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 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 so important. The saw cut is about three-quarters deep. Most often they are sawn into 4, 6 or 8 parts. After that, a small hole will appear in the log. Kindling will be laid and kindled in it.
If you don’t have a saw at hand (and most likely you won’t have it on a hike), you can use an ax. In this case, making such a fire will be more difficult. The log must be split with an ax into four parts. Each part will have to grind down the middle so that when they are folded together, a hole is made. After that, it remains only to tie the logs with a strong rope, or better, 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”. Cooking such a fire requires some skill and experience. Also, as it has already become clear, tools are needed. "Finnish candle" is not very well suited 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. 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 in order to cook food and warm himself. However, not everyone can afford to 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 so important. The saw cut is about three-quarters deep. Most often they are sawn into 4, 6 or 8 parts. After that, a small hole will appear in the log. Kindling will be laid and kindled in it.
If you don’t have a saw at hand (and most likely you won’t have it on a hike), you can use an ax. In this case, making such a fire will be more difficult. The log must be split with an ax into four parts. Each part will have to grind down the middle so that when they are folded together, a hole is made. After that, it remains only to tie the logs with a strong rope, or better, 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”. Cooking such a fire requires some skill and experience. Also, as it has already become clear, tools are needed. "Finnish candle" is not very well suited 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.
In continuation of the topic, which will help in the country and in the forest.
Hello dear users of this site. It's summer outside. The most convenient and good time for hiking, picnics, fishing. In general, the most best time for an active holiday.
Every time, leaving for nature, many people take with them a bunch of firewood or coals, on which food will be cooked. It is not always possible to find dead wood at the place of recreation to use it as combustible material. Therefore, I want to tell you how you can make the so-called Finnish candle. It is good because it does not take much time to make it and it burns for a long time. To make such a device, you only need a piece of log, a drill with a drill and a chainsaw.
The author of this master class initially took a small log and got confused about making it convenient to cut it. To do this, he drills a hole in a shorter block of wood, drives a stick into it, and in the second, more long log also makes a hole. He puts on a small log and a longer one and is already sawing. Here's how it happens and what comes out of it.
Further, he takes an ordinary paraffin candle and dips the cuts with paraffin from the inside.
Then he takes a newspaper a few centimeters longer than the depth of the cut 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 lit and the candle flares up.
It's 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. Extra 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. The author, according to him, this candle burns no more than half an hour. And the production time is twenty minutes. In our case, the manufacturing time is not more than five minutes. And it burns longer. But it depends on the thickness of the log. It is easy to install - either it stands on its own, if the lower part of the log is wide enough, or it is dug into the ground. It is enough to cook an ear and boil tea. So like this. 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 cut log. It is used for cooking in a boiler, heating water. It can be a good substitute for a regular fire during evening gatherings in nature. A Finnish candle is made 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 need a small stump or block of wood. Easy to manufacture, the device can be used for lighting and even for short-term decoration of open areas. Tourists are most often used as a portable light source or for cooking. It takes a little time to create a candle, but the duration of burning and the resulting heat from it are optimal for making porridge, boiling water on a hike.
Features of harvesting a mini-bonfire
It is convenient to carry out sawing a block of wood will allow 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 on an installed stick. Such a counterweight will allow you to make a candle neatly and safely. After connecting the logs and laying them on a goat for sawing firewood, work is carried out according to the following instructions:
1. The log is cross cut with an electric saw or a petrol saw. The depth of cut should be no more than 2/3 of the height of the entire block.
2. Using an ordinary lit candle, the side parts and the bottom of the cut are covered with paraffin (or wax).
3. A small strip of paper is cut off (you can use newspaper) with a length of 4-5 cm more than the depth of the cut. It folds in half, then unfolds, paraffin shavings are poured at the fold. It is important to consider that the layer should be made large, but so that the paper then easily folds, and the paraffin itself does not spill out.
4. The paraffin paper is wrapped longitudinally. And with the help of a pencil, a thick knitting needle or a screwdriver, it is pushed into a cross-shaped cut. It is important to carry out the procedure carefully so as not to damage the paper and not to scatter the paraffin. 4-5 cm of paraffin paper should remain above the log.
5. The resulting wick is fixed with molten paraffin. To do this, you need to set fire to an ordinary candle and pour a consumable composition into the junction of the wick to the tree. On this stage Finnish candle will be completely ready.
To get a burning log, the performer only needs to set fire to the manufactured wick. Due to the presence of paraffin inside, the log will burn through more slowly, and the temperature will be maintained. A Finnish candle is made 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 done manually. The made mini-bonfire can be used for hiking (it is important to take into account the weight of the candle) or for home camping.
Many tourists, hunters and fishermen, in order to boil water at a halt, had to decide how to light a fire in windy weather. More than once or twice they thought about how to make sure that they do not have to constantly adapt to the changing wind, putting firewood on the right side, or moving a stick with a bowler hanging on it. And the way out of this situation is easy. It is enough to kindle the "Finnish candle".
