The main advantage of such a fire is that you don’t have to worry about it, even if there is dirt and slush around. In winter, you don’t have to worry that the snow under the fire will begin to melt and thereby put out the fire. Finally, " Finnish candle» It is safer than an ordinary fire in places where there is a lot of dry grass and leaves. Finally, such a fire can simply be moved from place to place. The “candle” will burn all night, and at the same time it will require only one log. And the shape of the fire is such that it is convenient to use when cooking - after all, pots or a kettle can simply be placed on top of a log, like on a burner.
How to make a “Finnish candle”
In order to make a “Finnish candle”, you need to have a log 30-50 cm thick, as well as a saw. The height of the log is not that important. The cut is made approximately three-quarters deep. Most often they cut into 4, 6 or 8 parts. After this, a small hole will appear in the log. Kindling will be placed and lit in it.
If you don’t have a saw at hand (and most likely you won’t have one on a hike), you can use an ax. In this case, it will be more difficult to make such a fire. The log needs to be split into four parts with an ax. Each piece will have to be ground down in the middle so that when they are put together, a hole will form. After this, all that remains is to tie the logs with a strong rope, or better yet, with wire.
Finally, a “candle” can be made by simply stacking several logs side by side. Each should be 5-15 cm thick. Uses 3 to 8 pieces of wood.
A spoon of tar
Finally, it is worth mentioning the disadvantages of the “Finnish candle”. Preparing such a fire requires a certain skill and experience. Also, as has already become clear, you need tools. The Finnish candle is not very suitable for heating. You also need to take into account the fact that if the fire has been extinguished, then lighting it again will be extremely problematic, almost impossible. It’s easier to prepare a new candle.
Every person who from time to time gets out of the house into nature should be able to make a fire to cook food and warm up. However, not everyone can make a “Finnish candle” - a fire that never goes out on its own, even if there is snow, slush and gusty wind around.
Advantages of the Finnish candle
The main advantage of such a fire is that you don’t have to worry about it, even if there is dirt and slush around. In winter, you don’t have to worry that the snow under the fire will begin to melt and thereby put out the fire. Finally, a "Finnish candle" is safer than an ordinary fire in places where there is a lot of dry grass and leaves. Finally, such a fire can simply be moved from place to place. The “candle” will burn all night, and at the same time it will require only one log. And the shape of the fire is such that it is convenient to use it when cooking - after all, pots or a kettle can simply be placed on top of a log, like on a burner.
How to make a “Finnish candle”
In order to make a “Finnish candle”, you need to have a log 30-50 cm thick, as well as a saw. The height of the log is not that important. The cut is made approximately three-quarters deep. Most often they cut into 4, 6 or 8 parts. After this, a small hole will appear in the log. Kindling will be placed and lit in it.
If you don’t have a saw at hand (and most likely you won’t have one on a hike), you can use an ax. In this case, it will be more difficult to make such a fire. The log needs to be split into four parts with an ax. Each piece will have to be ground down in the middle so that when they are put together, a hole will form. After this, all that remains is to tie the logs with a strong rope, or better yet, with wire.
Finally, a “candle” can be made by simply stacking several logs side by side. Each should be 5-15 cm thick. Uses 3 to 8 pieces of wood.
A spoon of tar
Finally, it is worth mentioning the disadvantages of the “Finnish candle”. Preparing such a fire requires a certain skill and experience. Also, as has already become clear, you need tools. The Finnish candle is not very suitable for heating. You also need to take into account the fact that if the fire was extinguished, then it will be extremely problematic, almost impossible to light it again. It’s easier to prepare a new candle.
Continuing the topic, which will help in the country and in the forest.
Hello, dear users of this site. It's summer. The most convenient and good time for nature trips, picnics, and fishing. In general - the most best time for an active holiday.
Every time, going out into nature, many people take with them a pile of firewood or coals on which to cook food. It is not always possible to find dead wood at a vacation spot to use as flammable material. Therefore, I want to tell you how you can make a so-called Finnish candle. The good thing about it is that it doesn’t take much time to make and it burns for quite a long time. To make such a device, you only need a piece of log, a drill with a drill bit and a chainsaw.
The author of this master class initially took a small log and worried about making it easy to saw. To do this, he drills a hole in a shorter block of wood, drives a stick into it, and in a second, shorter one. long log also makes a hole. He puts on a small log and a longer one and already saws. Here's how it happens and what comes out of it.
Next, he takes a regular paraffin candle and drips paraffin into the cuts from the inside.
Then he takes a newspaper several centimeters longer than the depth of the slot in the log and crumbles candle shavings into it. The edges are also melted with molten paraffin. The resulting part is inserted into the slot of the block.
