How do you hide a fire?

If you are wanting to hide a fire, or to use the least amount of wood possible, dig a Dakota fire hole!

How? First, you need a reason for the fire, cooking, boiling water, whatever the reason, you now need a cooking vessel. Lets just say for grins, you have a one gallon tin can. Dig the hole just slightly larger than the can so that it can be lowered down into the hole. this implies that you built a handle on the can to do this. Once you get the hole dug down, go upwind and dig a smaller hole at a angle down to the bottom of the hole.

The theory is that the wind will travel down the hole and provide the oxygen necessary. Since there is an abundance of oxygen, the wood will burn hotter, thus less wood necessary and less smoke. Works like a champ!

Notice the premade tools off to the side for operating the cooking pot. And yes, the magnesium starter works. This was taken the second day of field craft during Survival School. Notice the draft hole for the fire pit.

 

Just found this pic. It was the next morning as we were boiling the first pot of water for a face wash and some acorn tea. By product, warming fire.

 

Good method, I hadnt heard of doing the second intersecting hole before.
Two other tips for any who may not know or think of it, first would be to use the driest wood possible. The thing that will show a fire the quickest is the smoke. Green or wet wood produces a lot more smoke than dry wood. The second would be to build your fire under folage. Make sure there is enouph room over the fire that you arent catching the tree on fire, but going up through the limbs and leaves of a tree will help to disapate the smoke enouph that it is much harder to see.

 

I second that motion. Name a time and place, and I'll see if I can't be there.

Phishi

 

Truman lake in MO when ever you want. That way I can manage the road trip. :twisted:

 

Thanks for the lesson. That could really come in handy. I look forward to more. The pics make it even better.

 

How about Iraq next fall!!!

Ghrit, you are correct, you can dig a trench and cover it with rocks or wood. The only problem I found with that method is that the draft hole tends to be big enough that the coals start backing up into the draft hole and you have to clean it out more often.

BTK, Yes, I look that young. Can still get carded in a bar if I try!

 

Gosh, your playing Iraq huh? I was hoping for a venue a little closer! LOL. I'm sorry you are being deployed, may you come home safe. When are you shipping out?

Phishi

 

Not until next spring is the activation and then the deployment is in late summer. I guess we could do something a little sooner I guess!

 

sneaky beaky fires

howdy ,

i concur with sniper ,
its exactly the same thing we used to do back in the days when mess tins were a scale item ,
you can still do this with the issued teflon coated mugs and the old hexamine cookers too ,

another neat trick much along the same principle was the "mauri" oven ,

i have to aggree with sniper as A he is 100% correct , and B i know him ha ha
and yes folks , its not seasonal , sniper looks like that all year round !

i gotta figure out how to post pictures on here....

davey

 

pic

lets see if this works.....

 

it works !

see , all us limeys are butt ugly !

was a long lllloooonnnnnnggggggggggggg time ago , when i had hair and less of other things

 

give the boy a banana !

wooooohooooooo heh heh

well , now thats another thing i got figured out today , great stuff !

you know , i have tought hundreds of recruits how to live and fight in the field , the hardest challenge was my missus ,
will post some pics tomorrow , got her lighting fires blah blah blah in no time ,

the only key word you need to know when training any man women or child is E.D.I.P. !

EXPLAIN

DEMONSTRATE

IMMITATE

and

PRACTICE !

works every time ,

catch you tomorrow , its 20:35 hrs here and the missus needs a good seeing too ,

davey

 

Back in the day we used C4.

As the smells from either travel far, fires and cooking are usually a no no.