Date: Sat, 24 Feb 96 16:23:48 -0800
From: Dave Porter <dporter@bailey2.Unibase.COM>
Subject: Your Pages on the Net
Dear Scouter Tobin;
I came across this while viewing your "Guide to the Gear" page
and I would just like to add to it just a bit. My additions can be found
after Alan's explaination.
...
Homemade Fire Starter
This was posted to rec.backcountry by Alan Silverstein
ajs@hpfcso.fc.hp.com
A friend who's been a professional candle-maker showed me a nifty fire
kindling method that I'll share with you. It's fun and easy to make
light-weight (1/2 ounce) "fire starter cups" -- really fire kindlers --
you'll still need a match, lighter, etc. to get them going, but they
work great! I will start to carry a couple in my daypack as emergency
fire starters or heat sources.
Supplies needed:
1 ounce (4 tsp) paper cups, the kind supermarkets use for handing out
samples or fast food places supply so you can pump ketchup, etc. into
them. They're roughly 1" diameter and 3/4" high. (I tried plastic
cups, but the plastic just doesn't burn as fast and clean as paper.)
Candle wick; just 1" or so for each cup. Should be cheap at any hobby
store. Dense cotton twine dipped in melted wax might work as well.
Unlike normal candles, the wick doesn't have to burn alone for very
long, it's just for starting the cup, so quality doesn't matter.
Candle wax; a tiny amount really. A typical ice cube sized chunk
would make 2-3 fire starters.<p>
How to do it:
Put a wick in each cup so it comes up the side and over the lip. Fold
it over the lip to hold it in place. It doesn't even have to be long
enough to touch the bottom of the cup, just the side. Set the cups on
newspaper or something to catch any drips.<p>
Melt some wax. A safe way to do this is to put the wax in a clean tin
(steel) can, set the can in a small pot with 1" or so of water in
bottom, and heat the pan on the stove on *low* heat -- the water
shouldn't even boil. Be patient. This melts the wax safely although
slowly. Warning: The can might leave a small rust mark on the pan
bottom -- you might try an aluminum can instead.<p>
Grab the can of hot wax with pliers or a pot holder and pour the
melted wax into the cups. You don't even need to fill them. The wax
shrinks when it melts, but you'll find that even a half-full cup burns
long and hot enough to do the job. Let the cups cool.<p>
When ready to use one of these fire starters, fold up the wick and
light it. The fire quickly spreads around the lip of the cup, after
which the cup acts like a circular wick. The result is a small, hot
fire about 1" across and 5-10" high that will easily start large twigs
burning, with no need for any other kindling. A typical cup burns
5-10 minutes by itself.
My $0.02 worth.
I would just like to add that if you use a cardboard egg carton for the
cups
(seperate cups after pouring wax) you are "re-using" material you have
around the house.
They also burn well and provide their own wick by just lighting one
corner (this could be done with the other cups as well). We have also
found that by filling the cups with dryer lint helps to absorb the wax
allowing them to cool a little quicker, and gets rid of (reduce)
something that would normally just end up in the landfill.
We make these with our Cubs and Scouts to carry in their personal
emergency kits.
In Scouting,
Dave
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
/\___/\
/ \ From the keyboard of Dave Porter
/ .\ /. \ Scout Leader - Aberdeen, Sk. Canada
\\ | | // Comanche District Commissioner
\(o)/ E-Mail: dporter@bailey2.unibase.com
U Graphic, Dick Sieg Retired Scouter 59th East Cleveland
Date: 31 Jan 1996 13:34:13 GMT From: "Dennis A Schmitt" <SCHMIDA@texaco.com> Subject: hints Here's a hint for new scouts who might tend to lose sight of equipment. I have been finding tent stakes at campsites on each outing for 10 years now. It is becoming a tradition in Troop 928 SHAC (Houston) to find a stake for Mr. Schmitt. It is not suprising that stakes get lost in tall grass and pine needles. Now show the scouts how to dip the top end of their metal stakes into a jar of bright paint, so the stakes can be seen. Fluorescent orange, red, yellow, and green can be used to identify ownership. It helps to show were all the stakes (20) are on my old wall tent. Young feet don't trip over the guy lines as much anymore. Hint 2: I use a ground cloth under my tent to help protect the floor. I also use heavy plastic sheeting inside the tent as an additional barrier to wet floors. It has also been used as a cook fly in the rain and something to sit on damp / wet ground. Dennis Schmitt Asst. Scoutmaster Troop 928 Rising Star District Sam Houston Area Council Houston, TX
Last modified: February 22, 2004