Cheap DIY firestarter
In an effort to cut costs today we offer a cheap DIY firestarter that gives you another option for warmth and comfort in your time of need.
One option that we have packed in our BOB is the firesteel that we talked out earlier. We added these as well due to their low cost and function.
First step is to find a 100% cotton mop head. These generally can be had for $5.00. I use approximately 1 inch strips so that is going to give you the capacity in the thousands. Pull out individual strands to soak in wax.
Next step is to melt some wax. This is a bar of Gulf Wax that comes with four of these bars for about $3.50. You can use other types of wax to cut the costs. Some people have used old candles.
I used a double burner to melt the wax. This is safer than melting the wax directly on heat. If your wax starts smoking it could catch fire. Please be safe.
Soak the strips pulled from the mop in the wax and then remove from the pot to dry. Once dry then cut them to your desired size.
I hope this gives you another option on how to start a fire. These will burn for about 5 minutes depending on how long of a wick you make. It is great to have multiple options if you need fire.
Thanks for this excellent tip!
Cardboard egg carton dipped in wax is also great.
Thank you very much! I agree the cardboard egg carton ones are very good as well. These tend to travel a little easier for me.
I like to have multiple options just in case.
Friends, better to try cotton balls dipped in vaseline and carried in a baggie. Use a fire steel to light, they burn a long time, in dry or wet conditions. These can be put together in a few minutes with minimum equipment and stored for a long time. Your system seems overly labor intensive and time consuming. Just sayin.
Thank you for your input Alex! That is a great way to start a fire. I like using fire steel and dryer lint also.
These take very little very effort and after 10 minutes I have enough firestarters for over 100 fires. They also can not be beat for compactness. I love having options and one thing that is critical is different ways to start a fire.
Also, in my 5 gallon bucket of firestarters kept in my car–cotton balls soaked in alcohol kept in a ziplok.
I check them often and they have kept saturated for over a year.
Now, for home, not bugging out, newspapers wrapped and stuffed in paper towel cardboard tubes.
Thanks for the tips! It is always good to have options. I betcha those newspapers really out off some flames for a little while.