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Forums > Technical Discussion > Suggestion for lighting
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8 posts
Location: Canberra, ACT, Australia
8 posts
Location: Canberra, ACT, Australia
Posted:
We tried using candles and lighters but they were pathetic. Candles kept going out (often enough from having the wick so close), and lighters get too hot. We've found the lantern things for outdoor events, sometimes they put citronella oil in them. The wick they come with is useless, but a scrap of kevlar works brilliantly. It only goes out when the fuel level gets too low, it's an adjustable flame (how much wick you have poking out the top), and it makes lighting up a huge amount easier.------------------FTA- Fire Twirlers AnnonymousIt's not just an act, it's an addiction
We tried using candles and lighters but they were pathetic. Candles kept going out (often enough from having the wick so close), and lighters get too hot. We've found the lantern things for outdoor events, sometimes they put citronella oil in them. The wick they come with is useless, but a scrap of kevlar works brilliantly. It only goes out when the fuel level gets too low, it's an adjustable flame (how much wick you have poking out the top), and it makes lighting up a huge amount easier.------------------FTA- Fire Twirlers AnnonymousIt's not just an act, it's an addiction
FTA- Fire Twirlers AnnonymousIt's not just an act, it's an addiction
BRONZE Member
wandering thru the woods of WI
3,556 posts
Location: Wisconsin, USA
wandering thru the woods of WI
3,556 posts
Location: Wisconsin, USA
Posted:
anyone else have a suggestion
anyone else have a suggestion
Faith
Nay, whatever comes one hour was sunlit and the most high gods may not make boast of any better thing than to have watched that hour as it passed
SILVER Member
15,417 posts
Location: South Wales
15,417 posts
Location: South Wales
Posted:
Not in 5 years by the looks of it...
Ive always found that a paint can of parafin with some form of wick (simply an old tea towel cut up or similar) works the best.
Not in 5 years by the looks of it...
Ive always found that a paint can of parafin with some form of wick (simply an old tea towel cut up or similar) works the best.
BRONZE Member
wandering thru the woods of WI
3,556 posts
Location: Wisconsin, USA
wandering thru the woods of WI
3,556 posts
Location: Wisconsin, USA
Posted:
are there any non candle/latern ideas
when i light it has to be sneaky
are there any non candle/latern ideas
when i light it has to be sneaky
Faith
Nay, whatever comes one hour was sunlit and the most high gods may not make boast of any better thing than to have watched that hour as it passed
marmite and nutella sandwich
1,590 posts
Location: Farnborough, Hampshire
1,590 posts
Location: Farnborough, Hampshire
Posted:
What about a tilly lantern?
What about a tilly lantern?
THE hop Pyro.
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BRONZE Member
wandering thru the woods of WI
3,556 posts
Location: Wisconsin, USA
wandering thru the woods of WI
3,556 posts
Location: Wisconsin, USA
Posted:
a what?
a what?
Faith
Nay, whatever comes one hour was sunlit and the most high gods may not make boast of any better thing than to have watched that hour as it passed
SILVER Member
member
133 posts
Location: Churchill College, Cambridge, United Kingdom
member
133 posts
Location: Churchill College, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Posted:
My dad has a chef's blowtorch - he only uses it once in a blue moon for making creme brulee. And as much as I love creme brulee, I think that's a horrific waste ... would be far better put to use as a lighter. But my dad's having none of that from us punk kids
The chef-blowtorch is a little intense though, it may damage the wick before the paraffin lights. Can anyone verify this? Also, operating as a low-budget performer, its ANOTHER fuel that we have to spend money on. Though the amount of lighters we go through is ridiculous. I agree with you that lighters are pretty inadequate at first: Once the wick is warm after a few burns, it re-lights quite easily though. I've just invested in one of those mini-blowtorch lighters. Pretty cool, but still takes the same amount of time to light a wick as a normal lighter, only the flame doesn't go out as easily.
Garden torches sound good, thanks for the tip about using kevlar wick instead of the rope one - must find some on ebay at some point!
