Solar Fire Hack! [ SIMPLE & EASY ]
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- čas přidán 8. 09. 2024
- Check out this simple and easy way to start a fire! Using inexpensive and readily available items, this is an effective fire starter that is fun to make and use!
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Thanks for watching! Make sure and leave a thumbs up ( or a thumbs down! ) and a comment in the section below. Also, check out the survival and bushcraft classes that we teach at our Southern Ohio class site at www.waypointsurvival.com. See you there!
Hey James, I am making something for your 1790s video series for your girls to use. Give me a call.
Whether from one's household, a thrift or retail store, or purchased on-line; there are many common household items which can be used to enhance our abilities & comfort in the woods! Very innovative & multi-functional! Often "what we need" is already somewhere among "what we already have!" Thank you & may God bless you.
Indeed. Thanks for watching and God bless you too!
WOW AWESOME Fire starting hack!! I always hit the like button the minute I start watching.
Thanks so much, I appreciate that!
Great idea. I would make one modification. That is to attach an alligator clip to the top of the copper wire rather than a second loop. That way you can hold the cardboard in place even more securely.
Cool idea!
Have you measured the focal length? We need to know that so we can rough cut the wire to the right length, a little longer.
The focal length will depend on the diameter as well as the power of the magnifying mirror. You will have to test the one that you have to find the right spot.
That is a super addition to the project. A tiny gator clip will not weigh much and will certainly help hold a few leaves, paper, cardboard, or whatever you scavenge in the hot spot.
Brilliant
Nobody comes up with as many or as good hacks as you do
Thanks so much!
These magnifying mirrors are great fire starters. Watch out where you leave them - they can cause a fire when left on a window sill or a dashboard of a car. This one is small enough to be carried every where!
Yes, they are powerful!
I look forward to your weekly videos!
Thanks for watching!
Very cool! I guess I need to add a mirror and wire to my fire kit
Thanks so much!
Great stuff. I cook with my 25" parabolic mirror. Thanks for passing on the beauty of using the sun for our daily needs. 🙂
You're welcome and thanks for watching!
I have a solar cigarette lighter, somewhere, that uses the same principal. Concave mirror and a spring.
Excellent!
As always sir, your a genius! Simple but brilliant hack!! Love these videos!!
Thank you very much!
@@WayPointSurvival no no no thank you.
Outstanding work james
Thanks so much!
That's brilliant, but I would add one suggestion: leave an extra inch of wire at the top and form a tight spiral to hold the cardboard scrap piece a little more securely.
Yes, you could definitely do that!
Got to save this and get the stuff to make it work. Outstanding video.
Thanks!
Good stuff!! In the late 70’s I had a solar powered cigarette lighter I got from Radio Shack. It worked much like this!
Right on!
This is super cool!! Tfs and take care 👊
Thank you! You too!
@@WayPointSurvival much welcome 😁
Cool! Thanks, James. Very doable!
Thanks!
James that's a cool idea. Nice job!
Thanks, my friend!
I have the factory produced version. They're of course called solar lighters. It has a spiraled spring steel wire in the center of the mirror then a straight section leading to a coiled section that holds a cigarette or paper etc. and the spring steel folds over to hook onto the mirror for flat storage in a pocket etc. I think the idea is to carry a cigarette with it because they burn so slowly and you can use the embers from that to light something else, but it does hold any manner of things to burn.
Yes, they do work pretty well. Thanks for watching!
@@WayPointSurvival I didn't mention That I actually had no idea whether it worked or not because my brother gave it to me and it's still in the package. I opened it and looked it over and put away...never tried it. Yours looks much better though and I'd think more effective since you can use a better mirror.
Late June marked 69 years for me. Eating well and attempting to care for the old body has staved off much of the deterioration I see in other EX-pats. Admittedly, I am not physically the same as ten years ago. Thank you for presenting this great idea. I may need it one day soon. Until that day, our young troops will have yet another method to practice their fire-making.
Thanks so much for watching, my friend! Glad you liked it!
After only 11 minutes you have 100 thumbs up 👍. I bet Vaseline/ cotton balls would work well with that. Keep up the great work
Excellent. I do believe that cotton balls and Vaseline would work also. Thanks for watching!
