Having escaped from the smog-filled city, people in a friendly crowd come to nature in the summer to enjoy the clean air. Picnic and barbecue lovers took coal, briquettes and firewood with them to cook a traditional delicacy over an open fire. A special ignition fluid helps start a fire in extreme conditions. strong wind, wet fuel and high humidity.
When people buy a product, the first thing they look at is the price, without paying much attention to other useful characteristics. When choosing a means for ignition, you need to proceed from fire safety principles. The safety of liquid paraffin products from Yashima is considered high, although their retail price is higher than their kerosene or alcohol counterparts.
Types of lighter fluid
Three types of lighter fluids are sold in the retail network, which are divided into:
- Paraffin based.
- Alcohol mixture.
- Solution with " natural ingredients».
Paraffin liquid for igniting coal, which includes the popular product “Ignition-off” from the Yashim plant, is the best option. This universal, odorless product flares up smoothly and burns confidently for a long time, which is enough for the coal to reach the desired temperature to maintain the fire on its own.
Before applying a match, instructors recommend waiting three minutes so that the poured liquid is absorbed into the firewood or briquettes.
Alcohol solutions for a fire are also acceptable, despite the explosion hazard. The contents of the bottles, which contain a mixture of esters and carbohydrates, can ignite when set on fire, which is very dangerous. Therefore, the use of a long fuse, rolled paper or household matches is considered justified. If the bottle contains a liquid with a dirty color and a pungent odor, then diesel fuel or other oil fractions have been added inside, which can lead to irreparable consequences.
Third type- these are liquids with “natural ingredients”, although in fact they contain engine waste, turpentine, and tar. They have one thing in common - they burn disgustingly with an unpleasant odor.
Composition and characteristics
When choosing a liquid for a fireplace or stove, you need to carefully study the composition. The price of lighter fluid based on a mixture of paraffins is not very different from the cost of ether-alcohol analogues. From a safety point of view, the product from the Yashim plant, called “Rozzhig-off,” is beyond competition. The mixture of liquid paraffins included in the lighter fluid does not produce harmful fumes. The advantages include uniform combustion without explosion, without leaving behind soot and soot.
Mixtures made with alcohol can explode at any time when exposed to direct sunlight. A long fuse is required to ignite the flame to avoid burning your face and hands due to a possible flash. Flammable products that require special precautions are very dangerous.
When purchasing, you need to pay attention to the packaging, which should be transparent. If the liquid inside has a yellowish tint, then it is not recommended to buy the product. It most likely contains oil waste, which can get into your food through the smoke from the fire.
A sure sign High Quality will become complete absence smell. The aroma of kerosene, acetone and other solvents cannot be hidden. Modern fragrances will not be able to kill the crude vapors of volatile petroleum products.
An effective method of product quality is the absence of fillers and additives. Toxic impurities are easily identified. Just shake the bottle to make sure there is no foam from the additives.
Instructions for use
Do not pour lighter fluid onto an open fire or smoldering coals.
Charcoal, briquettes and firewood, sprinkled with the contents of the bottle, will light up smoothly if you bring a match.
The lighter fluid is made from paraffins using certified technology from the Yashim plant. The absence of soot and odor in the bottle guarantees a delicious taste to the dishes.
- Before starting a fire, apply a small amount of liquid to brushwood, briquettes, firewood or coal.
- When the solution is absorbed into the material, you can set it on fire. If the technology was not violated by the performers, then the flame will be even, homogeneous, without flashes.
- It is strictly forbidden to spray the contents of the bottle on an open fire or near smoldering coals. Gross violation fire safety is fraught with irreparable consequences.
- If the solution ends up on the skin, traces of it can be washed off with running water.
- Keep the bottle out of the reach of children.
Paraffin-based liquid does not emit soot when burned, which means there are no carcinogenic substances in the smoke and air. Tourists and vacationers can safely use it on fishing and hiking trips to light a fire on grills and barbecues when cooking meat.
