Wood Burnng Stove Lighting Techniques

[Marion Watts]

Just picked up a Backcountry Boiler on the Swap. I can find a lot of videos on youtube on fire starting as it pertains to campfires, but I am more interested in how guys are lighting their twig burners, what tinder they find most effective, best practices, etc. I have experience with the Vaseline soaked cotton balls for campfires, but that is about it. Lets hear the tips and tricks…

[Franco Darioli]

This is one way of doing it :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8nXXzFabXQ

look up Kelly Kettle/volcano kettle

BTW, DO NOT light it like that next to twigs and dry grass as that guy is doing it…

 

 

[D M]

I used a Bush Buddy stove all last year, loved it. I got into the habit of always having dry paper in a ziplock, did not matter what kind, map sections that were done, paper bags, whatever. I’d tear it into short strips and have that ready to go. That’s all I needed to get the stove going with whatever I could find or had gathered during the day for tinder and small bits of firewood.

[Kevin Babione]

I used my Antig Outdoors Woodgas Stove on a couple of trips.  I always carried an Esbit in case I had problems getting it started but never had to use it.  I too would crumple up a piece of paper from a map or a trail guide and put it in the bottom of the stove.  I’d then pile my small twigs on top of the paper and then I’d light the stove from the bottom (it has a 1 cm square mesh screen in the bottom) and then set the stove back on my burn plate.

Lighting from the bottom never failed me.

[Matthew / BPL]

I haven’t brought my Firebox Nano with me on a trip in more than a year and my approach to backpacking had changed a lot in that time period but I used to carry a round cotton makeup pad I stole from my wife that was dipped in parafin around the edges. One of can be torn into 4 or 5 smaller pieces and each worked well for me when starting a fire from the bottom or top of that stove.

[Duane Hall]

There is no finer fire starter that birch bark if you are hiking where this tree is common.  I always find plenty  along the trail and pick up enough for supper and breakfast as I walk.  You don’t need much.  DON’T strip it off the trees.

[Robert Kelly]

I like a top lighting technique when wood quality is good and a bottom lighting technique when wood is damp or wet. This presumes your wood burner allows for both options. There are videos on my site at QiWiz.net for the FireFly and FireFly XL stoves that demonstrate top-lighting. As a fire starter, my current preference is to “cook” cotton balls in paraffin or old candles melted down, squeeze out or shake out the excess liquid wax, let cool, then when on trail slice off whatever size chunk I feel I need for the condition of the wood. Experience is the best teacher. When using a FireFly, one such cotton ball will usually give me all the fire starting material I need for a long weekend on trail. Vaseline in a cotton ball is fine too but greasier and requires a storage container.

[Marion Watts]

Good mix of ideas here. Has anyone tried jute twine? Either soaked in wax or stand alone?

[Franco Darioli]

I owned a Backcountry boiler but only did a couple of boils with wood then experimented with alcohol and later sold it because I still like using the Caldera Cone.

Previous to that I had used the original modern day volcano stove and that is the NZ made Thermette.

(much larger but same basic design)

From memory we used to just drop a few twigs/small bits of wood with the cone assembled then make a bit of a hole at the base and use a small piece of paper to light it.

Because it is basically a chimney it usually lights well providing there is enogh space for the air to go up.

If I still had the BCB I would fill it the way the guy does on the video, put the cone on the base make a hole in the middle then light it.

After that you drop twigs from the top.

[brian H]

i save lint from the dryer for this porpoise…works decent

check out Intense angler on YT for lots of related tips

[Franco Darioli]

Lint from washing machine.

If all your clothing is made from natural fiber ,  it is a good idea.

[DAN-Y]

Lighting the Backcountry boiler

http://bplite.com/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=5342&sid=304bdea54ce3fd2ce78ebc16734858bb

[DAN-Y]

video by morkel

[DAN-Y]

a ladies way:

[DAN-Y]

zelphs way :-)

[DAN-Y]

Top lighting and the use of telephone book paper for tinder

[DAN-Y]

Dueling “Trekker” Kettles Stainless Steel

[DAN-Y]

vertical stacking and top lighting

[Author]

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