Start a Fire With a Water Bottle

normally we think of using water to put
out a fire but in this video you’ll
learn how to use water to start them
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if you’re ever lost in a survival
situation here’s a little trick you’re
going to be so glad to know to practice
this technique we’ll use three sheets of
paper and a water bottle paper with
black ink is easy to practice with so
let’s get started making this top sheet
into a platform by folding it in half
three different ways the black ink is
showing and that’s a good thing so now
we can prepare these other two sheets by
cutting or ripping them in half this
gives us four pieces and we can fold
each of them in half so that their
crease down the middle alright time for
the action we’ll need to remove the
label from this little bottle and use
the convex edge as a makeshift
magnifying glass to focus the sunlight
it only takes a few seconds to get this
paper smoking and pretty soon we’ve got
it smoldering when the hole is about the
size of a quarter we’ll need to slowly
add multiple layers of papers swinging
it around gently will help the air get
to the embers and when they get hot
enough a flame appears that’s it in a
nutshell
but in practice you’ll probably find
that it’s not quite as easy as it looks
so here are a few tips and tricks to
help you master your technique first of
all use a bottle with clear plastic and
remove the label the top should be
smooth and rounded so that magnifies the
image on the other side I’ve been
successful with colored bottles like
this green 2-liter and this little blue
eight ounce bottle but the color absorbs
some of the sun’s energy it makes it a
lot more difficult to get a call the
color of the liquid also needs to be as
clear as possible but in desperate
situations it is possible to light a
fire with your pee look for how to do
that in a different project if you’re
using paper for tinder use something
with big black letters or pictures or
rub some dirt on it because the black
absorbs the heat trying to do this on a
white piece of paper is just going to
frustrate you when focusing the light
hold the bottle close to the paper and
slowly back it away shifting the bottle
around to find the area where the
majority of light is concentrated it
should be very bright and start smoking
within a few seconds keep the light
focused until a hole begins to burn and
grows to about the size of a quarter at
this point you can gently set the embers
in the creased part of another paper and
hold it loosely at the corner tight
enough so that the embers are in contact
but loose enough to allow plenty of air
to flow when the embers have burned a
hole through the sheet add another one
in the same way pinching the corner and
holding loosely
as the heat builds and the process is
repeated two more times you should have
a billowing bundle of smoke it’s at this
point you can blow forcefully into the
embers and voila
a healthy flame this is the technique
that I’ve had the most success with it
should work for you but might take a
little practice if you try this at home
you may be surprised to learn that you
can rub the ashes into your lawn the
potassium phosphorous and calcium in the
ashes make great lawn fertilizer so long
as it’s in small quantities for another
challenge try this with water and a
plastic sandwich bag I found those can
work as well well now you know how to
start a fire with your water bottle if
you like this project perhaps you’ll
like some of my others check them out at
the king of random calm
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