I like to use dryer lint, I keep a Ziplock full of it in my pack. Even my grandkids can strike a light from my Ferro rod with it...plain ole dryer lint.
Awesome hack! Thanks 👍
Thanks for watching!
Thank you for sharing another cool idea 👍
Thanks for watching!
@@WayPointSurvival you're welcome 🙂
Good video James , thanks for sharing , God bless brother !
You're very welcome and God bless you too!
Thanks.
You're welcome!
Davis West is the guru on fire making. Great hack .
Indeed. Thanks for watching!
David West
Nifty idea! I wonder how well it works with a fine steel scrubbing pad or vaseline cotton ball..
I'm sure if you can get it focused properly you could have a good ignition source using those.
Awesome! Keep them coming.
Thanks! Will do!
Appreciate all you share you teach how to build low cost items to improve our camping so I give a thumbs up at the beginning of the video
Awesome! Thank you!
Nice little piece of kit
Thanks!
Cheers mate that is a nifty way to use a mirror and to store this in your bug out bag I guess, stay safe......
Indeed. Thanks for watching!
Another great video Jim. Thumbs up!
Thanks!
Just light that, Thanks a lot!
Indeed!
Cool ❤
Thanks!
Thank you Mr. Bender, for another innovative, useful, bit of bush craft. Stay well & safe. 🙂 Cheers.
You are very welcome
A miniature parabolic cooker... very interesting.
It is!
A nice simple method from easily obtained items. Thank you!
You are welcome!
Good evening from Syracuse NY brother
Hello, my friend!
Thank you for sharing my friend
Man very cool idea there. Thanks James!
Glad you liked it!
I have used the parabolic lens out of a D cell flashlight. Just slide your tinder through the bulb hole from the back side of the lens until it hits the focus point.
Yes, you can definitely use that as well.
Hi bro you simply amazing on what you know thank you
Thanks so much for watching!
I had my youngest daughter doing solar ignition around age 8 with a magnifying glass great vid and idea multi use because it could be used for signaling as well
Thanks so much!
Very clever idea brother.Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for watching!
Great idea. Awesome.
Glad you like it!
I've seen the ones already made but I like this idea. Thanks.
Thanks for watching!
Very Cool... you could also dip half the cardboard with melted wax for a flame extender.
True!
Real neat. Have you ever used the glass like that's in the 18th century fire kit? That is one thing I haven't done for some reason
Yes, I teach solar ignition at our school.
@@WayPointSurvival well you would be the one to learn from
Show them Fresnel lenses. 👍
Theose work too!
Thanks James. Great set up.
Glad you enjoyed it, my friend!
Reminds me of the solar igniters they used to sale for cigarettes. It had a sort of concave metal disk and a metal arm. You would put the end of the cigarette into a forked end at the end of the arm and adjust it so that the focal point of the sun was at the tip. Once it started smoking you would pull it out and slowly take a drag on it to get it started. I don’t smoke myself but you could use it as a go between for starting fires. If you could just get five fires going per cigarette that’s 100 fires per pack.
Yes. It definitely works along the same principle but more powerfully because of the larger lens and higher magnification.
@@WayPointSurvival What I was really impressed with them was how small they were. Easily folding it up and slipping it into a pocket and simply forgetting about it. A real every day carry.
Fantastic, and handy for other uses. Wow!
Indeed!
You could have mentioned that dark colored materials will ignite quicker than light colored materials. Thus, the charcloth should ignite quicker because it is black. Great video.
True. Thanks!
Excellent!
Thanks!
@@WayPointSurvival you're most welcome! Thank YOU for the info.
The same thing can be done using the bottom of an aluminum soda can that's been polished with fine steel wool, and also with the reflector from a flashlight.
True, but they are neither as powerful or as effective.
Awesome James big DIY , mirror efecct , for EDC , very usefull , multifunctional , cheap , easy , and funny , thanks a lot i see you later
Glad you enjoyed it!
One thing people should know is just like using a Fresnel lens or magnifying glass is that normal notebook paper doesn't work well because it's white which reflects the light instead of absorbing it. Easy fix though just grab a black sharpie and color it, even just scribbling on it with a pencil will help dramatically.
