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Cold Weather Metho Stove Fire Starters [split]

PostPosted: Fri 16 Oct, 2009 8:16 am
by Son of a Beach
Franco wrote:Much easier to carry some cotton balls impregnated with Vaseline (petroleum jelly) light one of those and drop it into the Trangia. That will do it...
(you only need about 1/3rd of a standard ball. Make sure that it is cotton not synthetics)
Franco

Great idea Franco. I wonder if Cheezles would work too? They're great fire starters (yes, I'm a pyromanic), but would probably leave more ash/soot than cotton, I suppose.

Re: Bombproof gear

PostPosted: Fri 16 Oct, 2009 8:50 am
by Franco
Cheezels ?
Apart from weight volume is important to me...
And no offence but I am not a fan of "food like" products...
(for a long time I had in mind of suing McDonalds if they ever mentioned "food" in their commercials, but they never do)
Franco
Some use paraffin or wax instead of Vaseline.
.

Re: Bombproof gear

PostPosted: Fri 16 Oct, 2009 8:58 am
by Son of a Beach
Hey, I never said anything about eating them. ;-) But they burn for ages. In fact, you could just about ditch the metho, and cook on a pile of cheezels, I reckon (if you didn't mind the soot).

Re: Bombproof gear

PostPosted: Fri 16 Oct, 2009 9:19 am
by sthughes
So why did we carry all those heavy heat beads into Scott Kilvert Hut if Cheezels would have done! :shock:

Re: Bombproof gear

PostPosted: Fri 16 Oct, 2009 9:48 am
by Ent
Content removed by poster

Re: Bombproof gear

PostPosted: Fri 16 Oct, 2009 10:08 am
by Singe
Franco wrote:Cheezels ?
Apart from weight volume is important to me...
And no offence but I am not a fan of "food like" products...
(for a long time I had in mind of suing McDonalds if they ever mentioned "food" in their commercials, but they never do)
Franco
Some use paraffin or wax instead of Vaseline.
.


:lol: just like if you ask for an 'ice cream', when they repeat your order back it's changed to 'fifty cent cone' ;)

Clothes dryer lint w/ some paraffin is apparently a common fire lighter overseas where wood fires are allowed - would basically be cotton wool I suppose but a nice way to use something that would generally go to landfill. Better to just use a hills to dry the clothes in the first place of course; and they probably only needed to be washed because of the campfire smoke smell :wink:

Re: Bombproof gear

PostPosted: Fri 16 Oct, 2009 10:17 am
by Jellybean
Franco wrote:...
And no offence but I am not a fan of "food like" products...
(for a long time I had in mind of suing McDonalds if they ever mentioned "food" in their commercials, but they never do)
Franco


Me neither! There used to be a rumour that the reason Kentucky Fried Chicken now goes by the acronym KFC is because the product can only be very loosely described as chicken!! :lol:

Re: Bombproof gear

PostPosted: Fri 16 Oct, 2009 12:41 pm
by tasadam
Son of a Beach wrote:Great idea Franco. I wonder if Cheezles would work too? They're great fire starters (yes, I'm a pyromanic), but would probably leave more ash/soot than cotton, I suppose.

Here ya go Nik...

cheezels-fire.jpg
Fire risk!
cheezels-fire.jpg (82.23 KiB) Viewed 14381 times


A hole lot of fun indeed!

Re: Bombproof gear

PostPosted: Fri 16 Oct, 2009 12:51 pm
by Son of a Beach
Yeah... now it just needs "Keep Out of Reach of Children". :-)

Re: Bombproof gear

PostPosted: Fri 16 Oct, 2009 1:41 pm
by Nuts
OK, this is getting off the topic, I'm off to complain to the site admin.... er...arr...

Re: Bombproof gear

PostPosted: Fri 16 Oct, 2009 1:54 pm
by tasadam
Nuts wrote:OK, this is getting off the topic, I'm off to complain to the site admin.... er...arr...

Thanks for pointing that out.
Perhaps I can start a Cheezels topic. Hhmmm, where to put it?
Doesn't really fit in Controversy Corner. Um......
Can't really put it in as a Food topic when their discussion is flammability.
Hey, if you had enough Cheezels to make a campfire to cook on, you could start a topic "cooking food with food".
Then, that's making the assumption that you can call Cleezels "food".
OK, back in the corner for me.... :roll:

Re: Cold Weather Metho Stove Fire Starters [split]

PostPosted: Fri 16 Oct, 2009 1:55 pm
by tasadam
lol
This topic split off on me as I was in the middle of replying. :lol:

Re: Bombproof gear

PostPosted: Fri 16 Oct, 2009 1:55 pm
by Son of a Beach
Nuts wrote:OK, this is getting off the topic, I'm off to complain to the site admin.... er...arr...

