Camp fire starter

[jason]

Anyone ever use drier lint to help start a camp fire? Works pretty good.

 

[sarahlorrain]

I've never heard of that!!! I guess it would work to help start the fire out in the BBQ pit too ... I always have a rough time getting that started too.

 

[HereToday]

I've got dryer lint galore; I am going to save some for our next campfire. Another thing we use are pinecones rolled in wax. We make them at home and take them along. Those are great and nontoxic, and if the fire gets low you just throw some more on.

 

[jason]

I've never heard of that!!! I guess it would work to help start the fire out in the BBQ pit too ... I always have a rough time getting that started too.

There are two good ways I've found to get a good fire going. I also do a lot of bbq'ing / smoking.

The first is put your kindle in a pile and build a tepee around it starting with small twigs and gradually getting larger to the outside of the tepee. It works well when done right.

The second is what I prefer, especially when making a cooking fire. I start with two big logs parallel to each other. Then build up with smaller pieces of wood until I have a sort of shelf on the top where I put the kindle. The fire will burn the logs under them as it gets hotter.

 

[goodmojo]

Here is my trick: I take all of my dryer lint and put it in an empty cardboard egg carton. when it's full, I melt some paraffin wax over all of it, or even melt down old wickless candles, broken candles, etc. Then when it's time to go out, I tear off 3 or 4 sections of the egg carton, stick 'em in a ziploc, and I'm set. Then all you have to do is light up an edge of the cardboard and you have big fire. Easy to do, super cheap, and adheres to my 'Reduce Reuse Recycle' ethos. Turning trash into treasure.

 

[Kitten]

I hadn't heard of this either, but it is an interesting idea. I'm slightly concerned about what that might do to the air after it starts burning, though.

 

[goodmojo]

Most commercial firestarters are wood chips or sawdust held in a nugget or stick form by glues or resins. I would have to say that some cardboard, wax and cotton/polyester lint is better than whatever chemicals are in the firestarters. In my experience, it doesn't produce any gnarly smoke, it just burns, hot and slow, long enough to get your tinder going good. And I usually only use my firestarters if it's rainy or wet, or if it's dark or I'm tired and don't wanna deal with a long arduous firemaking session. And as I said, at least it keeps all of that crap out of the trash heap.
If you want to see something real cool, check out "fire pistons" on youtube. It is one of the neatest things I have seen in a while, and it uses cloth or lint, or even Chaga fungus, to get a fire going. It is an ancient technique, and it is still put to use today. Or there is always the ol' magnesium and striker trick as well. I have one of the little ones from LightMyFire that lives in my pack permanently.

 

[basecamp]

I've got dryer lint galore; I am going to save some for our next campfire. Another thing we use are pinecones rolled in wax. We make them at home and take them along. Those are great and nontoxic, and if the fire gets low you just throw some more on.

Well. Thanx for the idea of using pinecones rolled in wax.
I gonna try that out next time.

yeah. drier lint is much helpful in campfire.
basically i do camping with my friends, and i never tried campfire, my friends do that

 

[Brian]

Thanks for the great tips guys. Really helpful I'll remember to keep some of these things on my next camp. Usually I would do it the hard way. These tips are gonna help me enjoy my next camp to the fullest! Thanks again...

 

[amine]

In our previous camping, starting the camp, was the most difficult part. But the next time, will get drier lint and try it.

 

[HereToday]

Packin' lint

I like the idea of the egg cartons for the drier lint and it put me to wondering about other combustible containers. How about the rolls that either paper towels or toilet tissue come on?