15 replies to this topic

[Steve]

Any tips for starting BBQs from other members? We had a BBQ yesteday and got some pretty good results with

• Blowtorch
• Charcoal (duh)
• High volume air pump
• Kno3

Although there were some problems with the salty cake of charcoal and KCO3 that formed not gettting enough air, but giving it a good bashing with a stick broke it up nicely.

[minalth]

Charcoal and a tank full of compressed air goes well.
To light the charcoal in the first place, a magnalium/sodium nitrate flare works well. The composition was found on the patents website, as a military illumination flare (for use in relatively confined spaces such as large caves...) and listed PVC glue as a binder, which seems to work well :>. The flare shouldnt be massive, a 3/4 inch one at night lit up a house like daylight (except for the colour of the light) at near enough 100m.

this type of flare is massively excessive... used it to light a log fire with no paper :>

[paul]

Maybe you wanna try this!

[Mumbles]

Liquid oxygen is always an entertaining choice, though rarely practical.

[Andrew]

though rarely practical.

it is for the office barbie when you have it on tap!!!

Edited by Andrew, 16 April 2007 - 08:48 AM.

[pyrotrev]

Liquid oxygen is always an entertaining choice, though rarely practical.

And could be quite dangerous if it was allowed to soak into the charcoal ...... this is a binary HE thathas been used for very large scale blasting in the past. I prefer a quick blast from the welding torch (no acetylene needed). A string of firelighter blocks strung together with some PIC and a gentle sprinle of a suitable oxidiser is also effective and makes a good party piece

[karlfoxman]

Hexamine works well, burns for a lovely long time.

[BrightStar]

A string of firelighter blocks strung together with some PIC and a gentle sprinle of a suitable oxidiser is also effective and makes a good party piece

LOL I lit a big bonfire on Saturday with a delay of various exotic multicoloured fuses leading to a long loop of visquick (and a little paraffin...). Let's just say it provided a VERY quick and sparky ignition.

and I though it was just me being eccentric

[Gigantic Crab!!!]

Gigantic Crab!!! likes to toss a couple of small fountains on top of any potential fire to ensure ignition, though he is careful with his mighty pincers not to crack machine pressed fountains and cause potential explosions, for Gigantic Crab!!! does not like bits of firework in his Pimms and lemonade.

[Richard H]

Any more pearls of wisdom Mr. Crab? Personally when I run out of firelighters, and I am not so inclined to go out and buy some more, I find a good dash of nitric acid and hydrazine gets the coals going nicely.

In all seriousness, I have lit bonfires in the past with magnesium hand flares, they always do the trick!

[Gigantic Crab!!!]

Gigantic Crab!!! finds that 2 small Cat2 fountains are normally crustacean enough for any bonfire.

ps, see you tomorrow Mr. H.

[BrightStar]

Dr Zoidberg proffers that an electrically ignited bonfire would surely amuse the humans... and demands to know on behalf of the Decapodians and other crustacea just why things are getting so fishy around here???

Edited by BrightStar, 20 April 2007 - 10:03 PM.

[Gigantic Crab!!!]

Gigantic Crab!!! orders you all, once your bbqs are lit, to cook tasty monkfish with nothing else spare the possibility of some red onion as it surpasses all other openly cooked fish.

Gigantic Crab!!! may also allow some fresh mackerel, though only if it is bathed in liberal amounts of lime juice.
Forgetting the citrus angers Gigantic Crab, and puts a waste to your mortal taste buds!

[fishy1]

Gigantic Crab has good taste, monkfish tail is very nice. The monkfish themselves resemble richard h.

[treefingers]

Given the unseasonable warmth here in the UK I've also been planning to organise a BBQ for a little get together at my house . I've been thinking of lots of completely unnecessary but highly entertaining ways to light the BBQ. My thoughts were to generously cover the coals with Methyl Borate then place small fountain in the middle that would burn down causing the BBQ to go up in green flames. Saying that I just looked up the msds for Methyl Borate... gastrointestinal irritation, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea doesn't sound too nice.

I'm wondering if there are any safe metal salts that could be added to the coals to give a nice coloured flame?