FireDragon Bellows
Fire bellows poker
I’ve been using the FireDragon for the past five years to quickly and efficiently get my woodstove burning. It allows me to get a fire started using a minimal amount of tinder and kindling, and without any other firestarters. This is one of those simple, good ideas. You blow into the FireDragon to shoot a directed, bellows-like blast of air into your fire, creating a supercharging effect. This helps get larger chunks of wood to ignite and burn steadily when lighting a fire or adding a new log to a fire that isn’t burning well, and it can return a smoldering fire to blazes with a few puffs.
It’s basically a 3-foot long steel tube with a brass mouthpiece (that makes me think of a flattened trombone mouthpiece) and a forked end that can serve as a fire poker, log re-arranger, and coal raker. The manufacturer says they got the idea from Civil War soldiers that would take the barrels off their rifles and blow through them to fan their campfires.
Now I find I want the FireDragon any time I’m around a fire, so it goes along camping. It is plenty sturdy. No moving parts, and easy to use.
12/31/10(Note: Mango Energy has a short video demonstrating its use on Youtube. -- OH — editors)
FireDragon Bellows $35
