Third Degree
Tonight was “Third Friday” at the Third Degree Glass Factory here in St. Louis. Third Friday is an open-house event held on the third friday of each month where you can come see a little live music, check out some art on display, watch glassblowing demonstrations, and see Pandora’s Matchbox (thats us) spin and breath fire. Its a free event, and a nice thing to do on a friday evening.
Tonight we got some excellent spinning in, which was well received by the audience. I’ve been getting better at my fire breathing, and can now produce fairly consistent 10ft towers of fire from my mouth. My aspiration (pun intended) is to get more consistent fuel spray, better torch control, and longer burns. But its already looking quite nice. Chris and I did some tandem breathing where we both blew into one torch, producing mighty towers of flame that apparently looked quite cool. From my perspective, it was very large, and very hot.
We use pure lamp oil, which is basically liquid paraffin, for our breathing. It tastes a bit like chapstick, and has a weird texture. Its really not as bad as it sounds. Lamp oil is not a very volatile fuel, meaning it does not evaporate easily. Liquid fuels do not burn, its the vapors from the fuel that burns. Fuel that does not vaporize easily, like the paraffin, is perfect for fire breathing. As we spray the fuel out of our mouths, we aim to produce a consistent mist of fine particles. As these particles evaporate and hit the torch, they ignite. However, the fire does not travel back up the column of fuel (blow back) easily, because the fuel coming out of our mouths hasn’t begun to evaporate yet.
Some people who dabble in fire breathing use ethanol, something like Bacardi 151 or other high proof liquor. Despite the familiarity of the chemical, its actually far more dangerous to breath with ethanol, because it is so volatile. It evaporates very quickly, and the fire has a tendency to blow back, which can be very dangerous. If you do anything more than a quick blast with ethanol, it will blow back and can seriously burn you. You need a fuel like lamp oil to maintain a column of fire for more than just a little burst. Pictures should be forthcoming.
If you are in St. Louis, you should come down to one of these Third Friday events and come see us. Its a good time, and I promise I won’t set you on fire. (Promise valid at participating outlets only.)
Saturday 17 Jul 2004 | Sam | Personal
This fire breathing business really demands pictures. Whats the status of your acceleratoromitrix with the LEDs?
Sam, your breathing is really getting quite good…I’m impressed anyway…Now I can’t wait to see a triple breath from you, Chris and Luke! Keep up the excellent work.
Thank you. You have helped someone more than you could know.