Some Weber Cube tinders- sealed in Retorts and new Mylar bags!

[Phaedrus]

Alright, just wanted to spin this off into a new thread. I took some pictures of some Weber fire starting cubes, sealed in various multiples and types of bags.

The first picture is the stuff I sealed in a 4 oz retort pouch. To the right is a bunch of four cubes sealed into a 5.5" x 7" mylar bag. The mylar is 5 mils, and it has a ziplock seal to reclose the pouch after you tear off the heat sealed part. While this won't re-vacuum it will at last keep stuff dry and out of the elements.

http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/2056/webercubes1retortmylar.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/337/webercubes1retortmylar.jpg/)




The next pic shows a pouch I'm pretty excited about! It's a 5 mil mylar with the same type of ziplock closure but it's 3.5" x 4". It neatly holds one full Weber cube plus some shavings if so desired. And I found I could pinch the ziplock closed just in the center to keep the mouth flat for sealing. Check them out:

http://img802.imageshack.us/img802/3852/webercubes2.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/802/webercubes2.jpg/)



This pic isn't well lit, I'm afraid, but hopefully you can see the packages. The one on the left is a Weber cube and the one in the right is 10 or so Tinder-Quiks. The ziplock is really handy for that- I can seal the TQs to insure they're bone dry and still seal the remainders securely.

http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/2279/webercubes3.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/197/webercubes3.jpg/)



Lastly I took another poorly lit shot of a few of them. I tried to frame my RAT-7 to show the scale.

http://img600.imageshack.us/img600/8803/webercubes4.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/600/webercubes4.jpg/)



5 mil mylar should hold up pretty well, but I obviously haven't tested them yet. The correct sealing parameters is a trial-and-error thing. I also don't know how temperature will affect the Webers. But I aim to give them a good test soon!

[crashdive123]

Looks like you're making good use of your new system.

[BENESSE]

Do these tinder cubes get ineffective over time if not sealed properly?

[Rick]

You realize that we're all jealous and no one is going to read your danged threads! Commercial atomic vacuum sealer indeed!

[crashdive123]

Regarding the Webber Fire Cubes - I have heard a lot of people say that once they are exposed to air that their effectiveness quickly diminishes. Tonight I started a fire while I was working out back using a Webber Fire Cube, slightly shaved, and a fire steel. It lit with no problems. This tray has been open (purposely for a test) for about 9 months. If there is any degradation of the cubes, I have not noticed it.

[BENESSE]

For his next project, P is going to vacuum seal his MIL.
Stay tuned.

[Rick]

Oh snap! I'd pay $2000 for one that would do that!

[Wise Old Owl]

Ok I am totally surprised ...first off Webber? not for Backpacking - survival- whatever. Total Dismissed.

I read what you have to say and Hey good try.

You can take a cotton ball wipe it in Vaseline and soak in water and with three wood matches it will start!

How about a Bic lighter instead...

Jeese........http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg275/MarkSwarbrick/DSCF2707.jpg

[Phaedrus]

Regarding the Webber Fire Cubes - I have heard a lot of people say that once they are exposed to air that their effectiveness quickly diminishes. Tonight I started a fire while I was working out back using a Webber Fire Cube, slightly shaved, and a fire steel. It lit with no problems. This tray has been open (purposely for a test) for about 9 months. If there is any degradation of the cubes, I have not noticed it.

You mean some had been removed from the tray our the block you used had been open for 9 months? In my experience a cube is worthless -- will self extinguish-- after a month or so. I suppose this varies depending on storage conditions, etc. They get kind of chalky/crumbly and are very light when you pick them up. Early on I stored a bunch of them in a cheap little Plano bait box, and the chemicals wept right thru the sides! It felt like the box was sitting in a puddle of olive oil. But I vacuum sealed some with an inexpensive vac sealer almost a year ago and those are all fine. I'm curious to hear if yours was completely exposed to the atmosphere for all that time. If so I'm very surprised you could light them.




Ok I am totally surprised ...first off Webber? not for Backpacking - survival- whatever. Total Dismissed.

I read what you have to say and Hey good try.

You can take a cotton ball wipe it in Vaseline and soak in water and with three wood matches it will start!

How about a Bic lighter instead...

Jeese........


I like BICs. Even though I don't smoke I keep Mini BICs around. But they're not completely reliable. I like to have redundant means of making fire, and I like tinkering around with things. The Weber cubes are remarkable for many reasons. First, they will light almost as easily as a naked cotton ball. They burn very hot, they're completely unaffected by water -and will float- and burn for around 10 minutes. They light easily with a firesteel. You can also put them out and they're instantly cool to the touch, just like WetFire. But where WetFire is about $1 per cube, Weber cubes are $5 for 24 (and they're half again as big). When the stuff is fresh it's about as reliable and simple method of fire making I can think of. The problem is keeping it viable. I think the 5 mil mylar bags will do a great job. Still, any technology can fail so I'll have other methods on me, too.