The certified product “Ignition-off” is actively used in everyday life by summer residents to light a fireplace or sauna. The absence of toxic components such as gasoline, acetone, alcohol, and turpentine in Yashima liquid guarantees safety and environmental friendliness.
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Ignition is usually called special liquid chemical compositions for starting a fire. As a rule, lighter fluid sold in stores is used to start a fire on a picnic or a short trip to nature. By this word we will generally understand any means that help, including tinder and kindling.
Fire ignition can be liquid, gas, solid, industrially or manually made, of natural and anthropogenic origin. Most often used as ignition:
Dry fuel, or, as it is also called, dry alcohol, is one of the most famous and most convenient means for lighting a fire.
- Special liquids for igniting fire, purchased and made by yourself;
- Flammable liquids intended for other purposes;
- Gels for ignition;
- Dry fuel;
- Plexiglas;
- Plastic;
- Rubber;
- Paraffin and wax candles;
- Cotton wool with impregnation;
- Plasticine;
- Napalm surrogate;
- Some food products;
- Paper;
- A mixture of pine resin and wood.
Fire starting fluids
These liquids are poured over solid fuels, such as coals or fuel briquettes, to help the fire burn faster. In finished form, such liquids are purchased in specialized markets and stores.
Lighter fluids usually consist of hydrocarbons and liquid paraffins. Such liquids are relatively safe for cooking, for example, barbecue, that is, when burned, they emit almost no toxic substances that can spoil food cooked over a fire. However, such safety is not absolute: accidental ingestion or inhalation of lighter fluid can harm the body, causing poisoning. Therefore, you should keep this product away from children.
There are many known cases where a child drank lighter fluid, which usually ended the outdoor recreation - the poisoned child had to be taken to the hospital.
A man cannot drink by mistake large quantity such liquid, since it usually causes a burning sensation in oral cavity. If a small amount is swallowed, vomiting often occurs, which, due to the inhalation of volatile substances in lighter fluid and partly the contents of the stomach, can lead to damage to the lungs, and when absorbed into the blood, to damage to the kidneys, liver and brain. It is difficult to talk about specific symptoms of poisoning due to the fact that lighter fluids from different manufacturers can vary greatly in composition.
Another feature of such liquids is the absence of a pungent odor, which, for example, gasoline has.
Using lighter fluids is simple, but you need to know that you must pour them strictly before starting a fire, and then throw a burning match into the fuel soaked in the liquid or light it with a long lighter.
Attention!
It is prohibited to pour flammable lighter fluids into an already burning fire, even if only coals are smoldering in it! Failure to comply with this rule has repeatedly led to burns, fires and even explosions of a container with a flammable mixture - the fire can spread along the jet. When a fire occurs, you should extinguish it by throwing earth or sand over the burning fuel: water poured into the burning liquid will only worsen the already sad situation.
The video shows what can result from improper handling of gasoline when making a fire:
Despite their popularity, such liquids are not very suitable for tourism, since they perform only one function, while multifunctionality is characteristic of tourist equipment.
Replacement for branded lighter fluids in tourism
In tourism, it is better to use alcohol from a first aid kit or gasoline from a car tank as such liquids. In addition, gasoline is sometimes carried in a backpack for burners, which are used when there is no other fuel, for example, in the mountains.
You can simply pour alcohol or gasoline into a fire made of wood, and then throw a match there.
But this option is good for dry firewood. In order to save these substances and light a fire in wet weather, pour a little sand into a tin can and water it flammable liquid and set it on fire. In this case, the fire will not be as bright, but its burning time will be much longer, which will allow the damp wood to dry and light it.
This method has disadvantages compared to the previous one. In the case of alcohol, this is its price (branded lighter fluids are much cheaper), and gasoline is bad due to its smell and ability to leak through any leaky container and spill into a backpack. In addition, both of these substances are flammable and, if handled carelessly, can lead to fire and even explosion.
