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Start a fire with key fob battery?
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We know that you can start a fire with a battery. the better prepared you are the easier it is going to be.
I am not prepared and all I have in my pockets is my car keys, which includes a keyless entry fob that has a '3v Lithium Coin Cell Battery' is it possible to start a fire with this battery? All I have is the metal key ring, finger nail clippers, and a couple of other keys on the ring.
I don't have a tiny screwdriver to get the battery out, so I am going to have to use a rock to break the key fob. I suspect that banging two rocks together would be a more effective fire starter, but I might be wrong.
Can I start a fire with my key fob battery?
survival fire-starting improvised-gear
asked 4 hours ago
James Jenkins
15.6k553146
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
favorite
We know that you can start a fire with a battery. the better prepared you are the easier it is going to be.
I am not prepared and all I have in my pockets is my car keys, which includes a keyless entry fob that has a '3v Lithium Coin Cell Battery' is it possible to start a fire with this battery? All I have is the metal key ring, finger nail clippers, and a couple of other keys on the ring.
I don't have a tiny screwdriver to get the battery out, so I am going to have to use a rock to break the key fob. I suspect that banging two rocks together would be a more effective fire starter, but I might be wrong.
Can I start a fire with my key fob battery?
survival fire-starting improvised-gear
asked 4 hours ago
James Jenkins
15.6k553146
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
favorite
up vote
2
down vote
favorite
We know that you can start a fire with a battery. the better prepared you are the easier it is going to be.
I am not prepared and all I have in my pockets is my car keys, which includes a keyless entry fob that has a '3v Lithium Coin Cell Battery' is it possible to start a fire with this battery? All I have is the metal key ring, finger nail clippers, and a couple of other keys on the ring.
I don't have a tiny screwdriver to get the battery out, so I am going to have to use a rock to break the key fob. I suspect that banging two rocks together would be a more effective fire starter, but I might be wrong.
Can I start a fire with my key fob battery?
survival fire-starting improvised-gear
asked 4 hours ago
James Jenkins
15.6k553146
We know that you can start a fire with a battery. the better prepared you are the easier it is going to be.
I am not prepared and all I have in my pockets is my car keys, which includes a keyless entry fob that has a '3v Lithium Coin Cell Battery' is it possible to start a fire with this battery? All I have is the metal key ring, finger nail clippers, and a couple of other keys on the ring.
I don't have a tiny screwdriver to get the battery out, so I am going to have to use a rock to break the key fob. I suspect that banging two rocks together would be a more effective fire starter, but I might be wrong.
Can I start a fire with my key fob battery?
survival fire-starting improvised-gear
survival fire-starting improvised-gear
asked 4 hours ago
James Jenkins
15.6k553146
asked 4 hours ago
James Jenkins
15.6k553146
asked 4 hours ago
James Jenkins
15.6k553146
asked 4 hours ago
James Jenkins
15.6k553146
asked 4 hours ago
James Jenkins
15.6k553146
15.6k553146
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
1 Answer
1
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2
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With just the right equipment in a laboratory setting, you can use the energy in a key fob battery to cause a spark. You can then use that to start a fire under the right conditions.
However, that's not going to happen in any realistic back country conditions. The voltage and current capability of a key fob battery are just too low.
The reason you can sometimes use a car battery for starting a fire is because a car battery can deliver a massive amount of current. When shorting the battery with a small wire, the contact point gets so hot that some of the metal is vaporized, causing a spark. Sometimes small amounts of molten metal are also shed off. A key fob battery just doesn't have the oomph to do that.
In addition, it's not easy to start a fire with just a electric spark unless you have ignitable vapor. A few drops of stove fuel on tinder, then letting that vaporize for a few seconds can work, but trying to light solid tinder directly is very difficult. The reason this is sometimes successful with a car battery is due to the molten metal resulting from the high current, not the spark itself. With a car battery, you can even get small wire to glow, and then melt. A key fob battery isn't capable of that.
answered 2 hours ago
Olin Lathrop
19.6k52110
Steel wool is the easiest way to use a battery to start a fire. Even a PP3 (with a fairly high internal resistance) will get very dry tinder (or liquid fuel) going using steel wool. Now I want to experiment!
– Chris H
2 hours ago
@Chris: Yes, what you really want is very thin wire. Steel wool is a handy way to get such wire. Steel also has the advantage of oxidizing when heated enough. In this case, steel wool isn't available. Although I haven't tried it, I expect a key fob battery to be too week to get steel wool hot enough to start a fire. You need something with decent current capability, like a flashlight battery.
