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Re: Camping stoves and fire steels
Posted: 5 Jun 2020, 12:33pm
by PDQ Mobile
Tea bags - just the bag, works quite well as a first starter/ kindler.
Needs dry grass and more substantial stuff immediately.
You can still use the tea as open tea!
Digression from stoves.
Stoves are easy to light!
Re: Camping stoves and fire steels
Posted: 5 Jun 2020, 10:29pm
by foxyrider
pjclinch wrote:foxyrider wrote:My stoves all have integrated piezo ignitions which have never failed, simples
Wow!
I've had two stoves with piezos, one failed within 24 hours of first use, the other lasted whole days!
They're nice when they work, but I'd suggest a backup is always in order.
Pete.
one of us seems to have luck issues!
Re: Camping stoves and fire steels
Posted: 5 Jun 2020, 10:35pm
by iandriver
Well, my fire steel turned up. All I can say is it's brilliant, using the excellent advice on how to use it from andrew_s. Many thanks.
Re: Camping stoves and fire steels
Posted: 5 Jun 2020, 10:42pm
by foxyrider
hamster wrote:pjclinch wrote:foxyrider wrote:My stoves all have integrated piezo ignitions which have never failed, simples
Wow!
I've had two stoves with piezos, one failed within 24 hours of first use, the other lasted whole days!
They're nice when they work, but I'd suggest a backup is always in order.
Pete.
Seconded. The one on my Jetboil works well but the electrode is easily misaligned causing a weak spark. It's not helped by the way the thing packs inside the pot, leaving the electrode exposed. Most problematic is that damp gives enough leakage to kill the spark. 20 minutes in the sun usually restores things, but that's not exactly comforting!
The piezo in my Camping Gaz Twister is much more reliable.
Maybe its stove quality? My now aged Markill Peak Ignition occasionally needs a couple of goes if its damp but my Soto Windmaster has fired every time since i bought it five/six years ago regardless of temp/dampness ratio.
Re: Camping stoves and fire steels
Posted: 6 Jun 2020, 2:10pm
by drossall
andrew_s wrote:They could work for regular fires too. I've used cotton wool with a bit of vaseline on when trying it out.
Fire steels absolutely do work for regular fires. At one point, most of my Scouts were bringing them along to camp sites, rather than use matches.
Re: Camping stoves and fire steels
Posted: 6 Jun 2020, 3:50pm
by bikepacker
Always used a fire-steel, they work well in all weather conditions. The blade of a penknife is a good alternative to the spark steel.
Re: Camping stoves and fire steels
Posted: 6 Jun 2020, 8:33pm
by andrew_s
drossall wrote:Fire steels absolutely do work for regular fires. At one point, most of my Scouts were bringing them along to camp sites, rather than use matches.
I don't doubt that fire steels can work for regular fires; my reservations were more about the quality of available tinder when out cycle camping. If you start with flames (match, lighter) and fail to progress to a fire, it's simple: damp kindling. If you start with a spark and fail to progress to a fire, what's the problem with?
Re: Camping stoves and fire steels
Posted: 7 Jun 2020, 6:57am
by bikepacker
Light your stove and take a flame from that.
Re: Camping stoves and fire steels
Posted: 7 Jun 2020, 12:16pm
by drossall
andrew_s wrote:I don't doubt that fire steels can work for regular fires; my reservations were more about the quality of available tinder when out cycle camping. If you start with flames (match, lighter) and fail to progress to a fire, it's simple: damp kindling. If you start with a spark and fail to progress to a fire, what's the problem with?
Damp or unsuitable kindling. Or the structure of the fire if something catches but nothing much happens then. I'm not the greatest expert, but it's all about a structure that provides kindling that will catch really easily, air to fan the flames, and a way to build up to bigger fuel in gradual stages. So if your spark is going onto something too large, or whatever, it's not going to catch.
Re: Camping stoves and fire steels
Posted: 7 Jun 2020, 2:56pm
by PaulaT
The mistake that many people make with fire steels is striking from too far away so that the spark has cooled by the time it hits the kindling. Paul Kirtley has a video on his YouTube channel showing how to use a fire steel correctly. It really isn't hard. Even I can do it.
Re: Camping stoves and fire steels
Posted: 8 Jun 2020, 8:45am
by drossall
I certainly find that some Scouts hold back because of fear of the major conflagration that they have not yet started. I always tell them that fires are easy to start, except when you want to
