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Post by Joey on Jul 16, 2020 20:28:24 GMT 10
I normally use the peat-based firelighters and although I haven't checked I don't think they will work when wet! Bought a packet of Little Lucifer firelighters (made in Aus) to try out. They come as a block sealed in a plastic/cellophane packet and can be broken off to whatever size is desired. They are not individually sealed. These light instantly with a match. Dunked one in water then dried it off with a cloth. It lit instantly. Then sprayed it with a spray bottle on coarse mist setting. It spluttered a bit but kept burning. Constantly spraying it did extinguish it eventually. Surprisingly they didn't smell much at all. Despite being bombarded with sparks from a flint/steel it wouldn't light that way. No idea about longevity and have no plans to test it. Will try one of the other brands. Pretty sure you can get similar fire starters that have a sort of match head in them already so you wouldn't need to worry about trying to light it with a flint spark if it came to it. |
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Tim Horton
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Post by Tim Horton on Jul 18, 2020 9:57:53 GMT 10
Bought a packet of Little Lucifer firelighters (made in Aus) to try out.
They come as a block sealed in a plastic/cellophane packet and can be broken off to whatever size is desired. They are not individually sealed.
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Sounds like you could cut them apart into the size you want, then vacuum seal the individual chunks to limit exposure to oxygen, moisture etc..
I have bought hex-something fire cubes that come in 2 packs of 24 in a box.. Some I vacuum seal the whole box, some individual package of 24, some 6 or 12 in a home vacuumed package...
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kelabar
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Post by kelabar on Jul 18, 2020 12:23:45 GMT 10
Good idea. I had thought of vacuum sealing small blocks, but they may contain chemicals that degrade plastic, so no good for LTS. Maybe wrapped in foil first. There are other types available which are individually sealed during production. These may be better. I suspect they stink of kerosene, not something to put a cache IMO. Dunno yet. But if they light from a spark that would be really handy. Further testing is required (on a very irregular timescale  )! I have bought hex-something fire cubes... More info appreciated. A brand name? Or was it hexamine solid fuel? |
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norseman
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Post by norseman on Jul 18, 2020 12:40:33 GMT 10
Good idea. I had thought of vacuum sealing small blocks, but they may contain chemicals that degrade plastic, so no good for LTS. Maybe wrapped in foil first. There are other types available which are individually sealed during production. These may be better. I suspect they stink of kerosene, not something to put a cache IMO. Dunno yet. But if they light from a spark that would be really handy. Further testing is required (on a very irregular timescale )! I have bought hex-something fire cubes... More info appreciated. A brand name? Or was it hexamine solid fuel? kelabar Crush half the cube to dust and they will readily light with a spark generated by flint or firesteel 100% guaranteed! |
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Tim Horton
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Post by Tim Horton on Oct 9, 2020 9:16:33 GMT 10
I have bought hex-something fire cubes that come in 2 packs of 24 in a box..
More info appreciated. A brand name? Or was it hexamine solid fuel?
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Yes... This chemical word... hexamine.. White tablets, cubes..
Crush to powder to light.. Good thing to remember..
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frostbite
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Post by frostbite on Oct 10, 2020 19:59:53 GMT 10
I could have bought a dozen pallets of army issue hexi for about 20 cents a box recently. Let it go, didn't think enough people use it these days. Minimum purchase was 1 pallet.
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kelabar
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Post by kelabar on Oct 14, 2020 11:51:39 GMT 10
A few test results thank to the inspiration of norseman .  I tested a number of different firelighters. Top left are Redheads individually packed firelighters. They don't seem any different to the other white firelighters but the individual plastic packets light very easily with a match and help to get the firelighter burning. These could be vacuum sealed in plastic for storage or caching. The packaging may help to stop any reaction between the firelighter chemicals and the plastic vacuum bag. Not sure so testing would be needed. I wouldn't vacuum seal any of the chemical/hydrocarbon based firelighters without some sort of barrier between the firelighter and the plastic bag as I suspect there would be some sort of reaction but this is theory. Maybe aluminium foil could be used. The bottom left is a combined match/firelighter. I think this is what Joey mentioned above. They are lit by striking the match compound on one end against the striker on the box, same as lighting a match. The firelighter itself looks like wax soaked sawdust but I'm not sure. They worked well although one match 'head' fell off when striking it. I didn't try to light these with a spark. Top right are Heat Beads brand firelighters. They come individually sealed in a plastic tray. Unfortunately the design and lightweight of the foil seal mean they cannot be easily cut apart for individual use. The very flimsy seal tears easily and an irregular plastic tray design makes cutting the tray up difficult. This firelighter was very similar to all the others but was more oily. It didn't seem to light any differently to the other drier types. Botom right are Jiffy firelighters. These appear identical to the Little Lucifer firelighters and both are made in Aus. I crumbled all of the white types to try and light them with a flint/steel. All would light but needed to be crumbled down to a very fine powder. Small grains wouldn't light. The Heat Beads brand being oilier were more difficult to grind, tending to clump rather than powder. All are good and the white types could be used as tinder but I don't know about longevity. |
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Post by SA Hunter on Oct 14, 2020 18:16:42 GMT 10
 I use these out bush - even when damp they light first go. They are about $4 pkt, but I bought a heap when they were reduced to about $1. |
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kelabar
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Post by kelabar on Oct 14, 2020 19:12:50 GMT 10
Me too! Peat, I think, made in Denmark or somewhere. No smell and they don't melt or warp anything plastic which is always a (probably unfounded) concern of mine with kero based firelighters. I use them to get damp wood burning. Nice to know they work when damp too. |
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Tim Horton
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Post by Tim Horton on Oct 16, 2020 7:29:12 GMT 10
Some info...
A couple times I have bought treated, compressed sawdust "fireplace" logs at the thrift store.. The "match light" type, 3-4 kilo, logs that pretentious people would use to start there fireplace while they mixed martinis for there pretentious friends..
By the looks of the package, these rattled around in someone camping kits for a good long time and distance.. No idea how old they were, where or how they were stored, or if they were dated let alone expired...
Broke them up into golf ball like chunks to use.. Alone they were a bit hard to light with a match.. Used with a hexamine cube they made camp fire kindling light much easier..
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