Start A Fire With 9V And Steel Wool

Originally posted by Domo1
I can't believe I've never seen this and I'm sure the majority of you guys have but thought I would share for anyone like me who somehow never managed to see this in action.

Seems like a good addition to the bag.

Or you could just use a box of matches. They are lighter and they take up less space.

reply to post by Domo1


What you have posted is impossible.

Please review a couple of 911 threads.

There you will find that steel can't be melted with a whole planeload of jet fuel.

So steel obviously can't burn.

Seriously, I keep a piece of it in my fire starting kit. It is easier to work with than the magnesium bar fire starters, and does get a blaze going quickly.

Originally posted by Domo1
reply to post by David134

 

Pretty cool. I'm too lazy for it though.

The beer can/penny stoves are easy. My first stove was rough but I've built several since and they just got better with each build. Give it try! It's fun and when you see the stove start to fire up after priming, its pretty amazing. I keep one in the BOB as a backup and also in my camping gear. I built a small mug stand and wind screen to go with it.!!

As for the 9volt battery / steel wool trick. I am surprised that so many people have NOT heard of this technique before. 9 volts pack a punch. I accidentally left one in my pocket after changing out the smoke detectors and my pocket got quite hot after the battery began to heat up some loose change in there.

Build the stove and amaze your friends!!

Everything and more about alcohol stoves
zenstoves.net...

Dryer lint works great as do matches obviously.....except when they get wet.


The best thing I have found and carry for starting fires (even if I fall in a river and they get soaking wet) is:

Take cotton balls and massage Vaseline into them thill they are saturated with it, the cotton will absorb the petroleum jelly. Do about 30 of them and stuff them in an old plastic pill bottle from the pharmacy and toss it in your pack.

When you need a fire you just take one out separate it apart a little and hit it with a spark. It will burn for minutes.
A bottle of those and a "Blast Match" (google it) or flint & steel and you have a fire EVERY time. Period.
The Blast Matches are Awesome and throw a shower of VERY hot sparks. They are well worth the money!

Love it! You never know when you'll need this 'McGuyver' moment!
Thanks for sharing.

peace

Oh what the hell I'll add one more here. I think I have added this in about 10 other threads on fire starting.

Cut short lengths of jute twine and soak them in melted paraffin wax. Pull them out and place them on wax paper to dry. Then just tuck them into your fire kit. When ready to use, pull out a piece, rough it up to open the fibers into a little nest of sorts and hit with a ferro rod or whatever you have. Poof!! fire.

All kinds of things you can use for tinder and kindling. I bought a big box of cheap fat wood at Home Depot and cut the small sticks into packable sizes ranging from thicker pieces to small slivers to add to my tinder bundles. They are great little boosters when the going gets rough or your kindling is a little wet.. The boxes are cheap and you will get hundreds of fires from one box.

If you're in the woods and don't have fatwood, you can find it.

Look for old pine tree stumps

Originally posted by PurpleChiten
definitely do NOT put the battery in your pocket, especially if you have metal of any kind in there or anything else that would conduct an electric current... it will overhead because of being shorted out and it will burn you.

I can vouch for this, in Korea, I was taking a 9V battery to the Flightline for a piece of equipment. I put it in my pocket where my dogtags and chain were. I did manage to get to the line before they met and I began to get a warm spot on my leg. In no time at all, it got so hot that I burned my fingers trying to get it out of my pocket. :-)

I've also used the cotton ball and vasiline teaching scouts and we taught young scouts to make fire starters out of dryer lint dipped in wax.

I also used to carry a small candle cut down to about the size of a stack or 3 or 4 dimes. At one summer camp, the camp cooks couldn't get the fire going due to the rain. Several of the Experienced Scouts, several who had wilderness survival badges couldn't get it started either. I told them to go to the camp meeting that was going on, then I pulled out my candle bit, placed in in the botter of the pit, built a shelter of wet tender and sticks over it then lit the candle. As the flame dried the tender it caught and so on. In no time al all, the fire was going and we used it as a teaching moment to remind them of the importance of being prepared for any environment.

Man, I miss the Scouting days.

reply to post by paraclete1


If you take a 9 volt battery apart, you will fInd 6 cells inside. They have wires connecting them in series to get 9 volts from the six 1.5 volt cells. The first time I took one apart, I managed to accidentaly short the terminals of one cell together and it blew up in my hand. The metal wrapper cut my hand, but I got off fairly lucky IMO. I was surprised at how much force it had.