Superpines

[nola mike]

Got some supercedar samples last week, and was impressed by them. I was using 1/6 of one to light off a cold fire. While I like them, the diy'er in me chafed at a) buying something to start a fire when I can just use paper/kindling, and b) not making them myself. Today I made some starters out of a pound of paraffin wax, some sawdust from dimensional lumbar, and egg cartons. Used a tomato can as a double boiler to melt the wax, stirred it up, packed it in the cartons, and then cut the "eggs" into quarters. I weighed the supercedars and mine. A pound of wax ended up making the same weight as 10 cedars, and 60 pieces overall. Total cost $5 and an hour of time. Or about the cost of buying the cedars. They work great, but the final verdict: totally not worth it.

 

[bluedogz]

So, what I'm hearing is just buy the SuperCedars...

 

[nola mike]

Yup.

 

[wrxtance]

My cat makes those from time to time. They don't burn well so I just use the Super Cedars.

 

[etiger2007]

I can appreciate you being creative and trying something new, Im thinking of making some out of peanut shells as the guys at work go through them. I think Ill call them " Peanut Power"

 

[PapaDave]

Mike, you must be doing something wrong.
The ones I've been making work very well. Just made another 30 of 'em today and used about 1/2 lb. of wax @ .06-.07 cents each.
They burn for about 10-15 minutes.

 

[pen]

Mike, you must be doing something wrong.
The ones I've been making work very well. Just made another 30 of 'em today and used about 1/2 lb. of wax @ .06-.07 cents each.
They burn for about 10-15 minutes.

Yep, sounds like Mike is using too much wax.

I've been making my own too. Not because it's much cheaper than the super cedars, but because it's something fun to do with my boys from time to time. My most recent batch was done with pistachio shells and pine trimmings from cutting tongue and groove.

pen

 

[nola mike]

Mike, you must be doing something wrong.
The ones I've been making work very well. Just made another 30 of 'em today and used about 1/2 lb. of wax @ .06-.07 cents each.
They burn for about 10-15 minutes.

If my math is correct, your 30 with 1/2# wax is about equal to my 60 with 1#...
Either way, not enough of a savings to make it worth it. Like I said, they do work great. My boy is at least a year away from this being interesting.