Sunflower oil can be considered a good alternative to lighter fluid in tourism. Many people take it with them on camping trips to cook over a fire. In addition, oil is usually found in various types of canned fish.
Sunflower oil does not burn on its own, but allows the fuel to burn longer and brighter.
The fact that oil does not burn on its own makes it a safe fire starter. In addition, it is cheap and completely safe if it comes into contact with the body, which cannot be said about branded lighter fluids.
Contrary to popular belief, you should not anoint burns with oil and other fats (for example, whale oil or kefir after the same sunburn). This will harm the victim.
Lighting gels
Essentially these are the same lighter fluids, only in a different consistency.
Gel for starting a fire. Its main advantage over liquid is that it does not leak out of the bottle.
Compared to lighter fluids, gels burn longer and are safer to use, but like fluids, they are rarely used in tourism due to their unidirectional nature.
Dry fuel
Dry fuel (also known as dry alcohol) is a compressed mixture of hexamine and paraffin. Usually comes in the form of tablets for starting a fire.
By the way, dry fuel has nothing to do with alcohols as such.
In tourism and military affairs, it is used both independently, heating food on it, and for kindling other fuel, that is, as kindling. In the second case, a burning tablet is placed under the kindling to help the fire flare up.
Dry fuel is compact, easily ignited with one match, burns long enough, but is sensitive to moisture and is not as cheap as we would like. Due to its compactness, it, together with several small metal plates, collected in a mini-oven, is included in some dry rations used by the military and tourists on field trips.
Instead of dry fuel for starting a fire, for example, in wet weather, other options can be used, which will be discussed below.
Plexiglas
Plexiglas is one of the best options for setting fire to even damp brushwood. You can find it along the road among the garbage or prepare it in advance while in locality. For example, I made my own tourist line out of it, which performs many different tasks, but, if necessary, turns into an effective kindling.
Plexiglas is not afraid of moisture and is easily ignited with one match, having been previously wiped on clothes. It is light, almost does not emit toxic substances during combustion, and burns for a long time with an even flame.
Plastic
A number of plastics can be used effectively as kindling to start a fire. However, not all plastics are suitable: some types do not burn. For example, I was never able to achieve stable combustion of a PET bottle. But the cap of such a bottle, cut to form a sharp edge for ignition, was ignited with one match and burned, albeit very uncertainly.
It’s not difficult to find a bottle with a lid for starting a fire on a hike: they, along with other garbage, are very often found on the side of roads and even on trees, carried there by a river that overflowed its banks during the spring flood. By the way, among other garbage there are also many plastic products that, with their combustion, can start a fire from damp branches.
Candles are good because they cannot get damp or spoil. If you take one of them on a hike and don’t lose it, it will help you start a fire in any conditions.
The advantages of plastic kindling are their ubiquity, light weight and insensitivity to moisture. However, not all types of plastics burn equally well (some do not burn at all), and those that do burn can release toxic substances when ignited.
Rubber for starting a fire
Rubber has long been used by hikers and various survival experts as kindling for fires. As far as I can tell, the most popular strips are those cut from a bicycle inner tube. Although I personally had occasion to use a strip of rubber cut from the side surface of my hiking shoes and a condom wound on a thin branch as kindling - both options ignited from one match and burned with a bright flame, however, they burned out quite quickly.
Rubber products, like plastic ones, are often found among garbage brought even to uninhabited islands, so there should not be any problems with finding and making such kindling from improvised means, especially if you take care of this issue in advance.
The pros and cons of a rubber ignition are the same as those of a plastic ignition, but rubber is usually heavier and produces a lot of smoke during combustion, unlike some plastics.
Paraffin and wax candles
Among tourists, candles as kindling for a fire are even more popular than rubber and plexiglass, because unlike rubber, they do not smoke as much, and they are easier to purchase than plexiglass.
In addition, candles are often used for their intended purpose - for lighting in order to save batteries in lanterns. For example, I observed this in a camp organized in the catacombs.
