An effective fire piston can provide an alternative means of producing heat without resorting to flint and steel sources. To create one successfully, it’s crucial to drill a clean bore for it, with an adequately sealed plunger.
Fire pistons consist of an airtight hollow cylinder sealed at one end with wooden plug and fitted with long piston rod that fit inside it via rubber O-ring to form an airtight seal.
Compression
Fire pistons are commonly used by survivalists and campers alike to start fires quickly and safely. Utilizing Boyle’s law, these tools compress air into a smaller volume which in turn produces heat that ignites tinder.
To make a fire piston, you will require a hollow cylinder sealed on one end and open on the other, a rod with an o-ring for creating an airtight seal when inserted into the tube, and tinder material which can be jammed inside of its cup-shaped piston end. Furthermore, you will require a handle in order to push down on it and achieve compression.
Once your O-ring has been properly installed and lubricated with petroleum jelly or another suitable grease, test its fit into the tube to see how well it fits. You may need to trim away some aluminum from one end of the tube so that it fits more securely; this task is simple enough that even children could handle it! You may even consider removing some aluminum using either a file or drill.
Oxygen
Fire pistons work by forcing oxygen into tinder and lighting it, then quickly withdrawing it so the coal continues to receive oxygen.
Create a fire piston using common supplies. Copper tubing capped on one end makes an effective cylinder for this project.
When the piston slams into the cylinder with force, air inside is compressed rapidly increasing both its temperature and pressure – known as “adiabatic compression.” As heat is produced in this process, it transfers quickly to tinder where it quickly ignites.
This activity provides students with a great way to understand energy transfer principles and Charles’ law – similar to how diesel engines function – while providing practical experience of their application in an actual engine. Part of STEM Learning series.
Char Cloth
Char cloth can be defined as any material which will capture and feed a spark, making it a crucial component of fire building using flint-and-steel methods. Cotton and linen fabrics are popular choices; any fiber that burns will do – this includes bark tinder, cattail fluff and punky rotten wood among many others.
To create char cloth, cut up an old 100% cotton t-shirt (natural fibers are preferable over synthetics) and place the pieces inside a small tin, such as an old tobacco tin, covered. Place over low flame until smoke appears from it.
Once the smoke stops, remove the tin and examine your char cloth. It should be jet-black and brittle. To store it safely, seal it in a Ziploc baggie to prevent it from absorbing ambient moisture in the air – keeping it dry is key as moisture-laden materials won’t ignite or remain lit!
Fire
Fire pistons utilize adiabatic compression to heat and ignite pieces of char cloth inserted at the end of a hollow cylinder – similar to how diesel engines do without spark plugs.
Firestarters often find this form of ignition to be convenient and need very little effort to sustain. It is easy to see why people would find such fires so useful.
For making a fire piston, you will require a cylinder made from wood, bone or antler and a piston rod with an airtight seal – such as a dowel rod which can be sanded to achieve this tight fit. In order to provide optimal sealing performance and ease of handling on both ends, an O-ring must also be added on one end as an additional sealant and oil should be used on it in addition to petroleum jelly or another petroleum-based lubricant. Finally, loads of flammable materials (such as cotton balls, char cloth or finely chopped bark) are loaded onto one end of this piston before quickly compressing them back into its respective cylinder – speedy compression!
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