Make Your Own Recycled Campfire Starters
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My husband and I love to camp, and we know if there's one you thing you have to have for a successful camping trip, it's a fire. We learned long ago that the availability of dry kindling will vary from campsite to campsite, so we now come prepared with our own homemade fire starters. These little gems will light every time, and make starting a fire quick, easy, and free of frustration. They are safe to carry, environmentally friendly (a great way to recycle otherwise-wasted products), and non-toxic.
My recycled campfire starters are made with a few simple items you can easily find around the house. The container is made from a paper egg carton (don't use foam or plastic) which has 12 perfectly-sized compartments, and which happens to be easy to light. The container is stuffed with dryer lint, which burns very easily and for a long time when packed tightly. Finally, I add some long-burning "fuel" in the form of either petroleum jelly or — believe it or not — old melted crayons.
Petroleum jelly fire starters
To make the petroleum jelly fire starters, start by filling the egg carton compartments halfway full of dryer lint. Then grab a big glob of petroleum jelly (generic brands work just as well as Vaseline, and are cheaper!), measuring about 1 tsp or so.
Put the petroleum jelly in the middle of the lint bowl you created, then cover the top with more dryer lint, packing it into the carton so it's full.
Finally, cut the twelve compartments of the egg carton apart with scissors.
Melted crayon fire starters
To make the melted crayon fire starters, you once again start with a carton, but this time go ahead and fill it all the way up with link, packing it tightly.
For this version, we'll use melted crayons for the fuel. You may remember when I recycled old crayons into fun new shapes with my niece's broken crayon bits. For that project, I only used the pretty colors, and did not use the blacks, grays, or browns. Those leftover bits were perfect for fire starters, though, because I don't care what color they turn out to be!
Just melt the crayons in a aluminum can placed in a pan full of simmering water until the wax is fully melted. When the can is cool enough to touch, carefully and SLOWLY pour the melted wax onto the lint, giving it time to soak in.
Leave the wax to cool and then cut the twelve compartments apart with scissors.
Using the fire starters
Whichever technique you use to make your fire starter, be sure to store them in a zip-top plastic bag so that they stay dry. When it comes time to start a campfire, just place the fire starter under the kindling and light it.
Once the fuel (petroleum jelly or wax) lights, it will burn steady and strong for at least 5 minutes, which is plenty of time for your kindling to light and for your campfire to develop.
Choosing a technique
To help you decide whether to use the petroleum jelly or crayon wax for your homemade fire starters, here are some pros and cons:
- The petroleum jelly approach is great for kids to help with, because there is no heat involved, and petroleum jelly is easy to acquire. However, it is messy and the dryer lint on top of the fire starter may come off in your hands as you handle it.
- The melted crayon approach makes a nice sealed fire starter that is not messy at all once cooled, but the hot wax is not kid-friendly and your supply of old crayons may be limited.
Both methods burn equally well, though, and I suggest you just choose the style based on what you have on hand!
My Honey and I always keep a few of these fire starters in with our camping supplies, and I often give extras to my friend's Webelos troup for their camping trips. Whether we're in the middle of the woods or at a campsite, we're always ready for a quick fire at any time. We even keep a bag of them at home under the kitchen sink, for those impromptu fires in our patio fire pit. Our friends are always amazed at how well they work.
26 comments so far:
Genius! Thanks
Thank YOU, Marie :)
I like your idea, I always kept those old cartons for the transplanting my seeds to a pot or the garden as they break apart and help with the compost. I make firestarters with wax, crayons, etc. with leftover sawdust or small pets bedding from the pet store and put them in a cupcake paper. I used to make (L.O.L.) tampon dipped in wax, has own wick and if you drop it in the water, no big deal it will still light. I did not know that petroleum jelly was an accelorent and the egg cartons are perfect. Thanks sooo much.
P.S. I have my kids Elementary schools sending home the old crayons the kids can't use anymore. Just call them, with the recycling craze finally catching on they are more than happy to help.
