Posted: 8/14/2007 10:51:15 AM EDT
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I was reading a thread here about the Esbit stoves, Can Trioxane be lit with sparks alone or do you need a direct flame? Trying to scale down my fire kit and thought these would be a nice addition instead of those brown turd looking fire sticks? |
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Thanks kind of though that would be the answer but wanted to be sure. I carry way to much fire starting material as it is wax impregnated cotton Dryer lint (includes naval fuzz) Candles Fire Starter Sticks Matches Magnesium block Spark Stick So I am just trying to whittle the kit down I think I will stick with Dryer lint Matches (wind & water proof) Candle Trioxane (Goes with my Esbit Stove anyway) I can drop the fire starter sticks (they need direct flame also and don't burn as nice) and the cotton with wax. I love dryer lint, I used this all last winter (Northern IL) to start fires with my spark stick (forgot the technical name) |
Flint?  in boy scouts we used to get cardboard egg crates, fill them with dryer lint, wrap them in that brown packing/gardening twine... they were easy to ignite (spark, single match, even magnifying glass/sunlight) and burned long enough to get your kindling going... only downfall was they were useless if they got wet... trioxane comes in aluminum foil packages and floats on water... i love it... one bar of trioxane gets a fire going real quick... |
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Flint yes....I didn't want to say flint Stones....for obvious reasons... I keep the dryer lint wrapped tight.. as a heads up, if you run out of dryer lint you can always reach under your shirt and use belly button fuzz... There is a lady in WI that knit's survival sweaters out of the stuff
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| what the guys said above,direct spark from fire steel /mag bar to triox bar will get it lit NO problem...you do'nt need to add anything to help it light ,just the spark... trioxane is packed in most large U.S. military survival kits as a fire starter...vince g. 11b inf... |
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I just tried this with my little half bic lighter with no fluid, just flint, took exactly two flicks and it was lit, then I tried with my Strike Force on another Tablet (I used a third for each test) and it required 2 swipes of the strike force to get it lit too, Last and not least I tried with a small tuft of cotton, the cotton took off with the first flick on the bic flint. So tested and works in less than Lab conditions, I will try it later in the year when it is cold out, it is officially the hottest day of the year here thus far, 101+ so heck it might spontaneously combust! |
For me this is tremendous news, as I stated before I carry everything to make a fire and now I can pair down some items.... As a side note anyone notice how hard it is to find Bic lighters? I can find no name chinsy ones...but not Bic |
Grocery Stores near me sell "Value Packs" of 10 bic lighters. Never have a problem finding them here in MO. |
Reviewing your kit, you have a pretty haphazard and illogically assembled kit. Only one source of fire, matches.  When thinking of building a fire, you need: Spark Tinder Kindling Fuel These are a bit artificial, since the match combines spark(match head) and tinder (thin wood or paper) and a lens or drill doesn't really 'spark'. Most people carry tinder and spark. In some cases, even kindling and fuel, but then you are car camping! Spark: matches, ferro rod, magnifying glass (sorta), battery, flint, fire drill, fire piston, Sparklite Tinder: cotton, char cloth, dryer lint, magnesium shavings, birch bark, paper, triox, hexamine, Kindling: fuzz sticks, small sticks, small split limbs Fuel: logs, large branches, split logs Many think three is the magic number. Matches, ferro rod, bic lighter are a great combo of sparking devices. Add a lens for good measure. Tinder, think of burn time. Generally the easier to light, the shorter the burn time. Paper or triox? See what I mean? Tinder is available naturally, so a spark is the biggie to have and have a bunch of them. The great thing about a mag block is that you have a loooong supply of tinder, but it can be a bit difficult to use. Cotton balls with petroleum jelly are cheap and easy to pack. They can burn for almost 5 minutes. Triox is great for damp kindling and harder to start kindling. burns hot and long. Dryer lint is too unpredictible IMO. Cotton vs other content that may or may not be flammable. Some lights great, some not so great. IMO the best homemade tinder is cotton balls with petroleum jelly. I would ditch the lint for a 35mm can of cotton balls with PJ Candles are a mixed blessing. In the summer, they can melt and ruin some of your kit. But they are great for lighting damp tinder/kindling and save matches. Kindling and fuel you find. And get 3X more than you think you need. I think the following is a great kit for less than $20 and will last years Doans mag bar Bic lighter REI stormproof matches or at least strike anywhere matches, varnished and in a waterproof match safe frenzel lens CBwith PJ triox bars With the above kit, you have four sparking sources, and four tinders (if you call butane 'tinder') Add a Sparklite for one handed back up and you are set!!!! . |
