How much fuel do you use? (staff and poi)

DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nope, not enough...AHHHHHHHHHHH!
Okay, had to get that out! I think you both need mental help. This is what it comes down to in my book...you are both crazy and in need of help whereas *I* am perfectly normal! That's what the voices inmy head tell me
Charles, Kmoctane there has a good point. Alternating tools is good and if you shake off the excess early they are all ready to light (alot of fuels don't evaporate quickly without extreme heat). I am starting to get into this habit.
And NYC, truthfully I think Kero has about the same burn time as lamp oil, and depending on the lamp oil you use (do you still use the citronella oil?), they have close to the same smokiness. I think because of density that lamp oil tends to soak in better than Kero though, unless you soak for long periods of time, which I do. This can effect your burn, your amount of consumption.
There are so many variables that are different, even subtle ones....we will just have to see when we are all in the same room!

I think I am going to go super glue the hair I yanked out back on now!

::teeters away singing to self::

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Pele
Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir...

http://www.pyromorph.com

Charles,
No need to apologize my friend, I will continue to read your posts with a smile if you will continue to read my sarcasm with the same smile. Within the context of your other posts I certainly feel comfortable enough with you and my other established HoP buddies to joke...

As for Kero, I still think it sucks. It smells worse, makes me dizzy, leaves an AWFUL taste in my mouth and gives me a hangover the next day. But that's just me...

Okay now I'm confused. If Charles is traveling from Austraila to New York at 500 mph in a glass cube and NYC is traveling to Austraila at 400 mph in a chrome sphere what time is it in Denver? So Charles how much fuel do you use in a night of spinning. On a personal night I might get through a gallon. But on the marathon nights when Knagi, myself and Brandon (he dosn't do HOP) get together we can kill 5-8 gallons between 11:00 at night and about 5:00 in the morning. We stand around and talk some, but one of us is alway spinning. If not all of us at once. As far as safety goes.......we do push that fact. But in our defence we all have insurance, always have two fire extinguishers, a big damp towel by our stuff, and one near where the spinning is going on. We also watch each other backs and haven't had a problem yet. I used to think we went through alot a fuel......I guess we'll have to try harder.

Charles--

Hey, if lots of speed and fire is what the crowd wants, then I totally agree with your policy of giving it to them! ("And then they give [you] money." Heh. I like that.)

Sorry I can't really respond with my own fuel usage stats, because I'm really not sure what they are. I'd actually really like to find out, though. But I want to do it right -- pour a measured amount of fuel into my soaking dish, soak up, then measure the remaining fuel.

I don't spin in a busking environment; most of my burns are in a multi-person practice group setting, where people are constantly soaking, lighting up, and occasionally pouring in more fuel. So tracking things -- even things that should be simple, like "How much fuel do you use in a night?" -- is nearly impossible. The analysis would go something like this:

"Well, we started off with a mostly-full gallon can of kero, plus about a half a can of white gas. At the end of the night, we had a few splashes of kero and no white gas left. So I don't know exactly how much fuel we used as a group, but it was in the vicinity of a half-gallon (roughly 2 liters) each of white gas and kero. But that's shared among a half-dozen people, who each did varying numbers of burns. Gosh, I think I personally used more kero than white gas, but I just can't be sure..."

You see the problem?

Pele-- I'm sure you already know this, but just for everyone's benefit, and in response to your post: you can get smokeless and odorless lamp oil. (It's a bit more toxic than the regular kind, but I doubt it's as toxic as kero.) It's also really nice for indoor shows, or shows where your audience is downwind of you.
And, as I've mentioned elsewhere, the ultra-pure smokeless/odorless kind from [url=]Lamplight Farms[/url] is very nice for Fire Breathing, as it doesn't leave a horrid taste in your mouth.

I'd agree that kero and lamp oil have about the same burn time -- our group uses both fuels quite a bit. I think the lamp oil burns a little bit longer, but I haven't done scientific timed trials.

kmactane,
Actually the smokeless and odorless are much more highly toxic for breathing and eating.
I agree it is good for indoor things, completely, but it is not completely smokeless or odorless, there is still a residue kind of thing.

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Pele
Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir...

http://www.pyromorph.com

ok

last friday night we went through 5 litres of Kero almost exactly, and between the 3 ppl sharing that we would have had about 20 burns (me at least 10, Katinca, about 5-7? Jus, 3 or so). Burns arent a very good measure tho...as a burn on my doubles would use three times the fuel my little poi would use etc etc.

Anyhow - thats our recent fuel usage.

Oh shit I misread it i thought you said 35 GALLONS in 45 hours! CHRIST!

lol 35 litres isnt THAT much, I could do that in four hours... if I had the stamina to spin for that long, anyway. In terms of fuel consuption it's not that remarkable.

