Fresnel lens

Prepping with a Fresnel Lens

------------------------------------------------- Revised 03/31/2021
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Above, the Alabama Owens shares with you how to start a fire with a fresnel
lens.

Happy endings...
Because they are so inexpensive, no prepper should be without a
Frensel lens. Firestarting is just a tad easier than a bow drill, but
it's peace of mind in knowing that you can make fire if need be.

Now you know that a Fresnel lens is a thin piece of plastic with
concentric rings that you can use in a survival situation.
Knowledge weighs nothing.

Related prepping and survival articles...

Prepare to live happily ever after with us at happypreppers.com - the emergency
preparedness Web site of prepping, survival, homesteading, and self-reliance.

50 Bic Lighters

Pocket-sized Fresnel Lens

Above, Greenpowerscience shows how to set up a Fresnel Lens solar water
filtration system to get you clean water in an off-grid situation. This solar
distiller can deliver .5 Gallons per hour.

Make a Solar Distiller with a Fresnel Lens!
Greenpowerscience shows above how the Fresnel lens
concentrates sunlight to a common focal point that creates a
steam boiler allowing for rapid distillation with the sun.

#4: Fresnel lens is lightweight, portable.
Since it weighs next to nothing and it doesn't take up much
space, a Fresnel lens is good everyday carry. You can fit a Fresnel
lens easily into your purse, pocket, bugout bag or the glove
compartment in your car.

#5: A Fresnel lens is a handy magnifier.
A Fresnel lens is also great for your daily magnification needs,
like reading the menu in a dark restaurant. Yeah, don't use it to
read on the beach for obvious reason! Always store it in the
protective pouch when you're done.

A pocket Fresnel lens is ideal for people with low vision, seniors,
and people with glasses. Having a lens is handy for preppers who
have hobbies, too:

Coin collecting to evaluate mint marks and fine details.
Gardening to investigate plant deficiencies and pest
Helping you with electronic repair;
Reading small print on maps or instructions.

#6: Add a Fresnel Lens to your First Aid kit.
Another thing you can do with a Fresnel lens is to use it for first
aid. Having a Fresnel lens in your first aid kit is handy to help you
see a splinter or tick for easier removal. A Fresnel lens is also
useful in your first aid kit for such things as getting jelly fish
tentacles off, or brushing away the stinger of a bee or wasp sting.

It's equally helpful for reading prescription or other mediciation
information printed in small type.

#7: Fresnel Lenses are cheap.
You can get a Fresnel lens for about a buck a piece, and often
they are sold in sets so you can stock up and disperse them in
your survival stashes.

A Fresnel lens is not a toy!
As awesome as a Fresnel lens is to you and your prepping family,
a Fresnel lens is not a toy. Go ahead and teach your kids how to
use one, but don't leave them lying around as temptation for
them to play with them without supervision.

The sleeve of a Fresnel lens is there for a reason! It's to keep the
sun's powerful rays away from the magnifying power when not in
use. If kids are careless and walk away from a lens that's not in
the sleeve, something underneath it will surely burn.

Preppers owe a debt of gratitude to Augustin Fresnel (1788–1827)
and his unique understanding of the physics of light to bring us
the Frensel lens, which he invented for lighthouses.

Fresnel lens
How to use a Fresnel lens for survival

Prepping with a Fresnel Lens...
A Fresnel lens is your ninja prepping tool to harness the sun by
focusing on the sun's radiant energy to a precise focal point. It's
one of the cheapest preps you can own and also one of the most
valuable and under-rated tools.

A Fresnel lens is a flat piece of plastic with concentric circle
lenses that's flexible enough to bend and allow you to focus
light. Particles of light refract in the powerful Fresnel lens to
concentrate the energy and help you with firestarting, cooking,
first aid and more...

Prepping with a Fresnel lens
Why get a Fresnel Lens? Because they are so inexpensive and
versatile in survival, no prepper should be without a Fresnel lens!
It's a survival essential for bushcrafters and homesteaders, too.

Where to get fresnel lens? Amazon. You'll want plenty to keep in
your car, bugout bag or to make a survival tin. Right is a
convenient six-pack by Lifesport gear.

Here are seven ways you can use a Fresnel lens prepping:

#1: Use a Fresnel Lens as a Backup firestarter.
Provided you have sunlight and something to burn you will always
have a way to light a fire. On a sunny day, a Fresnel lens is an
effective firestarter, saving you a match or a strike on your ferro
rod. Just be sure to have some tinder on hand, such as a
cigarette, char cloth, or cotton balls with Vaseline. Remember
also to wear sunglasses for eye protection!

With a Fresnel lens you'll need to take your time to start a solar
fire. Depending on the quality of the Fresnel lens, it could take
five minutes or more even under direct and clear sunlight to get
tinder lit into a flame. This method of firestarting may test your
patience, but if you should be able to effectively do it if you are
at a 90 degree angle to the sun. Remember to have a tight focus
on your tinder until it reaches a point of high heat.

Bear in mind also that it will be easier to start a fire at the
hottest part of the day in mid afternoon rather than the morning,
and it will work a whole lot better in Florida than in Washington
State. And regarding the quality of the lens, the higher the
magnification the better.

How do you know if you have a quality Fresnel lens?
It's about the magnification power. A lens with only 2x the
magnifying power won't be as strong as a lens with 5x the
magnifying power. Read the fine print.

#2: You can cook with a Fresnel lens.
Solar power cooking is possible with a large F resnel lens . This is
the concept behind commercial solar cooking devices, but you can
make one yourself.

Build yourself a Fresnel lens solar cooker with help from
thesurvivalmom.com. Mary Blandford, author of the article,
salvaged a rear projection television to get a Fresnel lens for
her solar cooker, but you could potentially salvage a Fresnel
lense from an overhead projector, or even a car's headlights
and tail lights to make a smaller solar cooker.

#3: Make a Solar still with a Fresnel lens.
A large Fresnel lens can help preppers to distill water and even
desalinate seawater in an emergency! With a large Fresnel lens
you have the power to make a solar still which will create
drinkable water and the video below proves it.

Fresnel Lens six-pack

Fresnel Lens five-pack

Full page Fresnel Lens
8.3x11.75

Pack of 20 ~ Fresnel
Lenses with 3X
magnification

WD-40 ~ the can with a thousand prepping uses