Now with Photos! Making Homemade Firestarters

[Don Ed]

One of my summer goals was to make some firestarters. When I first started buringing my Dad (who has a Buck 52 which was the reason we got started in this house) gave me a handfull of firestarters he made. These are simply made from dryer lint tucked into carboard egg cartons and then old candle wax poored on top. I made a batch of these today and they came out OK but next time I will not pack the lint so tight to allow the wax to penetrate more deeply.

While I had the wax melting, I dug out the bag of sawdust from when I cut up a scrounge tree (Bald Cyprus) last May. The wax won't penetrate the saw dust so I poored the saw dust into the melted wax and created a slurry of sorts. I filled another couple of egg cartons with this mixture but had some left over. I decided to make a large block of the remainder of the mix inside of a plastic shoe box. I sprayed the the inside with non-stick cooking spray before I poored in in. I had to let is set up for a long time as the heat was retained for hours.

The block came out easily and I sawed it into 30 plus pieces that ended up looking like brownies due to the wax color. I tried one out and the flame was strong and lasted well over ten minutes. Here are some photos from the process.

Thought you might be interested.

Don Ed

 

[laynes69]

I make the same things. I collect the sawdust from the chainsaw, and I chop up bark and pinecones. I made a pan out of sheetmetal, and I use concrete blocks to weigh down the stuff. I work for a research facility, and I get paraffin by the 5 gallon buckets. It comes from our processors, so its recycled. I mix in sawdust with the melted paraffin, then place it in the pan and put the blocks on top. I use a saw to cut them like you said into brownies. I have had them burn close to 40 minutes each. I make about 60 and they last all year long. They go quick in the spring and fall, and once you start using them, they spoil you.

 

[Don Ed]

Yea, putting a weight on top is one of the things I want to do different next time around. They seem to be pretty solid but there is a bit more wax on the bottom than the top. Great deal on the parafin by the way. Mine wax was old candles that I had scrounged. The firestarters smell good though thanks to a couple of scented candles thrown in.

 

[laynes69]

Yeah this paraffin is a special paraffin used in processing tissues. It does contain traces of alcohol and xyelene, but works well and is free. You can mix up your stuff a little soupy. That way when you press it out, you can resuse the extra paraffin that comes off after being presses. I make mine around 3/4 of an inch thick. They are so hard you can't break them by hand.

 

[Don Ed]

That's great advice. I'm glad to hear they are pretty strong. The ones I made in the egg cartons are OK but I think using the mold results in a better product.

 

[DiscoInferno]

I've used mini cupcake papers also. Fill them with sawdust and pour the wax over top. The paper makes them easy to light.

 

[Cluttermagnet]

I was having 'OK' results with pine cones dipped in candle wax. My attempts with sawdust and candle wax were not very satisfactory. My preferred method is now kerosene- soaked pone cones. They burn the hottest and produce the least amount of smoke initially. Once I have used up all my wax creations, I don't plan on making any more.

Yours look a lot better than mine did, BTW.

 

[Skier76]

Random question... Does the wax make a mess in your stove? Or is there only enough in there to hold the thing together...and most of it burns off?

 

[Don Ed]

I used the ones in the egg cartons last year with no mess at all. The brownies are a new idea for me and when I burnt one to test it it burnt completely up with nothing left over. I don't foresee there being any trace of having used these.

 

[stejus]

I wish I had that much time on my hands! Maybe someday, but for now I just buy a box of these. I cut the whole piece into 4 peices. No need to burn a whole block when you don't need to.

 

[drdoct]

stejus... I use the same things. 4 pieces too. They work great and a box lasts at least a year for me.

 

[quads]

Nice job describing how to make these Don Ed! Do they light easily with a match, and/or do you place them on newspaper and kindling when lighting the fire? We always have wax left over after canning in the fall, you've given me some ideas. Thanks.

 

[laynes69]

I light mine with a match, then place it in. I can get a roaring fire out of 2 1/2" wood, no kindling. As far as a mess, they burn down to nothing but fine ash.