This memorable name hides a whole group of wood structures that allow you to warm up and cook food in camping conditions with sufficient comfort. The ability to make a Finnish candle, both among tourists and among hunters, fishermen and just lovers of outdoor recreation, is not common. Let's try to fix this. So, we started.
To date, there are a lot of names for this method of making a fire:
- Finnish candle;
- Swedish candle;
- Indian candle;
- hunting candle;
- wooden primus.
Hidden under them are bonfires that are fundamentally similar in design, bred inside a specially prepared chock or between several combined chocks standing vertically.
Application area
Similar options are suitable for cooking and for heating.
Moreover, a full-fledged fire can be kindled even with a lack of fuel, sometimes with just one log.
This long-lasting bonfire tolerates windy weather well, it is quite compact, economical, does not require installation accessories for cooking and tolerates precipitation quite tolerably. Since even heavy rain, with a kettle on 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” bonfire originally consisted of a log split into two halves, then fastened together in places of chipping with wire, rope or other improvised materials. Over time, for better burning, the chock was no longer split into two halves, but into more parts. Then, instead of splitting, they began to make cuts and even collect a fire from several logs vertically pressed 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 in the place of rest and good tools;
- the presence of a wire for tying thin logs and split chocks;
- soil composition;
- the number of people in the group;
- the need to dry things.
Almost all options are divided into two groups according to the method of manufacture:
- from one, rather thick chock;
- from several logs with a smaller diameter.
Now let's get down to manufacturing.
Whole chock with cuts
To do this, we take a chock with a diameter of 20 cm or more. We make cuts in it in such a way that we get several shares. Usually their number ranges from two to eight. Then, in the center of the chock, a fire is kindled with the help of wood chips and improvised materials. To do this, you can slightly chop off the central parts of the lobes.
Gradually, the fire spreads down the cuts. The fewer cuts, the longer the burning, the more of them, the hotter the fire. Cuts are made to a depth of 3/4 of the height. Oxygen penetrates through the cuts to the combustion site. Over time, in this version of the Finnish candle, the upper part of the middle burns out, and the open fire turns into smoldering. After that, it will be quite difficult to cook food, but it is quite suitable for heating.
split chock
This option is very similar to the first one. In it, all parts of the initially chopped chock are tightly connected with wire to each other. Previously, the central parts of the lobes are slightly chipped. This will allow you to get enough wood chips for lighting and create channels for air draft. After that, the parts of the chock are tightly pulled together by wire, starting from the middle.
It is especially necessary to carefully tighten the bottom, otherwise, as your fire burns out, it will fall apart. Rope can also be used instead of wire, but this option is less reliable. Keep in mind one caveat: unlike sawn chocks, chips are pressed very tightly. The fire on the sides practically does not break through, so this option cannot be used as a heater. But it burns longer without disintegrating, it can be quite easily moved from place to place if necessary, and it has a fairly strongly directed flame.
Chock with two holes
As the name implies, a couple of holes are made in a vertically standing chock. One from top to bottom, for the same length as the cuts in the first version, 3/4 of the height. Another - at a right angle to the first at a height of 1/4 from the bottom of the chock, so that the holes are connected.
You can kindle both through the upper hole and through the lower one. This method is the most effective for cooking, but also the most difficult to manufacture due to the need to use an additional tool.
Assembly of thin logs
This option Good for when you don't have a tool. In this case, three to five logs are placed on the ends and tied upright.
Such a stove is easier to manufacture and kindles much easier, which is important with insufficient experience.
The first three options require a chock with a diameter of 20 to 30 centimeters. Large diameters use is inappropriate. The height should be about 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 kindle a fire, which is described above. Even for experienced tourists this problem will occur on the first try. How to make a Finnish candle burn faster? Yes, very simple. It is enough to recall the elementary laws of nature:
- the flame burns only if there is a sufficient supply of oxygen;
- hot air always tends to rise.
Therefore, for successful combustion, these two conditions must be met. Namely, there must be at least a small gap between the parts of the chopped chock so that the flame moves freely upwards, and there must be a free flow of air from below. This can be achieved in the following ways:
- a little with a knife or an ax, the central parts of the chopped chocks;
- using improvised 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 parts adjacent to each other in such a way that a small channel of air flow into the center of the fire is formed.
The second option is not very successful, since a fire kindled 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, too, nothing complicated. Any cookware that can withstand cooking over a campfire will do.
But we must not forget that the fire needs to provide an exit. If you put a pot or kettle directly on a chock, the fire will stop burning normally and the water will not boil. This issue can be resolved as follows:
- put a stand on top of the chock in the form of two freshly cut sticks up to 5 cm thick;
- two or three parts of your candle, when assembled, should be higher than the rest by the same distance.
In the second case, this can be achieved different ways. If we collect 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 clearance between the dishes and the surface. Or, directly during assembly, two logs can be pushed a little up compared to the rest. The same can be done in the case of chopped logs. This method allows you to simultaneously provide two channels of air supply from below. And the fire will burn more stable and hotter.
Happy travels!
