I'm having a CRAZY time trying to get my piston to work. I've got char cloth, I've made sure I have a good seal and that it's lubed well, I've purged the cylinder every time I've used it, and I've smacked the thing so hard I'm lucky I haven't broken my own hand, yet I've never gotten so much as the tiniest bit of smoke or spark. Last night I thought that maybe the cylinder was too long so I put some aluminum foil in it to take up the space but nothing. Got any ideas on what might be the problem?
Very cool! This is the same type of enviroment I have here in Northern Nevada. I keep working with my piston, but have only managed to get a coal once. It's tough getting the char cloth to 'stick' in the little x shaped hole in the end of the piston.
i was watching Bear Grylls for the craick and i seen him do this with some salvaged bits of pipe i didnt think it was possible to get it going in one pump but what doya know it worked...nice!
I can't argue that it worked, but it seems like a lot to carry around when a simple mag bar or steel would work just as well. Interesting though. How does it work? Friction? Cheers.
@Balgore8 Charcloth seems to work the best when using a fire piston, however, there are several natural tinders that can be used. Tinder Fungus or "Chaga" is the best natural tinder. You can also use the fluffy material from a dried Mullen stock. A dried Milkweed pod will also work. If you're real good and with practice, certain "punk" wood or certain decaying wood will also work but it needs to be at a certain rotting point for it to work. wildersol. com (no space) has great info on tinders
hell yeah man, good solid video. i was lookin at those and really didnt know how they worked other than some form of compression xD thanks for clearing that up. think i might get one. i always have my charcloth on me but sometimes i loose my flint D: lol keep on campin, take care. peace :D
@sweetivyevergreen Thanks for your comment. I filmed this about 6 miles outside of Rio Rancho, New Mexico on the outskirts of town. The magic in the background was done just for fun. The REAL image behind me was a pure BLUE sky. I selected that blue sky as the color to use for a technique called "chroma keying." When your local news channel shows the weather, the person waves his/her arms around at a map but really its just a blue or green screen behind him/her. Same effect here. Thanks!
Matt! This is great, so here I am another NYC cold night and I was searching for Juniper tree camp fire, no luck, then I search campfire desert southwest and Bam! I am not lying, I could smell the juniper ! that was great, think I am going to watch this a dozen more times!
@ihikearoundcom Thanks! I enjoy using juniper for campfires. Using a hatchet, it splits into nice little pieces that work great for kindling, lights up very fast, and it smells great! Throw a little bit of some Pinion in there as the heavy stuff and you got a good ol Southwestern campfire going! You got me thinking of a good care package to put together and send off. Hmmm...
I've known since watching your very first video that you are remarkably talented, then while researching fire pistons for my present YT vids your fire piston video came up. Even more talented - "Matt does fire pistons too, way cool", I thought. It was turning-out to be another one of your great videos, and then the green screen effect kidded inI LMAO! Added to my Favorites and I'm telling JimG to watch this if he hasn't already!
@wawhiker Thanks! I think this is my 2nd YT vid since I started. It's easy to get a fire started when it is summer time, dry and hot. I'm so glad I added the green screen action as most people really get a kick out of it! That fine looking hand crafted piece you have there from Santiago will be sure to get you a fire going. I was rootin for you there! I find that a piece of fat wood shaved down will ignite in even wet conditions! Pine, Scruce, Fir or pitchy type wood. Hope JimG likes! :-D Thnx!
@LaneMaddox00 I used my video editor to change the sky on this video. The original video had a perfectly "BLUE" sky and I used the "chroma key" feature of my software to change it to some wilderness picture I took. This is the exact same effect that is used when a weather man on TV is showing the weather forcast. It's an attention getter for sure!!
@baglel LOL You could just die but that would'nt be much fun! The fire piston is not the best way to make a fire in my opinion. I'm only "demonstrating" how to make a fire with a fire piston. In WA, I would bring a lighter or a fire steel. Dried tree sap (resin) from spruce and pine trees is waterproof, natural and will get you a fire started in a wet environment. You'll be amazed how well it works and best of all... you won't die! hahaa. :-D Thanks for watching!
a good tool to have no doubt! you might as well just have a lighter or matches though. can one be made in a survival situation with native materials? that would be the video i would watch and learn from. Good video man.
man i have a crazy unique fire starter which makes a great fire you can get it at a store for about a dollar people have been using them for years ill share it with you its called a lighter WORKS GREAT!