 A couple of the means to an end that I carry, the little blue guy is the Standard Bic Butane lighter (this one is out of Butane) I sawed it in half and took the metal shield and child proofer and the plastic bits of the valveing. The Flint in these things lasts forever! The Zippo Flints are about a quarter inch long, the Bic flint is almost 3 times that long. in the Butt end of that I usually have a Cottonball with PJ. can be sealed with Silicone to water proof. But I have never found that necessary, I carry a small Swiss Army knife that I use the tweezer to pick out some cotton to use. The other deal is a Gerber Never had a fire that I could not start with these tools. I generally have a bootlace available if I should need to do a firebow. |
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Still made just not marketed by Gerber and yes Strike Force is the correct name. Don't know why but I always call it the Firestorm??? Huh there may have been another one by that name. www.ultimatesurvival.com/product_view.cfm?product_line_ID=164  These guys are a hell of a lot lighter and smaller. but my Bic has em beat! The Firesteel is the same material as the Gerber or US Strike Force but much smaller. |
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Not so much as an Accelerant, more as a means to make the cotton burn longer. The Wick effect the fire burns the fuel not the wick. Cotton is extremely flammable, PJ is flammable and burns hotter than the cotton the cotton with the PJ will last longer to get a fire going, I will do a test on it to see which is longer... |
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Ok Dug out the stopwatch two cotton balls from the same package PJ Gerber Strike Force. With both test burns done on the same piece of broken concrete Standard 100% Cotton Cottonball Burntime from ignition to burnout where it could no longer be coaxed to flame by a modest breeze 1minute 07 seconds Low flame maybe 1" high, but with the proper kindling and additional tinder a fire could be built. Standard 100% Cotton Cottonball from same package Saturated with approximately 3/4 teaspoon Vaseline Brand Petrolatum Gel. Burntime from ignition to Burnout where no flame could be coaxed from even a moderate breeze 4 Minutes 40 Seconds. Much better flame almost 5" high definitely more flame time to get the fire going with different Kindling. Oh did you fluff up your Cottonball? you gotta fluff it a littlebit, you can light several fires off one PJ cottonball. Now do ya understand?
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Seen this alot even the field. It has to be petroleum jelly and you have need it in like needing dough to make bread. This takes some time. A good carrier is an old 35mm film canister. Need some cotton balls real well, smash them in there tight as you can, then set it in the sun for while. The heat from the sun makes it a more homogenous mixture. The real advantage isn't just lighting but how long the ball burns. Still it does help in lighting some just keep in mind the warmer the jelly is the easier it lights. Tj |
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I still have more than five cases of the stuff. Best fire starter around! I used it in the wood stove until I realized that I would not be able to replace it as cheaply as I bought the initial 700 bars... Hindsight is 20/20  c0 98% of the population is asleep. The other 2% are staring around in complete amazement, abject terror, or both. falloutshelter653.org |
Dint I tell ya? Dint I? Sheesh! AND the Vaseline waterproofs the Cotton so you can keep using it, the Cotton that I keep stuffed in my home made Bic Firestarter has been through rain, Shower, etc. never got so wet that it could not be lit, The "Wetfire" tinder also burns BETTER when wet or so I am told. The White Tinder Cubes that come with the Strike Force Burn long and hot like Esbit also. very small (one Cube fits in the handle I have had the same one in there for ever) |
I put one of these on all of my jackets and keep a NRA kit in the truck with a blast match. 
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