Last update: February 28, 1996

To go to the author's (Don Buchan) homepage, click here.

This page has been accessed 6326 times since August 28, 1995.

There are a number of live links at the end of this file in the Net
Resources Section, and here is a file of
questions people have asked me, along with answers I've provided.

This is my FAQ about firestarters and wax as a hobby. If you have any
additions, suggestions, comments, questions or the like, please direct
them to Don Buchan at malak&pobox.com (&=@) (that's me, the author.)

Copyright (c) 1995-1997 by Don Buchan, all rights reserved. This FAQ may
be distributed to any USENET newsgroup, on-line service, archive or BBS or
by any other means (such as, but not limited to, printouts and floppy
diskettes) as long as:

A) it is posted in its entirety, including this copyright statement,
and
B) no fee is charged to anyone
i) downloading this file beyond nominal online fees, or
ii) receiving the information beyond nominal format charges.

This FAQ may not be distributed for financial gain. This FAQ may not
be included in commercial collections or compilations without express
permission from Don Buchan (malak&pobox.com (&=@))

GENERAL:

G01. What is my hobby?
G02. Where do I get my wax?
G03. Why not just buy candles and wax blocks?
G04. How did I start my hobby?
G05. How do I classify my wax?
G06. How do I melt the wax?
G07. How do I get rid of sediments and wicks?
G08. Why not just buy candles or wax blocks?
G09. How do I make my firestarters?
G10. What, pray tell, is a firestarter?
G11. Are there other kinds of firestarters?

TROUBLESHOOTING:

T01. All the wax is seeping through the cartons. Why?
T02. These things don't light a fire. Why?

NET RESOURCES

*******
GENERAL
*******

G01. WHAT IS MY HOBBY?

I scrounge wax from all sorts of sources, mostly friends, but also from
just about anywhere effectively expired, almost effectively expired or
not so effectively expired candles can be found, candle drippings, and
other sources of wax such as crayons and the like can be found. Then,
every once in a while, I melt it all down, dip paper egg cartons in it,
and make what I call firestarters.

G02. WHERE DO I GET MY WAX?

Mainly from friends and acquaintances whom I ask if they'll save me
their candle stubs and broken candles, old crayons, wax seals from their
homemade jams, candle drippings, and cheese sealing wax. I have
carefully (and discreetly) "kept the tallow clean" by removing such
drippings from various candles I've come across, and collected stubs
that were about to be thrown out, and so on.

I could buy new candles or blocks of wax, but, why bother? Which leads to:

G03. WHY NOT JUST BUY CANDLES AND WAX BLOCKS?

For one thing, I think that scrounging the wax is fun. For another
thing, buying means I have to fork over money (why pay for something
you can get for free?) Further, I sell my firestarters; the higher the
profit margin, the better. Another thing, I can use a catchy name for
my firestarters along an environmental theme as I'm recycling both wax
and egg cartons. And you'd be surprised how much wax is out there for
the asking. I collect several kilograms (yes, several kilograms!) per
year. Think along the lines of about six or seven (at least) of the
below-mentioned cans filled SOLID, to the top, with wax per year.
Think well over one or two thousand firestarters per year.

I must confess that I have purchased broken candles for a great deal
from a dollar store going out of business.

G04. HOW DID I START MY HOBBY?

I was on a pleasure trip a month before I started as a Scout leader,
and came across a lot of wax drippings from what was obviously the site
of a bunch of teenagers playing with candles on the beach. Making the
connection between the wax, remembering the usefulness of wax as a fuel
for things like pocket stoves and makeshift lanterns from when I was a
Scout myself, and my soon becoming a Scout leader, I quickly collected
the wax and brought it home. I've been scrounging wax since.

G05. HOW DO I CLASSIFY MY WAX?

I melt it all down into coffee cans in three colours: White (either
clear (when melted) or coloured white), Green, and all the rest which,
when melted together, form colours ranging from various shades of Red
to various shades of Brown. I melt down blue and yellow wax along with
the green as the mix of the two produces green.

I keep these three colours for the following reasons: Red and green
are Christmas colours. I sell my firestarters at a Christmas craft
fair in bags of 6 and 12. The white is used as makeup for either or
both colours, or to dilute the colours a bit.

