using left over candles to make fire starters

[picmacmillan]

Today i took some old candles that were being thrown out and made some boyscout fire starters....for those who don't know what that is....it consists of using some wax, dryer lint and egg cartons....the purpose of this exercize is to reuse something that was headed for the dump and make it into a useful item....mainly these things are used to start a fire without paper or very small kindling....my son taught me how to make these from boyscouts...once these things are made they will burn a nice sized flame for 15 minutes or so....all you need to do is start one of these and go get some wood....it's that simple to start a fire...great for the wood stove in the morning...no messy kindling or newspaper..the candle wax is melted from its original container by putting it on the woodstove...an old pan on an electric stove would do the same job...





you take the old lint and grab a pinch and stick it in an individual egg shell...fill it good





then soak the lint and egg carton in the melted wax....getting lots of wax to absorb in to the lint





then just take the completed fire starters and throw them in a box or pail until you are ready to use them...they save tons of time and energy when starting a fire

so there you have it....neat little project to make life easier....i use these all the time in the summer also for starting campfires...i alos have one in my pocket while out hunting.....they may save your life if you get stuck out in the bush,....they are covered with wax so they will never get wet and they burn for a long time which will guarantee to start your wood on fire....heck, you could even cook a hotdog on there, but it is not recommended as dryer lint has a lot of crap in it...old hair etc.....hope someone can use this as you have now taken three things that get thrown in the trash and reused them, dryer lint, old candle wax, and egg cartons....take care...pickster

[Ungrounded Lightning Rod]

Wax and sawdust works well, too.  (It's the classic incindeary device.)

So next time you're building a new turbine blade you'll have something to do with the scraps.  B-)

[TomW]

Pickster;

That looks a lot like my Scandia model #810 stove I have been using since the 70's.

Cheers.

TomW

[dudevato]

Hey Pickster, that is a pretty good idea.  I've got all that stuff kickin' around the 'estate'  I'll make some of those up, as I start fires everyday!  In my woodstove!  Had to add that last part.  Thanks  dudevato

[laskey]

I did the same thing with my scout troop.

We used old candle leftovers, hardwood shavings from our staff making activities, and some left over string (soaked in wax) to act like like wicks, and dumped all that stuff into old aluminum foil cupcake tins.  If you use those cupcake paper cup things you can just keep making them until you run out of raw materials.  Doing this in winter and putting them out in the snow realy cuts down your cooling time.

There awesome! You can light a outdoor camp fire in a thunderstorm with one of those babies... If you lay the fire right. >

Cya,

Chris

[wooferhound]

I work in a Very Large event hall and would take lots of candle leftovers home. Just used them as candles though. They would be using candles that were 3 feet long, and still 2 feet long after the event was over.

 Then the Hall changed thier policy and would not allow open flames, Just candles in somekinda fireproof container. After the change, the candles they were using got a Lot smaller and and were mostly burned up after the event. So I lost my private resource of candles.

Seems like there would be a better use of all that surplus wax somehow...

What are you doing with all those cool Candle Vases ?

[nothing to lose]

I like candles too.

Alittle wax and dry sawdust, or some cold old coals, works well also. I'll have to start using the dryer lint, yes that's been getting thrown away so might as well use it.

Something along this line but a little messier I do is mix the used cooking oil with dry saw dust. Packed into tubes like toilet paper and paper towels etc.. come on it makes great fire starters also. Sometimes I pack it into tubes, other times I just spoon it out of the coffee can. Great use for that used grease when you change the deep fryer if you don't have a deisel engine handy. I don't

 It's not real messy, but I would not carry the rolls in my pocket. I try to have a coffee can of sawdust and veggie oil in both houses. Basically burns like wax.

Another great use for left over candles is candles. I've made some pretty nice ones in the past. Just melt over low heat and pour into almost anything. Wicks are cheap at hobby shops.

You can carve wax nicely also. Always something nice to have around, never know when you might actaully need it too!

[Tyler883]

Hey you guys ever make those decorative things that are like upside down icicles?

You take several colors of wax, pour them in a tray, then quiclky submerse the tray into a bath of cold water, the end result is a whole bunch of colorful pillars starting on the tray and reaching up to a point(upside down icicle).