There's just no pleasing some people! :-)

(Good point though... topic has now been split.)

tasadam wrote:lol
This topic split off on me as I was in the middle of replying. :lol:

The hand is quicker than the eye. :-)

Re: Bombproof gear

PostPosted: Fri 16 Oct, 2009 1:56 pm
by Franco
Final bit about fire starters ( I promise)
Clothes dryer lint works if it is from natural fibers, not that good from synthetic.
(hence the hint about using pure cotton ...)
And yes get a clothes line if you can.
Franco
In London we lived above a KFC. We were convinced that it was fried rat (plentiful in the Old Brompton RD basements)
BTW, the real "secret" ingredient in KFC is Accent (aka MSG...)

Getting your stove lit.

PostPosted: Fri 16 Oct, 2009 2:13 pm
by tasadam
Franco wrote:Final bit about fire starters ( I promise)

Doesn't have to be now that there's a specific topic for it.

I found it was very cold in the Walls recently, water bottles froze in the tent again (don't like it when that happens).
I have a shellite stove - shellite is somewhat more volatile than metho.
It lights okay, temp doesn't make a lot of difference. But you need to get a flame to light it with.
My lighters I use in the bushwalk stove kit are Cricket brand ones, with the little button that you need to press in before pushing the electronic / piezo striker down to get it to light.
I use them so the button doesn't get pressed when it's stored in the kit with the stove, so it doesn't run out of gas.
It was so cold I could not get either of these lighters to ignite, and had to resort to using a match. I carry waterproof matches and a striker for them in a film cannister.
The lighters, in the pocket for a while, worked again.

Now I am thinking about one of these.
The flame is more like a blow-torch than the flame of a standard lighter.

Re: Cold Weather Metho Stove Fire Starters [split]

PostPosted: Fri 16 Oct, 2009 2:25 pm
by Franco
A mate was using the MSR XKG at between -30- and -40 in Alaska and I am pretty sure it was with white gas (Shellite) but I cannot remember what he used to light it .
I used the cotton ball thingo to light the White Box stove below zero (not much below...) . It is a very tricky burner to light otherwise .
The stove supplied with the Caldera Cone has a priming dish built in and some put a bit of fuel there and light that however the other way is easier and faster particularly with cold fingers.
Franco

Re: Getting your stove lit.

PostPosted: Fri 16 Oct, 2009 2:57 pm
by corvus
Now I am thinking about one of these.
The flame is more like a blow-torch than the flame of a standard lighter.
[/quote]
Adam,
We have found these to be excellent
http://www.tamarmarine.com.au/Site/TAMA ... %20170.pdf
Silva Helios Storm Proof Lighter
corvus

Re: Cold Weather Metho Stove Fire Starters [split]

PostPosted: Fri 16 Oct, 2009 3:48 pm
by Ent
Content removed by poster

Re: Cold Weather Metho Stove Fire Starters [split]

PostPosted: Sat 17 Oct, 2009 3:12 pm
by corvus
Brett wrote:HI Corvus

Brilliant and at Tamar Marine. Now to go shopping :D

Cheers Brett


I guess you bought a Helios Srormproof Lighter being that you were in Tamar Marine today.
Will you be game to try the bucket of water test :lol:
corvus

Re: Cold Weather Metho Stove Fire Starters [split]

PostPosted: Sat 17 Oct, 2009 8:22 pm
by Ent
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Re: Cold Weather Metho Stove Fire Starters [split]

PostPosted: Sat 17 Oct, 2009 9:35 pm
by corvus
Brett ,
Next time you are in Devonport for a weekend let me know , on my short walk the other day in the Don Reserve I encountered ten different birds and the Flora is getting to the nice to look at stage .
Best of all on this walk we get close to a really expert Coffee provider who may just invite us for a brew :lol:
corvus

Re: Cold Weather Metho Stove Fire Starters [split]

PostPosted: Sat 17 Oct, 2009 9:43 pm
by Ent
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Re: Cold Weather Metho Stove Fire Starters [split]

PostPosted: Mon 19 Oct, 2009 2:24 pm
by Franco
Well I asked my mate about what he used in Alaska with the XKG. It was one of those Light My Fire Fire Steel.
That worked every time ( he was melting snow/ice, so several liters per day)
Franco