I've always wanted to play with the idea of having lots of "bowls" of fire around the performance stage, but I obviously dont want open vessels of paraffin lying around - do you know how they create this in the movies? They'd look pretty cool when sheltered from the wind and kids running into them ...
My dad has a chef's blowtorch - he only uses it once in a blue moon for making creme brulee. And as much as I love creme brulee, I think that's a horrific waste ... would be far better put to use as a lighter. But my dad's having none of that from us punk kids
The chef-blowtorch is a little intense though, it may damage the wick before the paraffin lights. Can anyone verify this? Also, operating as a low-budget performer, its ANOTHER fuel that we have to spend money on. Though the amount of lighters we go through is ridiculous. I agree with you that lighters are pretty inadequate at first: Once the wick is warm after a few burns, it re-lights quite easily though. I've just invested in one of those mini-blowtorch lighters. Pretty cool, but still takes the same amount of time to light a wick as a normal lighter, only the flame doesn't go out as easily.
Garden torches sound good, thanks for the tip about using kevlar wick instead of the rope one - must find some on ebay at some point!
I've always wanted to play with the idea of having lots of "bowls" of fire around the performance stage, but I obviously dont want open vessels of paraffin lying around - do you know how they create this in the movies? They'd look pretty cool when sheltered from the wind and kids running into them ...
GOLD Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
3,099 posts
Location: Bideford and Bath, United Kingdom
Carpal \'Tunnel
3,099 posts
Location: Bideford and Bath, United Kingdom
Posted:
they will only damage It as much as a mini blow torch lighter i think, It may get damaged, but if your wicks are freyed you can light one of the freying strands, which will light allot easier and quicker.
Basically do what UCOF was saying, have a make shift wick made of tea towel or something similar in a tin and put paraffin in it, make sure you have a wick though otherwise it will be rather dissapointing.
also as people have said you should quite easily be able to light from one of these.
Written by: akgraphics
The chef-blowtorch is a little intense though, it may damage the wick before the paraffin lights. Can anyone verify this?
they will only damage It as much as a mini blow torch lighter i think, It may get damaged, but if your wicks are freyed you can light one of the freying strands, which will light allot easier and quicker.
Written by: akgraphics
I've always wanted to play with the idea of having lots of "bowls" of fire around the performance stage, but I obviously dont want open vessels of paraffin lying around - do you know how they create this in the movies? They'd look pretty cool when sheltered from the wind and kids running into them ...
Basically do what UCOF was saying, have a make shift wick made of tea towel or something similar in a tin and put paraffin in it, make sure you have a wick though otherwise it will be rather dissapointing.
also as people have said you should quite easily be able to light from one of these.
UCOF "evolution: Poi -> stick -> hoops -> devil stick -> juggling club -> juggling ball -> crayons."
Supergroovalsticprosifunkstication
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GOLD Member
Dangerous cynic
166 posts
Location: United Kingdom
Dangerous cynic
166 posts
Location: United Kingdom
Posted:
I have used a chef's blowtorch, it works well. Usually I use one of them big lighters that's meant for lighting gas cookers, doesn't overheat like a cigarette lighter and your hand is clear of the hot bits. The flame is meatier too, although it won't stand up to string wind!
I have used a chef's blowtorch, it works well. Usually I use one of them big lighters that's meant for lighting gas cookers, doesn't overheat like a cigarette lighter and your hand is clear of the hot bits. The flame is meatier too, although it won't stand up to string wind!
member
37 posts
Location: north yorkshire
37 posts
Location: north yorkshire
Posted:
i use a turbo flame lighter. yes it does take a while but i works well. what i have found works well is choreographing with another spinner to trail your wick in their flame trail, works most of the time but does occasionally need a couple of attempts
i use a turbo flame lighter. yes it does take a while but i works well. what i have found works well is choreographing with another spinner to trail your wick in their flame trail, works most of the time but does occasionally need a couple of attempts
BRONZE Member
Macaque of all trades
8,738 posts
Location: wombling free..., United Kingdom
Macaque of all trades
8,738 posts
Location: wombling free..., United Kingdom
Posted:
I have a cremé brulée torch and it is the bomb, always lights and startsup cold wicks in seconds, under £10 from sainsburys last christmas but can use a lot of lighter gas so keep a spare can handy
I have a cremé brulée torch and it is the bomb, always lights and startsup cold wicks in seconds, under £10 from sainsburys last christmas but can use a lot of lighter gas so keep a spare can handy
A couple of balls short of a full cascade... or maybe a few cards short of a deck... we'll see how this all fans out.
