How To Make Fire With Sunlight, A Soda Can And A Piece Of Chocolate.

Imagine being stranded, with nothing but a can drink, and a bit of left over chocolate crumbs in a wrapper. Thinks to my favorite survivalist, Les Stroud, I'm able to show you how to take your little can and chocolate and create one of the most helpful additions known to survival, fire. Here we go...

STEP 1: Gather a generous amount of dry brush and anything that you know is safe that can easily catch fire.

STEP 2: Make sure the sun is showing directly on the area you wish to build your fire, or this handy trick won't work

STEP 3: Clear the area of stray sticks and brush around where you wish to build your fire, to keep any fire hazards from arising.

STEP 4: Wipe the bottom of your soda can, making sure it is clean and shiny in order to reflect light.

STEP 5: rub the chocolate lightly onto the bottom of the soda can until it produces a clear oily layer and begins to heavily reflect sunlight. It don't take much, chocolate is one of the many food products that contains oil. Any type of lite oily substance is capable of these same results.

Now you are ready to start your fire. After placing down your dry brush in the cleared area, hold the bottom of the soda can at an angle with the sun to reflect sunlight and heat onto your dry brush. The bottoms of soda cans are concave, and allows for sunlight to be captured by the oily residue from the chocolate and reflected quite well. This is similar to using a magnifying glass. After a few minutes of holding the can and beam of light to the brush you will notice it start to smolder, and that's when you can smile because you know you got it. ☺

Always remember to be safe
Good luck! happy surviving!

 

This I must try...I don't buy soda in cans, but it's seldom hard to find an empty can beside a road.

 

I saw this done before, it's such a great, "out of the blue" way to start fire, and I'm glad someone else knows about it

 

That sounds like a neat trick, but it also reminds me a science experiment. Having done a number of science experiments in my day, I know they only work about half the time. I would be interested in hearing from someone who has actually made fire this way and suceeded, other than the expert.

 

I actually tried that but it didn't work for me.

 

I'll try it some day, but I already know that on most days it wouldn't work in Virginia. (Do we need to remind everyone in each post of where we've tried things?) How long it takes to start a fire depends on how warm and dry the tinder already is. In Southern California you can't literally start a fire by looking at a piece of paper sidewise, although it can seem that way, but if you turn a pair of glasses the right way it won't take long. In Virginia, more days than not, you can't start a fire with only one match. I'm guessing that if and when anybody does this it'll be high summer where they are.

 

https://www.cheaperthandirt.com/pro...-125x175-tablets-in-foil-wrap-014421111894.do

trioxane fuel tabs.
Get one lit and start a fire with even damp wood.
It's pretty hard to starve, wet, freeze, an ol' hillbilly.

I was born in Michigan, raised in Ohio, but claim West (by God) Virginia as my real home.
Spent many a summer with uncle in the hills.
We killed critters, raided the garden, to eat!
Where I learned to hunt, shoot, fish,........................

 

I thought the same thing.
Being prepared means a prepper shouldn't need to scrounge for a soda can.
It's a neat trick but should not be something us preppers need to do.
When we were canoeing the Boundary Waters in 100 square miles of virgin wilderness we
were PREPARED.
Cloths packed in Boundary packs. A stout waterproof duffle bad made just for wilderness adventures
on the water. 45 degree water at that.
We quickly changed into dry clothes and built a fire.
Every year 5 or 6 people drown canoeing the Boundary waters.
When hunting black bear in the far north of Canada I carried my 45-70 Marlin, a belt knife, a large
folding knife and good pocket knife.
Add emergency granola bars, water, a small bottle of Coke for sugar, water proof matches, and
more.
Those roads made by timber companies go forever to no place.
I marked each place I took a different road with ROCK arrows pointing the way back.
Wind won't blow rocks but can blow sticks.
An injured person without a firearm would be wolf food after dark, no doubt about that.
DO NOT drink the water that looks pure and clear.
Beaver fever.
I drank it but didn't know about beaver fever. I didn't get sick. Pure luck!

I suppose, maybe, if a lost person was caught after dark with a firearm and a fire it might,
maybe be o.k. but don't fall asleep.
By the way. If an American don't count on the Canadian authorities looking for ya.
Don't get sick or hurt if an American either unless you are flush with CASH.
Socialized medicine don'cha'know.
They don't take insurance.

