Outdoor Equipment Tips and Techniques
Page 1 of 3
Outdoor Equipment Tips and Techniques
Date: Sat, 24 Feb 96 16:23:48 -0800 From: Dave Porter
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. would make 2-3 fire starters. 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.
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.
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 A typical ice cube sized chunk
file://C:\Documents and Settings\user\Desktop\troop 81 forms\camping\equipment_tips.h... 10/17/2006
Outdoor Equipment Tips and Techniques
Page 2 of 3
long and hot enough to do the job.
Let the cups cool.
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" 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
file://C:\Documents and Settings\user\Desktop\troop 81 forms\camping\equipment_tips.h... 10/17/2006
Outdoor Equipment Tips and Techniques
Page 3 of 3
Houston, TX
Last modified: February 22, 2004
file://C:\Documents and Settings\user\Desktop\troop 81 forms\camping\equipment_tips.h... 10/17/2006