– Olin Lathrop
2 hours ago
Steel's high resistivity compared to electrical wire is also a help. Brass (from the keys) is also a poor conductor but I don't think there's any way to make a filament out of it with the constraints in the question
– Chris H
41 mins ago
add a comment |Â
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
2
down vote
With just the right equipment in a laboratory setting, you can use the energy in a key fob battery to cause a spark. You can then use that to start a fire under the right conditions.
However, that's not going to happen in any realistic back country conditions. The voltage and current capability of a key fob battery are just too low.
The reason you can sometimes use a car battery for starting a fire is because a car battery can deliver a massive amount of current. When shorting the battery with a small wire, the contact point gets so hot that some of the metal is vaporized, causing a spark. Sometimes small amounts of molten metal are also shed off. A key fob battery just doesn't have the oomph to do that.
In addition, it's not easy to start a fire with just a electric spark unless you have ignitable vapor. A few drops of stove fuel on tinder, then letting that vaporize for a few seconds can work, but trying to light solid tinder directly is very difficult. The reason this is sometimes successful with a car battery is due to the molten metal resulting from the high current, not the spark itself. With a car battery, you can even get small wire to glow, and then melt. A key fob battery isn't capable of that.
answered 2 hours ago
Olin Lathrop
19.6k52110
Steel wool is the easiest way to use a battery to start a fire. Even a PP3 (with a fairly high internal resistance) will get very dry tinder (or liquid fuel) going using steel wool. Now I want to experiment!
– Chris H
2 hours ago
@Chris: Yes, what you really want is very thin wire. Steel wool is a handy way to get such wire. Steel also has the advantage of oxidizing when heated enough. In this case, steel wool isn't available. Although I haven't tried it, I expect a key fob battery to be too week to get steel wool hot enough to start a fire. You need something with decent current capability, like a flashlight battery.
– Olin Lathrop
2 hours ago
Steel's high resistivity compared to electrical wire is also a help. Brass (from the keys) is also a poor conductor but I don't think there's any way to make a filament out of it with the constraints in the question
– Chris H
41 mins ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
With just the right equipment in a laboratory setting, you can use the energy in a key fob battery to cause a spark. You can then use that to start a fire under the right conditions.
However, that's not going to happen in any realistic back country conditions. The voltage and current capability of a key fob battery are just too low.
The reason you can sometimes use a car battery for starting a fire is because a car battery can deliver a massive amount of current. When shorting the battery with a small wire, the contact point gets so hot that some of the metal is vaporized, causing a spark. Sometimes small amounts of molten metal are also shed off. A key fob battery just doesn't have the oomph to do that.
In addition, it's not easy to start a fire with just a electric spark unless you have ignitable vapor. A few drops of stove fuel on tinder, then letting that vaporize for a few seconds can work, but trying to light solid tinder directly is very difficult. The reason this is sometimes successful with a car battery is due to the molten metal resulting from the high current, not the spark itself. With a car battery, you can even get small wire to glow, and then melt. A key fob battery isn't capable of that.
answered 2 hours ago
Olin Lathrop
19.6k52110
Steel wool is the easiest way to use a battery to start a fire. Even a PP3 (with a fairly high internal resistance) will get very dry tinder (or liquid fuel) going using steel wool. Now I want to experiment!
– Chris H
2 hours ago
@Chris: Yes, what you really want is very thin wire. Steel wool is a handy way to get such wire. Steel also has the advantage of oxidizing when heated enough. In this case, steel wool isn't available. Although I haven't tried it, I expect a key fob battery to be too week to get steel wool hot enough to start a fire. You need something with decent current capability, like a flashlight battery.
– Olin Lathrop
2 hours ago
Steel's high resistivity compared to electrical wire is also a help. Brass (from the keys) is also a poor conductor but I don't think there's any way to make a filament out of it with the constraints in the question
– Chris H
41 mins ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
up vote
2
down vote
With just the right equipment in a laboratory setting, you can use the energy in a key fob battery to cause a spark. You can then use that to start a fire under the right conditions.
However, that's not going to happen in any realistic back country conditions. The voltage and current capability of a key fob battery are just too low.
The reason you can sometimes use a car battery for starting a fire is because a car battery can deliver a massive amount of current. When shorting the battery with a small wire, the contact point gets so hot that some of the metal is vaporized, causing a spark. Sometimes small amounts of molten metal are also shed off. A key fob battery just doesn't have the oomph to do that.
