Forums > Technical Discussion > Too much fuel?
Login/Join to Participatestranger
13 posts
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
13 posts
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Posted:
Hello. First let me warn you I'm new to the hobby of poi, with, or without fire.
Last night was the third time I used fire to date, and after seeing how quickly my towel wicks weakened, I deemed I wasn't using enough fuel. Well... I poured ultra pure lamp oil onto the top of my wicks, untill I could see moisture halfway down the wick. The wicks were about 2 inches tall, and about an inch across. Well, I must have used about a cup of fuel between the two wicks, which seemed like a lot at the time, but the bottom of the wicks were still dry as a bone... I decided to see what would happen.
They lit wonderfully, and looked great... but even with low speeds, I was splattering fuel onto the cement ground beside me. Quite a bit. Enough that I nearly slipped. I clearly had used to much fuel.
Is there anyway to judge how much fuel I should put into these wicks?
Hello. First let me warn you I'm new to the hobby of poi, with, or without fire.
Last night was the third time I used fire to date, and after seeing how quickly my towel wicks weakened, I deemed I wasn't using enough fuel. Well... I poured ultra pure lamp oil onto the top of my wicks, untill I could see moisture halfway down the wick. The wicks were about 2 inches tall, and about an inch across. Well, I must have used about a cup of fuel between the two wicks, which seemed like a lot at the time, but the bottom of the wicks were still dry as a bone... I decided to see what would happen.
They lit wonderfully, and looked great... but even with low speeds, I was splattering fuel onto the cement ground beside me. Quite a bit. Enough that I nearly slipped. I clearly had used to much fuel.
Is there anyway to judge how much fuel I should put into these wicks?
-=Dave
PLATINUM Member
Hyperloops suck
595 posts
Location: USA
Hyperloops suck
595 posts
Location: USA
Posted:
It depends highly on the absorbancy of the wicks, the size of the wicks, the type of fuel, and many other factors. If you are going to continue to spin fire, I highly recommend using kevlar instead of towels, they'll last forever, and you can safely spin with as much fuel as you can put on 'em.
Do you spin off? Put a bucket with a handle around your poi as you put the fuel in it, and before you take it out of the bucket, spin the bucket around pretty quickly with the poi still in it. I usually hold the chain of the poi so it is dangling slightly above the bottom of the bucket. This'll give you the centrifugal (or whatever it is) force needed to get a bunch of the excess fuel that'll just fly off while spinning in to your bucket to be reused, and not on the ground where it is not only wasteful, but contaminating.
HOP has a good selection of kevlar fire poi, or even just kevlar by the yard.
It depends highly on the absorbancy of the wicks, the size of the wicks, the type of fuel, and many other factors. If you are going to continue to spin fire, I highly recommend using kevlar instead of towels, they'll last forever, and you can safely spin with as much fuel as you can put on 'em.
Do you spin off? Put a bucket with a handle around your poi as you put the fuel in it, and before you take it out of the bucket, spin the bucket around pretty quickly with the poi still in it. I usually hold the chain of the poi so it is dangling slightly above the bottom of the bucket. This'll give you the centrifugal (or whatever it is) force needed to get a bunch of the excess fuel that'll just fly off while spinning in to your bucket to be reused, and not on the ground where it is not only wasteful, but contaminating.
HOP has a good selection of kevlar fire poi, or even just kevlar by the yard.
GOLD Member
addict
625 posts
Location: Aotearoa (NZ), New Zealand
addict
625 posts
Location: Aotearoa (NZ), New Zealand
Posted:
Yea i agree. If u can drip em for awhile before burn off then its safer, and also spin them out before u light it up, so then you wont get any napalm rain (u know the fire that falls from the sky and lands on ya hair
)
Oh and yea to the kevlar.
An Happy new year
Yea i agree. If u can drip em for awhile before burn off then its safer, and also spin them out before u light it up, so then you wont get any napalm rain (u know the fire that falls from the sky and lands on ya hair
)Oh and yea to the kevlar.
An Happy new year
GOLD Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
3,252 posts
Location: sheffield, United Kingdom
Carpal \'Tunnel
3,252 posts
Location: sheffield, United Kingdom
Posted:
As mentioned above, getting some Kevlar is a good idea; it's good value from the HOP shop.
When I use towel wicks I fuel them by dunking them in a container so they absorb a lot of paraffin, then, using plastic coated gardening gloves I squeeze the excess fuel back into the dunking container.