Dryer link will not work for a fire piston unless you "char" it first. I like to use 100% cotton rags or string and char that for tinder. For natural tinder, try using the dried skin and the inside pith of a Mullen plant, or the inside of a Milkweed pod, Tinder Fungus (also called Chaga... mushroom tinder), Yucca cactus fibers (dried fibers) or even old punk wood which is the center of rotton wood. I have tried all of these and they work well!!
let me show you how to use a lighter. Flic. or maybe a firestriker. What happens when you run out of the special tinder? the same thing that happens when your lighter runs out of fuel.
@knarfster you make more! just find something made from cotton. use chaga, milk weed or mullen. this kind of stuff is every where. you can make fire from wood (bow drill or hand drill) they way it was done for thousands of years before lighters were invented.
The original background of this video was blue. The sky was perfectly clear the day I filmed this demo. I used chroma key software to display some wilderness pics I had to the blue sky (as I picked the color blue for the chroma keying) and it turned out to be a cool video effect. Same kind of effect that weather reporters use on TV when reporting on the weather.
as for the lighter v. fire piston argument. both last just as long as thier fuel source out in the wild. for the lighter butane, fire piston charcloth. you are unable to obtain either in the wild. unless you know how to find cotton and farm it. for long term survival the best fire tool you could have is a knife. with that you can fashion wood into a bow drill and use that method for fire. you get string by digging up a root and cutting it off. so with a knife you have fire werever there is wood.
There are alternatives to char cloth that can be found in the wilderness. Chaga for instance, it's a fungus that grows on trees, or cotton tale fluff, and various other types of materials that are all found in nature and if you can't find at least one of these things you have no business being in the woods. However there is no alternative fuel for butane lighters that can be found in nature.
no way, you can get a totally whet (Bic) lighter dry in under a minute. and with the right tinder you can start a hundred or more fires, even empty it will still spark (all tested) If your charcloth got whet it is end of story.
a fire piston is a nice experiment (of how a diesel engine works) but no way a reliable source of fire making
if your doing real camping where theres actually a risk of being stranded any reak camper would rather have a fire piston because they will last much much longer then any lighter. if your a fisherman who takes a motor boat and beer every where then a lighter is definitly the way to go.
when it rains and you only have whet tinder (bark or semi dry grass)
Piston: no fire
Lighter: fire
Also a glowing piece of coal is something different than a flame for igniting stuff
Ok a piston will last longer but It is not like you have to spend two years alone in the wilderness.
A lighter will give a flame for 2-3 months everyday. An other point is that it takes a skillet person to make a fire with a piston so what if you are injured.
@gimepepe they are alot more reliable than a bic lighter. the flints fall out of those all the time. plus you still need something considerably flamable. a fire piston can be made from a bolt and a metal tube for very cheap. you dont need a charcoal cloth. you can use anything that will burn under 800 F. that kind of cloth just holds an amber longer than something else but in no way is it the only thing that can go inside the fire pistol.
Way to cool, crazytailez and I have gone camping and have used the fire piston as a method of a camp fire while outdoors. The changing back ground is awesome! Nice video man!!!!!
I'm having a CRAZY time trying to get my piston to work. I've got char cloth, I've made sure I have a good seal and that it's lubed well, I've purged the cylinder every time I've used it, and I've smacked the thing so hard I'm lucky I haven't broken my own hand, yet I've never gotten so much as the tiniest bit of smoke or spark. Last night I thought that maybe the cylinder was too long so I put some aluminum foil in it to take up the space but nothing. Got any ideas on what might be the problem?
ehrichweiss 2 days ago
That will work although there will always be guys telling that's fake.
Pasaatituuli 2 weeks ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Very cool! This is the same type of enviroment I have here in Northern Nevada. I keep working with my piston, but have only managed to get a coal once. It's tough getting the char cloth to 'stick' in the little x shaped hole in the end of the piston.
61loneviking 1 month ago
you can clearly tell this is fake at 1:13
MrShoopdawhooplol 1 month ago
i was watching Bear Grylls for the craick and i seen him do this with some salvaged bits of pipe i didnt think it was possible to get it going in one pump but what doya know it worked...nice!
ateiviz 2 months ago
Well done mate this is great keep it up!
napaparbaby 2 months ago
lol i didn't read the description at first, so the shifting background images tripped me out haha!
