Good bye PJ cotton balls......

[shawnbebout]

Well I have to say that petroluim jelly coated cotton balls worked well. But now it is time to say good bye to them......unless I need them in a pinch. While doing some "research" (ie. killing time on the internet and youtube), I have ran across a longer burning solution. Gel wax coated cotton balls. or you could use gel wax on your egg carton/ dryer lint starter. There is video of this cotton ball starter floating on water and making a fire on snow.

NOT MY VIDEO'S, I AM JUST SHARING WITH YOU.
How to make the amazing cotton ball

The amazing cotton ball test.

[immortal_ben]

Re: Good bye PJ cotton balls......

I like this. Will have to see about making some. Thanks for the videos, shawn.

[ecichlid]

Re: Good bye PJ cotton balls......

Wow, that's some serious burn time. You have to admit, if you are having trouble sleeping, watch one of these videos, you'll be out like a light. If you are doing some remote hiking, I think it would be worth the investment of time and money. For me, the vasoline cotton balls are more than adequate.

[immortal_ben]

Re: Good bye PJ cotton balls......

Wow, that's some serious burn time. You have to admit, if you are having trouble sleeping, watch one of these videos, you'll be out like a light. If you are doing some remote hiking, I think it would be worth the investment of time and money. For me, the vasoline cotton balls are more than adequate.

HAHAHAHAH! I had to watch the first video in thirds, and the second one in halves. I am really really interested in these things and will make some as soon as I can get the gel wax.

[Shadow]

Re: Good bye PJ cotton balls......

Let me know how the cost of these compares to the usual thing.

[shawnbebout]

Re: Good bye PJ cotton balls......

I picked up some gel wax at Hobby Lobby. There was a 30oz bucket for $12. About the size of a tub of margarine/ veg oil spread. It had a broken bottom, so I got 30% off of it. So I ended up paying 8.50 for it. I think it will last years depending on how many fires you light. Another economical way to try it would be to pick up some gel wax candles from a store, burn the candle and dip the cotton ball in there. I will put that on the ever growing "to do" list. Finish making my paracord hammocks, more home made bush buddy stoves, making a bedroll, etc, etc.

[nearlywild]

Re: Good bye PJ cotton balls......

But don't forget that the vaseline cotton balls are duel purpose. They can be used as a first aid items also.

[Mike]

Re: Good bye PJ cotton balls......

Oh.,.., my God. What a long video just to tell how to dunk cotton balls into melted goo. Interesting, I suppose. Considering the time and expense, I think I will stick with the fire-starter sticks I get at the camping section of the hardware store.

[terasec]

Re: Good bye PJ cotton balls......

am not watching the video,
i have the patience of a gnat.
thanks for the heads up,
what i often use is sterno gel candles,
i keep a can or 2 in my packs, they also seller smaller sized sterno cans.
i dont use them as candles but i dip the tinder/firestarter in it and works like a charm,
might be similar gel wax as whats in the vid

this weekend i was camping in the rain, everything was soaked, managed to start a fire quickly and kept it burning long enough to cook a meal.

[Mike]

Re: Good bye PJ cotton balls......

am not watching the video,
i have the patience of a gnat.
thanks for the heads up,
what i often use is sterno gel candles,
i keep a can or 2 in my packs, they also seller smaller sized sterno cans.
i dont use them as candles but i dip the tinder/firestarter in it and works like a charm,
might be similar gel wax as whats in the vid

this weekend i was camping in the rain, everything was soaked, managed to start a fire quickly and kept it burning long enough to cook a meal.

Save your Sterno cans. You can refill them pretty cheap.

Melt some paraffin - old candles are OK. You can get old candles cheap from thrift stores and churches. Do your melting on an electric stove or double burner.

Just when the parafin melts, remove from heat, turn off all open flames, and add an equal part of pure alchohol. DO NOT USE RUBBING ALCOHOL because it contains a large volume of water. The cheapest source of pure alchohol I have found is HEET that you put in your gas tank to get rid of water. You can often get it for about 99 cent per bottle.

Remove from heat and keep stirring the alchohol into the wax until the wax cools and it turns into a gel like Sterno.

Put the gel into the empty Sterno cans.

[05Kingquad700]

Re: Good bye PJ cotton balls......

Well, since. I posted this a year ago, I have found a quicker easier way. My wife uses a wax melter in the house. Now if I want a fire starter, I just dip some cotton balls in that melted wax an it works fine. Quick, easy and cheap. They still burn about 15 minutes.

[tplife]

Re: Good bye PJ cotton balls......

A little more convenient than home-made Napalm.

[MacGyver]

Re: Good bye PJ cotton balls......

I made an eBay mistake years ago and bought an entire case of Trioxane, the military firestarter blocks. The mistake was not checking the shipping charge on a 60+ pound box. It cost me a bit more than what I could have paid retail and not had more blocks than I'll be able to use in a lifetime. But, to the plus side, I have more Trioxane than I'll ever need. Have since sold some on Craigslist and... I still have more than I'll ever need in a lifetime LOL

[05Kingquad700]

Re: Good bye PJ cotton balls......

can you start trioxane with a ferro rod?

[MacGyver]

Re: Good bye PJ cotton balls......

I can't say I've ever tried using a ferro rod, but I imagine it might work. I had to do a little some Google work to find out that a lighter's flame is a bit hotter than the ferro rods 3000°F sparks. But I do know that they catch very easily using a lighter. So I guess some experimentation might be in order. I don't have a ferro rod, but I'm going camping this weekend and I'm going to try starting a block with my magnesium brick's flint. If that works, the ferro rods will definitely work.