Added: 3 years ago
From: 2brothersadventures
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  • @nico27004 Yes, you can make them ahead of time and keep them in your pack. As the video said, just make sure you keep them in a sealed container because the jelly will liquify if the temps outside get too warm. I have a small stash of tiny pill pouches for my electronics projects, and I am going to use one of them. They are little ziplock bags. Hope this helps.

  • Just a quick follow up...I made four of these this afternoon and just lit them up. Man, do they burn for a while! That's all the proof I need for these things to have a place in my hiking bag. Again, thanks for making this video!!

  • Can you make them ahead of time and leave the cotton ball in a back in my pack?

  • WOW!! That was awesome! Thank you for posting this. I have heard about these, but have never made/used them. As it is getting close to the start of hiking season for me, I think I am going to ditch the fire starters and use these instead. Also, thanks for answering the question I was thinking about concerning storage. Cheers!

  • Thanks for the video!

  • Really good video. It's nice to see an original method and then watch it proven. Really good

  • sweet...

  • great video..thank you soooo much for this!

  • I am wondering, does it burn long enough to light a briquet coal fire?

  • Nice video! I do mine different from everyone I guess. I basically take a ziploc bag, take a certain amount from a spoon and use the bag to wipe the spoon clean. Then I lay the bag down flat and spread the jelly evenly throughout the bag. Then I open the bag and stick a handful of cotton balls, close the bag and coat them evenly. Now I can choose to leave it in there until I need to use them or I can transfer them into a different container and repeat the process if needed.

  • does vasiline work? :)

  • I have a question? Where in nature you will manage to collect cotton and where you take your vaseline? Cotton and vaseline is not primary buschcraft source aviable..it is usualy send by God.. respectively made by somebody another in Africa or similar distant country :) Soak cattail fluff in heated mix of resin and bee-wax reali bushcraft alternative?Or use fluff+ fresh sap(resin from pine blisters?). For me is not even bee-wax aviable basic buschcraft source( I have some from bee kepper).Thanks

  • Hi, What about dip a cotton in waseline ..and then do a little mummy. roll cotton severly times to soak vaseline beetween fibres .no need for spoon and other suff :) This proces works good with mixing cob, straw into clay .. mixing clay and straw together= much of work ..I mix mud first, put mud on straw , fewtimes step on it, roll over and straw with clay is in seconds made :) Or put straw on top of pit with wet earth, shake little with straw and take bundle with straw and clay and aply it.

  • I have petroleum jelly mixed with 5% acetone

  • I made something similar tonight. A cotton ball with swiss fire gel (blue fuel for fondue) in the center, and coated with wax to preserve the fuel. Burned for 4 minutes in the rain on wet concrete, and until the wax coating is broken it is waterproof. Lit on the 2nd strike from a ferro rod.

    Costs $10 for all the supplies, and keep them in a hard case so hey don't get smashed, like a metal char cloth container.

  • I was just wondering... If you keep them in e.g. a survivalkit, won't the petroleum evaporate over time and make it useless?

  • @esbenboye It does not evaporate as it is oil based. Oil does not noticeably evaporate. They will be ready if and when you need them.

  • @2brothersadventures Cool - I don't really have any experience with Petroleum Jelly, so thanks for you answer :)

  • @esbenboye Vaseline doesn't evaporate. However, it does melt and run into everything when the sun heats it up. Personally I carry a medicine bottle with about 30-40 cotton balls in it and a tube of triple antibiotic ointment in my pack. A small dab of the ointment on a cottonball gently fluffed into a ball and you have instant fire starter in any weather.

  • a better way is to melt the petroleum jelly, it only takes around 2 minutes in the microwave, then you can really dip them in and get alot of coverage using a pair of tweezers to hold the cotton ball. i got a 10 minute burn time from making the cotton balls this way.

    Just thought id share that little tip

  • I have these, gun powdered cotton balls, dryer lint, and soon to be so much more.

  • I was actually wondering if you Pre Soaked the cotton balls in the jelly. before you went out. would this Hinder anything.

  • i think the added petrolium jelly to make them "goopy" would greatly increase burn time and water repelling properties being the petrolkum jelly is the main combustable substance while the cotton just acts as a medium to hold it

    just my thoughts

    godbless

    louisianascountryboy

  • @louisianascountryboy You're right. I just tested a goopy petroleum-jelly cotton ball and it burned for 7 plus minutes. These petro-balls are great for wet environment. So is fatwood. Magnesium also works when wet.

  • @hpd707 yea ill usually use lint or even brink some lighter fluid and 12 guage shell like the paper spacers and saok them in it and theyre not goopy and they store well and are reusable like a candle wick.... you can do that to almost any compacted paper substance but i find they work the best

  • can you just use your hands to put the vaseline in?

