Emergency fire starter

[sparrow75]

Here is another version of Potassium permanganate-glycerin based fire starter
Drinking straw bent and melted, filled with ingredients... cut lenghtwise and warm yourself

 

[Reorx]

Nice!!!

 

[wildmike]

That is a really great idea!!!

 

[kage]

That's a cool idea! Make sure you pack that carefully so that you don't accidentally set your backpack on fire!

 

[Joben]

Dang that's COOL...kinda like a pyrotechnic glow stick.

lol i agree with kage though having them together in fairly fragile plastic seems a bit risky.

 

[glee]

Hmmm... IIRC potassium permanganate and glycerin can cause spontaneous combustion. It's been a few decades since I've done it, but I seem to remember putting the two in a piece of paper, twisting really tight and it would combust from the pressure.

From wiki...

Safety

Solid KMnO4 is a strong oxidizer and thus should be kept separated from oxidizable substances. Reaction with concentrated sulfuric acid produces the highly explosive manganese(VII) oxide (Mn2O7). When solid KMnO4 is mixed with pure glycerol or other simple alcohols it will result in a violent combustion reaction.

3 C3H5(OH)3 + 14 KMnO4 → 14 MnO2 + 14 KOH + 9 CO2 + 5 H2O

I just realized that was the intent here, spontaneous combustion from mixing the isolated materials in the straw.

Personally, I'll pass.

 

[sparrow75]

Thanks. I come up with this only yesterday, will make some more and see how it holds up

 

[Briarbrow]

last I week I was walking along and after a bit I thought "what the heck is my leg wet"? It was soaked; somehow punctured my platy

since i wasnt curious enough to really figure out what happened with that: I can only guess where a mess of these may lead.

A nifty idea none-the-less

 

[nothinghappenedtoday]

Although that is really cool, and looks like a lot of fun to make, I wonder what the practicality is of carrying those straws around.
1) It just seems really dangerous. Straws break all the time. It is one thing when a straw splits and you can't get the last few drops of your Big Gulp, but if this straw splits you get an extremely hot and fire.
2) About 4 of those straws looks like the size of a Bic lighter. You get way more fire from the lighter.
3) Again - way too dangerous for me to carry in my pack.

Cool pics and idea though

 

[tenkara]

I like it. It's another variation on a carry method for Potassium Permanganate. It also has the benefit of blocking out light that could otherwise decompose the PP. I'm sure we all carry other containers that could hold those straws. The only thing I would do differently would be to seal the glycerin completely separate. I do mean completely, as in not in the same vicinity. My RapidFire Capsules and glycerin bottles are now packaged in 2 separate bags attached to 1 tag. They will not mix until I am absolutely ready. Anything less could too easily invite disaster.