Continuing my series on Light and Heat, today I’m going to talk about making Fire Starting Candles. There are a variety of ways to do this, today we’re going to cover using cardboard egg cartons and dryer lint or cotton balls. This particular project will likely already be familiar to experienced Preppers and Boy Scouts. This post is aimed at those new to prepping who have never been exposed to this kind of thing.
Being able to start a fire is absolutely critical in many potential situations. It can literally mean the difference between life and death. Knowing many ways to be able to start a fire is an essential survival skill, practicing and maintaining those skills is just as essential. One of the most difficult situations to start a fire in is when it is very wet. These situations can be made much easier by having a fire starter that will work whether it is wet or dry and that will burn reliably for a very long time. By using a paraffin wax “candle” you essentially waterproof your fire starter and can easily start a fire in a wet environment. Also, because it will burn for a very long time, it is much easier to get tinder started with damp or wet materials since the candle is able to dry out your fire starting material and then start it burning.
To make the simple Fire Starting Candles we’re working on in this video, we follow a few simple steps. The first is to melt your wax. This must be done in a double boiler however, the wax will make a mess of any container you melt it in. To make clean up easy, and so you don’t upset anyone else who might be using your kitchen, we use a can – in the case of this video a pear can – to melt the wax in. You simply place the can with a couple bars of wax in it, into the boiling water and let the wax melt.
To prepare your candles, fill each egg slot in the egg carton with cotton balls, dryer lint, wood chips, pecan shells or any other small and burnable substance. You then pour the wax over your flammable material, making sure the material is completely saturated and then let it dry.
Now you can cut out each egg slot and you have a dozen (depending on your egg carton size) Fire Starting Candles.
This video goes over the entire process in detail:
I just found this site, and love all the stuff you’re doing for preparedness. I like how you’re using regular items to make things. All these tips and items will come in handy when I go camping out in the Utah west desert.
Thanks.
We did these as Boy Scouts and they work great and they are so cheap to make. I have not thought about these in so long, brings back good times. Great post, thanks for taking me down memory lane for a bit.