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    Home » Kitchen Laughter Recipes Blog » Grilling and Smoking Tips

    How to Make Homemade Fire Starters

    Published: May 14, 2018 · Modified: Dec 7, 2020 by Ginny C · This post may contain affiliate links ·

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    Ok, so maybe that just doesn’t make you jump to your feet and run to make these – but hold on for a minute! What if I told you that you could make Homemade Fire Starters with stuff you throw away in your trash? I know you are thinking “come on….trash??”

    three photos side by side of the process of using wax and egg cartons to make a fire starter
    Learn the Easy (and CHEAP) Steps to Make Fire Starts at Home
    Contents hide
    1 📎 Collect Supplies
    2 🔥 Instructions
    3 Homemade Fire Starters

    A couple of years ago, we started making our own fire starters. First, we were running out of them; and, second, we hated paying the high prices for the chemical ones.

    Home Made Firestarter Lit
    Lighting a Homemade Fire Starter

    We bought the electric heating element fire starter for our Big Green Egg, but since we grill in all kinds of weather, we decided that running the electrical cord in the snow and rain might not be the smartest thing we would ever do. I don’t know about you, but a little bit of bad weather wasn’t going to slow down our grilling!

    Ok, now that I convinced you to make your own (which only takes about 15 minutes by the way!!!), what are the next steps?

    📎 Collect Supplies

    Start by saving your dryer lint. No joke.

    Gather a couple of the cardboard egg cartons that you were going to toss in the trash. If you normally buy the styrofoam cartons, just switch it for cardboard for a few weeks. We buy the eggs in the cardboard containers, so it’s just trash/recycling to us.

    Big Green Egg Fire Starters - Fresh Cardboard Egg Carton on Wax Paper
    Fire Starters – Fresh Cardboard Egg Carton on Wax Paper

    The only thing we had to buy was unscented wax.  Here is the link to the one I bought, but you do not need 10lbs!!! I also use this wax to make batik fabric, so I just use the leftovers for the firestarters.

    I had an old, beat-up pan that I dedicated to my wax melting.  Do not spend much money on this. My local thrift store sells used pans for a dollar or two. It is a lot easier to use a dedicated pan that trying to clean the wax out of your nice kitchen ones.

    🔥 Instructions

    Step 1: Place the cardboard egg cartons on a foil (or Wax paper) covered cookie sheet. The foil is going to catch any excess wax that will spread from the bottom of the egg carton. Trust me, it is much easier to throw away a piece of foil than it is to clean up melted wax on your wife’s cookie sheets (don’t ask me how I know that!)

    Step 2: Place a little ball of dryer lint inside each egg container.

    Big Green Egg Fire Starters - Filled with Dryer Lint
    Filling Egg Containers with Lint

    Step 3: Melt 1-1 ½ cups of wax in the pan with the stove top burner turned too low. Slowly melt the wax and carefully pour it into the egg carton. You’ll want to cover the dryer lint, but you do not need to fill up the egg carton.  A little will go a long ways!

    Slow Heat Helps Wax Melt
    Remember, the wax is pretty warm and will seep through the cardboard a bit. The foil or wax paper will protect the cookie sheet. No worries. It hardens within a couple minutes.
    Poured the Melted Wax into the Egg Carton - You don't need a lot
    Don’t Add Too Much Wax

    Step 4: Once the wax completely hardens, cut the cardboard egg carton apart and store them in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag. We use these homemade fire starters for grilling and we bring a few for camping as well.

    After the wax hardens, cut apart the egg carton
    Cut it Apart

    Super easy.  Super fun. And super useful.

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    After the wax hardens, cut apart the egg carton

    Homemade Fire Starters

    Learn how easy it is to make homemade fire starters. It will save you money as well! Keep these for lighting your charcoal or Kamado grill. Take a few while camping too
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time: 5 minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes
    Servings: 12 Fire Starters
    Author: Jason

    Ingredients

    • 1 Egg carton carboard only
    • 1/4 lb Wax unscented
    • 1 handful Dryer Lint

    Instructions

    • Collect all of your supplies.

    Prepare the Egg Cartons

    • Add a sheet of wax paper on your cookie sheet. This will make cleanup easier (and stop your wife from getting upset that you were using her good sheet pans – trust me!)
      Big Green Egg Fire Starters - Fresh Cardboard Egg Carton on Wax Paper
    • Add balls of lint the size of a golf ball in each egg section of the egg carton.
      Big Green Egg Fire Starters - Filled with Dryer Lint

    Melt the Wax

    • Melt wax over low heat in an old pot.
      Melting Wax in a Disposable Pan - Almost done
    • Pour wax over egg carton being careful to not overflow.
      Poured the Melted Wax into the Egg Carton - You don't need a lot
    • Allow the wax to harden at room temperature and cut apart.
      After the wax hardens, cut apart the egg carton
    • Store in a gallon sized Ziploc bag.

    Notes

    Do not use too much wax in each fire starter.  A little goes a long way!
    Tried this recipe?Mention @KitchenLaughter or tag #KitchenLaughter!
    How to Make Homemade Fire Starters
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