BRONZE Member
member
117 posts
Location: USA
member
117 posts
Location: USA
Posted:
Why has over looked the the good ol' zippo. If the wind is strong enough to blow that out you prolly shouldn't be lighting your wicks anyway. And as a bounus it won't incinerate your wicks like torches and jet lighters.
Why has over looked the the good ol' zippo. If the wind is strong enough to blow that out you prolly shouldn't be lighting your wicks anyway. And as a bounus it won't incinerate your wicks like torches and jet lighters.
Too many secerets are locked in side your minds, but your all equal in life, equal in love. your all building castels in the sky dreaming of a better world.
member
104 posts
Location: den bosch
104 posts
Location: den bosch
Posted:
precise! plus: zippo tricks are very cool!
on the other hand I don't think it looks cool for the audience to use a lighter, so i just have a burning bowl in front of me... (metal bowl, paraffin, wick)
and maybe you could spill some zippo fluid over your paraffin-filled wicks. that way you can light quicker, qause the paraffin will heat up quicker
precise! plus: zippo tricks are very cool!
on the other hand I don't think it looks cool for the audience to use a lighter, so i just have a burning bowl in front of me... (metal bowl, paraffin, wick)
and maybe you could spill some zippo fluid over your paraffin-filled wicks. that way you can light quicker, qause the paraffin will heat up quicker
hakuna matata- rafiki (the lion king baboon)
BRONZE Member
member
117 posts
Location: USA
member
117 posts
Location: USA
Posted:
Well if ya do a few zippo tricks while lighting your tools I don't think the audiance will care that you just used a lighter. Just gotta remeber to fill it up before hand so ya don't make a fool of your self.
Well if ya do a few zippo tricks while lighting your tools I don't think the audiance will care that you just used a lighter. Just gotta remeber to fill it up before hand so ya don't make a fool of your self.
Too many secerets are locked in side your minds, but your all equal in life, equal in love. your all building castels in the sky dreaming of a better world.
PLATINUM Member
Burinating the village like Trogdor
156 posts
Location: West Auck, NZ, New Zealand
Burinating the village like Trogdor
156 posts
Location: West Auck, NZ, New Zealand
Posted:
I use a BBQ lighter, you get to keep your hand well away from the hot bit, you just pull the lever to light it up, no flicking the hot metal. So if it goes out, click click and click again.
Im gonna have a go at the hand light method, but im guessing this will require a very thin fuel or warm wick to work (By this i mean goign out with one end burning, then squeezing the unlit wick to get some fuel on my fingers, igniting this with the burning end, and passing the flame to the other, much like the samoan fire knife dancers do)
:EDIT:
Im planning on getting some outdoors citronella torches anyway, if nothign else they will show where the audience needs to stand, at the moment i use a white towel on the ground.
EDITED_BY: cpjfox (1168128936)
I use a BBQ lighter, you get to keep your hand well away from the hot bit, you just pull the lever to light it up, no flicking the hot metal. So if it goes out, click click and click again.
Im gonna have a go at the hand light method, but im guessing this will require a very thin fuel or warm wick to work (By this i mean goign out with one end burning, then squeezing the unlit wick to get some fuel on my fingers, igniting this with the burning end, and passing the flame to the other, much like the samoan fire knife dancers do)
:EDIT:
Im planning on getting some outdoors citronella torches anyway, if nothign else they will show where the audience needs to stand, at the moment i use a white towel on the ground.