Aleksandr711 2 months ago
I can't argue that it worked, but it seems like a lot to carry around when a simple mag bar or steel would work just as well. Interesting though. How does it work? Friction? Cheers.
ascetic43 2 months ago
I was just looking for minecraft vids
enemize4726 3 months ago
Never seen a sky change so many times in less than 5 minutes. WOW!
purplegloves1029 4 months ago
Good instructionvideo !
west11299 4 months ago
@west11299 Thanks for watching! I appreciate your comment!
CrazyTaileZ 4 months ago
great vids THX
shippen2010 5 months ago
@shippen2010 Thanks for watching!
CrazyTaileZ 4 months ago
Do you have to use charcloth?
Balgore8 5 months ago
@Balgore8 Charcloth seems to work the best when using a fire piston, however, there are several natural tinders that can be used. Tinder Fungus or "Chaga" is the best natural tinder. You can also use the fluffy material from a dried Mullen stock. A dried Milkweed pod will also work. If you're real good and with practice, certain "punk" wood or certain decaying wood will also work but it needs to be at a certain rotting point for it to work. wildersol. com (no space) has great info on tinders
CrazyTaileZ 5 months ago
WOW!
Starting from 4:05 flame looks pretty fascinating. Very good camera and very good effects.
BTW, thanks for your 'how to' guide.
MilanKarakas 5 months ago
hell yeah man, good solid video. i was lookin at those and really didnt know how they worked other than some form of compression xD thanks for clearing that up. think i might get one. i always have my charcloth on me but sometimes i loose my flint D: lol keep on campin, take care. peace :D
geckomage 8 months ago
if you used pee instead of spit it really would be a pist in. wouldent smell good any more if you did.
porplowd 11 months ago
so where was this actually filmed. Magic was happening in that background. Nice fire with your fire piston.
sweetivyevergreen 11 months ago
@sweetivyevergreen Thanks for your comment. I filmed this about 6 miles outside of Rio Rancho, New Mexico on the outskirts of town. The magic in the background was done just for fun. The REAL image behind me was a pure BLUE sky. I selected that blue sky as the color to use for a technique called "chroma keying." When your local news channel shows the weather, the person waves his/her arms around at a map but really its just a blue or green screen behind him/her. Same effect here. Thanks!
CrazyTaileZ 11 months ago
red neck XD
venom1234afi 1 year ago
Matt! This is great, so here I am another NYC cold night and I was searching for Juniper tree camp fire, no luck, then I search campfire desert southwest and Bam! I am not lying, I could smell the juniper ! that was great, think I am going to watch this a dozen more times!
ihikearoundcom 1 year ago
@ihikearoundcom Thanks! I enjoy using juniper for campfires. Using a hatchet, it splits into nice little pieces that work great for kindling, lights up very fast, and it smells great! Throw a little bit of some Pinion in there as the heavy stuff and you got a good ol Southwestern campfire going! You got me thinking of a good care package to put together and send off. Hmmm...
CrazyTaileZ 1 year ago
better check the sky behind you !!!!!!
monsterthug1952 1 year ago
I have always liked fire pistons even though some think they are a novelty .
monsterthug1952 1 year ago
dude they sell lighters for a dollar lol
ehsanpartovi 1 year ago
I've known since watching your very first video that you are remarkably talented, then while researching fire pistons for my present YT vids your fire piston video came up. Even more talented - "Matt does fire pistons too, way cool", I thought. It was turning-out to be another one of your great videos, and then the green screen effect kidded inI LMAO! Added to my Favorites and I'm telling JimG to watch this if he hasn't already!
wawhiker 1 year ago
@wawhiker Thanks! I think this is my 2nd YT vid since I started. It's easy to get a fire started when it is summer time, dry and hot. I'm so glad I added the green screen action as most people really get a kick out of it! That fine looking hand crafted piece you have there from Santiago will be sure to get you a fire going. I was rootin for you there! I find that a piece of fat wood shaved down will ignite in even wet conditions! Pine, Scruce, Fir or pitchy type wood. Hope JimG likes! :-D Thnx!
CrazyTaileZ 1 year ago
looks like a pvc tube with a metal rod in it
Ballisticbob517 1 year ago
dude what is going on with the sky.... i wish my sky did that
LaneMaddox00 1 year ago
@LaneMaddox00 I used my video editor to change the sky on this video. The original video had a perfectly "BLUE" sky and I used the "chroma key" feature of my software to change it to some wilderness picture I took. This is the exact same effect that is used when a weather man on TV is showing the weather forcast. It's an attention getter for sure!!
