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#62342 - 03/20/06 05:37 AM Wax Cotton Balls
cssims Offline


Registered: 02/09/06
Posts: 15
Since I've started reading and gathering info on different firemaking methods I ran across a post mentioning wax cotton balls(AKA, WCB's). Contained in this post are my trials and tribulations of making the WCB's and what I've found so far with my testing of the different tinders.

I began this experiment looking for parrafin. The only thing I found was two 1lb bags that are made by Homedics to use in their parrafin dips. Cost was $12. Too much money and more wax than I would ever need.. So I looked into buying wax blocks. Couldn't find any locally and I didn't really want to buy any off the 'net. I would have thought some place like Michaels(craft store) would carry it. Nope just candles and containers. I finally broke down and bought a 50 count bag of Mainstay Home Unscented Tea Lights. Cost $1.95 or so from Wal-Mart.

The link below will take you to a photo album I have setup with pictures of before and after the CB is made, various containers, & how I'm melting the wax.
Wax Cotton Ball photo set.

Tinder Tests:
I tried the PJCB's(Pertroleum Jelly Cotton Balls) and can tell you I didn't get much burn time out of them and they are darned messy. The WCB's have given me a much longer burn time. My guesstimate would be some where around 5 minutes on average. Once you get a small tuft of cotton pulled out(with something sharp) a SparkLite will fire them right up. I also tried Tinderquik(from the D.R. PSK plus an extra Sparklite kit I picked up from Brigade Quartermaster) and a pack of Coghlans Emergency Tinder. The Tinderquik's do not last long and the Coghlans was a little messy. It was not easy to hold on to as it seemed to melt in my hand as I tried to pull it apart. They did last longer than the PJCB's & the Tinderquik. I also noticed it has a wax residue during and after the burn. The one thing my homemade one's dont have.

Enjoy and when I have a bit more time I'll try to write up how I actually make them.

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#62343 - 03/20/06 03:45 PM Re: Wax Cotton Balls
groo Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 11/02/03
Posts: 740
Loc: Florida
Interesting. It looks like you have small candles which can be lit with a spark.

How well do these stay together if they're stored somewhere really warm? Like the trunk of a car in the summer? (Not that it's a bad thing if they don't store well, just wondering.)

Also... can you just smush one to expose the cotton? How difficult would it be to get enough cotton exposed if your hands are numb?

Except for run time, how do these compare to just carrying another type of tinder and a couple of candles?


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#62344 - 03/20/06 04:10 PM Re: Wax Cotton Balls
Craig_phx Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 04/05/05
Posts: 715
Loc: Phoenix, AZ
My son did a school science experiment on PJ cotton balls. He did plain, surface cote and fully saturated. The plain are gone in about 30 seconds, the surface coat last about 5 minutes and the fully saturated last about 7 minutes.

They are messy! <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

I get about 5-7 minutes from the Coghlan's Emergency Tinder. They have not melted in my H O T car here in Phoenix, in the summer. I am talking over 120 degrees in the car. The little bit of stickiness is a good thing. They will stay where you put them. You can pull one apart and put part of it on the end of a stick and use it as a big match to light your fire lay.
_________________________
Thermo-regulate, hydrate and communicate.

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#62345 - 03/20/06 04:58 PM Re: Wax Cotton Balls
Anonymous
Unregistered


If you add magnesium powder chips or flakes to any of these sticky fire starters, wax, or Coghlan's, you will find they are almost impossible to blow out.

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#62346 - 03/20/06 07:47 PM Re: Wax Cotton Balls
Brangdon Offline
Veteran

Registered: 12/12/04
Posts: 1204
Loc: Nottingham, UK
> bought a 50 count bag of Mainstay Home Unscented Tea Lights

You may find the quality of the wax makes a difference. At least for illumination: I find "kitchen candles" put out roughly 3 times as much light as tea lights.
_________________________
Quality is addictive.

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#62347 - 03/22/06 04:47 PM Re: Wax Cotton Balls
jamesraykenney Offline
Enthusiast

Registered: 03/12/04
Posts: 316
Loc: Beaumont, TX USA
Has anyone tried REAL bee's wax?
My house gets well over 100 deg and I had a block of the stuff that I was afraid would melt all over the place, but it was hard as a rock when I got home...

Also, those edible candles that TADGEAR sells, do not seem to melt very easily, as I had a pack of them in my car through a S.E. Texas summer and they do not look any the worse for wear...

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