Good tip!
Very cool! Thanks for the info. I actually never thought about a mirror, I always just thought about a magnifying glass. Love your videos. God bless!
Thanks for watching and God bless you too!
Interesting. I found when using a mirror, or a magnifying glass, that darker material catches fire faster. I used to take an empty can and make a hobo stove, then cut a hole the size of my magnifying glass in the lid. Make the lid fit tight around the magnifying lens. Put the lid on top of the can stove. And find the focus pointe of the Sun. Fill with cardboard, (darker colored) to the focus point, then pop on the lid and set it in the sun. Of course remove the lid soon as it catches fire so you don't damage your lens, and add small sticks and tender as needed. Thanks for the video. Hope my hobo stove fire starter helps someone.
Good idea, thanks for sharing it!
There was so much unnecessary work here lmao ... Keep it going tho brother every single piece of info we share with others is going to be beneficial to us all 🇺🇲
Thanks for watching!
Not at all this is very useful, for example on a on and off cloudy day you can set it up and it's ready as you are gathering fire wood etc. So many options with a set up like this.
If you didn't bring sunglasses, you won't have to stare at the light and have spots in your eyes. It looks stable enough to not have to stare.😎
Not a bad idea but a magnifying glass would probably be a better option
A magnifying glass is fine but it doesn't have as many options for survival uses.
Again an absolutely useful video, thank you!
Glad you liked it!
What a great idea! Thank you for sharing
You are so welcome!
Very impressive, thank you!
Thanks for watching!
Shared it with my discord group. Thank you for this awesome hack WPS. See you on the next one!!
Awesome thank you!
I'd simplify It using a wooden skew to hold the piece of kindling or firestarter and place It safety in the mirror focus
Sure, you could do that.
That is an awesome solar fire starter. I was actually looking at one on amazon not too long ago that costed fourteen buck and had ok reviews. This method is much easier and cheaper produce. As always, love the videos on how to get the most out of common items we use everyday. Great job, brother. Take care
You're welcome!
I'll tell you what I did... I took the magnified glass out of an old binoculars and just hold that above the burning item. It is easier to aim the sunlight that way and the item to burn is already on the ground where I want the fire. As a kid I did use a regular magnify glass... the ones with the handle on them, used for reading small print and it did work, but not as good as the one from the binoculars.
Sound good.
An even better solar igniter is the parabolic reflector from the headlight of a motorcar. Direct the open end toward the sun, push a bundle of dry grass through the hole the bulb fits through until the sun's light is concentrated on it and bam! It catches fire almost instantaneously. No fiddling about with wires, no preparation, no nothing: just instant flame.
Yes, that is also another fire trick!
Waayyy 2 cool...
Thanks!
I made a hot dog cooker with a satellite dish. Aluminum Foil Close hangers cooked. My hot dog very well.
That is awesome!
Clever. Thx. - I think I’ll just carry some waterproof matches.
Thanks for watching!
I'm from the UK. What is this "sun" of which you speak?
Seriously, nice one.
Lol. Thanks for watching!
Cool project James
Thanks for watching!
Very good tip.
Thanks!
Very cool James! Thanks for sharing 🤠
Thanks for watching!
Nyttigt att veta. Tack❤
You're welcome!
Great job brother. God Bless.
Thanks, brother! God bless you too!
Have you ever considered doing a collaboration with another CZcams bushcrafter? I think you and Shawn Kelly would be great!
That would definitely be an interesting duo!
Nice job! you could also wrap the box with gorilla duct tape to make it a little bit more durable and I guess you could start a fire with it too
Great idea!
Definitely a cool hack. 👍
Thanks!
Great video brother thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise and hello from Detroit Michigan brother God-bless
Thanks for watching, my friend!
My mom had one of those mirrors back when I was a rugrat. She beat my ass for burning a hole in the carpet while screwing around with strike anywhere matches but a week later she left her mirror which was bigger than that one and double sided one side having magnification and the other having none on the counter in our bathroom near the window. It was mounted on a stand that you could pivot the mirror from one side to the other on. She left it pivoted with the magnification side toward the window and later in the day it set the curtain on fire. Fortunately the counter and wall was all tile and only the small curtain burned and charred the ceiling a bit. I actually hit my dad up for his belt so I could beat her ass but he declined my offer.
