Is this homemade firestarter a good idea?

[Hillocks]

My Dad makes his own firestarters and is encouraging us to use his recipe. I wonder if they're safe to use or if they might cause problems with the chimney, etc.

He fills a cardboard egg carton with dryer lint and pours melted wax over it. He then breaks them apart into 12 (or 18) individual firestarters once they have cooled and hardened.

We have a large family, so we generate plenty of dryer lint and egg cartons. Other than the wax, the firestarters would be free.

Good idea? Bad idea?

My back-up plan? I just ordered the free sample of Super Cedar Firestarters.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Welcome to the forum Hillocks.

There should be nothing wrong with those fire starters. Go ahead and make a bunch. One good thing is that soon you will be able to compare the difference between the home-made starters and the super cedars.

 

[colebrookman]

I used that recipe and it works well. If you save plenty of fiber egg cartons you can just use the top or bottom which works well and saves the hassle. Fiber berry boxes also work. Be safe.
Ed

 

[vvvv]

lint aint got much mass. try shave or slice the wax on paper to save the melting of wax energy?

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Have heard of people doing this with lint or sawdust to great effect. No issue with chimney. Have at it

 

[firefighterjake]

I've used lint myself on occasion as a fire starter . . . and other folks use wax . . . no issues . . . fire 'er up.

 

[thinkxingu]

How much is the wax? If it's even close to the cost of SuperStarters ($.60 each?) I wouldn't waste my time. Of course, I might be walking on eggshells here or getting egg on my face or any of a thousand other 'egg' cliches!

S

 

[latitude45]

well if your wife burns candles all the time... like mine... then you already have a ready laying around..

 

[tpikaart]

My wife makes and sells candles--so we've got tons of wax around. My son messes around making these, and the only problem we've found w/ dryer lint is that, due to our 2 pet household, it often has dog hair in it and really doesn't smell great as it burns. So now he collects sawdust or "noodles" and uses those. We've also used some old muffin tins to make them in. You really don''t need lots of wax--just enough to hold the stuff together.

 

[Pagey]

I am terribly disappointed by the lack of Coleman fuel and black powder recipes in this thread. :lol:

 

[BrotherBart]

I am terribly disappointed by the lack of Coleman fuel and black powder recipes in this thread. :lol:

And Army surplus Thermite grenades.

 

[NWfuel]

How much is the wax? If it's even close to the cost of SuperStarters ($.60 each?) I wouldn't waste my time. Of course, I might be walking on eggshells here or getting egg on my face or any of a thousand other 'egg' cliches!

S

I just wanted to add that the Super Cedars are costing 17 cents each to start a fire when broken into quarters like many here do. This includes shipping to your front door.
Thomas

 

[ANeat]

Like NMman we got 3 dogs and a dog hair/lint starter just wouldnt be as nice as a cedar one :lol:

The dogs might like it

 

[BrotherBart]

How much is the wax? If it's even close to the cost of SuperStarters ($.60 each?) I wouldn't waste my time. Of course, I might be walking on eggshells here or getting egg on my face or any of a thousand other 'egg' cliches!

S

I just wanted to add that the Super Cedars are costing 17 cents each to start a fire when broken into quarters like many here do. This includes shipping to your front door.
Thomas

I like flaunting my riches. I usually use at least a half of one and no kindling. :coolgrin:

Getting too old and blind to cut off a finger with the kindling axe.

 

[ControlFreak]

I am terribly disappointed by the lack of Coleman fuel and black powder recipes in this thread. :lol:

Pagey: Gee, thanks for the ideas! That warms my heart. Be bold. Be brave. Experiment a little. I'll wait for your analysis of your experimentation with black powder. :lol:

 

[Pagey]

I am terribly disappointed by the lack of Coleman fuel and black powder recipes in this thread. :lol:

Pagey: Gee, thanks for the ideas! That warms my heart. Be bold. Be brave. Experiment a little. I'll wait for your analysis of your experimentation with black powder. :lol:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EI7zWoM_Q0

 

[thinkxingu]

Thomas,
Even easier to stick with 'em! By the way, though, I cut mine into EIGHT.

S

 

[Hillocks]

You all are a wealth of information and fun!

I will have to do a cost analysis of the wax. Another factor, it seems based upon responses, would be the fact that five of the eight people in our household are female and all have long hair. It does make it through to the lint filter, so might not be the most pleasant scent when burning.

Considering this property was formerly owned by a "collector" who had ready access to military items, we have certainly found more than a few things that would start a fire though there is no guarantee the stove *or* cottage would still be standing when the fire burnt out.

The self-reliant side of me wants to do the wax starters but the homey side of me is leaning toward the cedar.

 

[Battenkiller]

The self-reliant side of me wants to do the wax starters but the homey side of me is leaning toward the cedar.

If you really want to be self-reliant, a bag of pet-store cedar shavings (hamster bedding) instead of dryer lint will make hundreds of those things.

When I was a kid, we used to live a two-minute walk from St. Mary's dump. Catholics burn an awful lot of candles in an attempt to get closer to God. We used to raid the dump for anything we could salvage (my best friend found a perfectly good Wollensac reel-to-reel tape recorder there), but candle stubs were high on our priority list. I had a big paper bag stuffed with them. We made "buddy burners" for winter camping with the Boy Scouts - corrugated cardboard rolled up inside a coffee can and then filled with wax. Make sure you use a double-boiler method to melt the wax. Don't melt the wax over an open flame or you may end up being very sorry you did.

I almost started the house on fire playing with the stuff in my dad's workshop. I used to use a buddy burner to melt the wax to make more buddy burners. I got it boiling hot one time and the fumes ignited when they hit the open flame. The pot of boiling wax started to erupt all over the place with little flaming drops of wax, which then fell on top of the newspapers my dad was storing down there... well, you get the picture. I got the flames out, then ran out of the smoke-filled basement and hid in a tree all day to escape a beating.

Problem for us now is the eggs we really like the best only come in a Styrofoam carton. Anyway, it's a messy job for sure. I only make enough for campfires. I don't start half a dozen fires a year in the stove once I start burning, being hardcore 24/7 burners here.

 

[70marlin]

Diesel fuel, don't you just love the smell of it in the morning!

 

[Rob From Wisconsin]

How much is the wax? If it's even close to the cost of SuperStarters ($.60 each?) I wouldn't waste my time. Of course, I might be walking on eggshells here or getting egg on my face or any of a thousand other 'egg' cliches!

S

I just wanted to add that the Super Cedars are costing 17 cents each to start a fire when broken into quarters like many here do. This includes shipping to your front door.
Thomas

Thanks for the tip!!
I just got my samples & was wondering if they could be quartered.
Price seems good too, compared to "Fat Sticks" (what I use right now).
We'll have to give it a try this weekend......

Rob

 

[BrotherBart]

Diesel fuel, don't you just love the smell of it in the morning!

It smells like, victory.

 

[Dix]

Diesel fuel, don't you just love the smell of it in the morning!

It smells like, victory.

Thought that was napalm???

 

[BrotherBart]

Diesel fuel, don't you just love the smell of it in the morning!

It smells like, victory.

Thought that was napalm???

It is. Blow'em up and they smell about the same. If you are still able to smell.

 

[NorthCountryWood]

I make them from old candles and wood shavings/sawdust. Got plenty of both lying around. Melt, mix and spread on an old cookie sheet. Cut into any size you like.

Maybe I'll try a little diesel in the next batch.....or iron & aluminum powder.