Eco Firelighters

What are Eco Firelighters?

Eco Firelighters are small wax cubes designed to ignite cleanly with a single match and burn long enough to light kindling and hardwood logs without any paraffin odour. Unlike traditional firelighters made with paraffin oil, these cubes are odourless — meaning no chemical smell reaches the food on your braai, no fumes in the living room while you light the fireplace, and no lingering scent in a closed combustion stove.

Each cube ignites quickly and burns for long enough to transfer heat to kindling or directly to easier-lighting hardwoods. They are suitable for every fire type WoodDrop serves: open fireplaces, closed combustion stoves, braais, fire pits, and pizza ovens.

Why odourless matters for braai and cooking fires

Paraffin-based firelighters work, but they release a petroleum smell during the burn-up phase that can transfer to food — particularly noticeable on chicken, fish, and vegetables placed over the fire before it is fully established. Odourless wax cubes eliminate this risk entirely. The wax burns off without leaving any residue in the smoke or on the coals, so food placed over the fire minutes after lighting tastes of the wood, not the starter.

For indoor use, the difference is even more apparent. In a living room fireplace, paraffin fumes fill the room during lighting. Wax cubes produce no detectable smell from a distance of a metre or more. In a closed combustion stove where the sealing mechanism traps air briefly during lighting, odourless starters prevent the stale paraffin smell that often lingers in older installations.

How to use Eco Firelighters

Place one cube at the base of the fire, under the kindling or directly under small pieces of the main firewood. Light the cube with a single match. The cube will burn for several minutes — enough time to ignite kindling above it, which in turn lights the main logs.

For dense hardwoods like Kameeldoring and Mopane, which require sustained heat to ignite, use one cube with a handful of Braai Kindling above it and the main wood on top. The cube heats the kindling; the kindling heats the main logs. Allow 20–30 minutes from lighting before cooking.

For easier-lighting woods like Blue Gum and Black Wattle, a single cube placed under two or three pieces of main wood is often sufficient without separate kindling. Blue Gum and Black Wattle catch more readily due to their lower density compared to premium hardwoods.

Compatible with every WoodDrop fire type

Eco Firelighters are safe for all fire configurations:

• Open fireplaces — light quickly, no smell in the room
• Closed combustion stoves — odourless, no petroleum emissions in the sealed chamber
• Braai and fire pits — no paraffin taste risk when cooking starts shortly after lighting
• Pizza ovens — clean start for the initial heating phase

Eco Firelighters versus Wax Firestarters

WoodDrop offers two fire-starting products. Eco Firelighters (R29) are small odourless wax cubes — the right choice for most fires, especially with easy-to-medium lighting woods like Blue Gum, Black Wattle, and Rooikrans.

Wax Firestarters (R49) are larger, longer-burning weatherproof discs designed for dense hardwoods that need sustained heat to ignite — particularly Kameeldoring and Mopane, which require 20–30 minutes before they are fully alight. If you regularly order premium dense hardwood, Wax Firestarters are the more reliable choice.