Starting a fire for newbs - Page 2

hippieP · 01-13-2012, 11:50 AM

Cotton balls are amazing and now my husband never complains when I come back with a few extra bags from the store when I do my shopping. We learned the hard way about it one year and after that searched to find the easiest (and lightweight) way to avoid it again.

ppine · 01-13-2012, 12:56 PM

The choice of materials is the most important ingredient. Then get it small to maximize the amount of air available. Candles and firestarters really help in the damp.

wvbreamfisherman · 01-13-2012, 07:13 PM

The biggest problem getting a fire going IMHO is trying to use bigger fuel too soon. Once you get your tinder going, feed small sticks and slivers in slowly and let the coals build up. This can seem to take forever, and it's tempting to go to bigger sticks too soon.

The vaseline-soaked cotton balls along with commercial firestarters really are a huge help getting a "critical mass" of stuff burning.

oldsarge · 01-13-2012, 07:35 PM

I got some of those wax and wood chip starters as a gift once. It worked out real well. It burned for over 15 minutes.

Pathfinder1 · 01-13-2012, 08:13 PM

Hi...

I don't rememmber where I saw or heard about it, but I made up a candle-type heater/stove (don't exactly know what to call it) out of a tuna fish can and one-inch wide strips of corregated cardboard, which were coiled up inside the can, then filled the can with hot wax.

When I got done with it, it didn't seem very impressive to me, but will try to see just what it can do over this weekend.

I'll let you know how it works out.

Grandpa · 01-13-2012, 08:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pathfinder1

Hi...

I don't rememmber where I saw or heard about it, but I made up a candle-type heater/stove (don't exactly know what to call it) out of a tuna fish can and one-inch wide strips of corregated cardboard, which were coiled up inside the can, then filled the can with hot wax.

When I got done with it, it didn't seem very impressive to me, but will try to see just what it can do over this weekend.

I'll let you know how it works out.

It's an old boy scout trick/project from many years back.

Pathfinder1 · 01-13-2012, 08:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grandpa

It's an old boy scout trick/project from many years back.

Hi...

Do you recall how well it functioned...as a candle...stove...lantern...etc.?

Zelda · 01-13-2012, 08:39 PM

Wow guys! This is some really valuable information. The cotton ball trick is new to me, but I understand why it would work. Now I am excited about getting a chance to try it out, which won't be anytime soon, looking at the weather.

Grandpa · 01-13-2012, 08:39 PM

We put a wick in to help get it going, but worked good once it was burning. That was long ago and I only did it once for a requirement.

wvbreamfisherman · 01-13-2012, 09:12 PM

Never tried that one- I've done the pop/beer can alcohol stove, and it works pretty well, although it doesn't hold much fuel, and there's no way to seal it up so you can carry it fueled. I broke down and pried a few bucks out of my wallet and bought a mini Trangia stove and cookset, which I'm looking forward to trying out soon.

The tuna can idea sounds promising as a stove/firestarter that would stay fueled all the time. At a guess, I imagine the biggest problem might be soot from a flame that gets too high and doesn't burn all the vaporized wax.