starting a fire with aluminum shavings?

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SkinnyJoe

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A book I read stated that aluminum shavings can produce "similar" results to magnesium shavings. Has anybody found this to be true?

Fresh magnesium shavings work just fine for me, but fresh Al shavings do not.

Am I missing something?

Thanks.
 
Alum. shavings+iodine+water=yes. Any other means, such as sparks from a ferrocerium rod, not so much.


Gautier
 
Potassium permaganate (kaliumpermaganat) and antifreeze (glykol) makes fire (and lots of smoke).

Alu shavings and iron oxide makes thermite. Burns alot.
 
My qestion is how and where do you get aluminum shavings? Does one cut up a soda can? That would seem more effort and more risky when in the bush trying to start a fire.
 
Aluminum rod stock can be found at most home improvement stores. Most machine shops recycle tons of shavings every month and might give you a scoop for the asking (or a sort section of rod stock too small for machining). I've never heard about this method and will be interested in hearing folks experiments with it.

Codger
 
Not very practical. Look up "Thermite Reaction". Aluminum will burn in a very fine powdered form but usually needs a higher temperature for ignition. It is used in fireworks and explosives. It would not be practical for survival situations. The fine powder usually oxidizes very quickly if not sealed properly. The other chemicals you would need to ignite the aluminum would be too troublesome to carry. I can name dozens of mixtures you can find at home to start fires when combined. None are practical to carry. Stick with magnesium or the ferrocerium rods. They have been around a long time because they are simple and easy to use.
 
High ignition temp is what I remember about aluminum. An aluminum soda can will burn quite profusely if placed in an existing fire.
 
I carry a thermite mixture with titanium cuttings (not powder) in my survival knife. The thermite heats the titanium which gives a good long hot ember to start a fire with.

If you search Youtube with "magnesium thermite" you will see my video of a beer bottle cap worth burning. I have allready over posted it here.
 
Thermite reaction: aluminum POWDER + iron oxide + 1200C = dangerously hot and too bright (eye-damaging) reaction/fire. (Also leaves behind once-molten iron [from the iron oxide component], which is why a termite grenade up the snout of an artillery piece renders it irreparable under field conditions.) You COULD do it (As noted by nodh, magnesium will supply the ignition temp.), but why?

Having picked up the results (:rolleyes:) from literally hundreds of wood fires, I can tell you that aluminum, pots, pans, cans or foil will not burn at wood fire temps - just melt. I doubt that turning it into a powder will change that since wood, burning about 233C, supplies heat well below the ignition point of aluminum (over 600C).

I think the sparks from a "fire steel"/ferrocerium rod are also not hot enough, at about 475C, to ignite aluminum.

In any even, why bother? You won't produce aluminum power in the field. If you are going to carry something into the field, petroleum jelly-treated cotton lights with a match, butane lighter, or ferrocerium sparks, and burns a relatively long time = better succcess in lighting your fire.

But if you have a 155mm to disable . . . . . :D
 
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