Fire lighting with a battery

[blacksmith]

You can use a battery to start a fire with wirewool. The smallest battery I have used is the big 9 volt square torch ones. Place the wire wool across both terminals causing a short circuit.

[Silverback]

this ranks as getting the second biggest looks of wonder off the kids i work with...the first is fire by friction

[ammo]

This was the first method of fire lighting I learnt. I would cut a strip of sticky of my toiletries, to hold the wire on the battery. I showed this to my 21 year old cousin last week. He was amazed. Ahh it's the little things aye.

[luresalive]

You can use c cells in series too, even mobile phone batteries work

[watatoad]

Only problem is you have a job getting more than 4 good burning chances off a 9v battery.

For fun with the children you might like to try dipping your finger in water then quickly in methylated spirits then light, the methylated spirits burns off making it look like your finger is alight with flame.

[Silverback]

Only problem is you have a job getting more than 4 good burning chances off a 9v battery.

Get quite a few more than 4 TBH...and the finger fire lighting trick may not go down to well with my employers especially in front of a group of year 4's

[rik_uk3]

Lighting a fire like this and then cooking pizza in a Cadbury's Roses tin oven always impressed the 'young un's' when we took small groups away

[Ashley Cawley]

I've used the wire-wool & 9v battery method for fire demos, hand trick to know in a sticky spot.

For those of you that have never seen the method before, here is a video of it being done: