Salt-petre

[ateallthepies]

Have received some salt-petre and am going to try soaking some tinders and see if it improves them?

The other day I found what I thought was a Horse Hoof fungus but after looking at more pics online I believe it is an Artists Fungus (sorry no pics) which is still a viable tinder though not as good as Horses Hoof?

My question is how much do I add to a batch of tinder in soak, is there some sort of weight to weight ratio? Don't really want to create my own sparklers so any info is appreciated.

Steve.

[Hammock Hamster]

I have tried this with varying success with ropes/threads to make slow matches (think firework tapers) that can be lit with a spark and smoulder nicely.

The way that seems to work for me is to put some boiling water into a jar, drop in a spoonful of salt peter at a time and wait for it to disolve.
I normally stop adding when disolving slows down to aviod having any remaining powder in the bae of the jar.

Be aware that once you have soaked your tinder and dried it out again it is likely to have a crust of salt peter (bit like what you find on salted beef) which will crumble off and get everywhere so its best to pop iy into a bag and give it a good brush and shake. If you can use a pestle and mortar to grind it onto a realy fine powder, like talc, as this tend to help it soak in better.

Be aware that salt Petre (potassium nitrate) is an oxidiser and should not be combined with other ingredients unless you know what your doing - keep well away from sugar as if lit it forms a burning napalm like substance that stick to your skin and gives off a heck of a lot of smoke.
Also my top tip is when disolving in water DO NOT get it into any open cuts on your hands as it stings like a bugger!

Hamster

[ateallthepies]

Many thanks for that quick reply. Will try adding it to water like you say until it won't dissolve any more. I knew it is an oxidiser but apart from that know little about it apart from it's a main ingredient in black powder! I think a little more research is needed if I want to keep my eyebrows intact before messing with this stuff

Steve.

[Hammock Hamster]

Many thanks for that quick reply. Will try adding it to water like you say until it won't dissolve any more. I knew it is an oxidiser but apart from that know little about it apart from it's a main ingredient in black powder! I think a little more research is needed if I want to keep my eyebrows intact before messing with this stuff

Steve.

It is indeed one of the components of black powder, oh the joys of a mispent youth but if i recall correctly it is not legal to make and can be very unstable in production.

[ateallthepies]

I already have some Potassium Permanganate and as this is also an oxidiser got me to thinking if it would work also on tinder?

Steve.

[Bushwhacker]

Or another method would be to soak everything in paraffin and set fire to that.

[ateallthepies]

Have plenty of Paraffin! Does this evaporate out the tinder if left to the air?

Steve.

[FGYT]

Be aware that salt Petre (potassium nitrate) is an oxidiser keep well away from sugar as if lit it forms a burning napalm like substance that stick to your skin and gives off a heck of a lot of smoke.


Hamster

yes and espesially DO NOT mix it with sugar and water then when boiling down to a fudge on your mates Parents kitchen stove then get distracted by the postman and forget at the drying out step

or you will remove all the paint on the ceiling tracking you as you run with the 6ft flame filling hte house with smoke and surprising the postman as you wing a melting Flaming ally saucepan past him as hes half way back up the garden path

Oh and it does sting in cuts

[Hammock Hamster]

I already have some Potassium Permanganate and as this is also an oxidiser got me to thinking if it would work also on tinder?

Steve.

Not sure if it would work in the same way but if so it would also make all your tinder a very intersting purple colour.

The main use i have for potassium permanganate as a fire starter is to simply mix it with glycerin. it starts an exothermic reaction that, after a few minutes, give a good hot flame and is great for wet fire lighting.
Create a small pile of the permanganate crystals and pour in about the same volume of glycerin then just wait, it usually sits there looking like nothing will happen then all of a sudden you get a wisp of smoke then flame.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEeSgyuCBl8

I always keep a couple of NHS pee sample bottles of glycerin and pot. permanganate in my kit for emergencies (in separate pockets just in case).
Its also a great wind up if you time it right, when your mate is just heading back over from somewhere, put some onto a pre-laid fire and cover with a bit of kindling then tell him you are going to light a fire in under a minute with just two sticks (check my sleeves look no matches) then just rub the stick together ontop of the kindling and voila, instant fire.