Lol. Thanks for watching and for the story!
Nice. Please make a point of doing a video of this fire starting method in action in the winter time.
For it to work effectively in the winter time you need to have plenty of direct sunlight so around noon would be the best time and you also need to make sure that you have a fairly powerful magnifying mirror.
@@WayPointSurvival There are plenty of sunny days in the winter time. So, see ya then.
Excellent
Thanks
Cool ideal
Thanks!
Cool idea, thx for the vid James
Thanks for watching!
Good idea 👍
Thanks!
Magnifying glass works better for fire, but a mirror is handy to look into the eye or face if you're alone.
Thanks for watching.
I probably have a dozen of those. I wonder if i could make water boil with the solar focal point alone? How long it would take?
I don't know, but it would definitely be an interesting experiment!
Great job !
Thanks!
That is so cool! Another great video.
Glad you liked it!
I saw these solar fire starters on the am a zon site for less than ten bucks. They also have solar cookers.
Excellent!
@@WayPointSurvival your version looks to be a lot more heavy duty and durable and packable and less expensive. The one you buy looks fragile. Fra-gee-lay.
Always GREAT , exact info/ demo , THANKS ! Been using that type of convex mirror for yrs. ( but no need for wire .) Recently found a " ladies compact mirror" in folding case, in rectangle shape, size of my palm, SUPER ! Added tinder and several items = good kit. ( No mfg name, store out of business. Darn. Always searching for more for friends . ) Mtn Mel & Molly Blue in W. Colo. , Ret .59-82 USN SERE/ VN. .
Excellent. Thanks for watching!
👍👍👍
Thanks for sharing another brilliant idea, James, this is a hot one😊! 🔥 The description and link state 30x magnification but you mentioned 12x. Does the level of magnification and size of mirror affect the results much? Small magnifying mirrors / compacts are often available at dollar stores.
The 30X magnification will just give you more power to light the tinder even quicker.
There was a solar cigarette lighter which resemble this but was made outta polished metal. Handy on the boat. Amazon has them for 5 bucks.
Indeed. Those work pretty well.
@@WayPointSurvival Nice they're non brakable.Theyve been around forever, i think i got my 1st one back in early 70s.
Neat idea. Thanks, James, and God bless you and your family.
Thanks for watching and God bless you too!
You know, with this concave mirror you could make a wonderful Netwon's telescope? 😁
And to be more helpful, i suggest watching a funny short "How a Chemist Starts a Campfire"
You need 2 things you can add to your EDC meds - a potassium permanganate (good for tending wounds) and a glycerin (many uses).
And you have an emergency, failproof way to start up a fire in any conditions :) Just don't mix the two in your pocket 🤣
Thanks for watching! I have indeed used those two chemicals at different times to start a fire. It is very cool.
@@WayPointSurvival Thank you for your answer. I appreciate it! ☺
After going through the comments I've repeatedly seen people ask why not a magnifying glass, less to carry, and the answer being it doesn't have as many uses - but not once have I seen these other uses listed. I admittedly am an amateur who has seen hundreds of outdoors videos but am lacking in a ton of experience....I'm trying my best here and I can't think of more than one useful option of a mirror other than solar ignition and that's as a signaling device.
It's also useful to check for ticks and if you have a cut on your face or something in your eye.
@@WayPointSurvival Oh, yea I don't mess with ticks and spiders, gear, clothing, ground sheet AND bathtub floors take a Permethrin BATH before I go anywhere. I don't DO spiders🤣 And yea my signaling device option is wonky upon further thought, to be usable it would need a light source coming from the direction I'm signaling to.
@@WayPointSurvivalAnd put your lipstick on straight!! Lol!
Cool 😎
Thanks!
Hello from British Columbia Canada
🇨🇦🖐👍❤🌲🚐🌳🐈🤳🖌🎨🎪🎠🐎🐕🌴🛶
Hello!