Alternative uses for MRE heaters?

F

Foilist

Joined
Dec 20, 2004
Messages
3,863
I just sorted through a box of MREs that were given to me a number of years ago. I tossed some of them, but kept the snacks, desserts, and about six entrees that seem okay (they have been stored in a cool, dark, dry place).

I have a ton of the heaters though. Is there anything helpful that they can be used for? Using them for emergency heat seems risky due to the fumes, and making them go boom is not something I would consider useful.
 
Roughly how hot do they get? Not to familiar with MRE's. Do they produce a flame? Perhaps used as a fire starter? Or as a hand warmer kinda deal?
 
google says the chemical composition of mre heaters are iron, magnesium and sodium..

besides making things that go boom, maybe you could use the magnesium as an emergency fire starter? think of it as a pre-processed mag bar.

maybe try dropping a spark on a small amount for experimental purposes and then post up the results here?
 
you can certainly use them to heat coffee. I have made up coffee, placed the coffee in a vac bag, and sealed it with an impulse heater. Insert this into a MRE heater later, and you have hot coffee.
 
in the concentration it is in the magnesiumn will not ignite=) great for heating coffee water whatever else. those bags are very handy i have a few.
 
Each pack can be used for:
1. 5 (4?) water bottle bombs:
empty conents into bottle+water= "pop" don't know if it'll fling shrapnel but it definitely makes a loud noise and explodes the bottle.

2. I've always figured they'd help warm you up too... like hand warmers, etc.

3. Added to thermite: water activated?

4. Earth Battery?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_battery
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water-activated_battery

5. There is no number five... but I already typed it:D

I'd really like to know if there are other uses people have heard or have knowledge of.
 
An mre heater with about 3/4 of a 20 oz bottle full of tobasco sause shaken and thrown into a room works for for improvised tear gas.
 
[video=youtube;p0FZfG1KZKw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0FZfG1KZKw[/video]

These things are fun and quite safe. Great for pranking your buddies when they are racked out, just place under their cot.
 
The other use I've heard of is a lo-tech tear gas grenade. Never done it but I'm told you start like you were making a heater bomb but dump in a bunch of tabasco and poke a small hole in the bottle so the pressure leaks out slowly. I'm told it will clear out a tent and also leave a nice dusting of capsaicin on everything so when they come back it gets stirred up again.
 
Use to use mine to thaw my boots during winter field exercises.

And of course the ubiquitous MRE Heater Bombs.
 
I saw a guy throw away a 100k a year job with an MRE heater.

Me and 2 others told him what he was going to do was a bad idea, he didn't listen and we had left the area minutes before he stomped on his #### using an MRE heater.
BOOM, there goes the job.:eek:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top