# burning with diesel

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burning-with-diesel/717300>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 10, 2015, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burning-with-diesel/717300 "2015-04-10T05:14:36Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![KCB615](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ea666f/32.png) [@KCB615](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KCB615)\
**Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burning-with-diesel/717300/21 "2015-04-11T09:37:43Z")

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> [@Trinopus](#):
>
> I’m imagining a propane camping stove, or perhaps a highway flare…
> 
> An ordinary match won’t last long enough, but a candle, perhaps, if held in one place for a long time?

The camping stove or highway flare, absolutely. I’m not sure if you can tip a Coleman type camping stove over with the fuel coming out, though.

The candle flame won’t do it. I teach a flammable liquids firefighting class where we ignite a variety of liquids and observe flash point/fire point, vapor density, and various extinguishing agents. We start with a small pie tin with about a half inch of Jet A in it and try to light it with a grill lighter (the long stick style lighters they sell in the checkout lanes at the grocery store). More than two minutes of that flame held in the same spot won’t ignite the fuel. My gut says the small amount of heat from the tiny flame is conducted away from the point of contact before you can get the fuel above 105. Using a torch (or camping stove or road flare) adds enough heat that it can’t be conducted away fast enough, which heats the fuel locally to above 105, allowing ignition. Once that first small spot ignites, it heats the neighboring fuel and spreads across the surface - you only need to get one spot going.

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**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burning-with-diesel/717300/22 "2015-04-12T13:41:07Z")

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I think Adolf Hitler was supposedly cremated with diesel.

If you tried to ignite, say, a loose corner of clothing, it wouldn’t be that hard to start a fire. About like lighting a kerosene lamp, I’d think.

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**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burning-with-diesel/717300/23 "2015-04-12T14:01:33Z")

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> [@Napier](#):
>
> I think Adolf Hitler was supposedly cremated with diesel.
> 
> If you tried to ignite, say, a loose corner of clothing, it wouldn’t be that hard to start a fire. About like lighting a kerosene lamp, I’d think.

yes. cloth would make a decent wick. hell, solid wax burns using a wick.

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