EP0337872B1 - Fire kindler - Google Patents

Abstract

An instantaneous firelighter comprising a body consisting of a compact mass of particles, or powder, of wood and paraffin wax powder bonded together in a proportion of 40 to 50% by weight of paraffin wax to 60 to 50% by weight of wood. The firelighter of the invention is employed for lighting barbecues, stoves and fireplaces.

Description

The present invention relates to instant fire starters, of the type comprising a body which can burn for a few minutes, consisting of a compact mass of particles of wood and paraffin, at a rate of substantially 40% by weight of paraffin for substantially 60% by wood weight.

Associated for example with a flaming head which ignites like a safety match by rubbing this head against a scraper, they allow to light barbecues, stoves and fireplaces.

To benefit from the great availability of waste and sawdust, we have already proposed, for example in US Pat. No. 3,192,561, chimney logs based on compressed sawdust maintained in compression by a binder such as paraffin. These logs are obtained by immersing the sawdust in a tank of molten paraffin, at high temperature. This production involves a significant expense in paraffin, an expensive product and does not allow regularity of the characteristics of the log obtained.

It has also been proposed, in the German patent DE-C-312 182, a fire starter consisting of wood powder and paraffin, at a rate of 40% by weight of paraffin and 60% by weight of wood. To make this fire starter, dry wood powder and paraffin powder are intimately mixed. The powder mixture is then placed in an oven-dryer where it is slowly reheated, so that the paraffin melts and is absorbed by the wood powder. The heating temperature depends on the melting temperature of the paraffin used and can vary between 40 ° C and 100 ° C. While heating, the mixture is stirred to distribute the heat evenly. The hot mass is then placed in a molding press to form plates or tablets, which we then cool. This manufacture remains relatively expensive and time consuming, however, insofar as it involves slow heating, stirring of the mixture during heating, and cooling of the fire starters formed by hot pressing.

The invention also proposes to use waste and sawdust and paraffin as basic materials for the body of the fire starter, but in a form such that the manufacturing process does not involve heating and allows a paraffin expenditure reduced to a minimum while ensuring good cohesion and regular combustion of this body.

To this end, the invention provides for constituting the body of the fire starter with a compact mass of wood particles and paraffin, at a rate of substantially 40% by weight of paraffin for substantially 60% by weight of wood, characterized by the fact that the paraffin is in powder, the grains of which are attached to the particles of wood.

Advantageously, the body comprises approximately 43% by weight of paraffin and 57% by weight of wood, the particles of wood are less than 10 mm in length and 1 mm in diameter, and the paraffin powder is in grains of less than 1 mm in diameter.

The proportions indicated lead to a product in which the paraffin is consumed well with the wood, is well coherent and free from any pouring of paraffin during combustion.

The fire starter according to the invention is therefore simple, economical and free of risk. It is easy to manufacture without heating. It is enough to compress cold, in a mold, the mixture of powder and sawdust and paraffin powder to reduce the volume by about 2/3. The proportions are 40 to 50% by weight of paraffin for 60 50% by weight of wood. Thus, when cold, bodies of desired shape, for example cylindrical, of wafers or pucks are obtained, the absence of heating here being compensated for by the fact that the volume is considerably reduced during molding. In these cases, the flammable head extends over a small area of their periphery.

To prevent any crumbling of the product of the invention, it is advantageous to block the wood dust by glazing at 100-150 ° C. in an oven, thus causing a partial melting of the paraffin on the surface. The duration of the glaze is, for example, of the order of 5 minutes to obtain the desired effect.

Claims (7)

1. Instantaneous fire-lighter of the type comprising a body which may burn for several minutes, constituted by a compact mass of wood and paraffin particles, at the rate of substantially 40% by weight paraffin for substantially 60% by weight wood, characterised by the fact that the paraffin is in the form of a powder whereof the grains are stuck to the wood particles.

2. Fire-lighter according to Claim 1, in which the body comprises approximately 43% by weight paraffin and 57% by weight wood.

3. Fire-lighter according to Claim 1 or 2, in which the wood particles have a length of less than 10 mm and a diameter of less than 1 mm.

4. Fire-lighter according to one of Claims 1 to 3, in which the paraffin powder is in grains having a diameter of less than 1 mm.

5. fire-lighter according to one of Claims 1 to 4, comprising an ignitable head which is ignited like a safety match by rubbing this head against a scraper.

6. Method for the production of the fire-lighter according to one of Claims 1 to 5, characterised by the fact that the mixture of particles of wood and paraffin powder are placed in a mould and it is compressed in the cold in order to reduce the volume thereof by approximately 2/3rds.

7. Method according to Claim 6, in which the product obtained after compression is subjected to glazing at 100-150°C in an oven.