Do you use white gas to start your campfires?

[gravy4601]

even in a downpour ive been able to find dry wood you just need to no what to look for i.e. cedar or pine branches on the lower section of trees even wet will light also the ones that are just turning brown will cache and any wood off the ground is most likly dry on the inside you just need a knife to split it open and shave some for tinder

[take-a-knee]

Starting a fire with gasoline is problematic, yeah it'll burn really fast but that is the problem, if your tinder sucks to begin with, it'll flame up and promptly go out before anything catches fire well enough to keep burning. I've burned trash in military base camps, I used a mix (about 50/50) of gas/diesel. I'd pour a "fuse" of gas out away from my intended conflagration, light it and promptly step away. The diesel would burn long enough for everything to catch fire.

[sheepdog]

even in a downpour ive been able to find dry wood you just need to no what to look for i.e. cedar or pine branches on the lower section of trees even wet will light also the ones that are just turning brown will cache and any wood off the ground is most likly dry on the inside you just need a knife to split it open and shave some for tinder

Building a fire in all kinds of conditions is a skill all outdoors people should have.

[Panzer1]

It's not recommended to use white gas to start a camp fire. But if you do:
Don't use too much, that's what gets people get into trouble,
Keep your face well away from the "flash" when you light it
Also: Keep your fuel bottle well away from the flame at all times
Never pour white gas on a already lit camp fire.

Good luck

Panzer

[Captn]

1 Esbit tab can do wonders for starting damp wood on fire ... I've even started fires with wet wood in a steady rain using an esbit tab and some bark.

A piece of your synthetic shirt can be a great emergency fire starter as well ... it's scary how well that stuff burns.

You can carry a small bottle of zippo/ronsonall cigarette lighter fuel ... it has a high percentage of naphtha in it so it burns longer than white gas and just as hot.

Lastly, those paper cups you get drinks in from McDonalds and the like are actually wax coated paper .... makes a great fire starter ... just crush one cup and carry it with you .. tear off a piece and start your fire! I used that trick just this weekend.

[txag]

Flames can/will climb the stream if you pour or squirt it into a fire (or what you think is a smoldering fire). Not saying how I know this - just sayin'. It is a lot more reactive than the kerosene we light out BBQ's with. If people could see this once they just wouldn't mess with it period.

[mudcap]

man,what a bunch of rookies! All you do is get a little flame going and toss fuel at the fire and jump back each time.Why would anyone try to light gas and vapors that have been thrown on the ground? I was doing that at the age of 10 or earlier,in scouts we used emergency flares. Damn sheep.

[Feral Bill]

That's one of the few things so stupid that even I haven't done it. TOO SCARY!

[Tin Man]

Just one time. 7 degrees. Despite losing all of the hairs on my hands and some singed eyebrows, it was a life-saver.

hair grows back quick enough

I do a lot of winter hiking and for a fire starter I use Esbit fuel tablets.

I turned believer this year - great stuff when birch bark is not available

Without actually answering the question, let's just say I am surprised I'm alive.

ahem

I'll pick up birch bark along the way. I also have some alcohol hand sanitizer for post-poop washing that'll double up as a firestarter.

birch bark is the best natural, pick it up where you hike, fire starter that i have used

There are much better (read safer) ways. Contrary to the BSA references in prior posts, you can learn a thing or two from the BSA. Check out a BSA Handbook for Field Manual. Having said that, I did as a youth use the white gas a time or two, but it had nothing to do with being a Boy Scout and everything to do with being an inexperienced youth.

I was at a camporee this past weekend where 2 thirteen-year-old boy scouts demonstrated the rubbing-stick on a board to create a coal and dump it into some cotton fire starting trick. Amazing to see it work so quickly.

even in a downpour ive been able to find dry wood you just need to no what to look for i.e. cedar or pine branches on the lower section of trees even wet will light also the ones that are just turning brown will cache and any wood off the ground is most likly dry on the inside you just need a knife to split it open and shave some for tinder

my scoutmaster taught me that stuff when i was a scout. he could start a fire under any conditions. i hide in my tent when it is pouring, but i could start a fire if i needed to.

Building a fire in all kinds of conditions is a skill all outdoors people should have.

agreed. that's why i harp it into our scout troops.

Never pour white gas on a already lit camp fire.

Good luck

Panzer

unless you are stuck in a taliban camp and need a distraction to get away

That's one of the few things so stupid that even I haven't done it. TOO SCARY!

well, fortunately i have access to a helmet

[Buzz_Lightfoot]

Without actually answering the question, let's just say I am surprised I'm alive.

I belive you answered the question perfectly.

[weary]

I'm surprised that I seem to be the only one that knows about that old "Indian" trick for lighting fires with white gas. Just fill a cup (preferably paper, not your plastic cup) with sand. Pour in white gas until it just barely shows on the surface of the sand. Touch the sand-gas mixture with a match. No eye-brow burning puff ensues. Just a slow burn, that lasts for minites. Certainly long enough to start most wood fires.

Sand is ideal. But gravel works, or any substance that won't collect pockets of unmized gasoline that could trigger those hair searing explosions.

Weary

[Bearpaw]

In a word, no...

[thomas533]

White gas fire starting was common in my scout troop. The adults always told us not to, and we always ignored them, until...

A kid named Sirus had managed to unknowingly spill some gas on his nylon pants while starting his fire. Once he lit the main fire, the blow back ignited his pants. As you can imagine, by the time we put it out, his entire shin was covered in melted nylon and was severely burned.

It was about two hours to the nearest town with medical facilities.

We all learned why not to use gas to start a fire that day.

With that in mine, I've learned to start fires in the freezing cold and pouring rain (I live in the Pacific Northwest). It takes practice, but its worth it just so you know that you can do it in the worst of conditions.

[The Weasel]

If you're going to use white gas for starting campfires, keep in mind you have a chance to win a really neat award, too!

http://www.darwinawards.com/

TW

[Rainman]

No. An esbit tab is a lot easier.

[atraildreamer]

Magic boyscout water.

That's what we called it when I was a 12 yr old Boyscout.

Our "Boy Scout Water" was Ronson Lighter Fuel. Easy to carry, easy to light...never failed to work without flareups. The scoutmaster even borrowed it one damp day to get a fire going!

[Jack Tarlin]

As several folks have already pointed out, using an accelerant like white gas to start a campfire might indeed work, but it's a dangerous thing to do.

And what's even riskier is to toss an accelerant onto an already burning fire.

If you're gonna do this, please be really careful.

[Wise Old Owl]

Yes Esbit is easy with wet wood.
Yes with a bunch of rookie Men at a cub & father weekend I pulled a propane trigger torch with a "That's not a light.......... This is a torch!" and started the campfire.... Needless to say i was popular with the kids afta that.

Yes I have started a campfire with white gas & gasoline and proud of it. No I stlll have eyebrows and wings.....

Folk's there is no secret here, you have to let it soak in past the bark into the wood. This clearly takes a minute of WAITING, then toss a match or light a fat stick and push it in...

[Symbol]

Has anyone used this product by Ultimate Survival Technologies called WetFire?

I just bought some. Small, individually packed. A few of these and some matches will make a very light weight emergancy fire starting kit.

http://www.ultimatesurvival.com/prod...ct_line_ID=157

[Rainman]

Has anyone used this product by Ultimate Survival Technologies called WetFire?

I just bought some. Small, individually packed. A few of these and some matches will make a very light weight emergancy fire starting kit.

http://www.ultimatesurvival.com/prod...ct_line_ID=157

Looks very similar to esbit to me?