  • @Dax21234 Yes, you just get messy.

  • very important to see the difference between just cotton and the cotton with petroleum jelly (vaseline) as a side by side comparison - I was starting a collection of lint from the dryer but obviously the addition of the jelly will substantially increase burn time. Great Tip!

  • I like your method a lot better than melting wax and other combustibles over a kitchen stove. Your method is much safer in my opinion. Thank you.

  • i thought it would be an explosion )=

  • Would a altoids breath mint tin work for storage? Thanks for demo.. your right, all kinds of vids on how to use it. But none how to make it.

    Todd

  • One thought I had about these VS char cloth or char chord is that they might catch fire ok after getting a little wet. I assume that the petroleum jelly would repel water from the cotton pretty well. Do you find that to be true?

  • @nubrigol Check out our video titled "WetFire and Cotton ball fire starter soaked in water" to see how well they stand up to water.

  • I just put about 20 or so cottonballs in a ziplock plastic bag with a spoonful or two of Vaseline and knead it through the bag til it's all saturated then just put that in another baggie and into my backpack ready for starting my fires!

  • hey, thanks for that... I put some together this evening! :)

  • thats fricken awesome! 

  • I know that vaseline cotton balls are cheating, but you can transport them in a zip loc, they are super light, super cheap and they save so much time with starting a fire I can overlook it.

  • thx for uppin this vid!! learned a lot! added u..... cheers from Germany

  • long burn time.

  • If you stoe them in a ziplock bag how long do they last

  • ok

  • wow

  • wow

  • Great video I like seeing the comparison keep the videos coming guys.

  • other people use a petroleum jelly to there hand or body. because when u spead it to your hand/body and you spray a gas or alcohol, you will just feel a heat and not a burn.

  • cool

  • cool

  • cool vid

  • Thanks for the information. As you mentioned I have seen many videos on lighting and how long it lasts but never seen a video on how to make the cotton/petro kindling. Appreciate the time you took to make it.. thanks

  • is vaseline the right stuff?

  • @ANDYKilla1 Yes.

  • Great video man, I didn't realize how much a difference that makes.

  • what a great tip

  • hey guys...I use saturated cotton or dryer lint. I use the same technique except that i wrap my cotton balls in a piece of 5x5 aluminum foil. The foil keeps the Vaseline from leaching out and provides a water proof base for the tinder in wet locations. The foil can also be used as a wind shield in windy conditions. Thanks for your vids guys..great work

  • @TheMicroknight, hey that's a great idea! Thanks for the tip.

  • Thank you. This is a very informative video.

  • sweet im gonna do this now but im gonna use the whole bag of cotton balls and the whole container of patroleum jelly just to see what happens i hope i dont burn my house down

  • 2 people have cotton balls

  • I used to buy the 'brand name' petroleum jelly (called Vaseline) but found cheaper and larger container 'home brand' petroleum jelly that works equally well. Then I stuff as many prepared balls into a plastic film canister (getting rarer in this digital age) or lately hair dye have little plastic capsules for the gloves that work perfectly.

  • dude you sound like bob munden lol

    (aka. the fastest gun in the west)

  • will vasoline work in a zippo?

  • Also, roll cardboard tight into a tuna can....the rolled cardboard should be above the same level of the tuna can...melt a candle and pour it over the cardboard and fill the tuna can about a 1/3 the way up...it burns a long time and makes a great cheap camp stove...

  • you have prob heard this, but its WAY WAY easier to melt the vaseline and pour it over the cotton balls...melted wax works well too...take make

  • i made them with a spare antiobotic and cotton balls. Petrol jelly is the base/carrier for the antibiotic.

  • Great video! I first read about saturating cotton balls in petroleum jelly in Cody Lundin's book. When I tried making my own, I just gooped the cotton ball around in the container of petroleum jelly - definitely messy! LOL I like your method better. I seem to remember hearing something about making sure that the cotton balls you buy for this are 100% cotton. They really make an impressive fire starter! Cool.

  • quite impressive. thanks for sharing!

  • How long will one last in storage before having to re soak?

  • Today I tried out if these cotton balls still light if you apply a lot of vaseline to it. I noticed that they will light but fluffing the ball up. The thin fluffy cotton fibres will take a spark very well. Immediately made a number of these 'turbocharged' cotton balls for on the road.

  • nice rugar 10/22

  • TIP: If you get sand in the Petroleum Jelly container, DO NOT use it again for conjugal purposes! :-O

  • GrEaT I LiKe It , As we know that Petroleum is a fossil fuel consisting mainly of hydrocarbons .So we called it a fossil fuel because it is formed from the remains of tiny sea plants and animals that died millions of years ago ... Great i am also doing Petroleum engineering>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>­.