EDITED_BY: cpjfox (1168128936)
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SILVER Member
veteran
1,237 posts
Location: Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
veteran
1,237 posts
Location: Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
Posted:
cremé brulée torch.... yeaaass. we spotted ilovethefire doing that on bonfirenight and pounced on him, those things are too hot, they'll trash your wicks.
cremé brulée torch.... yeaaass. we spotted ilovethefire doing that on bonfirenight and pounced on him, those things are too hot, they'll trash your wicks.
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SILVER Member
Member
22 posts
Location: USA
Member
22 posts
Location: USA
Posted:
Well, I have a conceptual igniter that I still need to build.
It won't exactly be cheap or easy, but depending on the style of your show, it would deffinately go over well.
You need the following:
Propane or natural gas, regulator, method of spark, hose, and an operator.
you have your propane tank off to the side, with your operator manning it. Hooked to this you have your regulator, and a hose that runs out to a stand on your prformance field.
Next comes the sparker, I don't have for certain a method of doing this yet, my dads thought is something along the lines of a spark plug. Essentually you have a battery next to your tank, and wires running from that to whatever produces your spark at the stand. The exact method of building this would have to be left to someone who knows electronics, I personally don't. (but I can see if my dad can give basic directions if anyone wants them)
First, the operator triggers the sparker, probably by just hooking it up to the battery. Then they put the propane to the desired amount.
The effect if everthing works right? A gout of flame shooting up out of the ground. Light your toys, and the flame goes out. (It's still a concept design though, so I havn't been able to actually test it.)
If your torch is off to the side of your preforming area, it'll be out of the way, as long as you know where you're moving. if it's centered, the opperator can just pull it back.
Also if it's out of the way, you can just have your saftey opperate it.
------
But.. yeah. Like I said, not cheap, and takes some set up.
... when lighting my staff, I generally just use a Zippo or a bonfire.
The thing on a Zippo though, make sure it is full (as someone already said), and just before you go out, let it burn for a moment, a It's about 50/50 for a first-strike ignition on a cold zippo, about 99% of the time if it's full, the wick is in good shape and it's already warmed up. (After all, you don't want to make a fool of yourself for your audience.. unless you're doing a comedic preformance.)
The use of a lighter can be fine for a show, you just have to incorporate it in to the preformance. No stopping, being boring and lighting.
Well, I have a conceptual igniter that I still need to build.
It won't exactly be cheap or easy, but depending on the style of your show, it would deffinately go over well.
You need the following:
Propane or natural gas, regulator, method of spark, hose, and an operator.
you have your propane tank off to the side, with your operator manning it. Hooked to this you have your regulator, and a hose that runs out to a stand on your prformance field.
Next comes the sparker, I don't have for certain a method of doing this yet, my dads thought is something along the lines of a spark plug. Essentually you have a battery next to your tank, and wires running from that to whatever produces your spark at the stand. The exact method of building this would have to be left to someone who knows electronics, I personally don't. (but I can see if my dad can give basic directions if anyone wants them)
First, the operator triggers the sparker, probably by just hooking it up to the battery. Then they put the propane to the desired amount.
The effect if everthing works right? A gout of flame shooting up out of the ground. Light your toys, and the flame goes out. (It's still a concept design though, so I havn't been able to actually test it.)
If your torch is off to the side of your preforming area, it'll be out of the way, as long as you know where you're moving. if it's centered, the opperator can just pull it back.
Also if it's out of the way, you can just have your saftey opperate it.
------
But.. yeah. Like I said, not cheap, and takes some set up.
... when lighting my staff, I generally just use a Zippo or a bonfire.
The thing on a Zippo though, make sure it is full (as someone already said), and just before you go out, let it burn for a moment, a It's about 50/50 for a first-strike ignition on a cold zippo, about 99% of the time if it's full, the wick is in good shape and it's already warmed up. (After all, you don't want to make a fool of yourself for your audience.. unless you're doing a comedic preformance.)
The use of a lighter can be fine for a show, you just have to incorporate it in to the preformance. No stopping, being boring and lighting.
There's a fine line between genius and insanity.
