Emergency Fire Starter

[oldsparkey]

I put together a fire starting kit that takes up very little room and can be put in the glove box of a Car , Airplane , Motorcycle or any vehicle , Backpack , Tackle box ,and Camping gear ...ANYWHERE. Weather will not effect it and it will or should last for just about forever with proper storage. The real benefit is that it weighs only a few ounces when together. My completed kit weighs 2.3 ounces.

Take one of the Pop Bottle Blanks that look like a oversized test tube.
( (1 inch x 5.75 inch) 50mL POLYCARBONATE TEST TUBES WITH SCREW CAPS )

You can get them from Amazon and there is a lot of different uses for them.

Now pick up one of the little exotac nano strikers ( Diameter .43 , length 3.65 inches with a 1/4 inch thick rod ). Or a generic copy about the same size. It needs to be narrow enough to fit inside the tube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tzJhDPPkxM

Take the pop bottle blank put some cotton balls in it and then slide the little striker down along the side of the cotton balls so they are together in the tube , cap it off and you have an emergency fire starter. It is weather proof when that cap is screwed on the top of the tube.
The sparks from it will ignite the cotton ball and even dryer lint from cotton clothing.

 

[Kayak Jack]

Or, get a Boy Scout flint and steel. Remove the Boy Scout; retain flint and steel

 

[oldsparkey]

Or, get a Boy Scout flint and steel. Remove the Boy Scout; retain flint and steel

Yep , Flint and Steel works but these rods throw out a lot more sparks and are easier to use.
The flint and steel would be nice if they would fit inside the tube since the idea is to have everything together and weather proofed. ( the spark maker and it's fuel )
Or just get one of the replacement rod's for the Exotac Nano striker and something metal to strike it with that would fit in the tube. I'm thinking one of there replacement strikers.

 

[Kayak Jack]

I've never actually started a fire with one of these type units. Have seen lots of videos, and sudoctrd that several (maybe many?) failures were edited out. We should all practice.

Practice makes consistent - not perfection. Poor practice will produce poor results, consistently
PERFECT practice makes perfect.

(Remember now, do as I say, not as I do while you're watching me.)

 

[texastom]

I've used the exotac shown here and a Light My Fire and they both work well. Practice it recommended because it is technique driven, and also helps remove the coating on the steel which makes better sparks..

Another trick is to wipe the cotton ball in Vaseline, but that would make a mess in the tube Chuck suggested. I keep mine in a zip lock bag and roll it tight before sealing to get it small as possible. Hand gel with high alcohol content also good for fire starting, and you might have that on a camping trip as well for its normal use.

These guys are into fire and all sorts of other gadgets: http://www.countycomm.com/fire.html

 

[oldsparkey]

Hand gel with high alcohol content also good for fire starting, and you might have that on a camping trip as well for its normal use.

These guys are into fire and all sorts of other gadgets: http://www.countycomm.com/fire.html

Just remember one thing with the Hand Gel........It's alcohol based and burns with a clear flame in the daylight. :roll:
I was watching one guy on YouTube showing the different things you can use to start a fire with . He used a bit of it to show how the sparks will ignite it and he keep looking at it thinking it was not lit. A short while later he took a cotton ball and said he was going to use it to accept the spark and get the gel burning. When he moved the cotton ball over to the gel the cotton ball burst into flames.
The gel was burning after his 1st try to get it going. I guess he was new to the way alcohol burns with the clear flame. :lol: :lol: :lol:

YES , You have to scrape some of the protective coating off the rod before you can get any sparks from it. After you get to the metal then just put your striker on the rod and pull the rod back sharply against the striker , the sparks will fly off the rod and onto the tinder. By doing it that way you do not move the tinder or slap it out of the way with your hand.

 

[Wannabe]

With those strikers the tender does not need to be all That tender. My son wadded up a paper towel, put one shower of sparks in it and had flames in short order.
Bob

 

[doc]

I use dryer lint soaked in just a wee bit of Vaseline and store it in an old 35m film canister. That and a Ferro rod stay in my pocket when I'm out "adventuring". BTW saving old film canisters was one of the best "these could come in handy" things I've ever done!

 

[hairymick01]

Soak the cotton balls in metholated spirit (clear spirit) as used in spirit stoves, sqeeze it out then put in the container with the flint.

 

[FrankAS]

Potassium Permanganate and Glycerin will make a great fire. What people do not tell you is that for the chemical reaction to happen the ambient temperature needs to be around room temperature (70 degrees) or higher. What they also do not tell you is that you still need dry tinder and everything else normally necessary to make a fire. http://www.unluckyhunter.com/2012/01/sad-truth-about-potassium-permanganate.html .I have seen it work, never tried it for myself, but it does work, research and use caution untill you know how it behaves.

 

[oldsparkey]

Potassium Permanganate and Glycerin will make a great fire. What people do not tell you is that for the chemical reaction to happen the ambient temperature needs to be around room temperature (70 degrees) or higher.

I got some from Amazon a couple of years ago and put a little of each in individual pop bottle blanks. I store them separate as insurance just in case of a leak which I really do not expect happening. It really works but takes a few seconds to flame up. Did not know about the temperature requirement. Around here it is 70 or higher most of the time.