If the flame of a candle is not enough to light a fire, you can wrap, for example, toilet paper around the candle, which will act as a large wick. Of course, some of the paper should extend beyond the candle. During ignition, the paper burns out, igniting the wick, which in turn re-ignites it, but now soaked in molten paraffin.
Testing a piece of plastic for its ability to burn.
The candle prepared in this way burned with a trembling bright flame, and was lit with one match.
Candles burn for a long time, are easy to light, are not afraid of moisture and can be used for lighting, which makes them good kindling. However, such kindling is unlikely to be found in wildlife.
Cotton wool with impregnation
Unlike previous options, not counting lighter fluid, cotton wool has the unique feature of being ignited by sparks, which can be obtained, for example, from an empty silicon lighter.
Cotton wool is usually found in a first aid kit, but it can be replaced with a natural analogue - cattail fluff.
Cotton wool catches fire easily, but also burns very quickly, so it is not very suitable for kindling on its own. A completely different matter is cotton balls or swabs soaked in Vaseline or paraffin (wax) melted in a water bath. This type of cotton wool ignites quickly, but burns much longer. In addition, cotton wool treated in this way is not afraid of moisture, because its impregnated outer layer reliably protects the dry inner layer.
It is advisable to prepare such cotton wool before the trip, because Vaseline is usually not put in the first aid kit, but if you have paraffin candles, then it is more advisable to use them instead of cotton wool as kindling.
But there is also a camp option that is not widely known - lipstick can help start a fire: just smear cotton wool from the first aid kit with chapstick and then set it on fire.
Despite all the advantages, this method has a significant disadvantage - you need to spend a relatively long time preparing cotton wool in paraffin, and in the case of Vaseline, you will have to store the cotton wool in a special container so as not to stain other equipment in your backpack.
Plasticine as fire starter
Plasticine can be easily ignited even with one match and burns for a long time, so it can also be used as a means for starting a fire.
Plasticine is unlikely to be found in the wild, so you need to take care of purchasing it in advance.
The advantages of plasticine include the ability to form a piece of the desired shape and size, long burning and insensitivity to moisture. Among other things, plasticine can be glued to brushwood in a fire in any suitable place, which is very convenient when lighting it. Disadvantages include the inability to find plasticine far from civilization and the soot released during combustion.
Napalm-V surrogate
This substance is obtained by immersing polystyrene (polystyrene foam or suitable plastic containers) in gasoline.
Napalm-B was conceived as a weapon and was used as incendiary and flamethrower mixtures in various military conflicts. However, just as any peaceful invention can cause mass death, something that was originally intended to destroy humanity can help in the struggle for survival. It’s the same story with napalm: it was intended to kill, but it can help start a fire in a difficult situation.
This surrogate may resemble plasticine in its plasticity, but when burned it produces a flame with a higher temperature (over 1200 °C) and is capable of sticking even to a wet porous surface.
Its advantages and disadvantages are the same as those of plasticine, but napalm must be prepared independently, it requires a special sealed container for storage and is more dangerous when used due to its sticky properties and high temperature combustion.
What foods will help start a fire?
In addition to the listed canned food with sprats and sunflower oil, which themselves are not capable of burning, other food products can be used as kindling.
Thus, nut kernels burn on their own due to their high fat content. You can also use their shells as kindling, which, however, ignites worse and does not burn as confidently. For example, I had the opportunity to experiment with walnut, which grows in our region - its core flares up from the first match and burns for a long time with a quiet flame.
Another good option that came to my mind several years ago and was successfully tried is lard. This is a high-calorie product that is often taken with you on hikes, especially in winter time when it is recommended to consume more fat.
Lard can be set on fire on its own: it will burn when it is slightly charred. That is why I would recommend not setting fire to a thick piece, but cutting off a strip with a pointed end from it.
