It’s been a while since I had a new post, but I thought this was a fun project and would like to share with you how to make colored fire!
Supplies
- Paraffin wax
- Double Boiler
- Ladle
- Chemicals, detailed below
- Wood chips – I used a mix of the grill type and mulch from my yard – I didn’t see much difference
- Cupcake liners – or this size
- 5 gallon bucket
- Mesh bag
Step 1: Choosing Chemicals
There’s 2 options for chemical sourcing; either get the independent chemicals from a supplier, or get those cheap colored fire packets on Amazon and cut them open. The independent chemicals would offer more personalization, so you could do red, white, and blue for the 4th of July, or any other color combo. I would recommend not doing sodium chloride (salt) with other chemicals, as it overwhelms them and only white shows. Below are the colors each chemical makes:
- To create blue flames, use copper chloride or calcium chloride.
- To create turquoise flames, use copper sulfate.
- To create red flames, use strontium chloride
- To create pink flames, use lithium chloride.
- To create light green flames, use borax.
- To create green flames, use alum.
- To create orange flames, use sodium chloride.
- To create purple flames, use potassium chloride.
- To create yellow flames, use sodium carbonate.
- To create white flames, use magnesium sulfate.
Step 2: Making Colored Fire Wax-Cakes!
It’s summer in the USA, and we love to make s’mores by the fire for summer at camps and at home all around the world. Here’s the coolest way to elevate your campfire smore cooking experience: colored fire!
Start by heating a double boiler. Once hot, put 2 sticks of paraffin wax in the boiler and wait until melted. Then, with disposable rubber gloves, put about 2 tablespoons of each desired chemical into a small bowl and mix gently. Get out your cupcake liners and put them in a muffin pan, like you’re making cupcakes out of wax. Take a ladle and carefully ladle the wax into each cupcake liner, not until full, but like 3/4 full.
Put a generous pinch of chemicals in each liner and wait until there is a film of semi-dried wax on the top of the wax-cakes. Right when there is a film and the chemicals won’t sink in the wax, put another pinch on the top and very gently press down. Wait until the wax-cakes are hard, then take the liners out, but not the wax. The liners will accelerate the lighting process.
My wax-cakes lasted about 45 minutes!
Step 3: Colored Fire Chips
So here’s the last, and possibly easiest, way to make colored fire, and all you need are a few lowly wood pieces, like you’d use for grilling or starting a fire for smore’s!
Get a five-gallon bucket, like you’d find at Lowe’s or Home Depot, and fill it with about a half-gallon of water. Put about 8 ounces of your desired chemical (one works best) in the bucket and stir it until it’s incorporated well and somewhat dissolved, depending on the chemical. Put a good amount of wood chips in a mesh bag, or cheesecloth, and put it in the mixture. Set a rock or brick on top of the bag to keep it submerged. Let it set for 24 hours underwater. Afterwards, let all the chips dry and you’re ready. Throw a few in the fire next time for stunning colors and oohs and aahs all around!
Step 4: Merry Making!
Thank you for reading! If you like the project, feel free to comment down below! For more projects, click here: https://g3holliday.com/projects-and-how-to-guides/
Until next time, Merry Making from g3holliday!