" I will still go with the cotton balls and petroleum jelly"

thanks Montanero. nothing beats experience and testing :-)

I use lint from the dryer as tinder. it works well. that's why there are always "dryer fires" in peoples' homes :-) I hadn't thought about petroleum jelly - that did not cross my mind. I do use some Jungle Juice (100% DEET insect repellant) and that stuff burns well if you need a backup.

cheers,
Pete