Camp Fire Bellows

Getting a wood fire blazing while camping can be helped along with more air. One way is to swish a towel over the fire, resulting is ash and smoke going everywhere and upsetting follow campers.

This camp fire bellows avoids that by directing the air where it is required - at the base of the fire. It uses an aluminium tube made from a couple of aluminium beverage cans and a sleeping mat inflation bag.

Cut the aluminium sheet from 2 beverage cans and tape them together with packaging tape to make a longer piece.

Heres how to cut aluminium sheet from beverage cans.
How to make an aluminium sheet (Steps 1 - 2)

Wrap the aluminium sheet around around a length of wooden dowel to form a tube and secure with packing tape. Tape the length of the tube with packing tape.

Attach the aluminium tube to a sleeping matt inflating bag, use some tape to secure if required.
Inflate the bag as usual and blow the air at the base of the fire by squeezing the bag. The fire will be blazing in a jiffy (or there abouts).

The bellows can also be used to get a BBQ going:

Came across a small 'blower' which was sold as a novelty item for blowing dust from a keyboard, it was USB and battery powered. Adding a metal drinking straw to it made it into a nice little BBQ blower and gets the charcoal burning in no time.

The 'blower concept' was also used on a recent camping trip....