Then this wick is set on fire and the candle flares up.
This is just one of the options. Usually in nature, I and my friends, having prepared a candle blank in advance, a thicker log and no candles with a wick. A waste of time. In our slot, already in nature, small wood chips, dry grass are poured and set on fire. Much faster and more convenient. According to the author, this candle burns for no more than half an hour. And the production time is twenty minutes. In our case, the production time is no more than five minutes. And it burns longer. But this depends on the thickness of the log. It is easy to install - either stands on its own if the lower part of the log is wide enough, or is dug into the ground. All you need to do is prepare the fish soup and boil the tea. So there you go. But in general - quite comfortable and useful thing. Saves time and effort!
Reading time ≈ 3 minutes
A Finnish candle is a kind of mini-bonfire made from a small stump or a piece of log. It is used for cooking in a boiler and heating water. It can be a good replacement for a regular fire during evening gatherings in nature. You can make a Finnish candle with your own hands in just 20 minutes; the burning time is about half an hour.
Features of the manufacture and use of Finnish candles
To prepare a Finnish (Swedish, Indian) candle you will need a small stump or block. The easy-to-make device can be used for lighting and even for short-term decoration of open areas. Tourists most often use it as a portable light source or for cooking. It takes a little time to create a candle, but the duration of burning and the heat generated from it are optimal for preparing porridge or boiling water on a hike.
Features of preparing a mini-bonfire
It will allow you to conveniently saw a block of wood preliminary preparation: in its center it is necessary to drill a hole with a diameter of about 2-3 cm.
The same procedure must be carried out with a stump or log. bigger size and weight. A stick is inserted into the hole on the main block (can be replaced with a branch). A log with large parameters is strung onto an installed stick. Such a counterweight will allow you to make a candle carefully and safely. After connecting the logs and placing them on the sawhorse for sawing firewood, work is carried out according to the following instructions:
1. The log is cut crosswise using an electric or gasoline saw. The depth of the cut should be no more than 2/3 of the height of the entire block.
2. Using a regular lit candle, cover the side parts and the bottom of the cut with paraffin (or wax).
3. Cut a small strip of paper (newspaper can be used) with a length 4-5 cm greater than the cutting depth. It is folded in half, then unfolded, and paraffin shavings are poured over the fold. It is important to take into account that the layer should be made large, but so that the paper then easily rolls up and the paraffin itself does not spill out.
4. The paper with paraffin is wrapped lengthwise. And with the help of a pencil, a thick knitting needle or a screwdriver, it is pushed into the cross-shaped cut. It is important to carry out the procedure carefully so as not to damage the paper or spill paraffin. 4-5 cm of paper with paraffin should remain above the log.
5. The resulting wick is fixed with molten paraffin. To do this, you need to light a regular candle and pour a melting compound where the wick joins the wood. On at this stage The Finnish candle will be completely ready.
To get a burning log, the performer only needs to set fire to the manufactured wick. Thanks to the presence of paraffin inside, the log will burn more slowly and the temperature will be maintained. You can make a Finnish candle with your own hands in just 15-20 minutes. If the performer does not have an electric or gasoline saw, then the cuts should be made manually. The made mini-bonfire can be used on hikes (it is important to consider the weight of the candle) or for home camping.
Many tourists, hunters and fishermen, in order to boil water at a rest stop, had to decide how to light a fire in windy weather. More than once or twice they thought about how to make it so that they did not have to constantly adapt to the changing wind, placing firewood on the right side, or moving a stick with a pot hanging on it. And the way out of this situation is not difficult. It is enough to light a “Finnish candle”.
This memorable name hides a whole group of wood structures that allow you to warm up and cook food in camp conditions with sufficient comfort. The ability to make a Finnish candle, both among tourists and among hunters, fishermen and simply lovers of outdoor recreation, is not common. Let's try to fix this. So, we started.
Today there are many names for this method of making a fire:
- Finnish candle;
- Swedish candle;
- Indian candle;
- hunting candle;
- wooden primus stove.
Underneath them are hidden fires that are fundamentally similar in design, built inside a specially prepared chock or between several combined chocks standing vertically.
Application area
Such options are suitable for both cooking and heating.
Moreover, a full-fledged fire can be lit even with a lack of fuel, sometimes making do with just one log.
This long-lasting fire tolerates windy weather well, it is quite compact, economical, and does not require installation. additional accessories for cooking and tolerates precipitation quite tolerably. Since even heavy rain, with the pot on the fire, will not be able to extinguish it.