But it’s better to stick a match into a piece of lard as a wick, which you then set on fire. Also, for these purposes, you can wrap the lard in toilet paper, as you did with a candle, and to prevent the paper from unfolding, pierce it through with the lard with a sharp wood chip.
Lard burns without any additional tricks; it can be cut into pieces required sizes, and fat dripping into the fire promotes faster combustion. In addition, lard is not afraid of moisture.
It is also often suggested to use chips as kindling, but this option is not suitable for camping, since no one usually takes chips with them, and they are afraid of moisture.
You usually always have kindling from food with you, except in emergency situations, and this is its big advantage. In addition, neither nuts, nor lard, nor butter, nor canned fish and stew are afraid of moisture, which is also important for wild conditions, where you often have to get caught in the rain, walk through fog, and sometimes cross water obstacles. This type of kindling usually burns for a long time, but is not always easy to ignite.
Paper
This is the most famous and popular ignition due to its simplicity.
Paper, for example, toilet paper, taken from a pocket, is crumpled into a ball and placed under the fire. When set on fire, it flares up quickly, but just as quickly burns out and dies out. In this regard, it is similar to pure cotton wool, including because it can be ignited by a spark from a flint or an empty silicon lighter.
Therefore, using paper or cardboard, you can light a fire only if you have thin, dry branches that can catch fire even from this short flame.
Despite its popularity, this option has a number of significant drawbacks: as already mentioned, it burns out quickly, and is also extremely sensitive to moisture. But at the same time, paper takes up little space, weighs almost nothing and is usually available on camping trips ( toilet paper, notebooks, in extreme cases - pages from books), and when mixed with hygienic lipstick or pine resin, it can give a prolonged burning.
A natural analogue of a fire starter
Such a remedy, obtained from natural materials, can be a small depression in the ground filled with pine resin, torn together with pieces of dry bark.
The resin protects the underlying bark from moisture, thereby guaranteeing good results even in wet weather.
One of the advantages is that such a mixture is prepared from scrap materials and can burn for a very long time. In my experience, I observed an hour-long burning of pine bark poured into a tin can. However, if you burn the resin in a hole in the ground, rather than, say, in tin can, it is unlikely that it will be possible to move it to another place if necessary.
But it may happen that good funds for ignition will not be at hand. In this case, you need to learn how to light a fire without their help.
To be precise, ignition equipment in tourism is not intended for permanent use, but only for difficult situations when, for example, the firewood is wet from the rain, but you still need to light a fire to dry out or warm up. But even in these situations, you need to know how to light a fire without ignition in the form of auxiliary “chemistry”.
Starting a fire without igniter
In order to start a fire even in damp weather in the classic way without using special ignition tools, you need to prepare dry tinder, kindling and fuel.
First, let's understand the basic concepts in order to eliminate confusion in the future.
Tinder is any substance that can start smoldering or burning from a spark of the same flint; it was used to ignite fire in the Middle Ages and continues to be used today. Tinder can be classified as “burnt tinder” or specially prepared tinder fungus. About how to do good tinder ignited by the slightest spark, I told in
Kindling is something that, with its flame, allows the main fuel in the fire to flare up. The types of fire igniters I listed earlier can serve as kindling, but here I would like to draw attention to the kindling that can be found in the wild.
Dry straw, grass and leaves are also suitable as kindling. After rain, dry kindling can be found at the entrances to caves, under large stones, and also under spruce trees, which with their thick spruce branches protect the dry twigs on the lower part of the trunk from getting wet.
Nevertheless, after prolonged rains and fogs, even this kindling gets wet. In these cases, the “filler” of a large anthill can act as kindling in the forest. To do this with small area The upper wet part of the anthill is removed, the required amount of dry kindling is removed, which is a mixture of small dry twigs, dust and leaves, after which the removed wet part is returned to its place.
Such manipulation of the anthill will not be fatal for the ant colony even in the harshest winter. Compared to what they do with anthills brown bears, human intervention in the life of these insects is a drop in the ocean. So, if necessary, and even more so if a life-threatening situation arises, you can, without any twinges of conscience, take dry material for a fire from the ants.