CrazyTaileZ 1 year ago
holy shit look at the background at 0:45
timmyfasho 1 year ago
great video! thanks!
Ultimatemxcn 1 year ago
@Ultimatemxcn Thank you for watching and your comment!
CrazyTaileZ 1 year ago
I'm more interested in the background now.
uzerofutube 1 year ago
damn! look at 2:20 at the background
KarelProject 1 year ago
what do you do if your in washington and every thing is wet? do you just die lol
baglel 1 year ago
@baglel LOL You could just die but that would'nt be much fun! The fire piston is not the best way to make a fire in my opinion. I'm only "demonstrating" how to make a fire with a fire piston. In WA, I would bring a lighter or a fire steel. Dried tree sap (resin) from spruce and pine trees is waterproof, natural and will get you a fire started in a wet environment. You'll be amazed how well it works and best of all... you won't die! hahaa. :-D Thanks for watching!
CrazyTaileZ 1 year ago 7
Nice info, nice explained, nice done, nice playin' with the skies... nice video.
Lee68Perry 1 year ago
a good tool to have no doubt! you might as well just have a lighter or matches though. can one be made in a survival situation with native materials? that would be the video i would watch and learn from. Good video man.
wordsthatsticktoya 1 year ago
I don't think it's was a real fire !! You made it with the video maker bahaha !! Joking
zarnitintunzanyzack 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
nice vid. thannks for the camping tips
lndrnuzgul 1 year ago
nice vid. thannks for the camping tip
lndrnuzgul 1 year ago
nice video,and thanks for the tips
lndrnuzgul 1 year ago
what happend to the tree at ruff 1'14?
ghostfromdabay 1 year ago
Excellent instructional video TaileZ.
weerobot 1 year ago
@weerobot
Thanks for watching! I appreciate the comment!
CrazyTaileZ 1 year ago
cool background effects. i was beginning to think my java had been laced LMAO
thedarkriver1 1 year ago
man i have a crazy unique fire starter which makes a great fire you can get it at a store for about a dollar people have been using them for years ill share it with you its called a lighter WORKS GREAT!
chrisao1987 1 year ago
@chrisao1987 yea they do, but not nearly as much fun. besides, lighters run out sooner or later.
buckshot752 1 year ago
0:36 <<<<<<<<,LOL <<<<< LOOK ON THE SKY.
harrisbomber2 1 year ago
ahaha at backgrand
Naishell1 1 year ago
WHY ARE YOU CHANGING THE BACKROUNDD.....
runescape44411 1 year ago
@runescape44411
I changed the backgrounds just for fun. Practicing chroma keying!
CrazyTaileZ 1 year ago
@runescape44411 ACIIIIIDD TRIIIIPPPPPPPPPP WHOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
nssaquinas 1 year ago
Nice stuff im an eagle scout and i love this kinda stuff. haha i must say at 2:35 it gets a little sexual haha!
MurphyisDaCaptain 1 year ago
nice fake back ground
etekballer14 1 year ago
will lint from your dryer screen work as well?
Clancy236 1 year ago
@Clancy236
Dryer link will not work for a fire piston unless you "char" it first. I like to use 100% cotton rags or string and char that for tinder. For natural tinder, try using the dried skin and the inside pith of a Mullen plant, or the inside of a Milkweed pod, Tinder Fungus (also called Chaga... mushroom tinder), Yucca cactus fibers (dried fibers) or even old punk wood which is the center of rotton wood. I have tried all of these and they work well!!
CrazyTaileZ 1 year ago
let me show you how to use a lighter. Flic. or maybe a firestriker. What happens when you run out of the special tinder? the same thing that happens when your lighter runs out of fuel.
knarfster 1 year ago
@knarfster you make more! just find something made from cotton. use chaga, milk weed or mullen. this kind of stuff is every where. you can make fire from wood (bow drill or hand drill) they way it was done for thousands of years before lighters were invented.
buckshot752 1 year ago
Very cool effect thanks for the explanation of it. Please dont forget to subscribe to my channel. I have some very cool videos coming up very soon.
IVOIPSG 2 years ago
Why would you choose this over a blastmatch or regular flint and steel??
GLowzx7r 2 years ago
@GLowzx7r you should know at least 3 way, 5 is better to make fire.
buckshot752 1 year ago
@buckshot752
Do matches and a lighter count?
GLowzx7r 1 year ago
@GLowzx7r i'd have to say yes, but what I was thinking was this.
