Midwest HearthCedar Fire Starters - 100% Natural - Made in The USA - BBQ, Fireplaces, Stoves, Outdoor, Camp Fire, Survival - 8 Pack (Up to 32 Fires)

These fire starters don’t work well at all. They are really dried out and you definitely need the entire patty to start a fire in a wood stove. They are a poor alternative to the originals!

These are great firestarters. I used them to start up my charcoal chimney. The first time I used an entire disc which proved to be overkill. The second time I broke one in half and that worked out great.Pros:1. Effective. By far the best firestarter I have tried and I have done many to include diy.2. Long burn time, approx 15 min. The first 12 min flame was strong and it was putting out great heat. The last 3 min flame was slowly diminishing.2. Quickly caught on fire with a lighter.Cons:1. Messy. I had to clean up a lot of little pieces when I broke a disc in half.2. Left some burnt-out residu (not that big of a deal)3. Expensive

They are about the size of a junior size burger, quite light and scored with an X on one side. I had been cutting my discs up into fourths using an old steak knife I keep for such occasions, not seeing or making the connection what purpose the score serves. Break it into quarters. Hmmph. Good thinking...I forgot to order a fireplace lighter or matches, so I have been lighting the corners of the edges with a disposable lighter and then placing my lite chips into the press bricks I use. Easy, no strain.The bricks of compressed wood that I use are local and burn to a small pile of ash. I appreciate that these are chemically simple also. The wood used correctly is an excellent and clean fuel, and these fire starters help make it easy to use without the need of heavy wax fillers.FYI: I use a whole disc when I start a fire--or most of one in any case. YMMV

These things burn. They burn fine. But they are definitely not the "bees knees" of fire starters. They're relatively cost effective but they can be hard to start in anything above a slight breeze and the flame they produce isn't all that "tall". I ended up using them basically as an insurance policy with more traditional paper/kindling. The kindling I had access to was a bit wet, so I was glad to have these... But as soon as I get through them I'm switching back to "fatwood".

As long as you are using dry wood you can pretty much start a fire with just logs. Doesn't work for a top down fire but I started doing middle down fires by putting big logs on bottom, then medium logs. Put half of one of these starters with some kindling or small wood pieces on top. Works great and burns a few hours without touching.