Start a Fire With Steel Wool and a Battery

Start a Fire With Steel Wool and a Battery

The fastest and easiest way to ignite steel wool is by using a battery. You don’t need a lighter, matches, magnifying glass or other ignition source if you have a fully-charged battery on hand. The safest battery to use is the 9 volt, but it is possible to start the fire with other types of batteries as well, as long as you create a circuit.

The most important thing to remember is that you can get burned, cause embers to spread and create other fire-related hazards if you do not prepare your fire area properly. It is advisable to build your fire pit or container, add the charcoal, kindling or brush, and have the rest of the fuel ready before you ignite the steel wool. You don’t want to walk around with it lit up in your hand, and you don’t want to have to transfer it from one place to another as well.

Once you have set up your fire, spread the steel wool over as much of your kindling as possible to promote an even ignition. However, you don’t want to spread it too thin that the wool won’t catch fire. So, if you don’t have enough to cover a lot of kindling, don’t worry about it. It’s better to have a good bunch of wool that will create a flame that’s big enough to ignite your kindling.

All you need to do is to touch a part of the steel wool with both connections of the battery at the same time. The conductivity will cause an instantaneous ignition and small fire. You can touch different parts of the wool to get good coverage as well. Just remember that the fire will not be strong or long-lasting, so you will want to cup your hands over the kindling and gently blow on the igniting fire in order to keep the flame from going out.

The reason that you don’t want to use other batteries is that you would need to touch the metal with your hand as you try and position it to create the current for ignition. The best way around this is to take a paper clip, unwind it and bend the ends so they snugly fit over both terminals of your cylindrical battery. Then, you want to maneuver it over the steel wool and let the paper clip do the igniting. This method is not as efficient or as safe as using a 9 volt battery instead. So, now you have another reason to carry one with you, and you will be amazed with how quickly you can get your fire going.