Can I burn this as kindling?

November 12, 2022 2:36 PM

We got a gift box with a bunch of this stuff, which is maybe aspen "wool" packing material? Can I use it as kindling for our wood stove?
posted by 10ch to Home & Garden (6 answers total)

Best answer: If you offered it on Craigslist as "excelsior or wood wool", someone who raises small frogs or praying mantises (maybe spiders?) might want it to use for culturing fruit flies. You could also ask in a local herp group and/or ask the employees at a local pet supply store which of them has dart frogs, spiders, or mantids.

I'd guess yes on the kindling, but not an expert.
posted by amtho at 2:56 PM on November 12, 2022

I think you’d want to be sure it hadn’t been treated to be fire retardant.
posted by jamjam at 3:20 PM on November 12, 2022

You could ask about fire retardant at American Excelsior. They list the aspen material as animal bedding, so I would doubt it's treated.
posted by brachiopod at 8:17 PM on November 12, 2022

I'd be 90% certain it's not treated with anything and happily use it as kindling, unless you can re-use it in a more sustainable way.
posted by dg at 3:08 PM on November 13, 2022

Best answer: Definitely burn a tiny bit first (outside) to test it.
posted by amtho at 12:42 PM on November 14, 2022

Response by poster: Update: I did burn a tiny bit, it burned fine. I think it'll be fine for kindling, but I'm going to check w/the local pet store first, as amtho recommends. It would be a far better use!
posted by 10ch at 5:56 AM on November 15, 2022