Cotton is one of those methods. I like cotton balls, although the whole vaseline cotton thing is a bit of a pain. Too little PJ and you get poor burn time, and of course the cotton can get wet and be impossible to light. To much PJ and the ball is very difficult to light with a 'steel.

I have my own cotton "fireball" that I've been playing with. I start with one Jumbo 100% cotton ball; I crush it down as small as I can and wrap it in a small piece of a plastic grocery bag, then burn it shut with a lighter. At this point the cotton ball is sealed in plastic and would probably stay dry during a quick dunk. I then cut two large round cotton makeup pads into X shapes, wrap them around the sealed cottonball and secure with several rubber bands. I finish the tinder by dunking it in heated Gel-Wax. The resulting 2 layer fireball will burn intensely for 12-15 minutes, and the core is always bone-dry, untreated cotton that's easy to light. Just cut into the middle and hit it with sparks.

Another item I generally have when it's a planned outing is potassium permanganate and glycerin. The chemical binary fire is pretty reliable and will create instant fire in virtually any condition.

I also love fatwood. If it's really resinous the scrapings will light reliably with a firesteel. And the burn is long and hot.

Matches...Some people love them but I consider them to be about the least reliable method of fire short of a magnifying glass. With regular matches you're screwed if they get wet. With "waterproof" matches, even the very good ones like UCO Stormproof, if you get the striker wet you're screwed. And each one is only good for one shot, at best 15 seconds of flame. I do carry them but I'll generally use a lighter or fire steel first.

Like I say, I like redundancy. If you aren't interested in Weber that's fine, but it's a pretty powerful fire starter that happens to be pretty inexpensive. Well, if you don't buy a $1,000 machine to seal it!:devil2:

[Phaedrus]

BTW, good call on the hexamine. I love the stuff. An Esbit tablet can be scraped and easily lit with a fire steel. Hex also isn't affected by oxygen and doesn't need to be sealed (although it stinks so bad that you surely would keep it sealed!). A final bonus is that the shelf life is virtually infinite. Hex from WWII still burns like new. I bought a bunch of these Hex tablets:

7509


Here's another pic of just the tabs with a coin for size reference.

7510


One item I used to keep in my 1st Aid/survival stuff was the glucose tablets as my dad was diabetic. After he passed away I didn't think I needed the glucose stuff badly enough to carry it around so I tossed it, but by a fluke 5 those Hex tablets fit the tube nicely.

7511


I thought this is a nice, clean storage option for them, but short of spending $2.50 and throwing away the sugar I'd been stumped as to where to source another tube. Then it struck me that maybe a tube meant to organize the same US quarter I included for size reference. And it turns out to fit nicely. They cost me $1 each at Amazon.com with free 2 day shipping (Prime Member). In bulk they can be had even cheaper.

7512


The tubes are made to hold 40 US quarters and have a screw on cap. If they'd been made made to hold 41 quarters I could have fit 5 tablets; as is the cap won't quite screw on. Not a big deal, I fill it with 4 Hex tabs and half a cotton ball. That gives me a super flammable tinder for lighting with a firesteel and stops them from rattling around.

The cool thing is that Hex burns even when wet. It lasts forever, and since it can be lit with a firesteel it serves as tinder and kindling/fuel.

[crashdive123]

You mean some had been removed from the tray our the block you used had been open for 9 months? In my experience a cube is worthless -- will self extinguish-- after a month or so. I suppose this varies depending on storage conditions, etc. They get kind of chalky/crumbly and are very light when you pick them up. Early on I stored a bunch of them in a cheap little Plano bait box, and the chemicals wept right thru the sides! It felt like the box was sitting in a puddle of olive oil. But I vacuum sealed some with an inexpensive vac sealer almost a year ago and those are all fine. I'm curious to hear if yours was completely exposed to the atmosphere for all that time. If so I'm very surprised you could light them.

Mine are sitting on a shelf in my workshop (no heat/air conditioning). I removed the foil backing of two trays and let them sit. They are light and a bit crumbly, but they still work well. I do like your method of sealing them though. Easy to store and pack.

[Phaedrus]

It also keeps them from getting residue on your other gear. I'm still pretty surprised that yours worked when stored that way. I tried to store them in many ways and nothing short of vacuum packing (or leaving them in the original wrapper) was effective. Maybe I'll try it again with a couple cubes.

[crashdive123]

I've got one cube left in the tray I'm using. I'll open up another tray and toss them in a basket to do a more "formal" test.

[Rick]

Perhaps there has been a change in the formula. Just a thought.

[hunter63]

I think it's a good idea to make use of your machine.
Would I buy one?..... probably not....so it's nice that some one thought about sealing these cubes after the orginal package has been opened.