A quick spin unlit to remove the last drops of excess, then light up.
If the towel wicks are fairly big they'll be difficult to extinguish by blowing out, so take a damp towel to smother them with.
As you're new to fire be safety conscious, there's some good threads on this forum about it- try not to do it alone and stick to moves that you're 100% confident with.
Quote:
Last night was the third time I used fire to date, and after seeing how quickly my towel wicks weakened, I deemed I wasn't using enough fuel......
They lit wonderfully, and looked great... but even with low speeds, I was splattering fuel onto the cement ground beside me. Quite a bit. Enough that I nearly slipped. I clearly had used to much fuel.
Is there anyway to judge how much fuel I should put into these wicks?
As mentioned above, getting some Kevlar is a good idea; it's good value from the HOP shop.
When I use towel wicks I fuel them by dunking them in a container so they absorb a lot of paraffin, then, using plastic coated gardening gloves I squeeze the excess fuel back into the dunking container.
A quick spin unlit to remove the last drops of excess, then light up.
If the towel wicks are fairly big they'll be difficult to extinguish by blowing out, so take a damp towel to smother them with.
As you're new to fire be safety conscious, there's some good threads on this forum about it- try not to do it alone and stick to moves that you're 100% confident with.
"You can't outrun Death forever.
But you can make the Bastard work for it."
--MAJOR KORGO KORGAR,
"Last of The Lancers"
AFC 32
Educate your self in the Hazards of Fire Breathing STAY SAFE!
stranger
13 posts
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
13 posts
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Posted:
Thank you all, spinning off the extra fuel is gonna be the step I was missing.
As far as Kevlar is concerned, I fully plan on doing that when I have the cash. Right now however, I'm broke, but I have plenty of extra towels. ^_^
I researched a good bit before lighting up, and I dampen my clothes before I spin, keep someone nearby with water, keep a wet cloth for dousing the flames, and I've had nothing even close to an accident yet.
Now, I have messed up plenty of moves, I've got a half dozen scars fown my back from the towel cage- But I assume that's part of the fun...? I mean, so long as I'm not disfigured, or missing hair, I don' mind a few burns. Do I have the wrong attitude about this, or is that the general consencious of this forum?
Thank you all, spinning off the extra fuel is gonna be the step I was missing.
As far as Kevlar is concerned, I fully plan on doing that when I have the cash. Right now however, I'm broke, but I have plenty of extra towels. ^_^
I researched a good bit before lighting up, and I dampen my clothes before I spin, keep someone nearby with water, keep a wet cloth for dousing the flames, and I've had nothing even close to an accident yet.
Now, I have messed up plenty of moves, I've got a half dozen scars fown my back from the towel cage- But I assume that's part of the fun...? I mean, so long as I'm not disfigured, or missing hair, I don' mind a few burns. Do I have the wrong attitude about this, or is that the general consencious of this forum?
-=Dave
BRONZE Member
member
10 posts
Location: canberra, australia
member
10 posts
Location: canberra, australia
Posted:
Disclaimer: i spin staff not poi
That said, try to minimise the amount of exposed metal on the outside of your poi. Hitting yourself with the wick will usually just leave a black mark without burning you. Instead of using a wire cage, you could wrap the towel around a small piece of pipe (12mm diameter, and as long as your poi are high), then put a screw or 2 through the towel and into the pipe, then attach the pipe to your chains. Some illustrated instructions for this can be found at: https://web.archive.org/web/20030625054708/https://incendium.org/
Rohan
Disclaimer: i spin staff not poi
That said, try to minimise the amount of exposed metal on the outside of your poi. Hitting yourself with the wick will usually just leave a black mark without burning you. Instead of using a wire cage, you could wrap the towel around a small piece of pipe (12mm diameter, and as long as your poi are high), then put a screw or 2 through the towel and into the pipe, then attach the pipe to your chains. Some illustrated instructions for this can be found at: https://web.archive.org/web/20030625054708/https://incendium.org/
Rohan
GOLD Member
master of disaster
3,354 posts
Location: New York, USA
master of disaster
3,354 posts
Location: New York, USA
Posted:
when you light up, if the flames are to big, either spin them down, roll the heads on the ground. It makes a reeeeally cool fire circle that'll go out quickly and looks awesome
when you light up, if the flames are to big, either spin them down, roll the heads on the ground. It makes a reeeeally cool fire circle that'll go out quickly and looks awesome
kyrian: I've felt your finger connect with me many times
lou kitten: sneaky little meatball..
ezz: please corrupt me more
PLATINUM Member
Hyperloops suck
595 posts
Location: USA
Hyperloops suck
595 posts
Location: USA
Posted:
1. Be very careful about dumping water on someone who is on fire. This can result in steam burns as the water evaporates and can do more damage than good. I recommend a damp towel to smother the flames, rather than a bucket of water to throw on it.
