You may have seen an experiment at school or perhaps a demo on social media of an empty 5 gallon jug with a small amount of alcohol or acetone poured into it. When the jug is layed on it’s side and rotated, the alcohol is spread thin, thus causing it to vaporize. When a match is dropped into it, a hellasious flame erupts in the cavernous vessel. By modifying this vaporization process you can create a small scale manageable lighter.

You can take a glass or jar and pour a small amount of alcohol or acetone into the bottom. Then, you can take a paper towel or tissue and fold it into a strip and line the lower portion inside the glass. The paper will act as a wick and draw up the flammable fuel that will begin to vaporize it, thus enabling it to be ignited by the empty peiso lighters spark.

Be aware that the flame will be sudden and large. You can place an intermediate tinder above it to capture the flame to transfer it to a prepared tinder pile to ignite briquettes or campfire. Please exercise caution when exercising this method.

I have found that natural fibers work best when choosing a wick, and that a ribbon or tape shape rather than a round shape provides a better light source.

In our medicine cabinet I found a 100% ribbed cotton pad so I cut off a rib to use for my wick. I poured a small amount of canola oil into a small Pyrex dish as my vessel. I tore off a small piece of aluminum foil and poked a hole in the middle. I dipped the wick into the canola oil then inserted it through the hole leaving about a quarter inch on top then placed the foil over the top of the oil. A soaked wick is slow to light but once lit displays a steady flame.

The foil provides a convenient barrier between the oil and flame while suspending the wick in the middle of the dish. An added bonus is that the crinkled foil texture reflects and enhances the light from the flame.

This simple design can provide hours of light when needed. Be sure to keep it away from combustibles and make sure that it is stable as the oil is a liquid and could spill.

I have mentioned in previous articles alternative fire starters such as “Duct Tape Tinder And Fire Starters” and “Quick And Easy Fire Starters”. Many petroleum products will burn well but they are usually quite sooty. In the short term smokey flames are okay but be sure that you’re up wind when it’s burning.

Recently I wrote about using rubber bands in the process of making an “Antler Slingshot” so having various rubber bands on hand I decided to try one to see if it would be a viable fire starter. It takes a few moments to establish a solid flame but once established it burns very well… up to two minutes! Of course the thicker the rubber band the longer the burn time.

Rubber bands are a light weight, inexpensive, and easily obtained “flexible” resource that can be carried by wrapping around a water bottle or any other object of your choosing. It’s another potential resource to aid you in building a fire when needed.

In the past I have tested different brands of sanitizer to learn about their properties and effectiveness in their ability to ignite and sustain a flame. Recently I tested a dab of sanitizer that didn’t want to stay lit. When it extinguished I would spread it out with my finger and re-light only to see it extinguish shortly thereafter. This may have to do with it’s composition or shelf-life.

Awhile back I read an article about mis-use of hand sanitizer by some youth who added salt to it in order to extract the alcohol which they ingested and ended up in the hospital. That technique came to mind and I wondered if salt would release enough alcohol from my sample in order to sustain a flame. I happened to have some salt nearby and sprinkled some on the remains and voilà, it started to melt and when lit stayed lit longer with a larger flame.

I decided to do a side-by-side comparison so I took two small jar lids to safely contain the fuel and put a penny sized dollop of sanitizer in each. I added salt to one and then lit them both. You can see the contrast of the two in the photo. Needless to say that the bigger flame burned out sooner and lasted only a fraction of the time that the unsalted sanitizer did.

After further tests and thoughts I have come up with some “pros” and “cons” of the two burning methods.

– SALTED –

Pros – 1) The salted sanitizer’s flame burned bright yellow, thus giving off useful light. 2) It’s vigorous flame would aid in lighting tinder more quickly. 3) It can help the performance of a weak sanitizer.

Cons – 1) Because the flame is so vigorous it burns out much sooner then the untreated sanitizer.

– STANDARD –

Pros – 1) The flame is low but steady and lasts much longer – good for cooking/heating. 2) The blue flame is almost invisible so that it has low profile visibility if needed.

Cons – Because the flame is nearly invisible, especially in daylight, it can be dangerous if you don’t realize that it is lit.

In the end, each sanitizer method has it’s pros and cons but by experimenting with each method you will broaden your understanding and experience on how to maximize it’s effectiveness for your improvised fuel application.

I’ve used seed puffs from dandelions, milkweed, and cattail among others to catch sparks. Once lit the fibers almost explode into flame. It’s important to surround the fuzz with light and dry tinder, especially above it to catch the flame so that it can be built into a larger fire. But what if you don’t have seed puffs to catch a spark? What if you were in an urban environment surrounded by asphalt and concrete and not in a wooded area?

You can collect flammable cotton fiber from your clothes by taking a sharp edged device like a knife and scrape it over the surface of your clothing several times. A small roll of fibers will begin to accumulate. Denim pants are a great source for this. The roll of fiber can be pulled apart into a “fuzz-ball” in order to catch a spark from a flintwheel or ferro rod.