During its use, many changes were made to the design, depending on the conditions of use. The classic “Finnish Candle” fire originally consisted of a log split into two halves, which were then fastened together in places where they were chipped using wire, rope or other available materials. Over time, for better combustion, the lump was no longer split into two halves, but into more parts. Then, instead of splitting, they began to make cuts and even assemble a fire from several logs pressed vertically against each other.
How to make a Finnish candle
First of all, you need to decide on the design. It depends on several factors:
- the presence of thick logs at the resting place and good tools;
- the presence of wire for tying thin logs and split logs;
- soil composition;
- number of people in the group;
- the need to dry things.
Almost all options are divided into two groups according to manufacturing method:
- from one fairly thick piece of wood;
- from several logs with a smaller diameter.
Now let's proceed directly to manufacturing.
Solid block with cuts
To do this, take a piece of wood with a diameter of 20 cm. We make cuts in it so that we get several lobes. Usually their number ranges from two to eight. Then, in the center of the log, using wood chips and available materials, a fire is lit. To do this, you can lightly chop off the central parts of the lobes.
Gradually the fire spreads down the cuts. The fewer cuts, the longer the combustion, the more of them, the hotter the fire. The cuts are made to a depth of up to 3/4 of the height. Oxygen penetrates through the cuts to the combustion site. Over time, this version of the Finnish candle burns out the upper middle part, and the open fire turns into smoldering. After this, cooking will be quite difficult, but for heating it will be quite suitable.
Split Wood
This option is very similar to the first. In it, all parts of the initially chopped lump are tightly connected with wire to each other. First, the central parts of the lobes are slightly planed. This will provide enough wood chips for ignition and create channels for air draft. After this, the parts of the chock are tightly tied together with wire, starting from the middle.
You need to tighten the bottom especially carefully, otherwise your fire will fall apart as it burns out. You can also use rope instead of wire, but this option is less reliable. Please note one nuance: unlike sawn wood, the chips are pressed very tightly. There is practically no fire coming through the sides, so this option cannot be used as a heater. But it burns longer without disintegrating, it can be moved quite easily from place to place if necessary, and it has a fairly strongly directed flame.
Chock with two holes
As the name suggests, a couple of holes are made in a vertically standing block. One from top to bottom, to the same length as the cuts in the first option, at 3/4 of the height. The other is at right angles to the first at a height of 1/4 from the bottom of the block, so that the holes are connected.
You can ignite both through the top hole and through the bottom. This method is the most effective for cooking, but also the most difficult to manufacture due to the need to use additional tools.
Assembly of thin logs
This option Suitable if you don't have any tools. In this case, three to five logs are placed on their ends and tied in a vertical position.
Such a stove is easier to manufacture and ignites much easier, which is important if you have insufficient experience.
The first three options require a log with a diameter of 20 to 30 centimeters. Large diameters it is inappropriate to use. The height should be approximately twice the diameter. With this ratio of diameter and height, your hearth will be the most stable.
Now let’s take a closer look at perhaps the most important issue. How to light a fire, which is described above. Even for experienced tourists This problem will arise during the first attempts. How can you make a Finnish candle burn faster? Yes, very simple. It is enough to remember the elementary laws of nature:
- the flame burns only if there is a sufficient supply of oxygen;
- heated air always tends upward.
Therefore, for successful combustion it is necessary to ensure that these two conditions are met. Namely, there must be at least a small gap between the parts of the chopped wood so that the flame moves freely upward, and there must be a free flow of air from below. This can be achieved in the following ways:
- slightly cut off the central parts of the chopped logs with a knife or an ax;
- using available means (for example, stones or a pair of thin sticks) raise the fire above the ground;
- chop off the lower parts of at least two adjacent parts so that a small channel for air flow is formed into the center of the fire.
The second option is not very successful, since a fire lit in this way will not be stable enough.
Cooking
Finally, let's move on to the most “delicious” part. How to cook on a Finnish candle? It turns out that it’s also nothing complicated. Any cookware that can withstand cooking over a fire will do.
But we must not forget that the fire must be provided with a way out. If you place a saucepan or kettle directly on the chock, the fire will stop burning normally and the water will not boil. This issue can be resolved as follows:
- place a stand on top of the log in the form of two freshly cut sticks up to 5 cm thick;
- When assembling, two or three parts of your candle should be higher than the rest by the same distance.
In the second case, this can be achieved different ways. If we assemble a candle from several thin logs, then in advance, when cutting, two of them are made longer than the others. When placed vertically, they will provide the necessary gap between the dishes and the surface. Or, when assembling, you can move two logs slightly upward compared to the rest. The same can be done in the case of chopped logs. This method allows you to simultaneously provide two channels for air supply from below. And the fire will burn more stable and hotter.
Happy travels!
