Friday, January 13, 2012

DIY Firestarters


This is all we use to start our fire in our wood burning stove!
Start by collecting;
Old or ugly candles
No. 10 tin can
old spoon
egg cartons
dryer lint
old hot pad

 Start off by stuffing all the holes in the egg carton with dryer lint. You will need quite a bit of lint, so start collecting it a few weeks ahead of time

Then you need to melt your wax.
To melt wax you need to create a double boiler.
I use an old number 10 can and an old wooden spoon and I should add that I also use an old hot pad, because you will probably get wax on that too.
I use the same can, spoon and hot pad every time.
To create a double boiler get a pan that the no. 10 can will fit in with room to spare.
Fill the pan with about 2 inches of water.
Heat it on medium.
Don't let the water boil.
The old candles go in the no. 10 can. Remember that wax and water do not mix. So don't get any water in the no. 10 can.
This is where the hot pad comes in. I use it to hold the no. 10 can while I'm stirring the candles.
You need to frequently stir the candles until the wax is completely melted.
 Then you remove the no. 10 can from the water and carefully dry the bottom of the can.
Then carefully pour the hot wax into the egg carton cups.
You will probably drip a little, I usually do. So either put paper under the egg cartons or get your credit card ready to scrap off the drips.
I like to fill the cups until the list is soaked through. You don't need to have a pool of wax sitting on top of the lint.
 Let them cool, cut the cups apart and there you go, 12 fire starters from one egg carton!
Usually I only need to use one fire starter to get the fire going.
 

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