After spending a summer camping with nightly campfires, I decided I needed a good recipe for homemade fire starters. I wanted something easy to make, inexpensive, and can even be made out of readily available household products. After lots of research and beta testing, I nailed it! These fire starters are cheap and easy to make. So much so, I like to give them away to fellow campers who look like they could use the help.
The ingredients are items you likely have, including: a paper/cardboard egg carton (not Styrofoam), lint from the dryer, and candle wax. I used old candles, or you can buy candle wax at a craft stores such as Michael’s. Not necessary, but another beneficial ingredient is saw dust or small wood chips, which will make your fire starter burn hotter.
You’ll also need 2 pots. A large tin like a coffee can plus an old saucepan will work. Most ideal is a double boiler you no longer use. Once used to melt wax, you will not want to use these pots in the kitchen again. I used a coffee can and picked up a saucepan at a thrift store for $3.
The how to:
You may want to make the fire starters over a camp fire so there’s no potential for a waxy mess in your home or camper. Otherwise, have plenty of newspaper on hand to create a clean workstation.
Put water in your old saucepan, add the coffee can with a candle in it. Boil the water and melt the candle. While the wax is melting, take your paper egg carton and fill each egg cup with lint and if available, sprinkle saw dust or wood chips on top. The size/quantity should be just enough to fill each egg cup to the brim. Pour the melted wax into each egg cup, filling the cup to the top or at least with enough wax to cover the lint/saw dust contents.
You may also opt to add tops to each fire starter simply by cutting a little “hat” for the egg cups from the top portion of the egg carton. Place the tops on each egg cup and carefully press down while the wax is hot. This creates a more attractive fire starter, although it does nothing to enhance its performance.
Allow wax to harden completely. Separate the egg cups, and you now have 12 fire starters. Only one fire starter is needed to start a fire. First, place the fire starter under a few small pieces of kindling. As the kindling ignites, place larger pieces of wood on the fire. Then sit back, enjoy the warm glow and maybe even a toasty marsh mellow or two.
Recent Comments