'm talking about using nut coal in a hand fired unit.

That's how I always start my hand fired stoves. It works as good as anything, but just takes a little more time.

We used a little wood but mainly paper & cardboard,we left the ash door open most of the time thru the lighting process which took 30 min. to a full blown coal fire. Leaving the ash door open created a blow torch effect & sound,we fed paper & cardboard,then sprinkled coal,then more coal,when the coal was blazing good,we closed the ash door. 30 minutes start to finish,it is still going.

I picked up some cowboy charcoal this past fall and have been using it to start my fires. Quick and easy!!! I have a coal fire roaring in about 20 minutes using this method. I used to use hardwood but it took forever to get a good bed of embers.

As previously mentioned, "Matchlight" or any brand X equivalent.

Matchlight indeed. Never real concerned w/ how cute some lil baggy looked. Different story with my women--I want them thar old bags to look REAL cute

Alternative #103 ..... have the wifey do it ....

i am a cheap person, lol. I am parting ways with a pellet stove so I have a couple of bags kicking around. I figured I would try using it as a coal starter. it works well, just simply spread your coal out over grate. put two 8oz cups of pellets on top of the coal. light the pellets with a propane torch. when the pellets are burning well, place a small shovel of coal on top of the burning pellets. this method works well and costs allot less the coal fire starters which I have seen can be upwards of $1.50 per piece. a bag of wood pellet costs $4-5 per bag, and using them a couple of cups at a time, that one bag should last almost forever.

A, we're not makin a cake here, just lighting the stove. Self light briquettes have worked for 9 yrs & I remain in the 1 match club for 8.