DrMoab
Explorer
So, you head out to your favorite camp spot, in the rain and it's cold and you want a fire. You light a match but it just goes out. You throw some gas on but it blows up in your face and leaves you looking like a cancer victim for a month. A road flare sometimes works but you will lose all your night vision and stumble over your pile of firewood and crack your skull on a rock...
So what is the solution? Build your own firestarters.
The list of items you will need is short and cheap. An egg crate, some wax (candles work well) and some dryer lint.
First things first. Take your egg crate and put it on some tinfoil (men, don't forget this step or you WILL be sleeping in the back yard, next to the nice warm fire you built using your new firestarters)
Sorry for the poor cell phone photos. It's a firestarter...I really didn't think they were worthy of bringing the big guns out for.
Take your dryer lint and place a generous amount in each egg hole. Try to compress it. The more you get in each hole, the longer it will burn.
Next step. Using an old pan or pot (men, again...NOT your wife's brand new expensive non-stick boutique frying pan) put your wax in. If you don't have anything lying around, go to your local big box store and buy a regular old non-scented candle. This will be the most expensive part of the project, unless you cook the wax too hot and set your house on fire.
Cook it on LOW to Med Low heat. Be patient. Let it melt slowly.
Make sure, if you are using a candle that you pull the wick out while its melting.
After the wax is completely liquid, carefully pour it over your lint filled egg crate.
Try to completely cover each egg hole full of lint with wax. The more wax the better. When you are done it should look like this...
Then let it dry and harden. If it's a cold and rainy day like it has been here, take it outside and set it on the cold concrete of your garage. It will cure faster. Once its cooled enough to handle, take a knife and cut them into individual pieces.
Then you can store them in ziplock bags or whatever else you want. It only takes one or two to get a decent fire going...wet or dry. Here is a small video of using one in my wood stove.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siG_9bIjl2A"]YouTube - Using the worlds best home made fire starters.[/ame]
I'm sure a lot of you have used these but for those who haven't...I hope this is something that will work for you.
So what is the solution? Build your own firestarters.
The list of items you will need is short and cheap. An egg crate, some wax (candles work well) and some dryer lint.
First things first. Take your egg crate and put it on some tinfoil (men, don't forget this step or you WILL be sleeping in the back yard, next to the nice warm fire you built using your new firestarters)
Sorry for the poor cell phone photos. It's a firestarter...I really didn't think they were worthy of bringing the big guns out for.
Take your dryer lint and place a generous amount in each egg hole. Try to compress it. The more you get in each hole, the longer it will burn.
Next step. Using an old pan or pot (men, again...NOT your wife's brand new expensive non-stick boutique frying pan) put your wax in. If you don't have anything lying around, go to your local big box store and buy a regular old non-scented candle. This will be the most expensive part of the project, unless you cook the wax too hot and set your house on fire.
Cook it on LOW to Med Low heat. Be patient. Let it melt slowly.
Make sure, if you are using a candle that you pull the wick out while its melting.
After the wax is completely liquid, carefully pour it over your lint filled egg crate.
Try to completely cover each egg hole full of lint with wax. The more wax the better. When you are done it should look like this...
Then let it dry and harden. If it's a cold and rainy day like it has been here, take it outside and set it on the cold concrete of your garage. It will cure faster. Once its cooled enough to handle, take a knife and cut them into individual pieces.
Then you can store them in ziplock bags or whatever else you want. It only takes one or two to get a decent fire going...wet or dry. Here is a small video of using one in my wood stove.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siG_9bIjl2A"]YouTube - Using the worlds best home made fire starters.[/ame]
I'm sure a lot of you have used these but for those who haven't...I hope this is something that will work for you.