In addition, it's not easy to start a fire with just a electric spark unless you have ignitable vapor. A few drops of stove fuel on tinder, then letting that vaporize for a few seconds can work, but trying to light solid tinder directly is very difficult. The reason this is sometimes successful with a car battery is due to the molten metal resulting from the high current, not the spark itself. With a car battery, you can even get small wire to glow, and then melt. A key fob battery isn't capable of that.
answered 2 hours ago
Olin Lathrop
19.6k52110
With just the right equipment in a laboratory setting, you can use the energy in a key fob battery to cause a spark. You can then use that to start a fire under the right conditions.
However, that's not going to happen in any realistic back country conditions. The voltage and current capability of a key fob battery are just too low.
The reason you can sometimes use a car battery for starting a fire is because a car battery can deliver a massive amount of current. When shorting the battery with a small wire, the contact point gets so hot that some of the metal is vaporized, causing a spark. Sometimes small amounts of molten metal are also shed off. A key fob battery just doesn't have the oomph to do that.
In addition, it's not easy to start a fire with just a electric spark unless you have ignitable vapor. A few drops of stove fuel on tinder, then letting that vaporize for a few seconds can work, but trying to light solid tinder directly is very difficult. The reason this is sometimes successful with a car battery is due to the molten metal resulting from the high current, not the spark itself. With a car battery, you can even get small wire to glow, and then melt. A key fob battery isn't capable of that.
answered 2 hours ago
Olin Lathrop
19.6k52110
answered 2 hours ago
Olin Lathrop
19.6k52110
answered 2 hours ago
Olin Lathrop
19.6k52110
answered 2 hours ago
Olin Lathrop
19.6k52110
19.6k52110
Steel wool is the easiest way to use a battery to start a fire. Even a PP3 (with a fairly high internal resistance) will get very dry tinder (or liquid fuel) going using steel wool. Now I want to experiment!
– Chris H
2 hours ago
@Chris: Yes, what you really want is very thin wire. Steel wool is a handy way to get such wire. Steel also has the advantage of oxidizing when heated enough. In this case, steel wool isn't available. Although I haven't tried it, I expect a key fob battery to be too week to get steel wool hot enough to start a fire. You need something with decent current capability, like a flashlight battery.
– Olin Lathrop
2 hours ago
Steel's high resistivity compared to electrical wire is also a help. Brass (from the keys) is also a poor conductor but I don't think there's any way to make a filament out of it with the constraints in the question
– Chris H
41 mins ago
add a comment |Â
Steel wool is the easiest way to use a battery to start a fire. Even a PP3 (with a fairly high internal resistance) will get very dry tinder (or liquid fuel) going using steel wool. Now I want to experiment!
– Chris H
2 hours ago
@Chris: Yes, what you really want is very thin wire. Steel wool is a handy way to get such wire. Steel also has the advantage of oxidizing when heated enough. In this case, steel wool isn't available. Although I haven't tried it, I expect a key fob battery to be too week to get steel wool hot enough to start a fire. You need something with decent current capability, like a flashlight battery.
– Olin Lathrop
2 hours ago
Steel's high resistivity compared to electrical wire is also a help. Brass (from the keys) is also a poor conductor but I don't think there's any way to make a filament out of it with the constraints in the question
– Chris H
41 mins ago
Steel wool is the easiest way to use a battery to start a fire. Even a PP3 (with a fairly high internal resistance) will get very dry tinder (or liquid fuel) going using steel wool. Now I want to experiment!
– Chris H
2 hours ago
Steel wool is the easiest way to use a battery to start a fire. Even a PP3 (with a fairly high internal resistance) will get very dry tinder (or liquid fuel) going using steel wool. Now I want to experiment!
– Chris H
2 hours ago
@Chris: Yes, what you really want is very thin wire. Steel wool is a handy way to get such wire. Steel also has the advantage of oxidizing when heated enough. In this case, steel wool isn't available. Although I haven't tried it, I expect a key fob battery to be too week to get steel wool hot enough to start a fire. You need something with decent current capability, like a flashlight battery.
– Olin Lathrop
2 hours ago
@Chris: Yes, what you really want is very thin wire. Steel wool is a handy way to get such wire. Steel also has the advantage of oxidizing when heated enough. In this case, steel wool isn't available. Although I haven't tried it, I expect a key fob battery to be too week to get steel wool hot enough to start a fire. You need something with decent current capability, like a flashlight battery.
– Olin Lathrop
2 hours ago
Steel's high resistivity compared to electrical wire is also a help. Brass (from the keys) is also a poor conductor but I don't think there's any way to make a filament out of it with the constraints in the question
– Chris H
41 mins ago
Steel's high resistivity compared to electrical wire is also a help. Brass (from the keys) is also a poor conductor but I don't think there's any way to make a filament out of it with the constraints in the question
– Chris H
41 mins ago
add a comment |Â
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