# Paraffin Wax



## hashbrown (Sep 2, 2013)

I procured at least two hundred pounds of sealed paraffin "several boxes" from canning facility that hadn't been in operation in 50 years. I thought we could make candles out of it, and we tried. The candles we made burned down the wick leaving a hole and not burning the wax. Any ideas what I can do with this wax? For now it's just taking up space.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

If you can get soy wax you can mix them to make better candles. You can also try zinc core wicks.


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## hashbrown (Sep 2, 2013)

Grimm said:


> If you can get soy wax you can mix them to make better candles. You can also try zinc core wicks.


I don't know anything about making candles, Ill give it a try if you think that would help.


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## ras1219como (Jan 15, 2013)

I use paraffin to make fire starters. You can take newspaper strips folded together until they're around 1/4 inch thick and soak them in paraffin. You can also stuff empty toilet paper rolls with dryer lint then pour paraffin into the lint and over the cardboard roll. Once they've hardened slice the toilet paper rolls into 1/2 inch discs. They make great fire starters, a toilet paper roll fire starter will last over 15 minutes. 

200 lbs of paraffin will make a lot of fire starters! 


Sent from my iPhone using Survival Forum. Please forgive typos.


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

I would keep the paraffin as a hedge against not being able to get good canning lids post SHTF, wax is almost 100% recoverable in a canning situation,


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## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

ras1219como said:


> I use paraffin to make fire starters. You can take newspaper strips folded together until they're around 1/4 inch thick and soak them in paraffin. You can also stuff empty toilet paper rolls with dryer lint then pour paraffin into the lint and over the cardboard roll. Once they've hardened slice the toilet paper rolls into 1/2 inch discs. They make great fire starters, a toilet paper roll fire starter will last over 15 minutes.
> 
> 200 lbs of paraffin will make a lot of fire starters!
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Survival Forum. Please forgive typos.


... or make some Bon-bons ... firestarters that are made from scrap-burnable stuff and soaked in the parafin wax.

I have a picture of the bon-bons in this thread: http://www.preparedsociety.com/forum/f32/building-fires-29/


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## hashbrown (Sep 2, 2013)

The fire starters are great idea. We are plumbing and wiring a new building at the moment so there is a lot of big flaky saw dust from the boring bits. I'll gather it up and make some. I planned on keeping some of it for canning I remember my Great Grandmother always used when canning jelly but I wasn't old enough to be involved in the process at the time. I will ask my mother, its something I should know how to do but never learned.


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## Treedweller (Dec 9, 2008)

Good for you, happy for you getting a deal like this.
As you mentioned sealing jam jelly just great. I opened a jar sealed with wax for ten years. Good as the day it was sealed. Huckleberry jam, yum.
Uses I do or have seen done. 
Anything that rusts.
shovels
splitting mauls
axe
weed wacker, the one on a handle with a blade, not electric
knives
machette
Lots of inside and out door tools
Things you don't want wet
Matches
Heat was dip those matches quick,you don't want the match soaked. The match wont light and it will gum up your stricker on the box.
Rub some wax on your zippers in your coats, jeans etc. They will zip like brand new.
Rub some on any drawer or sticky wood or metal door. It will open and close slick as a whistle.
Plucking a duck. Dip it or swirl it, dab it on with a clean paint brush. Melted wax of course. Peel it off and all that duck fluff comes right off.
Hundreds of uses for wax.
Got a dorky canvas rain hat? I do, laugh all you want. My hat is rain proof and your hat is soaked. Cause mine is waxed. Wax keeps the water out but it is not going to water proof boots. Come hard times, you might not find that spray water proof stuff.
That is all I can think of right now. You my dear fell smack dab in a gold mine. I make dip candles. Use a old crock pot to melt the wax.Then use a really long wooden spoon with my candle strings tied along it about every two or three inches. Depends on how big I want the candles.Then Just stack paver blocks on the end outside the crock pot to rest the wooden spoon on.Has to be high enough to pull the string out of the wax. I tie a bolt to the end of the string to keep the string nice and straight.Then you just lower your strings into the wax, pull it up, let it cool a bit, then do it again. Do not keep the strings in the wax long, quick dips. Your wax will melt off. Stop when your candle is the size you want.Oh and you can make your own candle wicking from cotton crochet thread. You braid it however fat you want your wick.I use paver blocks because I got a deal on a bunch of them. Hope this makes sense, pretty tired tonight.


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## hashbrown (Sep 2, 2013)

Thanks for the ideas treedweller, lots of good ones in your list!


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## jeff47041 (Jan 5, 2013)

Treedweller, you're like a foxfire book. I love reading your posts.


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## Treedweller (Dec 9, 2008)

I forgot to tell you this about the homemade wicks. Dip the homemade wicks in the hot wax. Let them dry with a weight on the bottom for about four hours. You need to do this a couple of times. Now I cheat and buy a ball of wick thread at the Amish store. Don't throw out any of that wax! No matter how icky it looks. Heat it up, strain it threw an old T shirt or any clean rag. Just wash the worst of the crud off. You can mix the wax with old candles. I see old candles at the Salvation store, garage sales etc. Usually those big ones that are almost whole cause the wicks are to small and just have a burnt down hole in the center a little way.


You can use wax for homemade salves. I do not use wax for my homemade salves. I use pure lard and bees wax. Just seems to do better for me and blends better with the herbs.
You are going to have so much fun with your treasure of wax. You could even drill holes in those blocks, shove three or four good wicks down the holes and you got yourself a room full of light.


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## Treedweller (Dec 9, 2008)

jeff47041 said:


> Treedweller, you're like a foxfire book. I love reading your posts.


Thank you.Somebody gave me one of those books years ago. Got a kick out of it. Good people in that book. It had a section on ghosts,called haints,spells, superstistions etc. Thought they were interviewing my mother.lol She had a million superstistions. Drop a fork, spoon or knife on the floor. She would smack the snot our of you with one wack. Cause you know there is not extra food on the table for company.Mother was a caution.


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## airdrop (Jan 6, 2012)

Using wax for jelly be aware that you can have fungus sometimes , hold the jar up to the light an look for fingers like jelly fish going down in the jelly . When you open look for it on top under the wax then relook at jar , sometimes it looks like all you have to do is clean off the top but I'd pitch it to be on safe side .


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## hashbrown (Sep 2, 2013)

I went to one of my jobs this afternoon and gathered op some wood chips and made 32 nice sized fire starters. I did a burn test on one of the smaller ones. It lit with one paper match and burned 27 minutes.


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## Roslyn (Feb 20, 2012)

What did you use for a wick? That may have been your issue, and not the wax

....I am a professional candle maker.....


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## hashbrown (Sep 2, 2013)

Roslyn said:


> What did you use for a wick? That may have been your issue, and not the wax
> 
> ....I am a professional candle maker.....


I bought some pre made wicks at a hobby store


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## HardCider (Dec 13, 2013)

Nice fire starters. You can coat traps with it and seal bowstrings, wood arrows and bows with it


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## hashbrown (Sep 2, 2013)

HardCider said:


> Nice fire starters. You can coat traps with it and seal bowstrings, wood arrows and bows with it


I did my traps with this wax and black walnut hulls last summer. They are still hanging in a tree where I let them dry, haven't had time to set a line.


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## Jewel (Sep 6, 2014)

Great find!! Paraffin wax is soooo useful!! I can't think of anything that hasn't already been said except that I would personally never use paraffin in medicinals.

also, saving some for just in case you run out of canning lids is a very good idea.


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