Fire starters

[ctdad]

The other thread got me motivated today. I've always used vaseline covered cotton balls for fire starters. Today, I melted down a large scent free candle and poured the wax over dryer lint laid out flat on tin foil and also inside of an empty cardboard egg carton. I cut the flat wax and lint into strips about the width of a cigarette and I cut out one egg leaving the wax in the cardboard. I burned each of these along side two vaseline covered cotton balls. The cotton balls burned 7 minutes. The "egg" burned 12 minutes. After four minutes of trying, I gave up getting my cigarette lit. It was more effort to make the "eggs" than it is to make vaseline cotton balls, but they did burn quite a bit longer. If I was starting a fire in a really wet environment, it would definitely be worth it to have extra burn time.

[pointysticks]

good info.

i dont mind commercial firestarters. in a really wet place, one of those white blocks used in cookstoves can save your bacon.

i've used cotton balls dipped in vaseline before. save the day, once when i forgot my chapstick. hehe.

[>>>---WW---->]

I generally just carry two or three of those sawdust & wax fire stix you get at WallyWorld or any sporting goods store. You can break them up and get about three good fires started with each one. But my main source of fire for cooking is my alcohol stove

[WapitiTalk1]

I believe this is what WW is referring to (Coghlan's Fire Sticks). I have used them for years. They work like a charm even after getting wet.

645-847-00.jpg (9.52 KiB) Viewed 2499 times

[Bullnuts]

Hmmm. Guess I'm gonna have to do a video on the dryer lint method. I'm not sure what went wrong with your method but its never taken me more than one try to get mine lit.

[>>>---WW---->]

That's the ones I was talking about RJ. Thanks for posting the picture. They are cheap and effective.