Birch bark (birch bark) - also good material for kindling, which, thanks to its waterproof properties, remains dry even after prolonged rains and is easily lit with a regular match. It is not for nothing that in the old days, some peoples made canoes from birch bark for rafting on rivers.
However, you should not cut the bark from a living tree: this can harm it. For kindling, the bark that comes off the tree itself is enough. In addition, birch bark can also be removed from fallen birch trunks.
In its structure, birch bark is close to paper and is just as easy to set on fire.
If there are no anthills, no birch trees, no tarred bark nearby, and prolonged bad weather has not left a dry place on the surface of the earth, kindling can be done by cutting dead wood from the middle of thick branches. The fact is that even prolonged rains do not saturate thick branches with their moisture, and the middle remains dry.
You can check the dryness of the wood by touching the cut with your lips: wet wood will be cold, dry wood will be warm.
The thinner the wood kindling for the fire, the better.
Go ahead. Fuel is the basis of a fire, what it consists of. The task of the person lighting the fire is to ensure that the fuel burns. Only in this case are sufficiently large coals formed that support a stable burning of the fire.
Both branches, which can be collected directly from the ground in dry weather, and whole logs of dry trees are used as fuel. In wet weather, you can use the dry middle of a split log as fuel for a fire. If you make cuts on such pieces of wood before long twisted shavings form, they will flare up faster and easier.
After large, stable coals appear in a burning fire, even raw fuel can be thrown into it, which will have time to dry out and ignite. Of course, before throwing such fuel into the fire, it is advisable to dry it in front of this very fire, laying it around the perimeter.
For urban conditions good option are fuel briquettes made by pressing sawdust. But they are not suitable for tourism, since no one in their right mind would fill their backpack with them.
Now that all the components are ready, it's time to talk about the fire.
There are many different types bonfires suitable for different conditions. Here I’ll tell you how to organize the simplest and therefore very popular fire. It is called “Shalash”, or “Pioneer”.
This fire, after the formation of burning coals in it, can, if desired, be transformed into almost any other.
So, in order to light a fire in the “Pioneer” fire you need to:
- Place some kindling on the ground or wood flooring (in case of wet weather or snow cover);
- Place thin (no thicker than a match) twigs or wood chips taken from the middle of the log on top of the kindling in the form of a hut;
- If there is smoldering tinder, it must be placed in the kindling and fanned until a fire appears, and with the already burning kindling, set fire to the kindling placed in the fire. If there are matches, they light the kindling in the fire. It is most effective to ignite kindling from below: this way it flares up faster and more reliably.
- When the kindling and thin branches light up, thicker branches are gradually added to the fire. And so on until branches as thick as a thumb begin to burn in the fire. This is usually enough for cooking, drying things and heating.
- At this stage, if the fire stops burning due to lack of fuel (although its supply must be taken care of in advance), it can be fanned again from smoldering coals by preparing the required amount of fuel. In addition, fresh extinct coals are ignited by the slightest spark, struck, for example, by striking a flint on a cleaver.
You can take burnt and extinguished coals with you into your backpack - it can be easier to light them than even thin twigs that have recently been exposed to rain.
It is useful to periodically fan the wood while burning, especially if the wood is half-damp and does not light well. At the initial stage, while the fire is small, you can blow with your mouth, but some people use a special fan to fan the fire. For a tourist, a seat (five-point seat) made of foam acts as a fan, which, among other things, performs the task of thermal insulation of a person from the cold ground.
Summarizing all of the above, I note once again that from the point of view of a tourist, hunter, fisherman or simply a lover of outdoor activities, ignition products are intended primarily to simplify the task in difficult conditions. They require additional expenses for acquisition, take up extra bed in a backpack and add weight to the equipment being carried. In addition, on long hikes or emergency situations they have the unpleasant property of getting lost or quickly ending at the most inopportune moment.
