Orange peel for tinder?????

[mr dazzler]

Looking back at some older postings I noticed someone said orange peel burns real good hot but fast. I once heard folk used it to light coal fires. Would it make a good tinder? :?: I got some atop the boiler drying out and will try it when ready with my noo svedisch fire steel. I got fire in about 3 seconds with shredded cherry and ash or beech shavings (v thin) on my 1st atempt. Another idea I use a juicer machine a lot-I suddenly thought could the fibre pith left over from juicing make tinder as well?? So I got some of that drying as well. Anyone got experience of orange tinder? I'll let you know what happens with my test.

MR D :wave:

 

[JFW]

I have not used orange peel as tinder, but it is one of my party pieces to turn an orange peel into a flame thrower.
The zest from the orange peel is highly inflamable ( is that right or is it flamable) ie it ignites. So using a lighter and squeezing the peel creates a spray of zest which ignites on the lighter flame. Great fun.
Would like to know how your tinder tests turn out.

Cheers

JFW

 

[C_Claycomb]

The only problem I see is that orange peel falls into the "more trouble than it is worth" category. :roll: Sure, it could work, as will many other things that you can dry out, but what is the point? The time taken to totally dry orange peel, without it rotting, would argue against its use as anything other than tinder that you would prepare at home and then carry with you.

If you are going to make it at home, then carry it, there are lots of other tinders that will work better. Cotton and wax or vaseline, pitch wood etc. I would imagine that oragen peel would re-hydrate rather easily if you got it anywhere damp. If you are making tinder at home the challenge is to make something that can survive a river crossing and still produce fire.

 

[Stew]

I was the one (or one of) who mentioned orange peel burning mega hot. Over the year my dad saves his orange peels for when we get the wood/coal fire going at Christmas time. He just leaves them spread out in the fireplace until they're dry then bags them up - they've not rotted yet. We usually end up with 3 or 4 carrier bags full each year.

I've not tried using it for tinder though. To be honest I would be surprised if it's much good because I think it needs heat to get the oils in the peel vapourised.

If it doesn't work as tinder, get a good fire going and chuck the peel on. You'll soon see what I mean about it going like a jet engine!

 

[Burnt Ash]

Looking back at some older postings I noticed someone said orange peel burns real good hot but fast. I once heard folk used it to light coal fires. Would it make a good tinder? :?: I got some atop the boiler drying out and will try it when ready with my noo svedisch fire steel. I got fire in about 3 seconds with shredded cherry and ash or beech shavings (v thin) on my 1st atempt. Another idea I use a juicer machine a lot-I suddenly thought could the fibre pith left over from juicing make tinder as well?? So I got some of that drying as well. Anyone got experience of orange tinder? I'll let you know what happens with my test.

MR D :wave:

Dried orange peel wouldn't be first choice as tinder -pretty useless, IMO. But it does make good kindling (i.e., after the tinder lighting stage). Just dry it out on the central heating radiator (or on the AGA, or by the fire) ...along with your cramp balls.

The white pith inside the peel isn't up to much in terms of burning properties, BTW. It's the orange 'zest' part of the peel that contains the flammable oils. The white pith just 'burns along for the ride', if it's dry enough.

Burnt Ash

 

[mr dazzler]

thanks for the feedback gents
Fair point Claycomb-I just was trying to find a way to make use of a plentiful domestic "by product". Wot is pitch wood? :?:

 

[C_Claycomb]

:roll: Sorry to sound such a party pooper!

I reckon it would make pretty good kindling.

Pitch wood is a generic term, Maya Wood, Fat Wood, Fat Lighter, Pitch Pine, its all about the same stuff. Dry pine wood from a stump that has become naturally impregnated with pine resin. I haven't used Maya wood, but have tried both Georgia fat wood, courtesy of Orvis UK, and wood collected from trees here and it is great stuff.

The nice thing about really rich pine wood is that it is pretty water proof, you can scrap shavings that catch easily from a fire steel, and if you have left the shaving ball on the stick you can light the stick and use like a spill. The wood burns long and hot, with lots of black smoke!

Personally I wouldn't bother with Maya wood simply because you only get a few bits in a pack, Orvis sell great sacks of the fat wood, you can pick through, then make a gift of the rest to someone with an indoor fire

Sorry that was a bit off topic :roll:

I don't usually eat oranges, but I might have to go get one just to try drying the zest :rolmao: I know that REALLY misses the point though

 

[Paganwolf]

Just a tip, if you see a rotten pine tree while out walking check out any knots or stumpy braches still sticking out from the rotted trunk give them a boot or a clump with the back of your axe you will usually find when the dead powdery wood is scraped back that they are saturated and hard with resin and make excellent scraping tinder or kindling and smells wonderfull while burning :biggthump

 

[redfeather1]

Does anyone know what if any the significance of burning organge peels on top of a stove are? When I was very young my mom's mother used to do this when she was babysitting us and when she burned it on top of the stove it would burn your eyes. But I am wondering now as an adult if anyone would know if the burning of orange peels holds a spiritual or ceremonial purpose.

 

[bilmo-p5]

Showing my age now....

Fred Dinenage showed us how to do this on How! about a million-and-a-half years ago.

 

[rik_uk3]

Showing my age now....

Fred Dinenage showed us how to do this on How! about a million-and-a-half years ago.

Fred Dinenage, bloody good presenter he was too, great show come to that although I had a soft spot for Susan Stranks off Magpie and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJC41qnf9ng

 

[Bushwhacker]

It's a lot of farting around when there's other, better options available.

 

[rik_uk3]

It's a lot of farting around when there's other, better options available.

Bit like making candles from Brazil nuts and a cocktail stick, you may never do it but it don't hurt to know about it.

 

[Spikey DaPikey]

Does anyone know what if any the significance of burning organge peels on top of a stove are? When I was very young my mom's mother used to do this when she was babysitting us and when she burned it on top of the stove it would burn your eyes. But I am wondering now as an adult if anyone would know if the burning of orange peels holds a spiritual or ceremonial purpose.

It smells nice......

 

[Toddy]

It does indeed and it's a neat way of using up the peels. Very seasonal too and a nice, happy, scent.

*If* you peel an orange neatly (scrub it first to get any waxing and pesticides off it) then turn it inside out to make a cup shape. Make a kind of sloppy batter with your bannock mix, add a few bits of broken chocolate and fill just over half full, put the other half on top and bake in the ashes.....chocolate orange bannock and no dishes to wash Needs a bit of careful handling getting it into the ashes so that it cooks and doesn't burn, but it's a goodie

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Mojoracinguk]

Sounds really nice toddy....not interested in my run of the mill tomato soup now

any how....I remember reading an article about using the volitile oils in the zest as fuel....think they even ran and old fireblade on it....but was no where near vialble as a sustainable fuel source....still it is wonderful when you see an object as mundaine as an orange and realise "i could run my car on that"....

Mojo

 

[FGYT]

Does anyone know what if any the significance of burning organge peels on top of a stove are? When I was very young my mom's mother used to do this when she was babysitting us and when she burned it on top of the stove it would burn your eyes. But I am wondering now as an adult if anyone would know if the burning of orange peels holds a spiritual or ceremonial purpose.

maybe insect repellent

 

[bilmo-p5]

maybe insect repellent

...or child repellent.

 

[FGYT]

...or child repellent.

makes good dog repellent used to drive ours nuts if you squirted the zest up the nose

was aslo very funny watching our GSD eat an orange she loved them and would steel any she could get but lots of noise and curled lips as she peeled it getting past teh Zest