BTW, I remember trying to make these things on my own when I was a kid, almost started a fire, scared the begeesus out of me. I tried to melt the wax on an electric stove, and I think it got so hot the wax inside the pot actually flared.So be careful out there, if I ever mess around with wax again, I'm going to use a very low heat and be more patient.

[Gary D]

Pickter, dipping wood match heads in wax keeps them waterproof too. Just in case you fall in a creek or get em wet... might as well have something to light those wax units up if your bic doesn't work.   Gary D.

[Gary D]

Sorry, meant to type pickster ....

[ghurd]

I use the "Improved Model".

Get some of those little paper ketchup cups from the fast food joint.

Cut a strip of corrugated cardboard a little narrower than the cup is high.

Roll it up, put it in the cup. Add the wax, being sure the cardboard is at least coated with wax but 1/8" above the wax.

I usually add 3/4" of candle wick, stuck half way down between a corrugation hole so it won't  fall in or sink. Lights very easy.

Less messy. Smaller.

G-

[Opera House]

My better half has to have a fire every morning when we are in the hot tub and I go through a lot of fire starters.  I use shavings from the wood planer and old wax candles.  Same story as everyone else, but do you know that old coffee grounds have a higher heat content than wood!  There is a company now producing these used coffee pressed logs.  I have been saving and drying old coffee grounds for about a month and next week will start making some coffee balls.  Give them a try.

[troy]

I had no idea this was so commonplace.  My starter of choice is sawdust with veggie oil, but I will also use sawdust with motor oil in the airtight woodstove.  Starting the morning fire is literally a 20 second deal.

I'm working on a little custom box stove, very small, just to burn oiled sawdust on the very cold mornings.  It makes my VW diesel grunt less that way.  Pack it full of oiled sawdust and then put a 6-hour "utility" candle on it.  Fire starts at 4 am and takes the chill off those rare 0 F mornings in the gargage.

From the Boy Scout preparedness dept,

troy

[picmacmillan]

there has been a lot of real good ideas here....i like the cardboard thing, the sawdist thing, the oil...well,you get the idea....and woof, i was thinking what i can do with those leftover candle jars...i found the paint comes right of them and then you have clear glass...i seen someone use them for light shades over there christmas lights..keeps the water off them and gives a nice glow.....maybe i will just go by a candle by itself, put it in the jar and give it to my mother in law for christmas..   pickster

[Trivo]

If you get a Fersnel lens you wont need matches, they can melt sand 3000F+

You can get them as small as business card size a great camping accessory

Trivo

[picmacmillan]

i would be interested to learn more about this fersnol lens...pickster

[deerslayer660]

  My favorate fire starter is dried corn cobs soaked in keroseen  george

[Trivo]

They are just a piece of plastic .5mm thick with groves cut in it like an old vinyl record, people use them as a magnifying glass for reading. You can get big ones from rear projector TV's I got mine from a stationary shop for about $5. They work even if not in bright sun, great fun but watch the kids, especialy the big ones that have not grown up, or they will burn the place down

Trivo

[kell]

The correct spelling is fresnel, if you want to do a search.

[nothing to lose]

Yes low heat for melting wax

I do pewter casting some, to clean the pewter and float the scale (crud, oxidation) to the top I drop a small piece of was in the pot. Works well, but lots of smoke and it flames up nicely also. Course that's close to about 500F.

As I recall if you want to melt wax and pour it an old coffee pot burner makes a nice hot plate for melting. Watch it though, been awhile since I did it and I don't remember if it's the correct max temp or if it can get TOO hot.

[nothing to lose]

Thanks for that tip. I need that one!

NOW, how to you keep the striking area from getting wet?? I can't find those old strike anywhere type wooden matches anyplace now a days. Probably got outlawed by some crappy saftey group. Used to be in any grocery store for about $1 for lots of them, several boxes!

[nothing to lose]

THANK YOU!

We go through coffee like nuts here, I use the cans for everything. Wife was saving the grounds for awhile, she heard something about using them for plants. Keeps them healthy or a good starter or something, BUT she never plants anything!

I never had a use for them, till now

 I never thought of drying them and burning them. 3 or more pots a day, I can heat my house next winter with this summers coffee!

