Have I buggered it?

[Brixton]

About a month ago I bought a Wilderness solutions fire piston
It obviously worked when it was tested at the factory as it had a bit of (what I thought was) cork in the end which had a couple of burn marks.
I eagerly tried it with the charcloth supplied but with extremely minimal success. A glow every 20 or so goes which if I put a chunk in the recess I lost when I tried to get the ember out with a needle or it simply blew away if I put less cloth in the recess
I tried pushing it in, smacking it in whilst horizontal with the ball of my palm, smaking it upwards whilst vertical, smacking it onto my knee (ouch) and smacking it onto my desk.
I must have tried it over 100 times.
I tried to make my own charcloth by putting some denim in an old baccy tin and cooking it on the gas cooker. Result smelly kitchen and irate wife but no glowing ember.
I have been told that I should use fungus as it works better than charcloth so after much fruitless hunting I scrounged some from a very nice person in this community. I will withhold the name so they don't get inundated.
Unfortunately I still cannot get any type of glowing ember out of my piston.
I've used :-
a bit from the edge of the fungus
a bit from the edge I attempted to fray with my finger nails
A bit form the centre (frayed and un frayed)
still no luck.
When I use it and then put the fungus to my lips it feels luke warm but no more than that.
I do not think that the fungus needs drying out as it feels dry.
About half way though my charcloth period I thought "aha perhaps I need to re-grease the string!" so I did so using vaseline
There is obviously some seal as I can feel a substantial resistance if I try to push the plunger home slowly
Have I broken this new toy of mine?

The piston is still a thing of beauty to look at but at £60.00 I am shall we say a tad downhearted that I cannot make it work.
Sixty notes would be a new backpack and full set of Billies.

 

[bushwacker bob]

probably not a lost cause if you still have some compression.
Have you checked that your fungus/charcloth take a spark from any other means?
I dont have a fire piston so my advice is purely speculative,but as the toy relies on the heat generated by the compression of air ,I would suggest first you replace the gasket.String wrapped around the shaft seems to be a popular gasket. I would soft wax the string to try to create a decent seal. If that doesn't work,try changing your tinder.
I doubt if the failure is down to technique,more likely mechanics

 

[Ogri the trog]

Brixton,
I'm sorry to hear your plight and hope that it can be remedied soon.
I've not had any experience of a good wooden fire piston, though I have one on order fron Jeff Wagner himself. On the plus side I've made my own piston so I can relate to the misery that you are experiencing. I use charcloth as a tinder in mine and it gives reliable results, and I'm looking forward to trying some good tinder fungus. The biggest thing that I have found to thwart an ember is the technique used - if I am not 100% commited to producing that coal, it will not ignite! To be frustrated to the point where you are demonstrating that your device "will not work" will only result in getting the expected outcome.
Did your piston come with any instructions or any spare sealing material? As a tentative suggestion, you could try replacing the seal, and ensuring that it is both sealed and lubricated. Try creating an ember by other means using your intended tinder for the piston (flint and steel or ferrocium rod etc) to show that your tinder works. If you have some reasonable tinder and good compression, it should work. The technique I use is to brace the cylinder against something sturdy in my left hand, and grasp the piston end in my right hand. Prepare your body for the next phase for a moment, then with a smooth but very fast action - plunge the piston to through its stroke, withdraw the piston and be blowing on the resulting ember all within the smallest fraction of a second. I found that slapping the piston home then grabbing hold of it to pull it from the bore was too long a pause and did not give reliable results.

Let us know how you get on, I'm sure we can crack this.

Ogri the trog

 

[match]

I've got a perspex fire piston and I've often had problems with it - I can now usually get it to light, but I had to do a few things first (no fault of the piston, all my technique!)

As Ogri says, speed is important - the ember can very quickly run out of air and be extinguished if you don't pull it out fast enough.

Make sure the bottom of the piston is clean - else the bits of dirt etc will also oxidise, using up the oxygen as well.

Make sure your tinder is suitable by testing it with a spark form another source - you want it to light with minimal sparks.

When you put your tinder in the piston, make sure its well fluffed up/has a big surface area - if you're using tinder fungus, try to use a light, 'holey' crumbly piece, not a dense piece from the centre - or try making lots of little holes in it with a pin to increase the surface area.

Practice, practice practice - keep trying different techniques, and don't try them for too long - if its not working, go away and come back, or you'll just get fed up with it

Good luck!

 

[Brixton]

After deciding that I am totally inept and giving up for a few days I've had another go today and
It bloody well works!!
Thanks for the tips and advice.
I am so happy I look like the Dr Feelgood cartoon.
I rubbed the string gasket with a candle to provide a bit more compression
My next task is to work on the amount of tinder to put in it.
I've had lots of embers but a lot of them tend to fall out of the recess when I remove the plunger.
Fine on the carpet (provided my wife doesn't spot the marks) but potentially frustrating when out and about.
I have been using my home made charcloth and then holding it against some tinder fungus till that glows then running outside to put that into a bunch of leaves and bark stuff then blowing on that to get actual flames no less.
My stepson is now convinced that
a I've lost my marbles running in and out the back door
b I'm wearing a new cologne "eau de singeing tinder fungus"

 

[Jeff Wagner]

Please lubricate the gasket with pertroleum jelly. This not only lubricates but seals the fibers and aids in compression. The single most common reason for failure to light is lack of horsepower on the down stroke. It needs to be brisk and drive into the compression zone at the end of the stroke. You should feel a cushion of air that prevents the piston from completely bottoming out. If you have further trouble with it please feel free to send it back over here for an overhaul. I will make sure it is working properly. Once in a great while leakage can develop through flaws in the wood or open pores. All is not lost. I will repair or replace at no charge.