Materials, accelerants, and additions for torches work well for starting bonfires, but are kind of limited to a one-time use.
Step 1
Rip or cut the disposable article of clothing (old shirt) into strips about 2" wide and around 12" long.
Step 2
Secure a strip of cloth at one end of the wooden dowel (nails, staples) and wrap it tightly around the dowel.
Step 3
Continue to do this until 2-5" of the dowel is covered.
Step 4
Fill the bucket with your chosen accelerant (kerosene, oil, tiki torch fuel, gas), enough to submerge the cloth on the dowel.
Step 5
Leave the torches out for a couple of hours to soak up accelerant.
Step 6
Light the torches.
Step 7
Add different chemicals to your fire and to the torches to affect the flame color and smoke color.
- Flame color
- Green - Barium Chloride
- Red - Strontium Carbonate or Calcium
- Blue - Copper Chloride or Campfire Blue
- Smoke Color
- Blue - Smoke Mix-Blue.
- Green - Smoke Mix-Green.
- Pink - Smoke Mix-Pink.
- Yellow - Smoke Mix-Yellow.
- Orange - Smoke Mix-Orange.
Tips
- You can change the handle material for long lasting or multiple use torches
- Be sure the torch is always pointing up so that the handle doesn't catch.
Warnings
- Torches are dangerous; don't use near flammable materials (gas stations, propane) or items that you don't want to lose.
Things You'll Need
- wooden dowel 1" diameter, 20"+ long (length based on personal preference)
- disposable article of clothing
- stapler, nails, something solid that can be used to attach the strips of cloth the the dowel
- accelerant
kerosene
tiki torch fuel
gas (not recommended)
oil (ex. boat motor oil) - bucket (large enough to submerge the end of the torch in the accelerate)