 

[BrotherBart]

Anybody else tried the wax logs cut up for fire starters. I tried pieces of those things one season and ended with an accumulation of black fuzz in the liners. After I went back to the top down method it didn't ever happen again.

Anybody want a box of those logs with one missing?

 

[fossil]

I think what you're doing is very cool. I have too much else to do, and not enough time. I buy these from a forum member:

http://www.supercedar.com/

bust 'em into quarters. Top down, bottom up, whatever suits my fancy. A quarter of one of these, and some kindling and some small splits, and I'm burnin'. No muss, no fuss. And I typically start fires in two stoves from cold every morning...tough to get an effective overnight burn with the softwoods available to me. SuperCedars are the best thing since split wood. They save me a lot of time and I don't mess with newspaper. Rick

 

[granpajohn]

Anybody else tried the wax logs cut up for fire starters. ...

Yes.
Fortunately, I bought only one...cheapest I could find; (Giant brand).
Tried to cut it up with the hatchet. Didn't work out too well.
Switched to the chop saw/power miter. Made very nice hockey pucks, but also mucho sticky sawdust. I balled up the leftover sawdust into meatballs of fire. Oh, and cut up the hockey pucks into quarters.
Everything worked fine, but not worth the mess at all. No black fuzz, BTW.

I also changed to the wax/sawdust concoction. I lined my baking sheet with Al foil to avoid the mess and that worked great. Also, I melted them on top of the QF insert (carefully) so I didn't waste heat. Only worth it if you have a bunch of old candles to get rid of, (the wife liked that part), or other source of free wax as mentioned.

All worked pretty well, but my best deal financially, was to buy tea light candles at the craft store. Works out to about 4 cents each. Just yank em out of the little metal casing and recycle it.

 

[summit]

there is a company here in maine that makes "little bucket" firestarters. basically paraffin wax poured onto wood shavings.. very effective and we sold oodles of them.. untill the went exclusively thru a distributor and the non factory direct pricing killed it.. used to be 25 cents per retail, now 70 cents per.. that alot of money to burn... i can get a newspaper for 50 cents and start 3 or four fires easilly... but you are on the right track, and these types of things work great!

 

[DiscoInferno]

[
All worked pretty well, but my best deal financially, was to buy tea light candles at the craft store. Works out to about 4 cents each. Just yank em out of the little metal casing and recycle it.

I also found those tea candles to be the cheapest source of wax once I ran out of candle stubs. I don't use them directly, though - I melt them down. They melt easy since they are small.

 

[Cluttermagnet]

Don't forget yard sales. By the end of the day, the remaining ugly candles get pretty cheap- or free. Compare one of those big 4 in dia x 7 in tall ones even at 25 or 50 cents. Makes the little candles look a lot less economical. For comparison, a box of paraffin for canning in my local supermarket costs something like 3.50 plus. Yikes! Stick with candles.

For me, old, stale kerosene is hard to beat. Soak pine cones in this otherwise near- useless fuel, for a few days or more. They start more easily, burn like a barn on fire, and smoke less than the wax does. I was skeptical at first, but now they are my highly preferred method. Way easier than working with wax. So as I burn off my remaining wax stuff, I'll not be looking for more wax.

BTW I have around 5+ gallons of old kero, several lifetimes worth, I figure. It can also be used to clean off greasy engine parts.

 

[Highbeam]

I have been using the wax fireplace log cutup for two years now. I use a hatchet and sledge to break up the log into golf ball sized chunks that look and work just like your brownies.

I just set down in the barn with a daughter or two and chop up the log to fill two coffee cans which last most of the year. I also dip into this stash to use the balls to start my charcoal briquette chimney for BBQ. Way better than paper.

I have never had any funk grow on my glass or inside my chimney from the wax log method. Easily started with a long handled lighter and highly recommended if you can manage the cutting technique.

I would take your case if you were closer BB. I really do like the method.