In this regard, such means should not cause a lack of “classical” fire-making skills, and in case emergency you need to learn to do without them.
The experiment was a success - the experience was gained, structured and formalized. Description and photo of the experiment below:
1. Extraction of tinder, kindling and firewood
Flint and firewood alone are not enough to make a fire, because... in reality, this thing is not able to ignite even birch bark - only medical cotton wool and gasoline ignite from a spark. In order to get fire from a spark, you need tinder.
I chose fireweed fluff as tinder, but I’m sure that any other will do natural material as similar in structure to medical cotton wool as possible. For example, the fluff of reed/cattail cobs, poplar fluff, fluff of dandelions, repias and other plants that form fluff after flowering, or dried moss or tissue of tinder fungi are suitable. In an emergency, you can always find an abandoned bird's nest - the only thing in the taiga that really lights up from one spark because... it is always protected from rain and consists only of bird fluff and dry grass. But it’s better to make your own “nest” for sprouts, rather than ruin innocent birds.
Hoping that a spark will ignite the tinder, which in turn will immediately transfer the flame to the firewood - is absurd. As practice has shown, fluff also does not ignite from a spark, but only begins to smolder, producing coals that can be turned into fire by injecting air and birch bark. Therefore, before starting the process, you need to take an ax and prepare birch bark.
It is best to take birch bark from dead trees - stripping birch trees that have already been felled by nature is not only more ethical, but also much simpler and more practical than fiddling with standing living trees.
The easiest way to use dry pine branches as firewood is because there are plenty of pine trees fallen by time and wind in the taiga. You could look for good dead wood, but the branches are much closer and more accessible.
Bottom line: tinder, birch bark, kindling chips, firewood
2. Starting a fire
Preparing a place for a fire.
We strike sparks until enough sparks accumulate for the tinder to begin to smolder.
We fan the smoldering tinder by placing thin strips of birch bark. This is not a quick process, so you need to approach it with patience and without unnecessary haste.
Sooner or later, fire still appears (although in the first minutes it seems that smoke without fire still exists)))
We put wood chips for kindling, and then pile the firewood into a well or a hut (or you can do both at the same time - cover the well with a hut).
3. Conclusions
Making a fire using a flint is an absolutely unnecessary hassle on a camping trip. Yes, it’s interesting to do this for show, but in a real hike, a lighter is better than a flint for at least three reasons:
Firstly, a lighter saves time spent on searching for tinder (carrying a supply of tinder with you is absurd because it is simpler and lighter, and most importantly more practical in terms of the space it takes up, to carry hunting matches or the same lighter).
Secondly, the lighter saves time spent on starting a fire using the most ineffective method of pumping air - pulmonary draft.
Thirdly, even if the lighter runs out of gasoline (or gas), it can still produce sparks that are no different in their properties and effect from flint sparks.
Well, the main counterargument against the stupid fashion for flint - this trinket is lost just like a lighter, but at the same time it costs no less than a trouble-free Zippo.
Don't give in fashion trends- use reliable and effective fire sources.
How to light a fire in a stove, fireplace or fire? This task, which is quite simple in modern conditions, can be solved by various means. I use some means - this may require more time and skills, others - will allow you to light firewood or coal faster and easier.
Advantage traditional way ignition using matches and improvised means in the form of paper, bark, small wood chips - their widespread availability and presence in any home or even in a car.
However, this method of ignition also has significant disadvantages: firstly, the use of matches and paper requires the skill of lighting a stove or fire, without which it will not be possible to quickly light a fire, and secondly, if the firewood has high humidity, then ignition using paper is ineffective, since paper burns out quite quickly, and the firewood must dry out a little before it flares up.
Means for quick ignition - types, advantages, disadvantages
The use of special chemicals for ignition makes it much easier to start a fire in stoves, fireplaces, heating boilers, open fire in a campfire or ignite coal in a barbecue. For this purpose, various means can be used: solid (in the form of tablets), liquid and gel-like.
