Open fires

On Thu, 11 Nov 2004 21:08:07 GMT, Torak <[email protected]>
wrote:

>David G. Bell wrote:
>> [email protected] "Torak" wrote:
>>>John-news-group wrote:
>>>
>>>>Hi
>>>>
>>>>Do any of you guys use wood fires for a brew when your out playing?
>>>
>>>Of course. I light it with diesel.
>>>

>>>
>>>...and I probably don't need to mention this, but just in case anyone
>>>wants to tell me what a bloody stupid idea that would be, glance briefly
>>>at the Disco 3 threads.... ;-)
>>
>> Diesel takes a bit of lighting. I wouldn't call it safe, but neither is
>> it "bloody stupid" by default.
>
>Agreed. And considering that Clarkson lit it by splashing it over a pile
>of sticks and dropping a match on it, I suspect he wasn't using diesel.
>
>When we had firefighting training in the Swedish Air Force, they used a
>big vat of diesel that we had to extinguish - they used a blowtorch to
>light it.

My previous career was an aviation firefighter - kerosene is pretty
hard to light as well, we generally had to pour 20 or so litres of
petrol over it to get it to reliably light (easily).

For lighting camp fires I've seen petrol in a half coke can used -
just light it with a match and it burns like a large candle (ie it
doesn't explode or go woof).

On Fri, 12 Nov 2004 07:32:53 GMT, [email protected] wrote:

>> Agreed. And considering that Clarkson lit it by splashing it over a
>> pile of sticks and dropping a match on it, I suspect he wasn't
>> using diesel.

If the burning sticks didn't leap up to bite him it wasn't petrol...
If you splash a bit of petrol one few sticks and drop a match on they
go WOOF and jump up... BTDTGTTS. B-)

>> When we had firefighting training in the Swedish Air Force, they
>> used a big vat of diesel that we had to extinguish - they used a
>> blowtorch to light it.
>
> My previous career was an aviation firefighter - kerosene is pretty
> hard to light as well, we generally had to pour 20 or so litres of
> petrol over it to get it to reliably light (easily).

Kerosene is lighter (more volatile) than diesel. Both really need a
wick and decent heat source to get 'em going, ofcourse once they are
the heat of combustion is enough to keep the vapourisation going.

> For lighting camp fires I've seen petrol in a half coke can used -
> just light it with a match and it burns like a large candle (ie it
> doesn't explode or go woof).

I don't think I'd like to try that, see above... A biscuit tin full of
sand with some petrol is quite good. Doesn't matter if it gets knocked
over.

--
Cheers [email protected]
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

[email protected] wrote:
> On Thu, 11 Nov 2004 21:08:07 GMT, Torak <[email protected]>
>>
>>Agreed. And considering that Clarkson lit it by splashing it over a pile
>>of sticks and dropping a match on it, I suspect he wasn't using diesel.
>>
>>When we had firefighting training in the Swedish Air Force, they used a
>>big vat of diesel that we had to extinguish - they used a blowtorch to
>>light it.
>
> My previous career was an aviation firefighter - kerosene is pretty
> hard to light as well, we generally had to pour 20 or so litres of
> petrol over it to get it to reliably light (easily).

Yeah, that's what they did the first time they lit it. After that, of
course, it was already fairly warm and relatively easy to light.

> For lighting camp fires I've seen petrol in a half coke can used -
> just light it with a match and it burns like a large candle (ie it
> doesn't explode or go woof).

That's an idea... I find a jam jar of "napalm" (polystyrene dissolved in
petrol) works well; dip a stick in it, and it'll burn for a good five
minutes regardless of weather.

I'm told that stuff like C4 will also burn like a candle if lit, which
is interesting.

So [email protected] was, like

> >
> For lighting camp fires I've seen petrol in a half coke can used -
> just light it with a match and it burns like a large candle (ie it
> doesn't explode or go woof).

Forgive me if I don't try this.

--

Rich

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