35 GALLONS would be, lol!

Thanks Blackbird, a few more comments like that and I'll start to stop feeling like a freak with my high fuel use (just being a freak in other ways, like this thing I can do with my eyelid and earlobe...*prattles off into the distance*)

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Charles (INFERNO)

newdolbel@hotmail.com
http://juggling.co.nz

this is probably a nono:
when i wrap the cotton part of my wick i impregnate it with parrofin wax shavings and then cover in kevlar. then i buy "%100 liquid parofin" which is actually more like %70 and costs 5bucks (that canadian dollars just to confuse everyone) per 340 mL (also just to confuse everyone) and we use one bottle per wick.
but

one burn lasts up to 40 minutes without relighting!!! I get tired my partner takes over. they get tired i take over.

eventually one wick goes out and i switch to sword form till it goes out.

a bit of a contrast to your usage,charles

[This message has been edited by phuzzz (edited 26 November 2001).]

40MINS???? Is the wick reusable????
*would like to know more information on how to do this*

that's crazy..

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[PLUR]
-=Crazy Raver Dude=-

usuallu thecotton is toast but ive had the same kevlar for years.first i make small cotton wicks. while wrapping these i put about quarter a cup of chopped up parofin into each wick. then wrap 5 feet of 4inch kevlar around each.then wrap it up REALLY tight with wire. then like i said... i buy really expensiveliquid parrofin. i cure my wicks too. i dip thourally in liquid p. then let sit all day till the show.

do not do this if you dont think you can handle firedancing for at leeast 40 mins WITHOUT A BREAK!!! these wicks are extremly hard to put out.

What do you use for cotton?! I'm definitely gonna try this. Is there anyway you could post a bit more specific instructions? How big is everything, how do you attatch everyting, etc...

Wow! 40 minutes...I would drop dead, especially as my busking style is heavily dependant on getting the flames to go out on command, so I can pass the hat, have a rest and redunk for another burnoff...

Sounds interesting, tho...

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Charles (INFERNO)

newdolbel@hotmail.com
http://juggling.co.nz

agh... okay.i have a hole drilled in both ends of my staff through which i thread about ten feet of thin wireto half way point then push outward away from center so it looks like this
\ <wire
_\ _______________
C_ |_______________ <staff
/
/

then use denim and cut so that you have a peice that is twice as wide as you like it cover a quarter with parofin shavins. fold in half so you have one long stripthe width you like it and half filled with wax.then wrap not tightly around staff waxxy end first. then i cover tightly in kevlar or fiberglass tape if im hard up. then i pull wire ends toward centertwistturnpull to centercentertwistturnpull to center
centertwistturnpull to center till it's all bound in wire and no denim is showing.

bluh

now buy that "liquid parofin" lamp oil stuff in little bottles. buy 4 even though they are really expensive
dunk each wick in a bottle each and let dry in a cool place overnight.
now your ready to dunk again and spark her up. do some streaches first and take some deep breathes cause you'll be at this a while.
dont use a wooden staff. the torches will keep going long after all the wood has burnt.

have fun and really be prepared for this one drink lots of water!!

[This message has been edited by phuzzz (edited 27 November 2001).]

bump.

wondering if antone else has tried this and what they thought....

Nyc you expessed an interest but i havent heard if my description is accurate or how well it worked...
just wondering...

Oh yeah... my bad... um... well I thought you meant poi wicks. I don't staff (yet)...

Any ideas on Poi wicks? I guess you'd just wrap parafin shavings/denim/wire/kevlar er... well I'm lost....

Any IDEAS for poi wicks?

Hmmm 40mins. Tell us more! I have been looking at ways of getting my poi to burn longer (like constant fuel supplies) so a 40min burn time would be excellent!

Have fun!
Woody

40 mins thats cool, I have been looking at the constant fuel supply with woody and nearly have an operational system (more info will follow once complete

35 litres in a night!!!!!!!!!! That would be one big BBQ 4 litres usually lasts about a week and I like to burn at the moment!!

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Mark P (the mad chemist)

Oh my GOD! Talk about a walk down memory lane...Hey , anyone who wasn't around in 2001, go to the first page and start reading.

It's hilarious...you get to see NYC and I almost at each others throats, Pele trying to calm us both down, mad mad mad mathematical mayhem and crazy conversions.

Oh yeah, and then this thing about how to get a 40 minute burn, which no-one else seems to have tried.

This is such a great thread, and it's even got me making tons and tonnes of mistakes and having to admit that later on.

Ahhhhhh, memories.

PS, I don't think i was a moderator at this stage, but it says so anyway???