The kind of wax doesn't matter; it all goes in with the rest of the wax
of the same colour. Therefore my wax can and often does include
beeswax, wax seals from jam making, candles, birthday candles, crayons,
the wax that they use to seal cheese, dyes, and occasionally scents.

G07. HOW DO I MELT THE WAX?

I put the old bits of wax in a large tin can that holds about 2.5L
(about 2/3 USG). If your can held coffee like mine do, it held about
1kg (2.2lbs; 40oz) of coffee. Then I pull out my gas camping stove and
carefully heat the can and melt the wax. I then let it cool for
storage until I use it to make my firestarters. This last allows for
A) more wax to be stored per can as I'm eliminating the airspace
between wax pieces B) avoids an accidental mess all over if the can is
knocked over and C) gives me an idea beforehand what shade of whichever
colour the wax is might turn out to be.

Because I use gas and melt the wax directly over the burner, two safety
concerns arise: A) the possibility of flareup because of the direct
heat, particularly near the smoke point (when you see smoke :) ) and B)
the possibility of flareup because I'm using gas. That just means that
the safer (and slower) way of melting wax is by putting the can into
boiling water to avoid overheating the wax, and electrical burners can
be safer.

Another good way to melt the wax is in a crockpot; it holds the
temperature of the wax longer. (bibben&aol.com (&=@))

G08. HOW DO I GET RID OF SEDIMENTS AND WICKS?

Many candles have solid decorations (sprinkles and the like) on them,
some have metal wick holders on the bottom, and all have wicks. When
the wax is melted, these usually fall to the bottom.

A friend of mine carefully pours off almost all of the wax and puts the
rest in another (usually way smaller) can and lets it harden, and
repeats the process several times with more melted wax until this small
can is full. Then she melts the small can of sediments and pours off
the liquid wax (to use it again) and gets rid of the bit of sediment on
the bottom. She also suggested using a container with no ridges on the
side that would allow you to pour in the wax, let it cool, then take out
the solid wax and trim off the bottom layer of sediment.

I use rags as a filter. Once the wax is melted, I pour the wax over the
rag into another can; most particles and all the wicks are filtered out.
The shaggier the material, the more particles are filtered out.

I've also found that old fiberglass insulation (pink) makes an excellent
filter. I would suggest to only use it for large amounts as it tends to
soak up a lot of wax.

G09. HOW DO I MAKE MY FIRESTARTERS?

First I collect paper egg cartons in, you got it, green and red. I
also collect yellow and blue egg cartons. The yellow cartons work well
with the green wax; the blue ones work alright, but with the wax come
out a little dark.

The cans I use easily allow four egg wells to fit in and be dipped in
the wax, so I cut the cartons into three parts of four wells each
(assuming that they're cartons of a dozen.)

I then drown the cartons in melted wax, take them out leaving the wells
about half full, and let the wax cool on a cookie sheet. I cut these
into individuals and I have a firestarter. I also trim off the wax
that has seeped through the carton and solidified on the outside and
throw this back into the can. An easy way of doing this is by using a
propane torch set on low to melt it off (letting the melting wax drip
into the can of that colour wax.) Keep an eye out for the firestarters
catching fire, though.

G10. WHAT, PRAY TELL, IS A FIRESTARTER?

For those who really haven't figured it out yet, my definition of a
firstarter is the item I produce through my hobby that can be later used
to light a fire. Lay some wood over one in a manner suitable for a fire
(even in an unsuitable way, but guess which works better? The important
thing is a draught), and light its corners. Depending on the amount of
wax in the well it will last anywhere from five to ten minutes and will
light just about any fire. It leaves next to no residue and the
creosote it produces that potentially could deposit in your chimney and
be a fire hazard is virtually nil and, compared to the amount that can
be produced by the firewood you're burning, is non-existant.

G11. ARE THERE ANY OTHER KINDS OF FIRESTARTERS?

Sure. Roll newspaper and tie it off at one inch lengths, then cut
between the strings, and dip in wax. Harder to make and light in my
experience.

Dip pinecones in wax.

