I tend to use parrafin for all firetoy activities as its cheap, easy to buy etc. But the one problem is it is so bloody messy! The black residue gets all over my hands and is a bugger to get off (especially when camping and only having accesss to soap and cold water).

Is lamp oil any cleaner as a fuel. I've also been thinking about the barrier cream that mechanics use. I take it isn't greasy/slippy as mechanics use it and then makes all the oil easier to clean off.

Ross

Lamp oil burns a lot cleaner. That causes a problem in itself though. Without the smoke particles to bounce off the flames on your props do not look as vivid. The soot generated is acutally quite useful.

Some people use naptha based fuels (old style bbq lighter fluid - usually comes in large bottles) or coleman / white gas. They burn really hot (much hotter than paraffin) and are much more explosive. They tend to burn cleaner but are just too dangerous for most situations.

When people are doing coloured flames they tend to use meths. This is really not advisable. The fumes are highly toxic and it is explosive.

There are lots of fuels that you can use and they all have good and bad points. The one that always wins is paraffin: standard 4l bottles that you can get in hardware stores or direct from a paraffin fuel pump (if you have a petrol station near you that sells it). It is usualy a bit cleaner from a pump in my experience but for that you pay a bit of a premium.

i have always found the pumps to be cheaper to be honest but each to ther own

Think I'll stick with parrafin, but was just wondering 3yrs in whewther I was making life harder for myself just using regular parrafin.

Might look into the barrier cream stuff. I just use fairy liquid after so maybe the barrier cream will make life easier