Egg Carton Fire Starter

Making an egg carton fire starter is an easy project that anyone can do.

By using a few common household supplies you can make several useful homemade fire starters in about 15-20 minutes.

Lets face it.....lighting a fire by using a fire starter makes the job a lot easier.  

However, commercial fire starters can be expensive.

The main reason we burn firewood is to save money and it's hard to justify spending additional money on expensive fire starters.

To save money try making your own fire starters.  

They're easy to make and chances are you have all the ingredients around your house already.  

To make your own you will need the following supplies:

• Cardboard egg carton
• An old candle or similar wax
• A double boiler or sauce pan and coffee can
• Sawdust (you can also use lint or cotton balls)

Make Your Egg Carton Fire Starter

Start off by sprinkling some sawdust into the cardboard egg carton.  

If you don't have any sawdust you can also use dryer lint or even cotton balls.

Spread the sawdust evenly throughout the egg carton.  

Fill the egg compartments about 3/4 full.

Once the sawdust has been added, melt your wax using a double boiler.

If you don't own a double boiler you can simply boil some water in a saucepan and melt your wax inside of a coffee can.

Old candles work great for the wax but you can also use paraffin wax or soy wax. 

After the wax has melted pour the melted wax over the sawdust inside the egg carton.

Use enough wax to saturate the sawdust.  

Place a layer of wax paper underneath the egg carton to prevent the wax from damaging your counter top (if you're working indoors).  

Use caution when working with hot wax to prevent unwanted injuries.  

After you add the hot wax, let it cool.  

To speed up the cooling process you can place the egg carton into the freezer for a few minutes.

To use the homemade fire starters simply cut or rip them apart.

To light one, use a match and light the outside paper edge of the egg carton.  

They should easily light with just one match.

Each fire starter will burn for around 10 minutes.

This is a picture of the fire starter after 8 minutes of burning.  

As you can see it still has a nice flame capable of lighting even the most difficult pieces of firewood.

Egg Carton Fire Starter - Overall

Whether you're burning firewood inside a wood stove to heat your home, or you're simply lighting a campfire for an evening activity, using one of these homemade fire starters will make the task a lot easier.

When lighting any fire, make sure you're using seasoned firewood.

Seasoned firewood has been cut, split and stacked for about 1 year which allows the moisture content of the firewood to reach 20 percent or less.

Wet firewood simply won't burn, even if you're using a fire starter.  

The moister inside the wood causes it to smoke and sizzle, and if you're trying to burn the wet wood inside a fireplace or wood stove, it will increase the chances of creosote buildup on the interior walls of your chimney.

A combination of dry firewood and an egg carton fire starter will keep you warm and make your fire an enjoyable experience.

About the Author

Nick Greenway

Obsessed with firewood, Nick is behind over 350+ of Firewood For Life's articles, as well as countless reviews, guides and YouTube videos to help readers like you reduce heating costs and create the perfect fire.