Eco Friendly Firelighters - How to Use and What to Expect

If you've ever visited my facebook page or Folksy and Etsy shops, you'll probably be aware of my homemade eco-firelighters. In this update I'm going to tell you how I made them and how to get the best out of using them.

I have always lived in a home with an open fire or stove. I grew up with my parents using those stinky and remarkably non-eco petroleum based firelighters, bought in a box and broken up into chunky white blocks. When it came to creating a more eco-sensitive home, the idea of making things instead of buying them was really important to me. I wanted to make what I could from recycled materials and if I did have to buy materials I wanted them to be all natural and sustainable materials. Petroleum firelighters went against most of these ideals. 

I looked up a few videos and posts online to see how other people went about making natural fire starters. There were a lot of variations. There were a lot of very decorative and very expensive ones too. I've seen some beautiful creations using pine cones, scented waxes and even cinnamon sticks. I loved them and I imagine they must smell divine. I decided though (as mine needed to be cheap enough to use every day if necessary) I would have to make mine as economical as possible. I didn't want to buy things especially for them, so I started to look at what I had at hand. 

It seemed I needed some sort of dry contents, so I chose wood shavings and dried flowers. I have a cottage garden, so drying my own flowers was cheap and added a little luxury to an otherwise functional creation. The wood shavings I have in abundance as my father is a wood-turner. The wax that would be used to bind it all together came from accidents and failures from my candle making activities. As a mixture of left-overs, the wax smelled pleasant but indefinable. It reminded me of my Grandad's kitchen, as he used to re-melt candle stubs to use again. The wicks in the firelighters only needed to be about an inch long, so I used trimmings from my container candles.

The first attempt at firelighters were made in an ice-cube mould. I stuffed it with dry bits stuck in the wick and filled it with wax. It actually worked okay, but I found that the wax dribbled away quickly on melting and didn't always burn once away from the main lighter. I decided I needed a case to keep the wax burning with the dry bits. Egg boxes seemed about the right size, so I ditched the ice-cube tray and filled the egg box cups with the wood shavings, dried flowers and wick. I noticed on filling that the cardboard absorbed some of the liquid wax. This proved really useful, as on burning it turned the whole firelighter into a giant wick and burned for a good eight to ten minutes. I used these for a few months in our fire at home and they always did the job. Then I went over onto a vegan, plant-based diet. No more egg-boxes to use.

I decided that I could do without the egg-boxes.  I save all my newspapers and I decided any paper based cup would work the same way. I soaked the newspaper strips down and moulded them into a mini-cup cake pan. I let it dry and made then next batch the same way as I would have with egg box cups. I was pleased to find that there is no difference in burning time and aside from looking slightly more rustic, they work exactly the same.

 Using Eco-Friendly Firelighter:

As ever, you must observe fire safety advice when using any flammable item. These are destined to be lit for use in open fires, stoves, bbqs or camp fires. Never light before you're ready to put them in the fire and never place lit fire lighters on surfaces outside of the fire grate area. These are not like tea lights or candles that remain contained - the whole firelighter will ignite and should be treated with the greatest care. 

Ideally make a flat bed of wood to place the firelighter on. It is best to place the firelighter in the centre of the firepit and light with a taper or long match. If you're unable to do this carefully hold the firelighter and light the wick, moving it quickly into place before the wick burns down to the main body of the firelighter. 

I would always recommend getting the fire going with a few pieces of kindling, regardless of whether you're generally burning coals or wood.  Place a couple of bits of kindling either side of the firelighter and one or two pieces over the flame. Be careful not to smother the flames; you want to allow the air to flow around the flame to catch the wood alight. 

 Once you have a few pieces of kindling alight it should be alright to build up the fire around it with more wood or coals.

After 2 minutes burning

After 3 minutes

Whilst it's tempting to set loads of firelighters burning and have multiple point of ignition, it shouldn't be necessary. Fire spreads, so if you get one area well alight, you'll soon have a good fire going throughout. If you are having trouble getting the flame to catch it could be because of what you're trying to burn. Newly cut or damp wood is best avoided as it really won't hold a flame for long, so always choose really dry kindling. Likewise with coals, which take a greater heat to catch. If the material isn't catching quickly enough then wait for the first firelighter to get a good way through it's burn time before lighting a second one. Some patience is usually needed in lighting a good fire. Lighting three firelighters at once will still only give you eight or ten minutes burn time, where as by staggering your use of firelighters you can keep a fresh flame going for twenty to thirty minutes, which is more than enough time to get even inadequate materials ablaze.  

After 4 miuntes

After 5 miuntes

After 9 minutes

Whilst I would always advocate trying to make things yourself before buying things ready made, I would urge caution trying to make these if you're not familiar with using melted wax. It's not for children or clumsy adults as hot wax can cause severe burns! Stay safe if you try it, or consider buying some ready made - there are lots available to try out there in internetland! Mine can be purchased via Folksy in sample packs of four or more economical packs of 25. I've been asked why I charge the prices I do for something that I promote as being made from essentially 'free' materials. Well, the short answer is that they take hours to make. They are all hand-poured individually and the paper cases are pressed by hand. As much as I'd love to convert everyone to the eco way buy handing them out for free, instead of cheapy petroleum ones, I simply can't afford the luxury of doing that. When you buy these, you're not only buying the time and care I put into making them, you're doing something far greater; you're choosing sustainability over the use of fossil fuels. You're choosing to put the planet and all it's inhabitants before the convenience of mass-production. I don't care if you buy mine, someone elses or some from the wholefood store down the road, I just want you to buy sustainably! 

 If you've tried making you own, or found some that you love, please let me know! I support all eco-friendly makers and I'd love to see what everyone else is doing to save the planet!