[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Cheap fire starter idea. (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 8/19/2008 9:09:49 AM EDT
| I am starting to make BOBs for me and my wife and I was wax coating some matches today and decided to try something. I dipped a paper towel in the melted wax to make a fire starter. My inital test is that a piece about 1.5 sq. in. burned for about 2.5 minutes. I rolled the paper up and there was minimal flaking of the wax. Thought I would share. I dont know if this has been done before. |
+1 on the dryer lint. don't necessarily need wax either. simply place a big handfull in a ziploc bag and compress it down (remove all the air and press lint together). What comes out is easily pulled apart in "plugs". Burns longer than it needs to. 
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+ 2 Just about every fire I light outside of the house is with dryer lint and some sort of sparking rod. Very effective and inexpensive. ETA: Damn! Now I am craving Fritos. 
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While I not sure if, becuse of weight, this is exactly BOB worthy but my uncle takes half an egg carton and pours in a pre prepaired mixture of parafine wax and saw dust (just biol down parafine and add sawdust allow to harden in carton) you are left with a handy little brick of fire. good 15 - 20 minutes worth. |
I keep my dryer lint in used plastic skoal cans. Little tape around the lid and good to go(plus you can always find uses for a small piece of duct tape). |
How well does it take a spark? Part of the challenge is having it small enough to carry. I like the pill FOB's stuffed with a couple of cottonballs lightly soaked with Vaseline. Commercially, I like the Quick-Tinder bundles, only because they aren't messy and are compact enough for a small PSK. I need to try the alcohol prep pads as they also carry flat and have dual purpose. Here's an old picture, but don't forget some simple ones such as jute, rubber or waxed paper:  ROCK6 |
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Paper Egg Carton fill the cups with wax and sawdust, put a wick in it. cut or tear them apart and you have a dozen long burning candle/ Fire Starters. Votive Candles work too. Take a Shoe Polish Tin, and pour it with triple wicks and you have a "Survival Candle" Hobby Lobby stores have a lot of candle making supplies. Craft Stores and even walmart sell simple Votive candles. |
Nice accumulation...esp the Outlaw..... |
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Now,here's an idea that's bound to get someone aquainted with Darwin.
I introduced the spray from a bottle of WD-40 to the flame of a cigarette lighter. It produced a very exciting jet of flame! I think I'll try this sometime! Basically, I'll put some WD-40 onto a cloth, put the cloth into a sealed container for a week or two, then try it as a fire starter. Anyone wanna take bets? |
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Now,here's an idea that's bound to get someone aquainted with Darwin. I introduced the spray from a bottle of WD-40 to the flame of a cigarette lighter. It produced a very exciting jet of flame! I think I'll try this sometime! Basically, I'll put some WD-40 onto a cloth, put the cloth into a sealed container for a week or two, then try it as a fire starter. Anyone wanna take bets? Wouldn't WD40 evaporate? |
| Here is a "emergency" firestarter - if you have steel wool around. Same principal as the 9V batttery to the wool, however most people don't have 9V batteries laying around. Take a little of the steel wool and twist it together. Take your cell phone battery and produce a short that is normally produced by the 9v. It should produce enough spark and not damage your cell battery. |
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I bought some of those Duralogs about 9 years ago from Walmart. They are 5 lbs each and are supposed to burn for 3 hours. I guess they are for people who can't get wood anywhere and just want a fire in the fireplace.
Anyway, I pulled one out today, so it is almost 9 years old or more... and chopped off a piece about a 1/2 inch cubed... It lit easily with a lighter, and burned for more than 10 minutes. It isn't very heavy, and you could precut some pieces, about 1/2 inch cubes or greater if you want.. keep them in a ziplock bag and take them when you go camping. They would be great to start fires in a damp area. And you would get a whole lot of uses out of a 5 lb firelog if you chop it up. Just an idea. All the other stuff posted is good to know also, but I thought this would be a good practical use also. Cheap, for the number of uses you would get. |
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Dryer lint dipped in hot wax, then rolled in sawdust/wood chips. I used to save my sawdust/chips and stick them in dixie cups with hot wax, but the lint seems to work better and is free compared to the dixie cups. +1 on the dryer lint. don't necessarily need wax either. simply place a big handfull in a ziploc bag and compress it down (remove all the air and press lint together). What comes out is easily pulled apart in "plugs". Burns longer than it needs to. + 2 Just about every fire I light outside of the house is with dryer lint and some sort of sparking rod. Very effective and inexpensive. ETA: Damn! Now I am craving Fritos. must have frito pie |
| I stuff lint into empty pill bottles (my ex worked for a vet and brought home serveral for me). The will hold quite a bit, even the small ones. I haven't tested how water tight they are, but I would imagine they would survive well if not fully submerged for a long period. I'll have to test this. |
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Another good idea surfaced in the WSS section of Bladeforums...making small bundles of jute and soaking in hot/liquid paraffin wax. They stay water proof, easy to smash and take a spark and they burn a long time. I'm going to get some made up for the BoB fire kit.
