Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Caroleeena of Circles of Joy on May 18, 2011 at 12:27pm

Nah! Just dip it until it stops making bubbles -- usually about two seconds, never more than ten, not even for the first burn. I thought that at first too but years of experience have shown me that it doesn't take any time at all. It's just cloth. No cloth, not even kevlar cloth, takes an hour to soak through when immersed in liquid. Just watch til it stops bubbling, the squeeze off the wick with a chemical glove (like you're milking a cow) or spin off and you're good to go. Have fun!

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StudentPermalink Reply by luluperuse on May 19, 2011 at 12:20am

Since we are on this topic Caroleeena, I was mentioning at a fire spin rehearsal how I once read that you use baggies on your dipped wicks to keep the fuel from evaporating etc.  Traditionally, the troupe I now do stuff with uses tin foil, not tightly but securely wrapped around the wicks.  The other day I was pondering the merits of each.  Plastic baggies seem easier to apply--they come out of the box like kleenex, where as tin foil you have to rip, sometimes it blows away...  But plastic.  So much plastic!  Do you have thoughts on this?  

 

I might try baggies next time and see...

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Permalink Reply by Caroleeena of Circles of Joy on May 19, 2011 at 9:03pm

One of the things I like about baggies is that I can use them again and again. If they tear, I tape them up with tape. If I use duct tape, I can use the same baggies for over a year. I'm not a fan of plastic either but my baggies have very little plastic left. They're mostly duct tape now but we've traveled together for a really long time and they really hold up. You could probably even start out with baggies covered in duct tape and get an even longer life out of them. (But that would require being "pro-active" and, erm, well... yeah.)

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Permalink Reply by Claire on May 18, 2011 at 6:02pm

No, just do it for about two seconds per wick and you'll be fine. Just remember to spin off the fuel before you light up by vertically hand hooping (don't know what else to call it lol) 

Good luck! It's super fun :)

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Permalink Reply by Bearclaw Manufacturing - Tedward on May 18, 2011 at 6:21pm

Think about it.  If it took 10 hours for the fuel to get INTO your wicks, what are the chances of it getting OUT in a 3 minute burn?

 

Once upon a time, poi wicks were almost all denim.  If you made very large wicks, a simple dunk wouldn't load them up, So, people started letting them soak.  When *I* first started spinning, it was a full minute, then I started hearing 5 minutes, 10 minutes, now it's an hour.  By the time you're a crusty old fire hooper, they'll be telling the kids to soak them over a weekend.  :oP~

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Permalink Reply by Shay Kesem Sekler on May 19, 2011 at 1:27am

Bearclaw-I can't wait to hear *that*!!! :D (yeah just hold every wick for about a week and a half in fuel..it'll do for about a minute or two of burn later..)

 

 

then again...

I fell for it :P

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Permalink Reply by Bearclaw Manufacturing - Tedward on May 19, 2011 at 2:29am

We use 10% of our brains

Soak your wicks for an hour

There's a simple sure for cancer

Put them out halfway through your first burn

Your hand is always the size of your face

lamp oil is safer than white gas

don't swim an hour after eating

duvetyne causes cancer

 

There's a lot of nonsense in the world.  Nothing about fire performance is technically "common knowledge".  At least not after you get past "don't play with fire".  Once you're around that, ain't no stupid questions.

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StudentPermalink Reply by luluperuse on May 19, 2011 at 12:11am

Yes, just until the bubbles stop.  What I do then is squeeze them (with chemical glove) and spin off excess, because flaming bits of fuel flying off is not so good an idea.  Often, I even do simple isolations just to let the fuel and any excess burn a bit, so when the hoop does spin I am certain nothing is flying off into some poor sod's eye.

 

I have a Cosmic Fire hoop (now Synergy?) and even with my squeezing and spinning off, it burns for at least five minutes, which I think is fairly long?  But perhaps more experienced fire spinners can speak to that?

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Shay Kesem Sekler on May 19, 2011 at 1:26am

brilliant! thank you everybody! :) I did burned last night and it was awesome :)

thanks for the tips ♥

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StudentPermalink Reply by Aurora of Elemental Hoops on May 19, 2011 at 1:51pm

i like soaking mine more than two seconds. mine tend to go out fast. my leg hooping is about 100 miles per hours so maybe thats why? i usually do about 10 seconds for a full song

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Permalink Reply by Bearclaw Manufacturing - Tedward on May 19, 2011 at 2:00pm

I suppose different types of wicks might need different times.  But the general rule still holds: when the bubbles stop, it's full.

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StudentPermalink Reply by Aurora of Elemental Hoops on May 19, 2011 at 1:55pm

also, do you guys use gloves for anyt of this? as much as i try to be careful it seems i always get fuel on myseld! even if its just a little spot on my finger. i'm thiking about doing gloves. theeeen i think, what about the fire eaters who use fuel as well, doesnt even a microscopic amount get inside of their mouth and they seem okay. probably a dumb question :(

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