Trusbx:

There are "O" rings made of different materials, and the ones you installed may have been damaged by the ligher fluid. If you bought the "O" rings from the maker of your permanent match, maybe you ought to send the whole thing back for them to fix it.

Bountyhunter

wetfire came in today

I used one to try it out. A couple of observations

-It has the consistancy of soap or a solid deoderant. You can flake it off about as easily as you can flake off bits of soap.

-It was fairly easy to light (both in flake form, and the larger solid piece form.)
I used a knife and firestarter. It took about 5-6 showers of sparks before it lit, but I was keeping my distance and was using moderate force.

-Both caught fire well, and both burned well. The flakes burned for several minutes, the large chunk (about half the cube) burned for about 5 minutes.

-It seems fairly wind resistant. The chunk obviously didn't blow anywhere, and even in the wind the flame was a constistant 6-8" or so.

-It did not seem very waterproof. Not nearly as much as advertised. I removed a tea-candle from it's metal holder, and used the holder to hold a moderate amount of water.
Test 1: Poured a little water on the flakes. The flakes went out.
Test 2: Floated medium sized chunks in the water, tried to light them with sparker, didn't work. Tried to light them with a lit stick, didn't work.
Test 3: Put a large chunk on the end of a stick and lit it. Placed it on top of the water as if it was floating. It went out.
Test 4: After setting the doused chunk aside, tried to light it with sparks. Didn't light. Cut chunk open to reveal the fresh inside, tried to light it with sparks. It caught and burned.

Final Observations:
Considering it doesn't seem to have as impressive an advantage in wet weather as I had previously anticipated, Tender Quik might be the better option. I haven't tried it, but I'm willing to bet both burn fairly well even in moderate wind. The tinder quik has an advantage in that it does not need to be sealed in an airtight package, and can be stuffed into small spaces.

I also tried cotton and vasoline. It didn't burn very tall, but it will probably get the job done as well. Kinda messy though with the vasoline.....

Thanks for the comments and advice everyone <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I bet you used too much then, it shouldn't be messy.

Thanks for the tip.
Unfortuantely, the cost and time involved in sending the thing back to coghlan's from Singapore negates the potential benefit of them (hopefully) fixing it.
<img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />
Anyway, the whole thing is made in Hong Kong, and didn't come with an O ring in the first place <img src="/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> As a striker, it works pretty well and I have several stashed away to light my alcohol stoves. (No need to carry matches).

I will look for different O rings and try my luck.... <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

One difference I found between tinder quick and wet fire is that you can start TQ with a magnifying glass, but I couldn't get WF going with an 8x10 magnifier on a clear day at noon. It just sort of sizzles and turns black and smokes. A little piece of wood or something next to it gets it going though.

Trusxbx:

Here in the states, the best place to find high quality "O" rings made of different materials is at a ball bearing supplier.

Take the match with you and they can match the size and look up the type of "O" ring material that will work best for your situation.

Good luck!

Bountyhunter