In this video I will show you how I like to make some very simple and inexpensive firestarters. I use these when I'm having a hard time lighting a fire. It may be snowing, wet, windy, raining... etc. They work great! Enjoy!
I have been making firestarters from egg cartons in a similar way for about 40 years. I pour melted wax onto the egg carton and then drain it back into the wax bucket. After the egg carton cools, i spoon in sawdust mixed with citronella lamp oil. When all of the cups are full, I pour melted wax over the top to seal up the firestarters. I was taught to put aluminum foil under the carton to avoid a mess, but I use wax paper now instead. The oil helps start the fire faster and keep the bugs at bay, but yours have a longer burn time. Great video. Recent sub checking out some of your older stuff.
Maybe you could try heating wax in a old thrift shop metal teapot I find the spout gives more control....i make similar for my multi burning stove ....hugs from Scotland....love your videos❤🤗
Thank you for the nice video. I'd have borrowed one of my wife's metal dough cutters or a meat cleaver to scrape the wax off of the wood (she hates me). I like the sawdust fuel. I might try poking a cotton ball into the top before the wax sets so it will light easy with a ferro rod.
Great idea. I think what I would do is keep the egg carton intact. It allows you to protect your wick from damage, and it also gives you a bit of extra fuel in case you are having a tough time getting the tinder lit due to being just a bit damp. I have used a smokeless gunpowder firestarter for decades. Used to use a film can, but those aren't too common any more, so you can use a pill bottle. Fill it with a cheap smokeless powder, and then pour enough acetone in to it, to make the powder mushy. All you need is a chunk about the size of your thumbnail and will start a fire even in some of the most miserable weather.
My thought as well! Or wax paper, or foil... The foil you could even make up turned edges on to prevent the wax from dripping. With any of those 3 you can crack the wax off and return the wax to your wax can pretty easily.
Carpenters probably would love to have someone take their sawdust off their hands. Now I have a use for all the sawdust I create with my projects. I have a small pile of planer sawdust that I now know what I can do with it.
I do this and mix in a bit of magnesium shavings...... or road flare dust......... VERY hot and can get most ANYTHING started...........and it is pretty cheap when you do this over a few egg cartons........
Just an idea...maybe you could use a piece of heavy duty foil and it would be easy to break off the foil. Though scraping that wax off is very gratifying (:
The actual burn characteristics are phenomenal...very impressed. Have you ever tried these in a can stove as a small quantity cooking source? Maybe water for coffee or soup?
Those are a great idea. What are your thoughts on using recycled coffee grounds to make these? Most people make coffee and would have the grounds available. I had seen a company that was making fire logs with recycled grounds. Great vid, keep them coming.
Just wanted to say that I followed this video 5 years ago and I made hundreds of them for my BBQ and campfire and they have been fantastic! I leave them in the rain and they start no problem. I'm making some more now and I wanted to share a few tips I've learned over the years: 1. No need to a wick - I find if you rip the cartons by hand, they all get thin paper edges on them that light very easily 2. I mix the sawdust in a big pot with the wax. I find I used less wax this way, and was able to scoop the fully saturated sawdust into the carton 3. wax has gotten expensive - I found a huge box of half used candles at a catholic church thrift store for free and many large candles at yard sales.
We'll set up our camps here - and have the pickets keep a clear eye, lots of warnin' We deprive the enemy of the high ground, and we'll have a good chance to win the comin' battle…JNO Buford - Battle of Gettysberg…
jiujitsu2000 And General Robert E. Lee rose early while the campfires were still burning "This is my favorite time of day..." - the most loved general in all of US history.
@@chrispierce2942 True, BUT the wax paper could then be used later for fire starting as well. The benefit to using the tin foil is that it would be re-useable....Half a dozen of one and the other which way to go.
Dip round makeup pads in melted wax. Let them harden on a sheet pan/pizza pan. Done. Each 1/4 wedge will burn six minutes and eight minutes if you dip two pads stacked. If you dampen them with kerosene before you dip them, they light right away with a ferro rod and burn much hotter. This is simply too much crap to go through to get something that can be replaced by something thinner and just as effective.
@@jiujitsu2000 I'm very sure you knew about these. You see though, it seemed to me that the viewers didn't which is why I made my comment. I should have made that more clear so I'm sorry for the confusion.
A candle has more burn time but it also has a smaller flame. You want intensity for starting a fire, if you just want light then you can use a candle. If you consider wind resistance, I would take this over a candle any day.
Never use an open flame to melt a fire accelerant; you are literally playing with fire especially inside a home or shop.Use a covered Crock-Pot out of doors. Otherwise Keep the Fire Department on Speed Dial.😮