 

Yes and it ticks me off!
When we travel to Florida we stop for snacks, soda, water, etc. but have a kitchen trash bag in the
car for trash and drop it at a rest stop trash can.
When younger and quite poor I'd take the kids red wagon and walk the city streets picking up
soda bottles for the 5 cent deposit.

 

Our city received government money to build a park for kids in the middle of "da hood" for
ethnic kids.
Within a month it was littered with broken wine and beer bottles, trash, and became a hang out
for dope dealers.
Parents refused to let the kids go there and I don't blame them.
Street storm drains got plugged with beer and wine bottles.
Lack of pride, and no discipline.
99% of ALL our police calls for violent crimes were in the ethnic areas.
Rapes, burglary, beatings, MURDERS, shootings, fights, ..............................................................

One guy was actually stabbed through the chest with a GOLF SHAFT!!!!!
He died of course.
Another threw gasoline on his g-friend and lite her up.
She lived but not very well.
Another female was being beaten regularly by her b-friend so she threw drain cleaner in his face.
Blinded for life.
Another mental lady took a bath in drain cleaner.
Really?????? She lay in the tub 'till her skin dissolved. That took some determination I'd think.

Wonder why I got p.t.s.d.???????????????????

 

I'm definitely going to try this it looks easy. I wonder if I could simulate the sunshine some kind of way with artificial lighting. I'm not understanding the need for the supposed oil in the chocolate bar but I'm going to try it both ways - with the chocolate and without the chocolate. Also, I'm going to try high intensity lighting to shine on the can. We'll see.

 

DeeFree. Please to try it but it isn't easy.
Artificial light won't work. Not even the same as sunshine but try it and let us know.
MATCHES.
Being prepared means you are prepared and not scrounging the wilderness for a Hershey bar.
Or an aluminum can.
The can/candy bar is a neat stunt but a stunt none the less.
It's important to understand survival and not fall for fun tricks that serve no survival value.
Let me see now.............................?????????????
In all the years of woods adventures, hunting, fishing, trapping, felling fire wood, I have
yet to find a Hershey bar.
Whatever.

 

It is very amazing trick. It is very useful as a survivalist. I watch this kind of trick on Bear Grylls show. But it was different.

 

Very "useful"?
I fail to interpret how this trick is useful in a survival situation.
Being prepared means not needing to resort to stunts and tricks.
Just sayin'?
`
Bear Grylls is an entertainer. A t-v personality with sponsors that pay
big bucks to keep the show on the air.
Grylls makes mega bucks for product endorsements.
Survivorman is a t-v show with some merit.
Even the Survivor man has an emergency plan to get fast help
if things go south.
If the t-v personality dies the show dies, and lots of people loose jobs.
Sure there are useful tips and it's interesting but a t-v show is all
it is.
I watch it.

 

The principal is sound, I've cooked with a parabolic solar oven so it may produce enough heat to start a fire if it was tried around mid day. The thing is that I don't stop and set up camp mid day. If I relied on this technique when setting up camp in the evening I'd probably have a very cold night and no cooked breakfast.
Not everywhere is sunny enough for this trick so I'll carry on using flint and charred cloth tinder when I want to show off and a lighter when I'm alone.

 

Wow... That's amazing!

I'm sure I'll write down these tips and try someday. I found the idea extremely interesting mainly because the mixture of elements is very usual and I would never think of making fire with them. Thanks for the tips.

 

We are always never far away from an empty can of something. Thanks to the lovely people who don't care about rubbish! The only problem here may be making sure that you have something oily to smear over the base. Then again, if I were to look on the ground a bit more, I'm sure I could easily find an old bit of chocolate that some child has thrown down. Then all we have to hope for is the sun and hope that the sky is not full of clouds. This is a really good idea on how to start a fire and an idea easily brought to fruition as well with other people's rubbish lying around!

 

A bath in drain cleaner sounds as if it would take as much determination as shooting oneself nine times in the head.

Hard to imagine a police officer not getting a bit of p.t.s.d. Good cops are heroes.

 

Thanks sweetheart!

