Fire Starter Pucks

I had seen several different version of wax pucks made online for starting fires. A great way to get the fire going and easy to bring along for hiking, camping, etc.

It starts with dry wood shavings. I used the shavings off of my planer from recently jointed spruce boards for a woodworking project. Next I grabbed from the recycle bin an egg carton and a tin pizza sauce can for melting the candle pieces. Then it was off to see the missus and get her to give up some candles. A task I was not sure would be successful but lo and behold, she offered options of white or red. Red it was.

Next up, break down the candles into smaller pieces. The smaller they are, the quicker they will melt. I put mine in the fire box and kept an eye on it. I don’t recommend it. You do what’s comfortable for you. Wax that gets to hot will self ignite, so even if it was in a pot on the stove, you have to keep an eye on it.

I didn’t know how much candle wax would be needed so I filled the 250ml can about 3/4 full with bits and pieces. As it melted I stirred it with a small stick. When I thought there was enough I started pouring. It didn’t go very far, I barely got two done when I had to start over.

Filled the can and melted the wax again and it got me to the next two. Fill and repeat. Fill and repeat. As I progressed I started putting less in each puck. I managed to get 10 made.

As the carton sat there for a couple minutes I could see the wax was soaking through the bottom. Oh well, I’m in the workshop, no chance of making it any messier. That’s as far as it got, not like it poured out onto the workbench. I poked in a short piece of wick as well. Not sure if it was even necessary but worth a shot.

Right, so now the pucks need to harden up. I put them out in the garage on the cold cement floor. Didn’t take long to set up but I let it go a couple days and then tried one out in the workshop this morning to spark up the fire. Video below.

Overall, a success I think. Probably only need half as much wax in the puck, especially when using good dry kindling to start the fire. If the kindling was a bit green then a larger puck would burn longer. Next time I am in the workshop for a bit I might just light up a puck and see how long it burns all by itself. I figure 30 minutes or so.

Thanks for stopping by. If you have any comments or tips to share if you’ve made your own, mention them below.