Getting on with my life and thinking about things.
Despite comments on OM about hex stoves, when I saw one for 4 quid, I thought I'd give it a go.
The HiGear stove fits nicely into the SnowPeak mug and leaves enough space for a pie-foil windshield, sponge cleaner and folding spork.
The unit sat well on top of the stove in its semi-open position.
I poured 0.6 litres of cold tap-water into the pot and put in one of the supplied fuel tablets. It lit easily enough with a jet lighter. I noted that the base of the metal stove gets hot.
After 10 minutes the fuel tablet ran out. The water had not boiled, but was hot enough to make some cup-a-soup with. As noted on OM, there was a black sticky patina on the base of the mug. I didn't notice a strong odour though.
A few hours later I decided to use 2 fuel tablets to see if I could get the water to boil. With two tablets, the flame was more intense, and the tablets didn't last as long.
After 5 minutes, the tablets had lost so much fuel that they dropped through the holes in the base-plate and on to the wooden board I had placed as a work-surface.
The experiment ended when I poured cold water on the burning fuel to stop the flames from setting the board alight. If that had been dried grass ... well, I'll leave that to your imagination.
Sunday, 3 June 2007
Hex Stove
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8 comments:
I tried one of these years ago on a beach in North Wales, when I tried boiling water for a cuppa. Ok at the time I was using a camping kettle and trying to boil enough water for 3 to have a hot cup of tea. But it took sooo long, and alot of tablets it was rediculous, I swore never again.
So why I am looking at meths I don't know ^__^
The only issue I have with gas (so to speak) is its use on longer trips. The 250 cannister did for me on my 15-day SUW trek, with gas left over. Okay, I didn't use it every day, and I only used it for boiling water for one at breakfast and dinner, and sometimes I had cold breakfasts.
I'm still tempted to look out real Esbit fuel tablets, as they are supposed to be better than the cheap ones.
But that's for another day, as I'll be cooking on gas for the foreseeable future.
Looks like some one is going to be getting a bargin on Ebay then. :o)
Me? Get rid of gear that might be useful in future? Nae chance.
The WB stove (and mini-trangia) are good for what they do, just doesn't fit my current style of cooking.
The hex-stove might work well with real Esbit tablets.
So far, nothing's better than gas for the climate I'm in and cooking routine I've got.
Looks like that may be a good base from which to use a standard trangia burner? Stick the burner in and off you go. Hmm, could be an interesting hybrid.
could be, Martin, could be. But I'll give it a miss.
You would have got away with it too if it hadn't been for those pesky kids.
Those fuel pellets are pretty rubbish, go on go for the Esbit and have a jolly old cook up round the Panzer.
I shouldn't have shown you the WW2 Esbit packaging, with the happy Wehrmacht campers.
Takes a lot to cook up a Panzer - I think about 8 Shermans to a Mark 4 at Caen, IIRC.
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