.... I ran away from the genius side.
member
37 posts
Location: north yorkshire
37 posts
Location: north yorkshire
Posted:
how about magician`s hand flashers, although you would need 2? they fire a fairly spectacular jet/ball of flame but are more or less lighters.
how about magician`s hand flashers, although you would need 2? they fire a fairly spectacular jet/ball of flame but are more or less lighters.
BRONZE Member
Macaque of all trades
8,738 posts
Location: wombling free..., United Kingdom
Macaque of all trades
8,738 posts
Location: wombling free..., United Kingdom
Posted:
my torch isn't that bad.. my wicks are still in great condition, they may be bad if you use them on already worn / frayed wicks but fine on fresh wicks. I prefer to light off a large flame (some other wick) and we use a parafin lamp to light normally, but to get your initial fire going a torch never fails
my torch isn't that bad.. my wicks are still in great condition, they may be bad if you use them on already worn / frayed wicks but fine on fresh wicks. I prefer to light off a large flame (some other wick) and we use a parafin lamp to light normally, but to get your initial fire going a torch never fails
A couple of balls short of a full cascade... or maybe a few cards short of a deck... we'll see how this all fans out.
SILVER Member
addict
544 posts
Location: swansea, United Kingdom
addict
544 posts
Location: swansea, United Kingdom
Posted:
i use a lamp that is ment for gardens it looks like a small can of coke but has a little wick out of the top. fill it with para and away you go never been blown out yet (touch wood)
i use a lamp that is ment for gardens it looks like a small can of coke but has a little wick out of the top. fill it with para and away you go never been blown out yet (touch wood)
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SILVER Member
Member
22 posts
Location: USA
Member
22 posts
Location: USA
Posted:
.. Might work. I'll try it sometime (I own one). But there's a couple of minor problems with the standard flash ring.
The standard flash ring is a small metal cup attached to a ring, with a sparker from a cigarette lighter attacked. Simple system intended for lighting flash cotton.
The spark its self would not be enough to light the wick, especially since it is directed down in to the cup, but flash cotton with some nice sparkle aditive would probably be adiquate to ignite the staff.
The problems though, is they are 1-shot, so you'd have to have two. (no big deal, other than they're like $20 a pop), but also, you'd have to remove them and hand them off before you actually started.
So you'd kinda be in the same place as a lighter.
Lighter: *light end* *light other end* *throw lighter to saftey* Nice and quick, just kinda lame.
Flash ring: *light one end, impressive!* *swap hands, light other end, yay!* *pulls rings off, hand rings to saftey* ...It goes from being cool, to suddenly being lame.
Also, they arn't always 100% reliable. About 95% if you know how to pack them. 50% or less if you don't.
There's also other kinds of handheld devices for igniting flash paper/cotton. But most of those get bigger, more complex, and harder to make work for this purpose.
Written by: funnyangel
how about magician`s hand flashers, although you would need 2? they fire a fairly spectacular jet/ball of flame but are more or less lighters.
.. Might work. I'll try it sometime (I own one). But there's a couple of minor problems with the standard flash ring.
The standard flash ring is a small metal cup attached to a ring, with a sparker from a cigarette lighter attacked. Simple system intended for lighting flash cotton.
The spark its self would not be enough to light the wick, especially since it is directed down in to the cup, but flash cotton with some nice sparkle aditive would probably be adiquate to ignite the staff.
The problems though, is they are 1-shot, so you'd have to have two. (no big deal, other than they're like $20 a pop), but also, you'd have to remove them and hand them off before you actually started.
So you'd kinda be in the same place as a lighter.
Lighter: *light end* *light other end* *throw lighter to saftey* Nice and quick, just kinda lame.
Flash ring: *light one end, impressive!* *swap hands, light other end, yay!* *pulls rings off, hand rings to saftey* ...It goes from being cool, to suddenly being lame.
Also, they arn't always 100% reliable. About 95% if you know how to pack them. 50% or less if you don't.
There's also other kinds of handheld devices for igniting flash paper/cotton. But most of those get bigger, more complex, and harder to make work for this purpose.
There's a fine line between genius and insanity.
.... I ran away from the genius side.
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