Thanks again,
Mary
Great ideas, Mary. I especially like the sawdust idea. My garage has a big pile of it in the corner from some work we were doing over the weekend :) Thanks for sharing!
We make these with the big egg crates we sweet talk the school cafeteria ladies to save for us. Since our school participates in a breakfast program, they have several of them per week, far more than we could use. Each sheet has about 30 "dimples" per sheet. I save dryer lint, pencil sharpener shavings, and any other burnable debris I can find to fill them. Then, when we have enough, I get the candles I buy for pennies from garage sales and melt them in a pan I picked up at Goodwill just for this. They work fantastic in our wood stove, and the hard wax of those fat pillar candles makes each piece burn for 12 to 15 minutes! Plenty of time to get the kindling started.
I've been thinking that if I topped each dimple with red or orange tissue paper to make them attractive, and sold them in blocks of 16 (4x4 dimples) they might sell well as a Fall fundraiser for our school.
Maven, what a great idea for bundling them together to give as a gift or to raise money for a cause. This is something kids could help do as well. Little Jo just started Kindergarten so I will have to see if I can get some egg cartons from the cafeteria as well, thanks for the tip!
I have done similar using old candle wax instead of vaseline or crayons and it works fine - burns HOT.
I just had an idea I will use if we try this... To use vaseline, I'll put it in a baggie and cut the corner so I (or the kids)can pipe it on like icing!
My mom and I have made these with the candle wax and wood shavings(pet bedding). We then wrap each one up in tissue paper and tie it with cotton string. Both are flammable and it looks really cute sitting in a little basket by our fireplace. They make great gifts this way too.
Lia, piping the Vaseline is a great idea!
Jaime, you and your mom sound very clever :)
if you don't have crayon 'butts' to use you can always use the little cheap crayon 4 packs the give at restaurants and fairs; we always have them for some reason. the last bit of candle wax from jars or tapers works too.
Great idea, DavetteB. Those restaurant crayons always end up everywhere!
My dad makes something similar with sawdust from his shop and candle wax... I wonder how "safe" the dryer lint is in a fire place. Outside great idea...
Your dad is very clever, agirlandajeep. I love the idea of finding a use for sawdust. As for burning dryer lint in an indoor fireplace, my guess is that since dryer lint is made up of the fibers from your clothes, it would be safe. I'm no chemist, though, so I can't say for sure.
Would either method work for an indoor fire place? It takes me forever to get a fire started the few times the power has been out. Thank you for the post!
Brandonsmom, these starters would technically work indoors, but I have no idea if there are any safety concerns with fumes emitted from burning either the wax or the petroleum jelly in an enclosed living space. It might be fine, but I'm just not sure!
My guess is that any fumes from the actual wood burning in an indoor situation would far outlast any dryer-lint issues. I'd say not to worry. Great to have a use for dryer lint, though. I'll probably do mine with paraffin, not having small kids around for crayons. will add some wood chips and sawdust for a variety of burning times. thanks for the article!
These were great. We just used them this weekend for our fishing/camping trip. Wonderful, thank you!!
Are the ones made with crayon wax messy? What I mean is, if the kids make these as gifts for my folks to use in their indoor fireplace, will they have a rainbow colored mess in the bottom of their fireplace to clean or do they burn up and gone? Thank you!
Sarah, I can't guarantee that wax won't leak onto the bottom of the fireplace, but I do know that the wax will burn, so theoretically it should all eventually burn away. However, I am no chemical genious and can't say if it would be safe to use these indoors or not -- we recommend them only for outdoor campfires.
Thank you! I think we'll try it. I don't know why she worries about everything being clean including the fireplace but she does :). Very old school. Anyway, I'll let you know back on here after the holidays how it went. :)
Another great container to us are those old fashioned dixie cups that are for the bathroom. The small ones work great.
Great ideas, thanks!
I use candle wax from candles that have not burned down all the way.
Great idea, Craig. Anything wax will work great.
So many great ideas! I want to try them all! Thanks everyone!