Reusable Fire Starter

Abstract

A reusable fire starter is disclosed. The reusable fire starter may include a receptable with at least three legs and an open-top burn chamber configured to receive and hold a flammable substance that, when ignited, can be used to easily and quickly start a self-sustaining fire using standard firewood logs with little effort and without building up a gradual fire from smaller kindling or tinder first. The receptacle can be comprised of a non-porous, heat-resistant material that survives being used to start a fire, so the reusable fire starter can be reused to start subsequent fires after being refilled with more of the flammable substance. A method of use of the reusable fire starter is also disclosed herein.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A reusable fire starter comprising:
 an open-top receptacle made of a non-porous, high-temperature, and heat-resistant material, the open-top receptacle having at least three legs projecting radially outward from a central basin, each of the at least three legs sharing a common base with the central basin,   at least one wall extending upward from the common base about each of the at least three legs and the central basin to define an open-top burn chamber, wherein the burn chamber is configured to receive and hold a flammable substance that may be lit.   
     
     
         2 . The reusable fire starter of  claim 1 , wherein the at least three legs and the common base defining the open-top burn chamber and the central basin form a generally polyhedral geometry. 
     
     
         3 . The reusable fire starter of  claim 2 , wherein the generally polyhedral geometry of the open-top burn chamber is Y-shaped. 
     
     
         4 . The reusable fire starter of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one wall comprises two side walls and an end wall, the two sidewalls interconnected by the end wall, and the end wall being opposite from the central basin that joins the at least three legs. 
     
     
         5 . The reusable fire starter of  claim 4 , wherein each of the two sidewalls and the end wall comprises a top rim, the top rims of each of the two sidewalls are substantially co-planar with the top rim of the end wall. 
     
     
         6 . The reusable fire starter of  claim 1 , wherein each of the at least three legs curves outwardly and downwardly from the central basin to form a downward concave curved shape. 
     
     
         7 . The reusable fire starter of  claim 1 , wherein each of the at least three legs is spaced equidistantly from the other of the at least three legs. 
     
     
         8 . The reusable fire starter of  claim 1 , wherein the base of each of the at least three legs has at least one support foot. 
     
     
         9 . The reusable fire starter of  claim 8 , wherein the at least one support foot is defined by a downward indentation into the base. 
     
     
         10 . The reusable fire starter of  claim 1 , wherein the receptacle is configured to fit within a smokeless firepit or beneath a plurality of firewood logs. 
     
     
         11 . The reusable fire starter of  claim 1 , wherein the burn chamber is configured to receive and hold at least about 8 ounces (oz) of the flammable substance. 
     
     
         12 . The reusable fire starter of  claim 11 , wherein the 8 oz of the flammable substance is configured to burn for at least fifteen minutes. 
     
     
         13 . The reusable fire starter of  claim 1 , wherein the non-porous, high-temperature, and heat-resistant material comprises stainless steel. 
     
     
         14 . A reusable fire starter comprising:
 a receptacle having at least three legs and a central basin sharing a common base, the at least three legs projecting radially outward from the central basin, and each of the at least three legs spaced equidistantly from the other of the at least three legs;   at least one wall extending upward from the base about the each of the at least three legs and the central basin to define a burn chamber, wherein the burn chamber is configured to receive and hold a flammable substance; and   the base of each of the at least three legs curving outwardly and downwardly from the central basin to form a downward concave curve with respect to a surface upon which the receptacle may be placed.   
     
     
         15 . The reusable fire starter of  claim 14 , wherein the at least one wall comprises two sidewalls and an end wall, and each of the two sidewalls has a top rim that is substantially co-planar with a top rim of the end wall. 
     
     
         16 . The reusable fire starter of  claim 14 , wherein the base of each of the at least three legs has at least one downward indentation or groove defined by a downward indentation into the base, the at least one downward indentation or groove forming at least one support foot. 
     
     
         17 . The reusable fire starter of  claim 14 , wherein the burn chamber is configured to receive and hold at least about 8 ounces (oz) of the flammable substance. 
     
     
         18 . The reusable fire starter of  claim 14 , wherein the open-top receptacle comprises a non-porous, high-temperature, and heat-resistant material. 
     
     
         19 . A method of starting and sustaining a fire, the method comprising:
 providing a reusable fire starter, the reusable fire starter comprising:
 at least three legs projecting radially outward from a central basin, each of the at least three legs sharing a common base with the central basin, and 
 at least one wall extending upward from the common base about each of the at least three legs and central basin to define an open-top burn chamber; 
   at least partially filling the open-top burn chamber with a flammable substance;   placing a first plurality of firewood logs on top of the reusable fire starter; and   igniting the flammable substance within the open-top burn chamber of the reusable fire starter to create an ignition flame that can light the first plurality of firewood logs and start the fire.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the method further comprises:
 waiting until the fire is fully extinguished;   at least partially refilling the burn chamber of the fire starter with the flammable substance;   placing one or more other firewood logs on top of the reusable fire starter; and   igniting the flammable substance within the open-top burn chamber of the reusable fire starter to create a subsequent ignition flame that can light the firewood logs and sustain a subsequent fire.