ROCK6 |
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Ameetec arms! How old is that picture? |
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Ameetec arms! How old is that picture? I'm gonna guess it was taken the third week of may, 2007. 
I really like the chewing tobacco tin idea. I have dozens if empty Cope Straight (plastic) tins laying around and I never thought to use them for anything. I guess im not survival minded enough yet |
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Here I am, with a couple of pics of my Strike Force and a pill bottle full of cotton balls, thinking I'm going to bring something to the table (wow - I can stuff 36 cotton balls into a pill bottle, and get them to light! Fire...fire......,) and finding out that I'm only halfway there.
Vaseline on the cotton balls. Doh! You gotta love a newbie... 
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Vaseline soaked cotton balls FTW. You guys dryer lint must be different then mine. Mine has way too much dog hair and polyester, It doesn't burn worth a damn and smells terrible doing it . Vaseline cotton balls can be compressed very small and burn a loooong time.
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don't necessarily need wax either. simply place a big handfull in a ziploc bag and compress it down (remove all the air and press lint together). Seems to me that the wax will make the lint moisture-proof. Just sayin'. isn't that what the ziploc bag is for? IMO, the ziploc bag only weighs a gram or two and can be used for water transportation at a later time.
I'm not saying the wax is a poor idea, I just think it adds weight where it isn't necessary. I can't fit as many wax/lint balls into a small container as I can compressed lint by itself. I've got a few uncented tea lights in the BoB. I figure I can find a use for the little aluminum bottoms when the time comes. |
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Vaseline soaked cotton balls FTW. You guys dryer lint must be different then mine. Mine has way too much dog hair and polyester, It doesn't burn worth a damn and smells terrible doing it. Vaseline cotton balls can be compressed very small and burn a loooong time.Two dogs and two cats in the house Every time I've demonstrated how this works, it works.
I'm not sure about the smell, but I wouldn't use it as the primary fire material...just a tinder. |
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It does not get cheaper than cotton balls (or lint) and vaseline. +1 My firestarter kit consists of a pill bottle packed with this along with a $1, 1/4" ferrocerium rod from Ebay potted with epoxy in a wooden handle. It sparks very well using the spine of my VG-10 spyderco. |
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Not "cheap" and I have only used one once car camping –– but all my fire kits also have a trick birthday candle. If I can get something lit, I can light that, and then lite more.
Being honest, only did it once, but I could light anything off it for a few minutes. |
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Vaseline soaked cotton balls FTW. You guys dryer lint must be different then mine. Mine has way too much dog hair and polyester, It doesn't burn worth a damn and smells terrible doing it. Vaseline cotton balls can be compressed very small and burn a loooong time.Two dogs and two cats in the house Every time I've demonstrated how this works, it works.
I'm not sure about the smell, but I wouldn't use it as the primary fire material...just a tinder. Haha yes I know it will work in that it is fibrous and dry as a popcorn fart. I suppose that the "genetic make up" of my lint is substandard. It burns but cotton balls are exponentially better and dirt cheap. A properly soaked cotton ball will burn close to 10 minutes. It would take a bale of MY dryer lint to burn for five. If the majority of my families clothing was to be cotton it would be a different story. |
| Here's a good one you if live in a cotton producing state. During cotton season you can pick-up all the cotton you need along the side of the road(enroute to the buying station). The cotton on the road-side is ready with dry grass and and plant fibers. It's realy easy to fill up a gallon or 5 gallon plastic bucket and store away for long time use. |
| I always have wax paper in my fishing vest in the BWCA. It folds up into any size you want and is a great fire starter. Take a piece of wax paper hold it under water, remove it from the water and light it while its wet. Once you see how well it burns you will always carry a piece with you.. |
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I always have wax paper in my fishing vest in the BWCA. It folds up into any size you want and is a great fire starter. Take a piece of wax paper hold it under water, remove it from the water and light it while its wet. Once you see how well it burns you will always carry a piece with you.. not a bad idea at all. I think I'll add a piece or three to our bags. |
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I've always been a fan of "10 Minute Matches"
––Items Needs–– -Wax -Corrugated Cardboard -Strike-Anywhere matches -Double Boiler ––What to do–– -Melt your wax in the double boiler -Cut the cardboard into small 1/2 inch squares -Take a match and a square of cardboard. Place the match inside one of the corrugations. -Dip the match/cardboard into the wax. -Let cool and pack for use. To use, scrape a bit of the wax off of the match head and simply strike to light. They burn quite well and long (about 10 minutes ), and as they are wax coated they have the bonus of being water proof.
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