Another clothing source of fiber is cotton socks. If you don’t have a knife blade for scraping you can simply pinch off bits of fiber with your finger tips to collect a small fuzzy pile. I often put this tinder into a small cone of tissue paper to catch a flame. This fire method is also known as a “prisoner match”.

A number of folks have experienced similar results using dryer lint, cotton balls, and cotton swabs as their tinder but these fibers would need to be collected ahead of time and carried whereas your clothes require no planning and are naturally with you as part of your everyday life.

As usual, I recommend that you try this for yourself and practice it so that you will have this skill for the time that it is needed… or just to have fun!

The solar cigarette lighter uses a parabolic mirror to direct the sun’s rays to a point of focus where the tip of a cigarette is held in place by a retractable arm or bracket. These lighters are produced in metal or silverized plastic. The cigarette holding arm can be a hinged bracket or a spring mounted wire (as shown in the photo). In lieu of using the lighter as it’s manufactures intended, alternate tinders to start a fire can be lit by moving the bracket to the side while holding the tinder by hand at the point of focus.

 
The flint-less lighter uses a hair-thin platinum wire or grid of wires to ignite it’s fuel. Platinum wire when exposed to methyl alcohol fumes and other flammable gases creates an exothermic reaction that causes it to glow red-hot thus causing ignition. These lighters can come as a wand for stove burners or lipstick style canisters as shown in the photo. It’s quite a phenomenon to behold. If you acquire either style, you may need to pass the filament through a flame or touch it to a lit cigarette to burn off any residue in order for it to be activated more easily.
 
 
 
The “Shepard’s lighter” or “trench lighter” is a flame-less lighter that uses a charred cotton cord to catch sparks from a flintwheel striker. Where a modern lighter uses lighter fluid with a wick or a nozzle for butane gas, a cotton cord that is charred at the end is similarly positioned to catch the sparks produced when the flintwheel is struck. The result is an ember that is enhanced by blowing on it and then touched to a cigarette. It was used during WWII to light cigarettes without a flame, thus reducing visibility to the enemy when lit.

There are more lighters on my “to-get” list. During WWII Japanese soldiers had a brass fire piston that they used as a lighter. Dunhill made a flint-lock lighter with an actual fire pan for gun powder. There are also battery powered lighters, the most recent model having the appearance of a thumb-drive that is charged via USB port. In the interest if obtaining more specimens for my collection I would enjoy receiving any comments regarding your favorite lighters and how they work.

I’ve had a lot of fun making these at public events where I have demonstrated survival skills. I have an “Every Day Carry” (EDC) tool kit on a keyring that includes two items that I use to construct this burner: a P38 can opener and a small multi-tool scissors. As shown in the video it needs only a knife to accomplish the same task. In an urban scenario aluminum cans are an easy resource to find. With no need for drills or a secondary can this method is ideal for in-the-field construction.

The inside walls of the burner are fluted, thus eliminating the need for small drilled holes like a conventional gas burner. They create channels for vaporized alcohol that naturally create the “holes” at the rim around the can. One single hole is made to relieve pressure/condensation caused when a pan is placed on top of the burner while cooking.

In my opinion denatured alcohol works the best as a fuel as it is completely consumed in the process whereas isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol contains water in it’s composition and can produce soot which increases as the concentration decreases. It comes in 90%, 75%, and 50% dilutions. Methyl and ethyl alcohols are also clean burning fuels. Denatured alcohol can be found in the painting section of a hardware store. The yellow “Heet” bottles of antifreeze gasoline additives contain ethyl alcohol and can be found at an automotive supply store. Acetone, an alternate fuel, can be found in the painting section of a hardware store, or, as most finger nail polish removers are composed of acetone, they can be found in most cosmetic departments of various stores.

I put this burner at the top of my list because it is cheap, easy to construct (it takes me about 5 minutes), easy to use, doesn’t need a primer lid, and is very reliable. Kudos to it’s inventors! I encourage you to make one for yourself so that you will have a burner on hand, and, so that you can show others how to make one for themselves.

(images taken from How to make the only travel stove you’ll ever need)

Ignition sources include sparks, flames, embers, and other sources of focused heat. A common “party trick” is to squeeze an orange rind right next to the flame of a lighter or matchstick. The airborne mist ignites with a “poof!” creating a larger momentary flame. I was curious to see if a flame could be created without using a pre-existing flame by using a spark instead. I often use empty flintwheel lighters to experiment with. The “flint” in the flintwheel lighter is actually ferrocerium which is an alloy of different metals that when struck or scraped will produce a very hot and long duration spark. It can ignite tinder that traditional flint and steel sets cannot. So, I remove the windscreen from the lighter and it becomes my spark source.

In this experiment the biggest challenge was coordinating the mist released by squeezing the rind with the spark produced by the flint wheel. At the end of the session I had a small blister on the lip of my “flicking” finger but it was well worth the price of success. My “proof of concept” worked. Although the flame is only brief, it could exceed the ignition potential of sparks alone.

So, for other firecraft enthusiasts, give this method a try to add another method to your list.

