(Last Updated On: December 23, 2023)

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In this article, I’ve collected my favorite ways to start fires in wood stoves, fireplaces, patio fire pits, and campfire settings.

I’ve been experimenting with the best ways to start fires for 25 years and I’ll cover only the absolute top tips below.

If you are like me, you remember the times when you had everything ready to have a nice fire, you may even have had guests over, and then you discover that you are messing around for a long time just trying to get the sucker lit. Or it seems to be on fire, but then it goes out.

The obvious solution is to purchase commercial fire starters, and this works great as long as you get the right ones. Believe it or not, some commercial fire starters are actually themselves hard to light which is mind boggling and sort of defeats the purpose. Other ones light up but do not burn hot or long enough to get the fire going. More on that below with links.

Homemade Easy DIY Fire Starters

Below, we will make a simple and effective DIY fire starter using waste materials from the home. Watch the video or scroll down to find out how to make it.

Materials needed

Dryer lint and used dryer sheets.  Set up a grocery bag or other container next to the dryer and save all of the dryer lint and old dryer sheets throughout the year. This material will be one of the main ingredients for a fantastic fire starter.

Bacon Grease.  Get a sturdy re-purposed plastic container with a tight fitting lid and collect bacon grease throughout the year. A great container for this is an old whey protein container. Bacon grease can be used for many purposes, but in this article we’ll stick to the fire starter.

Save Bacon Grease to make a DIY fire starter

Paper egg carton.  Buy eggs in the paper cartons rather than the Styrofoam ones and save them for making fire starters. If you don’t have these, you could use an old box.

How to Make it

Cut a paper egg carton in half as shown.

DIY fire starter step 1

Fill each of the six compartments with a ball of dryer lint.

DIY fire starter step 2

Spoon a dollop of bacon grease over the top of the compartments.

DIY fire starter step 3

Lay down some more dryer lint and let a little bit of it hang over one side to be used as a fuse to light the starter. You could also use a piece of newspaper or paper towel for the fuse.

DIY fire starter step 4

Close the lid and the fire starter is ready to be used.

How to Use it

For a wood stove, place the fire starter in front of the wood (closer to the door) and light it. Remember to keep the flue open until the wood gets going and then follow our comprehensive guide on managing a wood stove fire.

For an traditional fireplace, put the starter beneath the wood (under the grate) or in front of the logs.

For a campfire, place the starter under the logs, unless using the blow-your-mind, Upside Down campfire method, which is shown below.

completed fire starter

Soapstone Wand Method

Another really cool fire starter is the old-school soapstone wand that uses a cast iron container filled with lamp oil. I have a set and love it to death.

If you have a fireplace or wood stove, It is really nice to have a soapstone wand filled with paraffin lamp oil. When not in use the soapstone wand remains in the cast iron container soaking in the oil.

To start the fire with the soapstone wand, simply ignite it with a lighter or match and place the entire wand in front of or below the wood. That’s it!

Commercial Fire Starters

Sometimes it is nice to have some commercial fire starters on hand if you don’t feel like making the DIY fire starter, or for situations where the soapstone wand might not be practical such as camping, maybe.

The best commercial fire starters are these all-natural Billy Buckskin Fatwood pieces. These are amazing.

A second option would be to use EZ Fire sticks which will also quickly start the fire, no problem.

How to Light a Wood Stove

Sometimes with wood stoves, when you first light them, the smoke doesn’t start drafting up the chimney right away as it does with a traditional fireplace. A wood stove chimney aka stovepipe is usually more narrow, and in many cases the stovepipe has a 90 degree bend to it.

Therefore, it is wise to light a piece of paper in the stove before any wood is added. This will allow the stove time to start drafting properly. (Make sure to have the flue fully open when lighting wood stoves).

This, way, if the smoke starts rolling out into the room, at least it is only smoke from 1 piece of newspaper. This pre-lighting method is usually only necessary when the stove is cold.

Once you are convinced the stove is drafting smoke up the chimney properly, add 1-3 small split logs (preferably small kindling if you have it) to the back of the stove. Then place your fire starter in the front (toward the door) and light it. The soapstone wand combined with a small handful of wood pellets works well here, but the DIY fire starter or commercial fire starters mentioned will also do the trick.

Leave the flue open and let the logs burn through fully, until they are almost down to the coals, and then use a fireplace shovel or other tool like in this set to “rake” the coals forward towards the door.

Next, throw the new wood into the back of the wood stove. Air will pass over the coals and ignite the wood. Make sure to read my comprehensive article on wood stoves called, Wood Burning Stove: How to Burn, Bank, and Relight.

How to Light a Traditional Fireplace

Before I get into this, I have to say that one of the best things I have ever invested in is a proper fireplace grate. The only one I recommend is the Grate Wall of Fire grate. Its design mixed with its professional quality make the fireplace a lot more enjoyable.

I’ve had one now for 10 years and I absolutely love it. Although expensive, you won’t have to ever buy another fireplace grate again.

{Just look at the photos below to see how much better of a system this is than the traditional fireplace grate where the logs sit on top and there is a tiny amount of room below for newspaper to be shoved into}.

Using the Grate Wall of Fire grate and Fireback, simply throw the logs into the grate, and position the fire starter or soapstone wand in front of the wood to start the fire. It is astonishing how many hot coals build up using this system and how much heat is thrown into the room. The photo on the right above is not an exaggeration. 

With a traditional grate, place the fire starter or soapstone wand either in front of or below the wood as best you can. With a traditional fireplace, I highly recommend a high quality bellows as well. I use this Johnny Beard Bellows.

How to light a Patio Fire Pit or Campfire

Outside, the soapstone wand will still work, but it may be more difficult retrieving it from the fire, since it would likely be in the bottom of the fire and not the front. Therefore it is best to go with either the DIY fire starter or one of the commercial ones I recommended. 

For a typical outside fire, the traditional way of lighting it is to place the fire starter in the bottom, and then place the wood on top. The smallest pieces of wood should go closest to the bottom with the larger pieces on top. 

The bellows really comes in handy here. I keep an older pair to use for outside and reserve my Johnny Beard bellows for inside.

Pro Tip: Forget about the traditional fire stacking method and try the Upside Down Fire Building method. Cr0cket20 does a great job of explaining it so check out the video below. 

Thanks for reading, and please share this article if you found it helpful.

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