Fire starter pistons are reliable devices used for creating tinder from compressed air, used throughout history and still widely in use today.
Fire pistons rely on cylinder tubes with closed ends and smooth interior surfaces, into which pistons can be inserted and sealed off with thread, wool or leather to provide compression necessary for ignition.
The Basics
Fire pistons are hollow cylinders sealed on one end, fitted with an O-ring for tight sealing on the other, that contain char cloth (or any tinder of your choosing) in its piston cup, before applying oil or grease on its O-ring and rapidly inserting its rod into its cylinder.
Rapid compression causes the tinder to heat up and ignite quickly, using Boyle’s law of gas expansion/compression to operate effectively. It is an inexpensive but simple device.
Once a popular survival tool, until matches were introduced and it fell out of use. Still popular today with outdoor enthusiasts and survivalists, delrin fire pistons remain as an additional back-up device alongside ferrocerium sparkers or magnesium fire starters; one particular model even comes equipped with an hidden compartment to conceal ferrocerium sparking rods!
The Compression Chamber
Fire pistons are hollow cylinders sealed at one end and open at the other, equipped with pistons which fit inside them and form an airtight seal, featuring O-rings for easy insertion into the cylinder and knobs on either end for compression of the piston into it.
A cylinder is carefully machined to perfectly accommodate its piston, often made of wood, bamboo or even horn. Its walls are polished smooth while the bore has been precisely bored to create an airtight seal with oil or Vaseline-lubricated string gaskets to form an airtight seal.
Tinder should be loaded into the end of the piston. Some prefer using char cloth while others suggest easily ignitable materials like dry leaves or birch tree bark as fuel sources. It’s essential that an airtight seal be created by applying vaseline on O-ring gasket of piston to ensure an airtight connection and reliable ignition.
The Tinder
A fire piston consists of a hollow cylindrical structure sealed at one end and fitted with a piston rod, featuring a notched face to accommodate small pieces of tinder like char cloth, dry leaves or birch bark that ignites easily at low temperatures.
Tinder is loaded into the end of a piston, covered by an O-ring lubricated with petroleum jelly to form an airtight seal, then quickly compressed air is forced through through its end into a cylinder; rapid air compression increases both its pressure and temperature, sparking ignition of tinder on its face.
This tinder can then be quickly withdrawn and transferred to a larger bundle that can be lit with just one flame from its user, before another burning coal can be added on top of this initial pile to create the eventual fire.
The Ignition
As the piston rod rapidly pushes back into the cylinder, air is forced in behind it, creating rapid compression of gas and creating the necessary ignition spark to ignite fuel.
This process creates small tinder embers which can then be transferred to easily combustible materials (char cloth or amadou) in order to start a fire. This tool has been around for hundreds of years and makes an invaluable addition to any survival kit or bug out bag.
At Firestarter.co.uk we stock both traditional string gasket and rubber o-ring fire pistons; both produce coal on their first or second attempt and meet aesthetic preferences equally well. Traditional models require cotton string to be rewrapped after approximately 25 fires while rubber o-ring models feature easy replacement of original gasket for continued performance.
Leave a Reply