Oberdare
Scout
One of the things I like to do on my (short) lunch break is get outside and sit in my car to eat, read, enjoy some fresh air and sunshine and quiet. When winter comes, I will go out on the warmer days but most times it is too cold to be enjoyable. I went out anyways today, it was around -11 degrees Celcius. I watched an Eat the Weeds video I had saved on my phone to get in some 'shraftyness, and then got to thinking. How could I warm up the car without running the engine? I have a kit in the back that includes some cans of sterno and two esbit stoves, but the candles I used to have are gone and haven't been replaced yet. Figured I'd do something productive and see what I could improvise with whatever bits I had on hand inside the car.
My first thought was a can of tuna in my lunch, it's the no-drain kind but was packed in a bit of sunflower oil so I thought maybe it would be enough to produce a small lamp. Found a little piece of tissue to use as a wick, flicked my Bic, and...
Nothing. Sizzled and popped but would not take to the flame. Perhaps there was too much water or tuna juice mixed in with the oil.
Next I went through the various bits of junk in the center console, and found this empty tin of Burt's Bees lip balm, made with bees wax and various oils.
Bingo! There was only a tiny bit around the edges so I scraped it into a little mound, used another piece of tissue wick, and...
Ahhh sweet hand warming goodness. I like practicing that sort of random thing, so that was one of the best lunches I've had in a while
It also got me thinking about a piece of soapstone I have sitting at home. If I get some time this weekend, I will try carving it into a little candle lantern/heater to see if it will heat the car enough to allow me to sit out there every day this winter. Will post the results
My first thought was a can of tuna in my lunch, it's the no-drain kind but was packed in a bit of sunflower oil so I thought maybe it would be enough to produce a small lamp. Found a little piece of tissue to use as a wick, flicked my Bic, and...
Nothing. Sizzled and popped but would not take to the flame. Perhaps there was too much water or tuna juice mixed in with the oil.
Next I went through the various bits of junk in the center console, and found this empty tin of Burt's Bees lip balm, made with bees wax and various oils.
Bingo! There was only a tiny bit around the edges so I scraped it into a little mound, used another piece of tissue wick, and...
Ahhh sweet hand warming goodness. I like practicing that sort of random thing, so that was one of the best lunches I've had in a while
It also got me thinking about a piece of soapstone I have sitting at home. If I get some time this weekend, I will try carving it into a little candle lantern/heater to see if it will heat the car enough to allow me to sit out there every day this winter. Will post the results