I'm soooooooooooooo glad I'm retired from that filth.
Oh................another horrible story.
On my way home from night classes at college...................
It was Dec. 23rd, I've forgotten the year.
Beautiful night, no wind, snowing flakes big as silver dollars and so quite.
I'm on a back country road approaching a two lane highway when I feel
the ground shudder slightly and look ahead to see sparks flying and a muffled
crashing sound.
"What in the ..............was that?"
I come to the stop sign and my mind is trying to make sense of what my
eyes see.
A pick up is upside down in a ditch and a car is wrapped around a phone pole!
Being a cop my instinct is to render aid quickly.
I see the upside down truck in the ditch and legs sticking out from under
the cab.
Nothing I can do for that one.
I go to the car and see a young girl with her head hanging out of the shattered
drivers window at an insane angle to her body.
Neck shattered.
Her eyes are open and glazed so I gently close them for her.
I see an Irish Setter, beautiful red hair, chest heaving and a gurgling sound.
The death rattle. I've heard that before.
I go to the poor dog hoping I might help.
It ISN'T a dog.
It's a girl with flowing red hair dying.
I hold her hand and and pray help comes quickly.
Unknown to me she was brain dead and passed the next day.
Later that day I learned they were all 3 my neighbors kids!!!!
All three.
The mothers of the kids came to me to ask if the children were able to say anything.
Of course they could not.
It made me weep.
I went to the funerals and tried to comfort the mothers but of course I could not.
I wanna cry right now.
This madness hurts me today as bad as it did then.
I'm a sensitive man and would not trade my compassion for anything.
Perhaps all that pent up pain led to my alcoholism.
3 rehab hospitals.
I don't drink any longer. If I do I'll quickly die.
I'm diabetic.
God, prayer, and A.A. meetings at least 5 X a week.
My fiance is by my side at every meeting.
We go to her Florida home about 3 x a year and attend A.A. meetings there also.
People that suffer together are closer connected.

 

I seen have a fire started by the concentration of sun rays through a magnifying glass onto paper which caused the paper to burn.

 

It's a known phenomenon for this to start house fires as well, someone leaves one of those domed paperweights on a window sill or a clear glass bottle containing clear liquid somewhere sunny in the house and it acts like a lens.

 

Great tip, I've got to try this at a Barbeque just to help start a fire for my charcoal grill, if all goes well, I'll be having some nicey grilled meat or even just on another hiking trip for some fun and learning. Of course I'd put the fire out right away if I managed to achieve one while hiking. Guess it's another addition to my book of survival skills, thanks again for the tip.

 

Wow, I've actually been looking for a place where I can find tips for firemaking. Props to you for creating such a detailed list! I'll definitely have to try out the pop can one, since I have a bunch of cans lying around.

 

Good wishes for continued sobriety! That alcoholic-diabetic gene runs in my family also; with few exceptions we're teetotal abstainers or short-lived alcoholics.

(On the topic of survival, one very obvious thing everyone can do now to improve their chances is to break any addictions we may have formed!)

 

BINGO!
I could not fix what I did not acknowledge.
I avoid "wet" places.
Where alcohol is served and everyone is drinking.
I HATE going to the Country Club.
Exclusive snobs.
My "she" is a member, not me.
Good food however.

I've taught my youngest son about the genetics and he won't fool with
any alcohol.
His mother and step dad don't drink.
We know now about the genetic component and abstaining is wise.

 

Two of my older kids had big trouble with booze leading to DRUGS.
Heroin and cocaine. They leaned hard lessons.
One son served 6.5 years in PRISON!
And I let him!
He deserved it. 22 counts of burglary to support his heroin habit.
He got "cured" in prison.
Cell mates were child molesters, rapists, and murderers.
80% were black and very hard on whites.
All the blacks were jail house Muslims.
Son is with me now, working, and earning his way.
If he saw a dollar on the sidewalk he'd not pick it up.
His prison mentor was a lifer for murder.
Doing life at age 18. Killed a guy over $49 bucks.
He'll never get out.
The guy dedicated his prison life helping others to not
repeat and return.

 

This is cool! I didn't know my favorite chocolates had some other purpose aside from eating it. Is this really work? I might try to do this if it works.