Homemade fire starters...on the cheap.

Looking good Dave. I saved some red cedar sawdust to make some. Was gonna make some cedar noodles too. Have a bunch of candle remnants from her use for wax.

 

That's a nice way of putting it!

There's been a few burners that "are short on kindling!"

 

Fire starters made today.

 

Awesome......8 doz.? That'll last you a while!
Pine or some other brand of noodles?
Curious as to your source of wax. We ended up at a dollar store of some sort for our last three batches.

Sca

 

I was at an Ace hardware store last week and noticed a pound of wax was listed at over $11.00.Glad I found a nice big block of wax for less than 4 dollars.

 

I scrounge for wax all the time, mostly garage sales. Old candles and such. Plus our own used candles and sensey wax. I got a couple pounds (or thereabouts) free at a garage sale during junk jaunt 2 weeks ago

 

Yes, 8 doz. These were oak noodles mixed with pine table saw dust. Only cuz that’s what I noodled last I have used pine noodles or shavings I have for the chicken coop.
as far as wax a couple family members save the candle butts for me but most candles are in jars now so that has slowed down. I did look in Ace hardware but like Erik B said they wanted 10 $ for the gulf wax. I did end up buying 1 box at market basket for 4$

 

Visit your church after Christmas season.

 

Visit your church before and during the Christmas season too....and don't just go for the candles!

 

My wife likes to thrift shop so she watches for good deals on larger candles. I have a big bag full right now to make more. And I scored some old water cooler cups after we/my employer shut down one of our shops, so I'm going to use them for fire starters. Hope to give some to my parents and my son (if he starts burning wood). Thinking I can just fold the point of the triangle and sit them in my muffin tin.

 

I have always just used a few sheets of newspaper and a few scraps of dry wood.
A match and away we go.

Never even thought about trying this. The wax is not any kind of an issue I guess.

 

For me the nice part about the starters is I fill the stove with splits then tuck the starter under hit it with the propane torch and away we go. I refill the little green bottles from a 20lb er cuz those have gotten quite expensive.

 

I discovered white birch bark burns like it is soaked in kerosene.

Had three fully mature white birches planted in a clump die because the previous owner was dumping yard waste in the space between the trunks, up about three feet, when we got the place. I removed all the bark and stored it in bags and boxes in the barn. Tear it into strips and stuff the strips between the rounds in the stove.

I think I now have a lifetime supply of fire starters. If not, I have scavenged about 50 lbs of wax and saved about a dozen trash bags of shavings and sawdust, ready to go.

 

Made some more last night. 200 water cups and used up the remaining wax in egg cartons.




Tried one out before going crazy. Ended up pouring a little more wax than the first batch had.

 

Hey thats some doing!
I think i used about 1/4c wax per starter. Some I skimped out on shavings or wax, and they just didn't light as well. I start with splits, but needed a few pieces of kindling last year a couple times.
I like your shredded paper idea. Will try that sometime.
I use egg cartons too, just because they're already here.

 

Made 13 doz more firestarters a day back.
Gonna start hoarding those too I reckon.
We've used 80 or so this season (1 & 2 fires a day since early September). And we've given a few out to kindling users.

Sca

 

Had a pile of old candles so I went the paper shreds and Dixie cup route this time just pouring melted wax in cups packed with shreds. These burn a long time due to the wax and are much easier to make than the mix-in-bucket method I tried before.

I also have some coconut oil that’s past it’s expiration date (whether that matters is a different issue). It melts easily and makes a fine fire starter with paper shreds in a Dixie cup.

I’ll run out of Dixie cup starters pretty soon and start using the case of Super Cedars I got last season. So far they’re great for firing up the smoker.

 

That's a cool use of old cooking oil. I bet old lard would work as well.

A friend brought a small bag of old candles and stubs over. they'll go to the way pot. He liked the fire starters we made.
I noodled a buncha pine logs this summer. If not used for anything else, we'll be making fire starters for a long time.

 

Find a local Woodturner. You'll never run out of fine wood shaving!
I can fill a trash can making one bowl. Lol