I'm experimenting with other parts of the egg boxes dipped in wax.

Pour wax into cupcake papers and add a wick and/or a pinecone.

Experiment with sawdust and wax, or pinecone crumbs and wax in your
firestarters.

When candle making, use a piece of paper towel to pick up spilled hot
wax, and use these as firestarters.

Wrap a light-anywhere match with cotton string, and soak in wax.

Soak dryer lint in wax and light.

Use an old ice cube tray as a mould for your wax and add a pinecone
and/or wick.

I'm trying to figure out a way to mould a candle onto the end of a stick
to make a firelighter -- more like a long-lasting long match.

Mould wax and sawdust in an eggshell -- coulour it nicely, it's also a
great Easter egg gift!

***************
TROUBLESHOOTING
***************

TO1. ALL THE WAX IS SEEPING THROUGH THE CARTONS. WHY?

The wax is too hot, as in it's been sitting on the burner too long. As
wax is heated (and its temperature rises), its ability to seep through
paper increases. The lower the temperature, the slower it seeps through
the paper, and, the faster it cools (further allowing less wax to seep
through.)

To correct the situation, either let the wax cool by taking it off the
burner (as long as the wax is still liquid you can still make your
firestarters) or dip the egg cartons in wax, let cool, then fill the
wells afterwards.

If you have a wax thermometer, the temperature should be around 155F for
quick cooling and minimal seepage.

TO2. THESE THINGS DON'T LIGHT A FIRE. WHY?

Because there wasn't anything to light over them. These things still
need wood OVER them to light a fire, as well as a draught. Make sure
that there is wood over them, and make sure that there's enough, not
just a couple of twigs. And OK, you have to have some wood that isn't
too thick. Enough of anything sufficiently smaller than that log you
just split will do.

*************
NET RESOURCES
*************

Sure ... why not?

The following are a collection of net resources related to wax, my
firestarters, me, and other resources connected thereto. While at least
some are are directly related to my firestarters, many are not
necessarily directly related or even at all, but are there on the
presumption that at least some people may be interested in them. Most
Web sites, email links and usenet groups have been field tested at
least once by me. Please direct any errors, corrections, inactive sites,
and of course NEW sites to Don Buchan at malak&pobox.com (&=@)

Wax, firestarters and candles:

Give me a call at malak&pobox.com (&=@)
http://www.pobox.com/~malak/waxfaq.html (the most recent copy of this FAQ)
Candles and Candle Making, the Candles You Can Burn Ltd. Homepage
A few crafts involving wax
A joke about earwax candles
InfoSeek search for "candle"
Various kinds of firestarters
A file that appears to discuss how to cut blocks of wax. The site also has
a whole lot of other crafts stuff
A page devoted to boiled leather armour for anachronistic activities;
it has some good tips on handling wax
A page mainly talking about using wax for seals on parchments, and tips on
how to go about handling wax
Candle History
Candlemaking tips
Country Scents Candle Company
Another way to make firestarters.
Historical database on Scottish candle pricing and so on
Anachronistic uses of wax

Another hobby of mine, winemaking:

Give me a call at malak&pobox.com, and I'll send you the most recent copy of
rec.crafts.winemaking's FAQ
http://www.pobox.com/~malak/rcw.faq (the most recent copy of
rec.crafts.winemaking's FAQ)
http://www.pobox.com/~malak/guide.html (my Wine & Stuff page)
http://www.pobox.com/~malak/kits (my kit winemaking primer)
ftp.cam.org/users/malak/wine
rec.crafts.winemaking

My Favourite Drinks:

Iced Tea and other drinks

Scouting:

ftp.cam.org/users/malak/scouting
rec.scouting
can.scout-guide
Choosing a camp for your child
The Super Scout(er) Page

Star Trek:

My Star Trek Link page
My Star Trek FTP Site

Me, Don Buchan:

http://www.pobox.com/~malak

FAQ's in general:

rtfm.mit.edu
news.answers contains the most FAQ's
*.answers contain FAQ's. Many hierarchies have such a group; explore by
changing the "*" variable to the hierarchy name.
gopher.physics.utoronto.ca (FAQ's via rtfm.mit.edu)

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