Friction= Bow or hand drill, fire plow,fire saw or fire with bamboo.
Chemical= glycerin and potassium manganate, matches,lighters,batterys and steel wool, flashlight bulbs.
spark= Flint and steel, Ferrous Rod
heat conveyance from the sun= magnifying glass, reflective cone from flash light or car head lamp. water baloon (condom) clear plastic wrap and water.
Compression= Fire Piston
the best thing is Knowledge
buckshot752 1 year ago
How in the heck do you make the background change on the video? Very cool effect.
IVOIPSG 2 years ago
The original background of this video was blue. The sky was perfectly clear the day I filmed this demo. I used chroma key software to display some wilderness pics I had to the blue sky (as I picked the color blue for the chroma keying) and it turned out to be a cool video effect. Same kind of effect that weather reporters use on TV when reporting on the weather.
CrazyTaileZ 2 years ago
@ every 1 disagreeing
its called a little thing called being prepared! and plus its just plain fun!
LaneMaddox00 2 years ago
as for the lighter v. fire piston argument. both last just as long as thier fuel source out in the wild. for the lighter butane, fire piston charcloth. you are unable to obtain either in the wild. unless you know how to find cotton and farm it. for long term survival the best fire tool you could have is a knife. with that you can fashion wood into a bow drill and use that method for fire. you get string by digging up a root and cutting it off. so with a knife you have fire werever there is wood.
MBPKyle 2 years ago
u can use alot besides charcloth what about milk weed or punk wood omushrooms fungis etc they all work great and readily available
huntersmith1989 2 years ago
There are alternatives to char cloth that can be found in the wilderness. Chaga for instance, it's a fungus that grows on trees, or cotton tale fluff, and various other types of materials that are all found in nature and if you can't find at least one of these things you have no business being in the woods. However there is no alternative fuel for butane lighters that can be found in nature.
thebluemaggot 1 year ago
.....and thwe rest of the time
PKhunterFR 2 years ago
haha the background at 1:11
PKhunterFR 2 years ago
lol the fire looks fake
ZA1C3WOLF 2 years ago
The fire is REAL... the changing background...FAKE. I chroma keyed the blue sky behind me with some of my winderness pics.
CrazyTaileZ 2 years ago
no i know its real but it looks fake like trick photagraphy but i know its real
ZA1C3WOLF 2 years ago
yeah but the are empty within an our. a firepiston not. and you can use straw as char cloth for example that you find in the bush
19BRAM92 2 years ago
nice demonstration
but if you can take a fire piston you can take a lighter (or two)
gimepepe 2 years ago
but lighter runs out of gas plus they get damp die o and they break
WeTheWeb 2 years ago
no way, you can get a totally whet (Bic) lighter dry in under a minute. and with the right tinder you can start a hundred or more fires, even empty it will still spark (all tested) If your charcloth got whet it is end of story.
a fire piston is a nice experiment (of how a diesel engine works) but no way a reliable source of fire making
gimepepe 2 years ago
if your doing real camping where theres actually a risk of being stranded any reak camper would rather have a fire piston because they will last much much longer then any lighter. if your a fisherman who takes a motor boat and beer every where then a lighter is definitly the way to go.
empred 2 years ago
I am a hiker.
when it rains and you only have whet tinder (bark or semi dry grass)
Piston: no fire
Lighter: fire
Also a glowing piece of coal is something different than a flame for igniting stuff
Ok a piston will last longer but It is not like you have to spend two years alone in the wilderness.
A lighter will give a flame for 2-3 months everyday. An other point is that it takes a skillet person to make a fire with a piston so what if you are injured.
gimepepe 2 years ago
@gimepepe they are alot more reliable than a bic lighter. the flints fall out of those all the time. plus you still need something considerably flamable. a fire piston can be made from a bolt and a metal tube for very cheap. you dont need a charcoal cloth. you can use anything that will burn under 800 F. that kind of cloth just holds an amber longer than something else but in no way is it the only thing that can go inside the fire pistol.
aanderson66 2 years ago
ha i didnt even notice the changing background lol till you mentioned it lol
douglas0929 2 years ago
You kick ass man!!
LouieG7777 2 years ago
thanks man that's great. good job.
Coolpickle02 2 years ago
Way to cool, crazytailez and I have gone camping and have used the fire piston as a method of a camp fire while outdoors. The changing back ground is awesome! Nice video man!!!!!
monzanoman 2 years ago
it kind of like mine except not black
gnomehater63 2 years ago