Solid ignition products are mainly used in hiking, hunting, and fishing. IN household and when preparing charcoal for barbecue, liquid and gel ignition products are most widely used.
The main advantage of chemicals is the simple and quick ignition of wood, fire and coal in different conditions and fuel moisture.
The choice of liquid or gel depends on your goals and personal preferences. However, when choosing, it should be taken into account that the use of liquid is not recommended for lighting a fire in closed fireboxes: stoves, heating boilers, since an excessive amount of liquid can lead to an explosion and should be used with caution in fireplaces.
Benefits of lighter fluid– rapid ignition, active combustion and prevalence on store shelves. The liquid can be bought at almost any store.
However, lighter fluid is not without a number of disadvantages:
- burns out quickly, which makes it difficult to ignite wet or bulky wood;
- uncontrolled spillage of the product in the firebox or barbecue over wood and fuel briquettes;
- when used in closed fireboxes it is explosive.
Another popular product is a gel for lighting coal and firewood - a special chemical agent for quick ignition of coal, firewood, fuel briquettes.
Fire starter gel is a versatile, easy to use and economical fire starter.
The applied gel is highly flammable, flares up quickly and burns with an even flame for a long time.
Benefits of using gel for kindling:
- Long burning and economical. With equal volumes of gel and liquid, the ignition gel burns longer than liquid product, which allows you not only to ignite wood with high humidity, but to use less ignition agent. Long burning also has a positive effect on the safety of using the product, due to the fact that it avoids “topping up” the ignition, which often leads to uncontrolled development of fire;
- Reliable ignition, even at high humidity - due to the duration of combustion of the gel applied to the surface of the fuel;
- Safe - the gel-like product does not spread instantly in all directions, which allows you to control its spread on the surface of the fuel and prevents an explosion;
- Recommended for use when lighting wood or
Recently, on the Internet, I came across a recipe for making a fire starter. Let me remind you that effective remedy for kindling should be included in your NAZ, so that in wet, cold weather, with frozen, shaking hands, you can still make a fire. The right brush allows you to get a fire from almost one spark at any time. weather conditions. Lighting agents, including dry alcohol, are now available for sale. So, all these products do not ignite very well even with a lighter; even dry alcohol requires certain conditions for ignition. Therefore, it is precisely for starting a fire in difficult conditions that something more effective is needed. And here homemade brushwood from your NAZ will come to the rescue.
Recipe homemade remedy for ignition is very simple. These are cotton balls and Vaseline. Main secret is that cotton balls should be made of cotton. Nowadays cotton products are often made synthetic. A synthetic cotton ball will burn instantly. This should be avoided and only buy cotton. This should be indicated on the packaging. You can also check the material of a cotton ball by igniting it. Synthetics will immediately begin to melt, while cotton burns slowly and smokes, and emits a “non-synthetic smell.”
The second component of homemade brushwood is Vaseline. It is necessary to coat the ball well but evenly over the entire area with Vaseline. But the inside of the ball will remain dry, that is, there is no need to tear the ball. This way we get the effect of a candle wick. When you need to get a fire, you tear the ball from the inside, thereby exposing the dry core of the ball, which will serve as excellent kindling.
A couple of sparks are enough for the dry cotton wool to catch fire, and then the outer shell of the ball, soaked in Vaseline, will burn slowly for 3-5 minutes. The ease of ignition is the main advantage of homemade brushwood compared, for example, with dry alcohol.
Homemade brush must be tightly pushed into a sealed container, such as a film box, aspirin, or other medicine. By the way, it is worth noting that a well-soaked ball, even if it gets wet, will still not absorb moisture due to the Vaseline shell. The shelf life of such homemade brushwood is practically unlimited, and the manufacturing process itself is simple and inexpensive.
Separately, I note that you can make the balls yourself from cotton wool, it will be even cheaper, and even more effective, since you yourself set the size of the ball. Everything ingenious, as they say, is simple!