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UL Esbit Stove and Questions

B

brians

Joined
Apr 22, 2006
Messages
1,375
I use a white box stove, but like the specs and simplicity on this stove, and the idea of having solid fuel, but have never used Esbit.

Can anyone share their experiences with Esbit including how dirty is it, how it works in sub-freezing temps, altitude, ease of lighting, etc?

titanium-esbit-wing-stove-220.jpg


titanium-esbit-wing-stove-folded.jpg


titanium-esbit-wing-stove-vargo-mug.jpg


http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/titanium-esbit-wing-stove.html
 
Frankly Esbit would not be my choice ...
you need a windshield with Esbit, bringing half a litre of water to a boil takes more than ten minutes under ideal circumstances, the tablets leave a sticky residue on the cooker -
all of this information is from a former member of the German army, he didn't look underneath his pot ...
He said he'd prefer starting a fire ... only if a fire would be out of the question he'd take Esbit ...
His emergency backup is a swiss army cooker 71, which consists of a tin of alcohol gel and a pot holder that clips to the tin.
 
I have the matchbox shaped esbit that folds up as a stand, so I can only comment on that model. Just as luckykitty states, they take a long time to boil water, I've even had a block completely burn up without boiling the pot (It was a little over 1/2 a litre). You also definitely need to use or construct a windshield or it will take even longer.
I've never used it at any real altitude (Maybe 1500m), but I didn't really notice a difference in boil time.
It's now retired and I generally use a small Snowpeak gas burner.
 
I used one for a couple of years while deer hunting. It had one of those flat fold up wind screens. It heated up come water for tea. You could still add another cube as needed. Burned for about 12 minutes max if I remember right. Enough to warm me up inside. The fold up flat stand can also be used to burn small twigs to heat your liquids etc. I was glad to have it along hunting without the smoke. Don't know how the game alerted to the burning esbit but it wasn't as strong as the military fuel. Good to have along for firemaking in the damp.
 
I just wondered, I've seen alcohol gel sachets, would the contents of such a sachet fit in the holder? You'd still need a wind shield, but the alcohol gels burning temperature is a bit higher leading to shorter boil times ...

Has anyone tried that?
 
What luckykitty says about the residue and boiling times is true. I've had better results with trioxane bars (shorter boiling time). Esbit tabs are more available for me, though. Coghlan's also has some round pellets about an inch across, that burn about the same as the esbit ones. I switched to a homemade billycan stove, and jellied fuel cans mainly, but the esbit is ok for when you want to go ultralight. Just bring enough cubes.


ps. Never seen the alcohol satchets, just the cans of alcohol jell for food service warming that I mentioned.
 
You'll notice a BIG (negative) difference between your White Box stove and Esbit. The White Box is a blowtorch. The Esbit is just a bit more than a birthday candle. (Just a slight exaggeration)

Yes--Esbit is dirty and it stinks. All this said, before you invest in that cool little titanium Esbit stove, pick up a box of Esbit tablets and try them on their own. It won't cost much and you can make up your own mind. I have the White Box stove (which is great!) I also have a couple of Esbit stoves. I tried them. I didn't like them. They now reside in my cars' emergency kits.

If you're looking for an even smaller and lighter alternative to the White Box, check out the Gram Weenie Pro. It's what I carry in my cool weather daypack. Tiny. Weighs almost nothing. Efficient and cheap.
https://www.end2endtrailsupply.com/Gram_Weenie_PRO.html
 
hiwa said:
ps. Never seen the alcohol satchets, just the cans of alcohol jell for food service warming that I mentioned.
Click to expand...

same stuff, apparently - I've seen them combined with the BCB cruisader cooker ... greenheat something ... if I remember correctly

yes, greenheat is the brand of Ethanol Gel Fuel and it is sold mainly in the UK
 
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The wing "stove" is just for heating up a "canteen cup" or smaller tin.
Used in WWII to heat up ration tins also. Had a round holder with wings that folded. The hexamine fuel used was poisonous, had to watch out for that.
Esbit stinks after awhile, put in air proof pouch or your pack and everything in it will smell bad, big time after years of sitting in locker.
People say they get water to "boil" using esbit.
Trioxane is better, bigger tabs.
Heck, you can use tealight candles to warm up a drink.
One guy uses a sterno can and holds coffe cup over flame to heat up drink.
But, must be a market for them, places sell them.
And this site says to use them for 72hr kit:
http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2008/06/13/how-to-make-a-72-hour-kit/


http://zenstoves.net/SolidFuelBurner.htm

http://www.shelfreliance.com/product/view/p209

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/esbit_folding_wing_stove.html

http://www.backpackgeartest.org/rev...m Esbit Stove/Owner Review by Colleen Porter/
 
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brian youre better off with the caldera cone....i got one and it works great VERY efficient!!

esbit is like a back up in my opinion.
 
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