Burns are a part of fire spinning. When you get in to wraps with fire, you'll quite regularly come home with burns on your arms and legs, unless you wear long sleeve shirts and pants. Just remember that burns can leave scars if they're bad enough... I used to spin with the Tube Cores from HOP, which have large amounts of exposed metal. They left long, deep, painful burns that I just assumed were normal. I now burn with Monkey Fist poi, and they leave very small burns that don't hurt and disappear relatively quickly. Just make sure you're not in a lot of pain, they aren't scarring too badly, and you should be fine.
Quote:
Thank you all, spinning off the extra fuel is gonna be the step I was missing.
As far as Kevlar is concerned, I fully plan on doing that when I have the cash. Right now however, I'm broke, but I have plenty of extra towels. ^_^
I researched a good bit before lighting up, and I dampen my clothes before I spin, keep someone nearby with water, keep a wet cloth for dousing the flames, and I've had nothing even close to an accident yet.
Now, I have messed up plenty of moves, I've got a half dozen scars fown my back from the towel cage- But I assume that's part of the fun...? I mean, so long as I'm not disfigured, or missing hair, I don' mind a few burns. Do I have the wrong attitude about this, or is that the general consencious of this forum?
1. Be very careful about dumping water on someone who is on fire. This can result in steam burns as the water evaporates and can do more damage than good. I recommend a damp towel to smother the flames, rather than a bucket of water to throw on it.
Burns are a part of fire spinning. When you get in to wraps with fire, you'll quite regularly come home with burns on your arms and legs, unless you wear long sleeve shirts and pants. Just remember that burns can leave scars if they're bad enough... I used to spin with the Tube Cores from HOP, which have large amounts of exposed metal. They left long, deep, painful burns that I just assumed were normal. I now burn with Monkey Fist poi, and they leave very small burns that don't hurt and disappear relatively quickly. Just make sure you're not in a lot of pain, they aren't scarring too badly, and you should be fine.
SILVER Member
sleeping with angels
508 posts
Location: anaheim CA usa
sleeping with angels
508 posts
Location: anaheim CA usa
Posted:
i soak them in a paint can then let them dry for about 2 minn the do a spin off it normaly works just fine
i soak them in a paint can then let them dry for about 2 minn the do a spin off it normaly works just fine
SLEEP WITH ANGELS muckieha
BRONZE Member
Corporate Circus Arts Entertainer
3,989 posts
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Corporate Circus Arts Entertainer
3,989 posts
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Posted:
Don't forget to make sure thier is no paint left in the can, or you might be poisoning yourself wiht the fumes...
Don't forget to make sure thier is no paint left in the can, or you might be poisoning yourself wiht the fumes...
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GOLD Member
addict
625 posts
Location: Aotearoa (NZ), New Zealand
addict
625 posts
Location: Aotearoa (NZ), New Zealand
Posted:
I think his problem is with
If you use any type of wire/ cable to connect the towel then you WILL get burnt and badly. Most people only have a bolt head or two sticking out, and thats all that can burn you. As mentioned above the kev shouldn't burn unless its on your skin for extended peroids of time (about 3sec) but the wire will go straight into your skin
not good.
If you really like wraps or always hit yourself, wear a shirt...if thats not your "style" figure out how to connect your kev/ towel without metal sticking out. Also chain is better than cable cause chain dont heat up as easy.
Luck.
I think his problem is with
Written by:
the towel cage
If you use any type of wire/ cable to connect the towel then you WILL get burnt and badly. Most people only have a bolt head or two sticking out, and thats all that can burn you. As mentioned above the kev shouldn't burn unless its on your skin for extended peroids of time (about 3sec) but the wire will go straight into your skin
not good. If you really like wraps or always hit yourself, wear a shirt...if thats not your "style" figure out how to connect your kev/ towel without metal sticking out. Also chain is better than cable cause chain dont heat up as easy.
Luck.
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