# Self Sufficiency/Living off the Land or Off the Grid > Making Stuff >  Fire Piston

## WildGoth

my friend told me about a guy got lost in the wildness and made a fire piston i don't know what it was made of but is it possible

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## ARussell

Are you sure he made one?
Les Stroud had one on Survivorman a few episodes ago, by the way it looked, doesnt look like you could make one.

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## bit102

> my friend told me about a guy got lost in the wildness and made a fire piston i don't know what it was made of but is it possible


Could you explain me what exactly is a fire piston? :Confused:

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## spiritman

Oversimplified it's a tube and a tight fitting rod and a small piece of tinder. Place the tinder on the end of the rod and slam it down the tube. take out the now smoldering piece of tinder and enjoy. It uses the same principals as a diesel engine. That is, the more pressure in an environment with O2 and fuel the lower the temp for combustion. And in as small of an area as a fire piston uses it's relatively easy to create that environment. As for making one I doubt it's worth the time unless your amazing at making a couple of other things. like a drill. and a lathe.

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## Beo

I got one that I don't and have never used, making one would be a time consuming job in the wilderness as you have to drill out the wood you'll be using as the tube, making one at home would not be hard but a flint striker works just as well to me.
Here's a pick of one, ya still need char cloth 
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## trax

I thought that a fire piston was a fire that is no longer burning and is just emitting some rather smelly steam. 

"Did you guys put out the fire before you left?"

"Yep, piston it"

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## Rick

Groan...(forehead slap!)

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## trax

> Groan...(forehead slap!)


thank you, thank you very much... :Big Grin:   :Big Grin:   :Big Grin:  We're here the rest of the week folks be sure and catch our matinee show too :Big Grin:

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## Beo

Better to be pissed off than piston  :Big Grin:  See I still got ya back Trax  :Big Grin:

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## WildGoth

yeah i have no clue about the details or anything but thinking about it if you made one at home and made it out of low burn point wood you have fir kit with some charred cloth anyone know where to get one i wanted to try it

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## Rick

I've looked at these in the past and no one I know or have read about that uses one seems to have a whole lot of good to say about them. Especially if you are in a wet environment. Like a fire bow, it can take some work. The tinder doesn't light first time. You have to have some really good tinder, like charcloth. Otherwise, it may never light.

Here's a nice article with some pictures: 

http://www.onagocag.com/piston.html

The tolerances between rod and chamber have to be very close. As Spiritman said, think of a diesel engine. Most have some kind of seal between the rod and the chamber. Think of it as piston rings. Same principle. Some of the "newer" ones I've seen use a rubber "o" ring which seems to me to be a real fail point in the wild. If it gets damaged, no fire. More traditional ones use something like beeswax or parrafin or, if tolerances are close enough, some oil.

I would echo what others have said. I don't know how he could have made one in the wild because of the amount of work and tools required to build it. That part of the story doesn't ring true to me.

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## Borelli

You can buy them on primitivefire.com for a range of prices

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## Gray Wolf

> my friend told me about a guy got lost in the wildness and made a fire piston i don't know what it was made of but is it possible



It would be a lot easier to make a fire bow or a fire drill, *That Will Work*, instead of trying to make a fire piston, that if your lucky or shall I say VERY Lucky, will work. Especially if your lost in the wilderness!

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## flandersander

I agree entirely

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## canid

yeah. if you're in an area with a lot of bamboo, might as well try it, by the comfort of a fire started with a saw. maybe this is my bias, as i'm much more comfortable with a fire-saw than a pump?

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## sh4d0wm4573ri7

several tribes used to make them in the bush I have purchased a new age one from a reputable dealer it is possible of course though not easy as mine uses new age material and a rubber gasket but as it wears it becomes increasingly harder to get a coal . I also disagree with using char cloth as it dirties up the piston and causes friction tinder fungus is the best for use with a piston in my opinion wish I'd have kept my old coco bolo wood string wrapped piston as it was more reliable and u dont usually find rubber gaskets in the bush

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## Sam

Can't you make a gasket from 'Ranger bands'? (cut pieces of bike inner-tube)

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## ws3445

To make a firepiston you don't drill it out you make a depreson and put a coal to burn it out :Big Grin:  :Big Grin:  :Big Grin:  :Big Grin: :.

