View Full Version : Fire with a chocolate bar and a coke can??lol
Anyone else seen this?
lol, it sounds odd but i gave it a go and hey, it worked. Takes a bit of practise though...
http://trackertrail.com/survival/fire/cokeandchocolatebar/index.html
anthonyyy
16-08-2005, 20:49
Probably explains how a lot of forest fires start with sunlight concentrated by glass aluminium cans etc.
ChrisKavanaugh
16-08-2005, 21:49
"SIGH" I've lost track of the times some body wants to impress everyone with some arcane method of firemaking. If I hear one more born again Prometheus tell me " I can make fire with a raindrop, snow lens, 3 very common household chemicals" ad nauseum I'll torch their kit with a lifeboat match. Want to really impress somebody? Have a basic camp set up in minutes with water boiling over a warm fire and cocoa,tea or coffee waiting in a mug as your party walks tired into camp. ;) :D Waste of good chocolate, a drink once reserved for kings and emporers :eek:
zackerty
16-08-2005, 22:04
"SIGH" I've lost track of the times some body wants to impress everyone with some arcane method of firemaking. If I hear one more born again Prometheus tell me " I can make fire with a raindrop, snow lens, 3 very common household chemicals" ad nauseum I'll torch their kit with a lifeboat match. Want to really impress somebody? Have a basic camp set up in minutes with water boiling over a warm fire and cocoa,tea or coffee waiting in a mug as your party walks tired into camp. ;) :D Waste of good chocolate, a drink once reserved for kings and emporers :eek:
In the Army, we had one bright Guy, insist on using a grey putty for fire lighters.
We found out afterwards that he had dismantled a Landmine, and removed the contents! I know it is perfectly safe, when not contained and ignited by a spark, but some cig lighters throw a mighty mean batch of sparks!
Knives and Ferrorods would be a NO-NO!
lol that could go horribly wrong :eek:
I had a go at this method this morning. No luck, although I was using a small can so the reflecting surface was quite small. I also did not have chocolate.
Anyway, the fundamental challenge seems to be to get a perfect mirror like surface. This is difficult with aluminium. Aluminium is a white metal. Indeed we recognise aluminium because of it white appearence. This means that it is giving a diffuse reflection.
I tried with a stainless steel soup spoon - I did manage to make a spot feel warm/ hot on my finger this way which is more than can be said for the aluminium can.
I searched around on the net for any reference to chocolate being a substitiute for jeweller's rouge and for buffing - with no luck.
Of the folks who report success I note that at least one had access to industrial type buffers.
Anyway when I get round to buying a standard size tin and some chocolate then I will try again.
Glad to hear that there is a variety of opproaches on the forum - from those keen to try something new to those who stick to practicalities.
A bigger can deffinatly helps..... the more light collected, the stronger/hotter it will be at the focal point and it will ignite you tinder alot faster (sometimes seconds with char cloth). Also remember to use dark chocolate (with a high cocoa content) not milk chocolate like a certain BCUK moderator who ended up with a can of chocolate sauce :rolleyes:
:D
Ed
If you can't find the right chocolate for polishing, I know cigarette ash works as a polish so I would assume that most ash would work.
I used to spit on the cloth and dip it in the ashtray it was pretty effective on brass.
For the purposes of trying out the reflector bit, just use brasso or other metal polish. I have been successful with a normal cola size can, polished with brasso and using charcloth (black to absorb heat) as the tinder on the end of a cocktail stick.
In making soda can stoves I have noticed that some cans are aluminium and some are iron this may make a difference.
Can I ask the folks that have been successful whether the can they used was aluminium or steel?
I used steel (it stuck to a magnet).... I thought that ali may be too dull.... havn't tried it though..... and used Lindt Excellence chocolate 85% cocoa ;)
Ed
A few more questions. (I do a lot of that)
Can anyone say they have had success with an aluminium can then? Or is this method only possible with a steel can?
As regards chocolate - what is the science here? Why dark chocolate? Could I use cocoa powder? Would I lubricate it with oil/ butter/ water?
I am interested in the idea of chocolate used as a polisher. If it has any special properties over and above other things like ash etc then could it be in its melting point? It melts at about 30C I recall. So it might be abrasive when you start and then turn into a buffer as it gets hotter? So would the effect be different with a full, cold can, or on a cold day than with an empty can on a hot day, or if you put a lot of friction energy into it when the chocolate would be more liquid?
When i managed it i used a steel can and dark choc. I suppose its possible with aliminium (i'll try it when i next have a soft drink.. :D ) I think it only works with dark choc due to the cocoa content , that probally means it works with some damp cocoa powder i havent tried tho.
I think the general idea is to scratch the dull surface off then buff it ( i have no idea how the chocolate does it :confused: )
Hope this helps
Sounds like I had better take a magnet to my corner shop to hunt out the right sort of tin.
Just found the cans I used last year both of which are aluminium. There no excuse for procrastination now... of course the suns not as strong as was when the thread was started.