After spending two years at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska in 1971, the Air Force sent me to Minot North Dakota to find out what cold was really all about. There is a saying, "Why not Minot? Freezin's the reason!"
I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Minot, but for a kid from Texas, it was chilly! The point of that story it that it was in Minot that I figured out how to make a homemade emergency candle that provided not only light, but warmth that could save my life.
Remember when you light a candle you're playing with fire, so be careful.
You can purchase paraffin wax, duct tape and foil pie plates at most grocery stores; candle wicks can be found in hobby and craft shops. You're now ready to begin.
Put two pie plates one inside the other. Take 2 to 3 inches of candle wicks and tape them inside the top pie plate. I recommend between 5 and 8 wicks.
Place the block of wax in an older stew pan on a stable and level stove burner with the temperature set just high enough to melt the wax, but not cause it to burn.
When the wax is totally melted, CAREFULLY pour it into the pie plate, about a quarter to a half inch from the top. Make sure the wick tips stay above or near the surface of the wax; let the wax cool and harden. After about two hours the wax should be set.
Ensure that the tops of all wicks stand above the wax surface. (NOTE: You can fish the out with a warm knife blade or ice pick).
Use the duct tape to tape the two pie plates together first, put a pack of matches or lighter in a sealed Zip lock bag on top and tape an inverted pie plate on as a top.
This top functions to keep everything together and as a reflector once the wicks are actually used.
Even at the extremes of cold weather, this emergency candle has the capacity to save your life.
NOTE: Remember that melted wax is HOT; set the candle on a stable level surface before lighting. Remember fire is dangerous, be careful with the entire operation.
As simple as it sounds, making fire may not be as easy as you think. Most people have an idea about fire and making fire, but not a true comprehension of what fire needs to work.
Fire requires 3 basic components like the legs of a triangle each component represents one of those legs.
These are: Heat, Oxygen and Fuel.
A fire has to be fed just like our bodies it needs food or fuel.
Fuels are any type of combustible material like: flammable liquids such as gasoline, kerosene, alcohols, solvents, thinners or combustible metal; or can be as simple as wood, paper, cloth or as complex as a metallic ribbon.
I'll tell you more about Outlasting in next week's Survival Basics.
