FIRE STARTER AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME

摘要

A fire starter (20) consists of a ring-shaped mass of combustible material having integrally formed spacers (28) for supporting the mass of material above a supporting surface (26), such as the floor of a fireplace. The ring-shaped mass of material consists of a series of inverted frusto-conical sections (28) connected together by a series of inverted triangular connecting sections (30), all of which are formed of a solidified wax and wood mixture. During manufacture, the wax and wood mixture is subject to relatively high pressure on the order of 700 psi to 800 psi, to compress the mixture and to yield a relatively high density to the fire starter material. Such pressurization of the material results in formation of a veneer layer (60) on the outer surfaces of the fire starter, with the veneer layer consisting primarily of wax. The fire starter includes a substantially central aperture (54). During combustion of the fire starter, a venturi effect is created by a flow of air to the aperture, to provide a relatively high, intense flame. The fire starter burns for a substantial period of time, such as 8-12 minutes, and the duration and intensity of the flame generated thereby is capable of igniting conventional fireplace logs without the use of kindling. The invention further involves a packaging arrangement in which multiple fire starters (20) are placed in vertical stacked relationship within the internal cavity of a tubular package (86). A rolled sheet (92) of instructions is inserted through the aligned apertures in the stacked fire starters.