Starting your fire

[fullback66]

Re: Starting your fire

Belly button lint might work. Toe jam is defiantly out. If you sprinkle a little dandruff on the lint LOOK OUT, it will blow up your oven.
I learned from experiance!!!
happy firing.
fb66

[jazzfan]

Re: Starting your fire

It's probably not a good idea to stick a lighted match into your bellybutton.

Probably not a good idea to stick a lighted match in your clothes drier either

[Archena]

Re: Starting your fire

Don't have a drier. What about belly-button lint?

It's probably not a good idea to stick a lighted match into your bellybutton.

[james]

Re: Starting your fire

Try dryer lint. works great.
FREE, SAFE, PLENTY OF IT.

Tell me what you think.
fb66

Go on. I won't believe until I try it -- which should be tomorrow. The dryer is running as I write.
James

[jazzfan]

Re: Starting your fire

Try dryer lint. works great.
FREE, SAFE, PLENTY OF IT.

Tell me what you think.
fb66

Don't have a drier. What about belly-button lint?

[asudavew]

Re: Starting your fire

Try dryer lint. works great.
FREE, SAFE, PLENTY OF IT.

Tell me what you think.
fb66

Ill try it.
Does it smell.?


And dont forget the oxygen.
An air compressor will stoke it right up@!!@#

[fullback66]

Re: Starting your fire

Try dryer lint. works great.
FREE, SAFE, PLENTY OF IT.

Tell me what you think.
fb66

[Archena]

Re: Starting your fire

Other than wet wood in a survival situation or charcoal 'cause it's annoying I really never saw the need for an accelerant - heck, with those cool charcoal chimneys I don't even need lighter fluid for that anymore!

And on the 'low tech but still cheating' end - birthday candles! Shave the bottom end a bit, light both ends and lay under the tender - works wonderfully. You could use a tea-light but I wouldn't - they take four hours to burn normally and in a hot fire you're likely gonna have a running mess - and molten aluminum if you forget to take off the holder!

Sigh - I have to go buy a cross-cut saw - I can't get to mine right now and I have a tree limb down. Free firewood!!!!

And for the 'do it the hard way' minded: Wildwood Survival - Fire from a Can of Coke and a Chocolate Bar

[Frances]

Re: Starting your fire

Poor armadillo...
The argument about reducing smoke I can appreciate. The one about being safe even more so...

But seriously, being able to light a fire without accelerants is cool, learning to get it just right and improving your skill. In fact, after this discussion I'm severely tempted to try the thing with rubbing two sticks together...

[RTflorida]

Re: Starting your fire

No fuss, different strokes for different folks. Some of us tend to error on the side of extreme caution. When you've had that "poof" directly in your face or nursed a 13 yr old (my daughter) with third degree burns from fingertips to armpits, you tend to feel this way.
I love fire as much as anyone, its the coolest thing to watch, but you have to remember - play with fire and you will get burned.
Also remember this; there are a lot of newcomers to this site who have never built an oven or even built a fire. The LAST thing a newbie needs to do is experiment with accelerants until they are comfortable building a fire that needs to be big enough and hot enough to scare the hell out of you.
Too much, too soon, and BOOM!!
Now please, who has the dynamite? I have an armadillo burrough in my back yard...that should be just the ticket to eradication or at least getting him to move on to a neighbors yard.

[jazzfan]

Re: Starting your fire

Ah, the POOF!!!
My family has experienced this phenomenon 3 times in my life (thankfully only one time for me) with a bad result each time, exactly the reason I'm against the use of accelerants in fire starting.

I will stick to my cave man ways and use a match, paper, twigs, and patience. With a little luck my oven and I will grow old together without a mis-hap.
I would like to play with the dynomite.....in a controlled setting of course.
I live vicariously through the guys on Mythbusters.
RT

The thing is to use a LITTLE BIT of metho, use plenty of kindling, and ALWAYS put the metho on BEFORE you light the fire. The whole idea is to get the kindling going strongly so the fire draws well right from the kick off and doesn't smoke so much. I really don't understand what all the fuss is about...

Regards

[RTflorida]

Re: Starting your fire

Ah, the POOF!!!
My family has experienced this phenomenon 3 times in my life (thankfully only one time for me) with a bad result each time, exactly the reason I'm against the use of accelerants in fire starting.

I will stick to my cave man ways and use a match, paper, twigs, and patience. With a little luck my oven and I will grow old together without a mis-hap.
I would like to play with the dynomite.....in a controlled setting of course.
I live vicariously through the guys on Mythbusters.

RT

[Archena]

Re: Starting your fire

Try dynamite - it'll get the fire started quicker... and give you a great excuse to build a new oven after you get out of jail....

[asudavew]

Re: Starting your fire

My Grand dad used to use wood alcohol to start fires for Boy Scout camp-outs.

He would put steel wool in a bowl, add denatured alcohol, and touch two sides of the wool with wires from a 12v battery.

Poof!!

I forgot about that until today....

Might be an option!

[jazzfan]

Re: Starting your fire

sounds like an alcohol product. I don't know, in an enclosed space (WFO) that looks like a disaster waiting to happen.

A coupla squirts is like a thimble full. Not Homer Simpson amounts (remember the episode where he uses two whole cans of fluid on his kettle BBQ - and causes a mushroom cloud when he lights it)

Metho burns relatively slowly - you can have it in an open tin and light it - it will burn off without exploding.

Metho - Google Search


I use it mainly to reduce smoke when the fire is getting started. Where I am it is a real problem in winter, when the air is still (and cold), the smoke from wood heaters fills the valley and just sits there...