Forums > Technical Discussion > Flame Trails

Posted: 16th May 2002
Get bigger wicks. The 4 inch wicks a few nights ago I finally felt the heat. White gas burns bigger I think from all the fuels I've tried (Tortch Oil, Lamp Oil, White Gas, and a mix of White Gas/Lamp oil)

Tortch Oil burns longest,
Lamp oil well. Doesn't burn loud and proud.
White gas *drools* but *whipes up teh drool because of the short burning time*

It's not the fuel that's your problem, it's the wick. Soaking time I usually soak for about a minute or two. Bigger wicks, bigger flame, bigger... burns?

Posted: 15th May 2002
beware young firetwirler! Ready, are you? What know you of ready? For eight hundred years have I trained Firetwirlers! My own counsel will I keep on what is to be burned! A Firetwirler must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind, the best fuels. This 'Shell Sol TK' a long time
have I watched. Burn not the Whitegas, for hurt you it will, yes! Too much for you will the heat be! Skin grafts? Heh! holey clothes? Heh! A Twirler craves not these things! Do not underestimate the flashpoint of whitegas, or suffer my armhair's fate will you! Think, will you that afraid you are not?

Oh, you will be. You will be.

Laugh Often, Smile Much, Post lolcats Always

Posted: 15th May 2002
Bender, you're to good at that. I should slap you with your hurty staff

Posted: 15th May 2002
gives the strange Yoda/Bender creature a kind loving kick to the groin...

I could be wrong, but I think the original question was how to make the TRAILS longer and bigger and stuff.

I think the fire itself has less of a burning-into-your-retinas type effect of glowsticks, but that could be an illusion because of the smaller size of the sticks when compared to wicks.

If so, making the fire bigger won't really make the trails any better, but smaller and brighter flames will. However, smaller brighter flames will run out faster.

Personally, it might pay for Paraffin to redefine the question again.

HoP Posting Guidelines
* Is it the Truth?
* Is it Fair to all concerned?
* Will it build Goodwill and Better Friendships?
* Will it be Beneficial to all concerned?

Posted: 16th May 2002
what aboot gaps?
more wicking doesn't necessarily have to be one continuous tube, eg.
a 8" long roll of kevlar will emit a smaller flame than two rolls of 4", as the gap between the 4" kevlar rolls - the total length of the entire firey bit will be longer than the 8".
For the goal of bigger fire (hence longer fire trails) if i hadta choose between using carefully placed split wicking or the dangerious immolation of whitegas, I'd choose Dagobah.

Laugh Often, Smile Much, Post lolcats Always

Posted: 16th May 2002
What I mean is how to get long long trails to hang behind the wicks...I saw a man do some twirling where the fire would hang in the air for 2 seconds at least, but he wouldn't tell me what he used...ancient secret.

burn burn burn burn burn burn burnburn burn

Posted: 17th May 2002
did he uhm, spin them faster?

Posted: 22nd May 2002
I dont know if this will help much or even answer the question that you are asking but have you prehaps considered buying some lengths of kevlar rope and plating them into two lengths then adding them to the ends of your poi (perhaps with another keyring so you can detach them when you dont want them there, this is assuming that you have enough length at the bottom of them to do so). This way you should be able to get the effect of tails much like you do with practice poi's. I have never acutually tried this or know if the visual effect would be really worth the effort. Just my 00.02c.

Hope this may be of some help.

[ 23 May 2002, 02:56: Message edited by: Twirl'N'Burn ]

Simply an excuse to play with fire.

Posted: 1st Jun 2002
i think the soaked kevlar tails would be too heavy to trail like they're supposed to...

maybe it's just me.

Posted: 2nd Jun 2002
Ok, here's what I have: 1.5 inche (4 cm) wicks (that's diameter and width). On each poi chain, I have three, spaced on wick width apart. When I soak these guys in coleman fuel, I can't hold them still. I can't even hang and swirl them! I have to either twirl or run with them streaming out behind me, that's how big the flames are! Naturaly, the fire trails are about that big too. They're somewhat longer than my arms (I'm six feet, or 185 cm), and the flames would come about 4-6 inches over my hands if I held them still.

On a similar note: If white coleman burns to fast, add a dash (4:1) of parafin (that's American parafin, the synthetic lamp oil. I've gotten the same effect with citronella). It'll lengthen the burn time considerably, and only dimm it a little bit.

Anselm

Posted: 3rd Jun 2002
Big wicks give you big fire trails. Not necessarily tall, but fat. Adding more wicking is pretty much the only way (short of something like building fire comet-poi, which strike me as problematic) to get the really big trails. This of course means a lot more weight (the weight of the wicking, plus the weight of the additional fuel you'll soak up).

Laugh while you can, monkey-boy

Posted: 5th Jun 2002
when i hook my poi together at the ends with the key rings (so 4 ends become 2) and use white gas i have had some interesting moments. i cant hold them still or my head hair burns he he he, but thats what you get with 20 foot of wicking!!

Posted: 9th Jun 2002
I think you need more of a orangish whispy kind of flame, it has the tendency to hang in the air longer. For this, I use charcoal fluid.

I have heard bad things about it though, but after 6 years, I think/hope i'll be okay.

You can mix at a 1 to 1 ratio of charcoal fluid and white gas, making the fire brighter and more whispy at once.

I do welcome any info on caharcoal fluid that may or may not change my opinion on the matter.