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Cooking, Fuel and Fire · Formula · Book recipe 29.2

Start a fire with potassium permanganate and glycerin

A pinch of potassium permanganate and a few drops of glycerin can burst into flame with no spark, battery, or friction, as long as you keep them warm and dry.

Member articleHazardousWorks without power

How it works

Mound the powder
A few drops glycerin
Wait, keep it warm
Flame appears

Inside this article

What you'll need
Steps
Warnings
Storage and shelf life

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What is in this article

  • The method at a glance: mound the powder, then a few drops glycerin, then wait, keep it warm, then flame appears
  • The exact numbers: mound, add, flame, cold, never
  • The full materials list (4 items, with grades and substitutes)
  • The 3-step method, with every measurement in the step
  • The hazard box and the caution notes: what never to mix it with and when to stop
  • Storage and shelf life for the raw compound and the finished mix
  • A printable one-page PDF of this article

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Prefer paper? This is Recipe 29.2, page 151, in Prepper's Chemical Survival Guide.

Questions this answers

Tap a question for the short answer.

How do I start a fire with potassium permanganate and glycerin?

Glycerin soaking into potassium permanganate sets off a self-heating reaction that bursts into flame with no spark or friction. It depends on warmth and dryness, so cold weather slows it or stops it.

Members get the exact amounts and every step.

How much potassium permanganate do I need to start a fire?

Only a small mound of the powder wetted with a little glycerin is needed. Finely ground powder reacts faster than whole crystals.

Members get the exact amounts and every step.

How long does the potassium permanganate and glycerin reaction take?

It is quick when the ingredients are warm and slows sharply in the cold, where the glycerin thickens and may not react at all. Warming both ingredients beforehand makes the difference.

Members get the exact amounts and every step.

Can I store potassium permanganate and glycerin together?

No. Contact between the two is enough to set them alight, so they must be carried and stored in separate, labeled containers, apart from each other and from any other fuel.

Members get the exact amounts and every step.

How do I start a fire without matches or a lighter?

One option is a chemical reaction between potassium permanganate and glycerin, which self-heats and ignites tinder with no spark, battery, or friction. It needs warm, dry ingredients to work reliably.

Members get the exact amounts and every step.

Keep going

Read nextCooking, Fuel and Fire When the Power or Gas Is OffWhat to eat first, how to cook with no power or gas, where each stove is safe, how long fuels keep, how to make fire, and the safety gear and spare parts behind it all.Cooking, Fuel and Fire · Guide

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Cooking, Fuel and Fire · FormulaSource: Prepper's Chemical Survival Guide, Recipe 29.2, p. 151 · Last reviewed 2026-09-18

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