So how are the ground though in other ares? They burn cleaner than wood and have less creasote type stuff? Is there anything worse in them than wood??

[nothing to lose]

"maybe i will just go by a candle by itself, put it in the jar and give it to my mother in law for christmas.."

I geuss that is a joke, it gave me a laugh anyway.

 All the wax your getting out of the used candles, and your gonna buy a candle to put in the candle jar ??

 Actually that's something I would maybe do with the left over jars. Save the wicks from the longer candles, cut off the burnt end, refill jar with wax from other candles and stick the wick back in.

Could make some nice colorfull candles. Use layers of colors, sort of like sand art in those glass jars. Either use melted colors and pour in, or use chips and flakes. Make a layer of colored flakes then pour melted clear wax into it to fill the air gaps and bond it all together as one piece.

Also if you really wanted to give it as a gift or just have a nice fancy one yourself, paint a name or nice picture inside the glass before filling. Or even place a small object inside the glass.

[nothing to lose]

You can also buy them on Ebay for about $10, look for 100" projection TV

If you have one of those "Everythings $1 " type stores around you, look there for them. I have seen them several times and geuss what, they were just $1

They do work well for lots of things.

And if you want the 100" projection TV, get a fresnel lens, build a box the size your picture tube on your tv, make an insert for the box to fit it and cut a hole the size of you lens in the center. Paint everything flat black (except the lens and TV). Now focus (slide insert forward or rearward) on a white wall or sheet and you have a big screen TV that plays upside down and reversed text. Turn TV upside down and you only have reversed text problem. BUT that makes watching movies with forein subtitles even more fun

 You could bounce off a mirror and correct both problems at once!

OR if really bold, you should be able to cut the 2 sets of 2 wires on the picture tube and splice in reverse. 1 set will change the top to the bottom, the other will change the left to the right. If you do that be very carefull, or best take it to a TV shop and let them do it for a couple bucks. Just except the wierd looks and give them the $15 or so. That could even be fun depending on the tech.

If you buy a cheapy wal-mart 19" color TV and turn it upside down the color runs out, so don't do that

 REALLY!!! I did that, and though it did not make a mess or anything, I lost all the color when I turned it upside down

These ain't the greatest of course, but hey what do you want for a buck? A Rubber Biscuit?

$1 for a lens, free large cardboard box, and any smaller/normal sized tv, probably the smaller the tv the better the big picture really. 19" seemed to work good. My results have been poor to good so far, and it's fun to play with too.

My main problem has been no space for anything, in the rock house I rented now I have tons of space! This will be something I put alot of playing into to see how well I can get it to work. I have 2 or 3 lens here if I can find them.

[jimjjnn]

Another way is to take back off TV, Unplug convergence coils and the plug on back of picture tube{CRT). Rotate pic tube 180 degrees . Reconnect all coils and plug on CRT. Put back cover on tv. Turn on tv . Voila. Upside down picture. Cost= ZILCH

[jimjjnn]

Another way is to take back off TV, Unplug convergence coils and the plug on back of picture tube{CRT). Rotate pic tube 180 degrees . Reconnect all coils and plug on CRT. Put back cover on tv. Turn on tv . Voila. Upside down picture. Cost= ZILCH

[ghurd]

Homebrew double boiler.

I use a large size soup can with some water in it. Put in a beer can with the top cut off. Put the wax in the beer can. Use pliars to lift it out to pour.

The big can must be small enough to keep the small can from tipping over.

When I was about 8, had a giant Christmas candle that was deformed from attic heat.

Was chopping it to pieces that would fit in the wax can. With a butcher knife.

Here it comes...

Cut my thumb almost all they way off!  So wax is dangerous and should be banned like the 'strike anywhere' matches. :O

G-

[troy]

And just to make the language police happy, the "S" is silent, and it's named after the French guy who invented it, so it should be capitalized.  He also invented a bunch of other goodies.  A brilliant fellow really.

Best,

troy

[tecker]

   

 I've had good luck with rotton wood soaked in waste veg oil got about 10 gal  from a donut shop I still have about 8 left . I drop rotted wood in and lift them out and dry