Kelly Kettle lighting - made easy!

[Adi007]

I put quite a bit of hexy through my KK, but hexy can be a major pain to light. However, I've found a system that's dead easy to use and that works!

• Take a hexy block (doesn't have to be - it can be fatwood or something else if you want)
  On top, add a bit of cotton wool (impregnated with vaseline if you want - optional)
  A a small sprinkling of potassium permanganate (optional but no doubt helps!)
  Hit it with sparks from a ferro rod!

Easy!
OK, under ideal conditions this is over the top, but it works, and works well!

 

[NickBristol]

Adi, where do you get your issue / quality hexy from? Only stuff I can find regularly are tiny disks that are damn near impossible to light and burn for about 2 mins less than it takes to boil a small pan of water...

Ta for any info
Nick

 

[Adi007]

From here ... http://www.strikeforcesupplies.co.uk/13.shtml

£1 per pack. Genuine stuff!

The tiny disks are rubbish, not to mention expensive!!!!

Adi, where do you get your issue / quality hexy from? Only stuff I can find regularly are tiny disks that are damn near impossible to light and burn for about 2 mins less than it takes to boil a small pan of water...

Ta for any info
Nick

 

[Ed]

I don't use it that much... tends to be for emergancies.... but I get mine off ebay..... normaly about £1-£1.50 a box.


Ed

 

[NickBristol]

ta v much for the info - I'll order a load from strikeforcesupplies.

Don't use it often and hardly at all in the field but it is good for making a quick coffee if I'm out in the car and see a nice place to stop.

I liked your tip for lighting them Adi - I've been wrapping the disks in cotton wool for a few years but never thought to use potassium permanganate on it too.

 

[Andy]

i put a drop of meths on them that works well

 

[Buckshot]

I tried pot per yesterday to light a fire, sprinkling it over the tinder. It didn't seem make any difference at all. :-? I even tried to light it directly with a lighter but all it did was sizzle.
Is there a particular technique to use this stuff ?

It did make a pretty colour when I was damping down the fire though

Cheers

Mark

 

[Stuart]

There are certain grades of PP that wont light easily the most difficult to light is 'Flow grade'

you cant go wrong with Pharmaceutical grade though :-D

 

[Adi007]

Good point Stuart - in fact, the finer, the better!
Remember too Mark that PP isn't itself flammable, it's an oxidizing agent. What this means is that it provides additional oxygen to the fire, so that bits of fuel that aren't getting much oxygen from the air can still burn. So the finer it is and the better mixed it is with the fuel or tinder, the better burn you'll get!
Another thing is is that you don't need too much of it. Very low ratios of PP to tinder work best.

 

[Buckshot]

Ah I see, I was doing it all wrong, the stuff I have is a fine powder but I was pouring it all over the place expecting the fire to burst into life and take my eyebrows with it

I'll try again now I know...

Mark

 

[Adi007]

Crush some hexy and mix it with some PP and you might just lose them eyebrows if you get too close!
:bu:

Ah I see, I was doing it all wrong, the stuff I have is a fine powder but I was pouring it all over the place expecting the fire to burst into life and take my eyebrows with it

I'll try again now I know...

Mark

 

[ditchfield]

Just to let you know, the chemical name for PP is now Potassium Manganate (VII)

 

[Adi007]

Also known as:
Chameleon mineral
CI 77755
Condy's crystals
Permanganate of potash
Cairox
:-D

Just to let you know, the chemical name for PP is now Potassium Manganate (VII)

 

[Adi007]

An importat safety tip with PP though is not to carry it mixed with any fuel ... carrying even a film canister filled with cotton wool with PP mixed in could be hazardous to your health! :bu:

 

[Gary]

dont want to state the obvious but hexi lights easier if you crumble it or some such.

 

[Lithril]

Just remembered we've got tubs of PP at work, I'm sure they won't mind a lil bit vanishing :shock: Gonna have to give that ago. Really have to get out in the woods this weekend, working a 56 hour week at the moment, no time to do anything else, getting Bush Withdrawal at the moment (not to mention flack from the other half... :AR15firin )

 

[Adi007]

Dunno if it's an age thing, but i find that hexy can vary wildly in how easy it lights. Sometimes it goes easily and other times it's tricky. I also find that the easier it crumbles, the harder it is and i wonder if it absorbes water in some way or degrades over time.

I guess with a replacement to it on the way, it's all a moot point!

dont want to state the obvious but hexi lights easier if you crumble it or some such.

 

[Andy]

so where is the best place for me to get it then

 

[Adi007]

Well, this is where I tend to get the best from:
http://www.strikeforcesupplies.co.uk/

so where is the best place for me to get it then

 

[Gary]

Adi old hexi crumbles because it dries out alittle - hence why its kept in waxed boxes etc (army issue stuff)

If your using your fire steel crumbling new stuff should help.

Personally though I hate the stuf - I hate the tar it leaves on your cookware etc - have you tried green heat or wet fire tinder? These are excellent and weight alot less.

Two green heat sachets should bol a kelly easily.