  • I use a metal mug to melt the jelly over low heat on my stove. Let the cotton saturate, then squeeze as much jelly out as you can. Wear vinyl gloves and don't burn yourself, remember use the lowest heat that will melt the jelly.

  • best way i found.

  • Can you store the petroleum cotton ball long-term or will it dry up by then?

  • @Codename46 It will not dry up. You can store it long term.

  • @Codename46 Make sure you store them in some kind of Locksack baggie. This prevents any form of moisture coming to your balls... (I guess I formulated that the wrong way. lol) Take care! -Nax

  • can that thing be stoped with suffucating sand or cooling water

  • Great stuff man!

  • Hey Jack, Great Demonstration! It's inspired me to have even more fun on the 4th of July and well...any other time I need a fire for one reason or another.

  • You can get those fastmatches at Whole sale sports or some other camping, hunting type stores. If you buy ones where you have to strike you somtimes hit the thing your trying to light. Hope this helped!

  • Ya these are awesome though what he doesn't tell you is that they are water proof i have taken on i made and had it burning for a min then put it out with water once it was out i squeezed the water out pulled the cotton ball in half apart the put the two larger ends together and i was able to relight it. if you know you going camping grab a pill bottle a make some up in advance they could save your live haha i just wanted to say that last line Ty bye

  • he couldve lit the regular cotton ball with the one on fire

  • awsome video

  • where do you get the fastmatch at and how much is it?

  • It's a " BLASTmatch " and it can be purchased from cheaperthandirt (DOT) c o m and they sell really good stuff really cheap... blastmatch is about 19 bucks from them everywhere else is about 24-30... cheaperthandirt is a great website, a lot of survivalists on youtube purchase from there.. enjoy

  • @Zachman1124 ok thanks

  • Very good video!

  • THANKS... I enjoyed the video 5 stars....

  • Cool vid guys. I love these things. Best homemade firestarter I've ever used, but dang dude!! You'll be there all day makin' 'em like that! You need a zip-lock bag, a bag of cotton balls, (I like the jumbo size you get at Wal-Mart), and a tub of petroleum jelly. Get a handfull of cotton, a handfull of jelly, and smash 'em together!! When ya get it blended well, drop 'em in the bag that you opened BEFORE you got your hands greasy, go wash up, and BAM!! Done!! (Makes 20-30 firestarters).

  • Awesome video, do you know if starting a fire using vaseline cotton balls is safe to cook over?

  • Never thought of that. I wouldn't cook food directly over a burning cotton ball an petroleum jelly. Once the petroleum jelly burned away, you can cook on the wood fire you started with the ball. A lone petroleum jelly cotton ball would not burn long enough to cook much anyways.

  • Yea I meant once you get the fire going and the cotton ball has burned out, thanks.

  • @2brothersadventures

    It's interesting you say that. I've been practicing making little foil packets with cotton balls and vasaline to cook with under my canteen cup instead of trioxiline or esbit tabs. The jelly soaked balls do put out a lot of soot but I think it's worth it. One can go to a 99cent store and pick up a bag of 100 cotton balls, generic vasaline, and a roll of foil for $3 bucks.

    I just haven't figured out the best way to fold the foil.

  • You guys kick ass!

  • nice demonstration, ive used this trick quite a few times and it really helps to get a fire going

  • I made this and then I tried to light it with a firesteel and it didnt work..does anyone know what I could be doing wrong??

  • You need to make sure that the cotton ball is saturated by the jelly, but not globed up with it, just covered good. Then you have to use your fingers or the tip of your knife to pull out a little fluff to act as a wick to catch the sparks. If the jelly is smooth over the cotton it will shield the cotton from the sparks and it won't catch a light. If you still have problems please let me know and I will send you some more information and maybe a video reply. I want this to work for you.

  • I did it! Thanks for the great informative video I made about 12 of them and stored them in a ziploc bag... Thanks again for teaching me how to make jelly cotton balls

  • couldve went grocery shopin come back and it sill would be burnin

  • Thank you for making this video I hear people using this put I really didnt know how people made them.

  • Great video. Has everything you need to know about PJ cotton balls in it.

  • you can step on it to put out the flames and still be able to reuse it after lgihting your fire.....in other words, light the cotton ball, light it burn onto another kind of tinder, use the other tinder to light your fire...put out the cotton ball flames..and reuse it next time you need to.....

    and btw..if you guys want more views on this video, i think it would be a good idea to title it some thing like "how to make petroleum jelly cotton ball fire starter".....just a suggestion

    nice vid

  • I made some of these a while back and put them in my survival pack.... I only tried it once though to light my grill but it does work great....

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