Log Barn Firelighters Review: 10-Minute Burn, Unnamed Wax
This Log Barn firelighters review is about one of the most widely listed wood wool firelighters on Amazon UK, sold in box sizes from 40 up to 1,000. Log Barn is a firewood brand, established in 2009 according to its own listing, that also sells logs and kindling certified Ready to Burn. The firelighters are its entry-level product, and on paper they do exactly what the premium names do. The questions worth asking are what the wax is, how many you really need, and which box size makes sense.
What Log Barn say they are
From Log Barn’s own Natural Firelighters product page and its Amazon listing:
- Made from untreated wood shavings dipped in wax, described on the listing as “a sustainable, natural wax”
- Burn time up to 10 minutes
- Usage claim can get a fire going “with or without kindling”
- Instructions one firelighter on top of your kindling for a normal fire; two to three if lighting kiln-dried logs or heat logs without kindling
- Odourless and non-toxic, sold as suitable for pizza ovens, barbecues, fire pits and campfires
- Box sizes from 40 up to 1,000; the 200 box is the one Log Barn sells direct
That is a standard wood wool specification. Nothing in it is unusual, and nothing in it is missing, except one thing.
The wax question
Log Barn call the coating natural wax and do not say which wax it is. That puts it in the same position as Lekto, whose firelighters are sold on “a proprietary blend of natural wax” with the composition unstated, covered in our Lekto review. It is the opposite of Certainly Wood, which states that its Flamers are wood wool dipped in refined paraffin wax; see our Flamers review.
For lighting a stove, it makes no practical difference. Every wood wool firelighter we have covered burns cleanly, lights from a match and leaves no smell on the hands. It matters only if your reason for buying wood wool is to avoid petroleum-derived wax altogether. In that case, “natural” is a description rather than a specification, and it is worth asking Log Barn directly before buying a 1,000 box on the strength of it.
With or without kindling?
The listing says Log Barn firelighters can get a fire going with or without kindling. The instructions underneath say something more useful: one firelighter on top of the kindling for a normal fire, and two or three when you are lighting kiln-dried logs or heat logs with no kindling at all.
That second line is the honest version. A single 10-minute flame will not reliably bring a split log up to temperature on its own, but two or three spread under the smallest logs, with air around them, often will. Two or three per fire changes the maths on the box size, which is worth knowing before you buy.
The other detail is where the firelighter goes. Log Barn’s instruction is to put it on top of the kindling, which is how the top-down method works: logs at the bottom, kindling above them, the firelighter at the top, lit from above so the fire burns downwards through the stack. It works well in most stoves because the flue warms quickly and the glass stays cleaner. If you are used to tucking a firelighter under the kindling, both methods light a fire; the top-down one tends to smoke less at the start.
For kindling that lights from one firelighter every time, our guides to making kindling and choosing kindling are the upstream fix.
Where they win, and where they do not
They win on availability and choice of box size. A 40 box suits someone who lights a fire a few times a winter; the 200 box suits a regular burner; the bigger boxes suit a household with a stove, a fire pit and a pizza oven. By comparison, Flamers come in packs from 24 to 200, and Lekto sell mainly in a box of 250.
They win on the ordinary wood wool virtues. Lighting from a match or a long-reach lighter without coaxing, no greasy residue, and no paraffin smell in the room or on food. These are shared with every good wood wool product, but Log Barn deliver them.
They do not win on burn time. Up to 10 minutes is level with Flamers and Lekto and ahead of Ecoblaze’s up-to-8-minute cubes. Nobody in the wood wool field is ahead on this.
They do not win on transparency. Certainly Wood name their wax; Log Barn do not. If a stated composition matters to you, Flamers are the choice.
Storage is a real constraint with the big boxes. Wood wool absorbs moisture. A 1,000 box left in an unheated shed will light noticeably worse by February than it did in October. Keep the box indoors, or buy the size you will use in a season and keep a tin by the stove.
Log Barn versus the alternatives
Against Flamers, performance is close to identical: wood wool, a wax coating, up to 10 minutes. Flamers state that the wax is refined paraffin, are made in Britain, and come in packs from 24 to 200. Log Barn do not name the wax but offer more box sizes, including far larger ones.
Against Lekto, the two are near twins on paper: wood wool, an unnamed natural wax, 10 minutes. Lekto sell mainly in a 250 box and pitch one firelighter per fire; Log Barn sell a spread of sizes and are more candid that you may need two or three without kindling.
Against white paraffin cubes, Log Barn win on smell, residue and a longer, gentler flame, and cubes win on cost per light. If your kindling is bone dry and finely split, cubes will light it. Our best firelighters for wood burners comparison and the best eco and natural firelighters round-up set the whole field side by side.
Who should buy them
Buy Log Barn Natural Firelighters if you want a wood wool firelighter that lights first time, you like the choice of a small box to try or a big box to last, and you use them across a stove and outdoor cooking. The cost per firelighter varies with the box size, so check the price on Amazon for each size and divide by the count before choosing.
Buy something else if you need to know exactly what wax you are burning, in which case Flamers state it, or if you have no dry indoor storage for a large box.
Check price on Amazon UK for the 200 box, which is the sensible size for a regular burner with somewhere dry to keep it.
Whatever lights the fire, it only burns well on logs under 20 per cent moisture, which is also the legal limit for most firewood sold in small quantities in England. Our Ready to Burn rules page explains what the label on a bag of logs guarantees.
Frequently asked questions
Are Log Barn firelighters any good? Yes, as a standard wood wool firelighter. They light easily, burn for up to 10 minutes and leave no smell or residue, the same performance as Flamers and Lekto. The main differences are the range of box sizes and the fact that Log Barn do not name the wax.
How long do Log Barn firelighters burn? Up to 10 minutes, according to Log Barn. That matches Flamers and Lekto and is longer than Ecoblaze’s up-to-8-minute cubes.
What are Log Barn firelighters made of? Untreated wood shavings dipped in wax, which the listing describes as a sustainable, natural wax. The specific wax is not named in Log Barn’s published product information.
Do Log Barn firelighters work without kindling? Log Barn say they can, but their own instructions recommend two to three firelighters when lighting kiln-dried logs or heat logs without kindling, against one on top of the kindling for a normal fire. With dry kindling, one is enough.
Where do you put a Log Barn firelighter? Log Barn’s instruction is on top of the kindling, the top-down method: logs at the bottom, kindling above, firelighter at the top, lit from above. It warms the flue quickly and tends to smoke less at the start than lighting from underneath.
Are Log Barn firelighters safe for pizza ovens and barbecues? Log Barn sell them as odourless and non-toxic, and suitable for pizza ovens, barbecues and fire pits. As with any firelighter, let it burn out and the fuel establish before putting food over the fire.
Sources
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