Top ten survival lies

coop44 · Dec 28, 2016

Charcoal bouquets in a paper egg carton, covered with paraffin. A dozen little starters, break off as many as needed. Not to start a fire but it will sure get one going.

Andy54Hawken · Dec 28, 2016

With practice a flint and steel kit can be helpful in starting a fire , even in the rain.
The GunWorks in Springfield OR.
Track of the Wolf
And Dixie Gunworks all sell a flint and steel kit.
A good place to practice is when you fire up your BBQ grill...
Andy

Certaindeaf · Dec 28, 2016

AndyinEverson said:
With practice a flint and steel kit can be helpful in starting a fire , even in the rain.
The GunWorks in Springfield OR.
Track of the Wolf
And Dixie Gunworks all sell a flint and steel kit.
A good place to practice is when you fire up your BBQ grill...
Andy

Oh Andy, you fool. It has already been established that you can't start a fire in the wet with gasoline in this thread.

The Heretic · Dec 28, 2016

Certaindeaf said:
Oh Andy, you fool. It has already been established that you can't start a fire in the wet with gasoline in this thread.

We used diesel mixed with gas - diesel from the skidder, gas from the chainsaws, when I was working in the woods. The diesel would burn longer, the gas was easier to take a flame. Then maybe some freshly cut branches from the logs would burn as they were not soaked with water.

But dead wood that has been sitting in the rain for months is usually soaked all the way through and the only way to get it to burn is to dry it out somehow.

Otherwise, the wood won't burn.

I had a hell of a time getting my slash piles to burn in the winter - I poured some diesel on them then stood there with a propane torch and a 5 gallon bottle of propane, and I could not get them going. So I took some advice, put plastic over them and waited until spring, then they took off, but not without a lot of help.

One method my neighbor used was to put a bit of diesel in a plastic bucket filled with newspaper. Another one was to use a road flare. But it would not work in the winter.

Note that here on the mountain, when the valley gets half an inch of rain, we usually get the full inch by comparison, so yeah, it is very wet up here.

YMMV

Certaindeaf · Dec 28, 2016

The Heretic said:
.dry it out somehow..

Fire dries wood out pretty good.. just spitballin' though.

The Heretic · Dec 28, 2016

Certaindeaf said:
Fire dries wood out pretty good.. just spitballin' though.

If the wood is soaked, it can take an hour or so for it to dry inside my wood-stove before the wood will burn on its own without drier wood keeping it going. That is inside a house, out of the rain.

It is a chicken and the egg thing.

Certaindeaf · Dec 28, 2016

The Heretic said:
If the wood is soaked, it can take an hour or so for it to dry inside my wood-stove before the wood will burn on its own without drier wood keeping it going. That is inside a house, out of the rain.

It is a chicken and the egg thing.

No, it's a complicated rocket.

The Heretic · Dec 28, 2016

Certaindeaf said:
No, it's a complicated rocket.

As you wish

coop44 · Dec 28, 2016

No one has heard of thermite? 5000 degrees Fahrenheit will dry out most anything, actually will "crack" water into its components.

semperfi68to70 · Dec 28, 2016

I have read some interesting posts, and I don't really disagree with anyone. For me though, it really is about the gear. I learned a ton about surviving in the Marine Corps and the more "stuff" you have with you, the better off you are. In my truck I always carry a water proof trunk full of warm clothing, socks, gloves, etc. In that trunk is several BIC type lighters, a few thousand matches, flint and steel, flares, water purification tablets, canteens and a lot of other useful items. I also carry enough food and water for at least three days and 100 rounds of ammunition for the weapon I ALWAYS have with me. I actually do consider everyone I encounter to be a threat to be dealt with. I also keep a pretty significant first aid/medical cache with some more advanced things like sutures etc. I was a firefighter/paramedic so I have had the training to make them useful. I still keep some pretty good first aid and emergency medicine books on hand. If I know I am going to be driving in rural areas or on the road for a few days, I throw in a .22mag/20ga. survival rifle, a lot of ammo for it and a small tent. In my home is all the same stuff times ten. That's just me.