Photo provided by searcher Lucia Gonzalez ©AP

In the process of travel their Jeep had overturned just off a road (see photo) and could not be up-righted nor could they start their engine for warmth. The man who was a mine worker and hunter built a fire beside the vehicle just minutes after the Jeep rolled down the snowy embankment on Sunday and kept the flames going until rescuers found them on Tuesday. They found scrap wood for the fire and burned a spare tire for warmth and to create black smoke for signaling. They also heated rocks for warmth while the group stayed in the upside-down vehicle for shelter. Fortunately they were dressed for cold weather conditions.

I’ve seen hot rocks used to bring a container of water to a boil but I had not thought of rocks as a heating device. In an enclosed area this would exclude the danger of flames and carbon monoxide. Fortunately they had some food and water available.

Although they were located in a patchy cell phone area – rescuers used cell phone signals and footprints to locate the family. Some of the group suffered from slight exposure and dehydration, but none had frostbite.

Under the circumstances I thought that the survival techniques that they employed worked well. A news website article reader, Corey Jordan, offered these suggestions for off-road travel: “1) Never wander far from civilization alone. Always have more than one vehicle. 2) Don’t depend on a cell phone. Have a two-way radio, a CB radio will do. 3) Have an emergency kit aboard. This would include first aid kit, blankets and something to start a fire. Mylar blankets can double as shelter halves. Include anything that you may need in a situation like that which occurred. 4) Have a recovery kit. Recovery straps, come-along (or a high-lift jack). Include a jack board and a compressor (runs on the car battery). If they had a recovery kit, it would have been possible to have righted their Jeep. 5) Food and water for two days. 6) Get some experience driving off road in rugged terrain…”.

The common thread leading to sustained combustion is the progression of thin-to-thick flammable material. The three basic categories of material is referred to as tinder, kindling, and fuel. For instance, tinder might be dry grass, leaves, bark or twigs, kindling might be pencil sizes branches, and fuel might be arm sized branches or larger logs. Because heat rises along with the flames, these materials generally are stacked with the tinder at the bottom, kindling above it, and fuel beside it or placed on top of the fire once it is established. The materials should be close enough to transfer heat but loose enough to allow air flow.

Safety measures should be taken when building a fire and I always advocate having an open container of water close by. In addition, there are various ways to contain and control the fire such as by using a fire pit, trench, or Dakota hole. In environments where there is snow or soggy ground, a fire may need to be insulated from beneath using green logs as a base. When fire is needed on a deck or floor, a thick earthen pad can be used.

The campfire constructions (or fire-lays) that follow are geared toward naturally found materials that you might find in the woods. Although the larger fuel logs shown in the illustrations have been cut or split, it is not necessary for a successful campfire. Although each campfire style may share similarities they can also differ in their advantages and disadvantages.

LOG CABIN – The log cabin configuration is a classic structure and very picturesque. It allows air flow and elevates kindling above the initial flames of the tinder placed within the structure. I may be helpful to dig a slight trough under one side with which to accommodate the lighting of the tinder.	Log Cabin Campfire
TEEPEE – The cone shape of this campfire takes advantage of the rising heat produced from the lit kindling located inside at it’s base. Like a teepee, an initial tripod of sticks with interlocking branches can be placed to support additional sticks that are leaned against it. Some of the sticks may need stability that can be gained by pressing the bottom ends into the ground. At some point this structure will collapse but will hopefully provide the critical mass required to ignite fuel sized branches that are subsequently placed on top of it.	TeePee Campfire
LEAN-TO – The lean-to is built with a log (or dry stone) as a prop to hold up kindling that is leaned against it. Underneath the kindling is placed tinder. This is my preferred method for several reasons: it is very stable structure; the fuel log can act as a wind break or wind scoop; the fuel log is immediately heated for quicker ignition.	Lean-To Campfire
STAR – This is another classic campfire that works quite well. Fuel logs are placed like spokes in a wheel, leaving an opening at the center for a mound of tinder and kindling. The logs provide the same benefit as a lean-to with the added advantage that the logs can vary in length but can be pushed into the center as they are consumed. This comes in handy when you are unable to cut the fuel logs into shorter convenient lengths.	Star Campfire
INVERSE – In recent years there’s been attention given to the inverse campfire. This breaks the rule of using thin-to-thick materials that start from the bottom, but rather is constructed with the fuel logs at the bottom with kindling and tinder placed above. When the tinder is lit, gravity takes hold and the fire and embers descend onto the fuel below, igniting each consecutive layer as it grows.	Inverse Campfire
BUNDLE-UP – This is a name that I have attached to a variation of the Swedish Log Candle. The Swedish Log Candle is a fire log that is split or cut lengthwise into wedges, using an axe or chain saw in the process. The bundle-up can be made without tools using broken pieces of wood that are wrapped together with vines, cordage or wire. Longer pieces can be placed on the outside with shorter ones in the center. This creates a slight bowl area into which a mound of kindling and tinder is placed and lit. This aspect resembles the inverse fire structure. The advantage of the bundle-up is that it raises the fire off the ground and can be used in watery areas. Binding the bundle low allows for the longest burn time from above.	Bundle-Up Campfire

 
I’m sure there are other campfire methods that exist but these methods have been proven and provide options for you to use in various conditions. I’m always interested in learning new ways to build campfires and invite you to share yours.