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## Rick

I don't think that would work. You need a smooth bore with a constant diameter. But I do like the happy faces. :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):

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## CTracker

Since a 'fire piston' works by the same principal as a diesel engine (combustion by compression) personally I think you'd be much better off using that time pursuing shelter, food, water etc. (not in order of importance). If your survival is dependent on being able to construct an 'air tight compression chamber' you may have already lost. As mentioned, there are much quicker methods to 'make fire'. Lets run out to the back yard. I can be drinking purified water long before you can even think of an ember. And this would definitely *not* be the first item I grabbed in a 'SHTF' situation. Most are obscenely large and cumbersome and I'd rather grab and run with something of more value, or at least my impression of what *I* considered to be more valuable.

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## NY MtnMan72

the fire piston i own is what i consider a back up. I also keep a couple magnesium/flint blocks around, but if i have a BIC lighter in my pocket, that's what i want to use.

That being said a couple points.

I do like the fact that a fire-piston is pretty much all you need.
The rubber o-ring can and would probably wear out, thus losing compression- but all you would need to fix it would be a small piece of twine/string to fill in the space-  in fact some fire-pistons are sold with twine for a o-ring....

As far as char-cloth...  i think thats bunk... its such a pain in the *ss to make, and to be honest i have had pretty decent success using a small wad of dry leaves, and a small tuft of dryer lint works fine as well.

I'd say it comes down to preference... but i think they're kind of neat....

Here's a video i found on youtube showing use with "chawga" a fungus im not familar with....


ART
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAKYR...eature=related

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## Rick

Char cloth is super easy to make. Gray Wolf did a great "how to" post:

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...har+cloth+soup

As for fungus, do a search on here or google for true tinder fungus and/or false tinder fungus a.k.a. horse hoof fungus. You have both in NY. (You may already know about them. If so, sorry). The dryer lint is almost as useful as paracord and duct tape but if it gets wet then the fungus is a god send.

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## NY MtnMan72

i guess the next time i have a camp fire, or a fire in the fireplace ill have to grab one of my old "holy" tee shirts...    your right looks easy enuff with some cans/ vent hole etc...

as far as the fungus (im honest when it comes to admitting errors) i have not sought it out in the wild, but i will do some reading on the types mentioned and then keep my eyes open... 

Dryer lint-   will not get wet in a 35mm film can, as long as you dont do something silly like drop it while the tops off etc etc....  

as mentioned in another post... lots of items are "multi-use" and those little film canistors are a gods-send.....

Art

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## Rick

You bet. Check out the multi-use thread for just how much of a god send. Some ideas on 35mm cans start on post 24.

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...lti-use&page=2

For the char cloth cans, just a tiny hole is all you need. You just want to let the gas escape. 

Here's a link I posted on a fungus tinder stove: 

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...=tinder+fungus

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## sgtdraino

> i have had pretty decent success using a small wad of dry leaves, and a small tuft of dryer lint works fine as well.


I really like the idea of fire pistons, and so I got one, but for the life of me I am having a hard time making it work with anything except for char cloth. The dryer lint seems to get hot, and even seems to light up sometimes, but when I take it out and blow on it, there's nothing.

Am I doing something wrong?

Are the larger pistons more effective maybe? I got a smaller one, a "Tinderlite Fire Pen" I believe it's called.

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## oldtracks

i found where this guy made one out of pvc pipe and a wooden dowel rod @ wildwood survivial.com?survival/fire/firepiston i made one but i broke it the second time i used it i didn't push down strait but ck. it out

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## crashdive123

We've had some discussions on fire pistons if you're interested (I've never used one).  You can try the search function and see what comes up.  In the meantime head on over to the introduction section when you get a chance and tell us a bit about yourself.  Thanks.

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