Homemade Survival Candle !

[Scott Free]

Thanks for this thread, Pitdog. I remember making one of these once as a kid. I had forgotten about them.

When I canoe in cold water, (which is pretty much always) I wear a lumber pack with basic survival stuff—mostly focused around having a fire. This includes a couple of bics, firesteel, REI waterproof matches, tinder, fatwood, etc. When things are really cold, I even carry a short road flare. A wax-can instant mini-fire might beat all the fire-making alternatives in some situations.

In the interest of this thread, I went and looked at zenstoves as it relates to wax/paraffin stoves. I suggest anyone interested in this subject take a look. If you page down to the bottom, you'll come to the section on Fuel Types. In short,
"beeswax burns much longer and produces more heat per gram than paraffin wax," it also is safer to breath, and is the recommended fuel for these types of stoves—unless you have concerns about hungry bears. Here is the link: http://zenstoves.net/Wax.htm

I just bought a pound of beeswax from a popular auction site. I'll experiment with cat food can sized stoves when it arrives.

 

[Scott Free]

Here's a very interesting thread about these types of "stoves."

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/candle_stoves.html

 

[pitdog]

Thanks for this thread, Pitdog. I remember making one of these once as a kid. I had forgotten about them.

When I canoe in cold water, (which is pretty much always) I wear a lumber pack with basic survival stuff—mostly focused around having a fire. This includes a couple of bics, firesteel, REI waterproof matches, tinder, fatwood, etc. When things are really cold, I even carry a short road flare. A wax-can instant mini-fire might beat all the fire-making alternatives in some situations.

In the interest of this thread, I went and looked at zenstoves as it relates to wax/paraffin stoves. I suggest anyone interested in this subject take a look. If you page down to the bottom, you'll come to the section on Fuel Types. In short,
"beeswax burns much longer and produces more heat per gram than paraffin wax," it also is safer to breath, and is the recommended fuel for these types of stoves—unless you have concerns about hungry bears. Here is the link: http://zenstoves.net/Wax.htm

I just bought a pound of beeswax from a popular auction site. I'll experiment with cat food can sized stoves when it arrives.

That's very interesting, be sure to update us on your findings !

 

[NoahL]

Well, pitdog, I went ahead and made one of these little guys after seeing this thread. Mine has some extras mixed into the wax and the wicks are braided jute twine:

Edited to add pics of it lit up:

 

[Jakeboy]

We used to call those "Hobo stoves".

 

[timberweasel]

These are new to me; great idea! :thumbup: Thanks for posting, folks!

No real reason not to pack one of these, especially in a winter kit...