Primus kettle & Esbit stove

[hanzo]

I was looking for a small, light weight kettle to boil water in and maybe even cook in if needed and thought the Primus kettle would fit the bill nicely.

It is very light weight and has a capacity of about 24 ounces (up to the bottom of the spigot). I tested it with 16 ounces of water.

Control was on the stove in the kitchen where the 16 ounces came to a rolling boil within three minutes. Pretty good.

I then tried it with an Esbit stove. The Esbit is a small, light weight piece of cr@p. The fuel tablet burned for about 10 minutes with an improvised wind screen, but failed to bring the 16 ounces to boil. It only got it hot.

I tried it again with the fuel tablet but added a fair amount of wood cut to fit around and over the fuel tablet. Got that going, but did not put a wind screen around it as I wanted more air this time. Total burn time was about 8 minutes with a nice roaring flame. As big and roaring as can be from the little Esbit. Again, the water got hot but did not boil. I left it sitting over the hot coals in the Esbit for about another 10 minutes. No boil.

So that tells me the fault is with the Esbit stove. It is small and light, but won't be in my pack.

Next up will be the Primus stove with a Trail Stove, then just over a fire and finally over some hot coals.

[Scotty]

Hi hanzo

Cheers for that. I recently got one of the small Hexi stoves, I think they're very similar to the esbit. I even have the attachment you put on the top so you can heat up a crusader cup, I'll test it out at the weekend and see how it does heating a crusader cup full of water.

[yarrow]

I think of an esbit as more of a heater than a cooker. But they do better with 4-5 fuel tabs on the go. Got to agree its hard to justify carrying them.

[hanzo]

I am kind of partial to Chip's hobo stove myself. I think it looks professionally done and is a perfect size. I also like the fact the it uses wood for fuel. That's why I bought a trail stove.

I wonder how Choni's candle stove would work with an Esbit as a base. But then, why carry the extra piece.

[Scotty]

ONe fuel tablet burned for nearly 8 minutes and only warmed a mug full of water, which soon cooled down. Not impressed at all, rubbish.

[hanzo]

I feel your pain Scott. Fortunately the stove was cheap. At least got some fuel tablets to use to start a fire with.

I think I am going to give it one last try. I was thinking of using the GI canteen "stove" as a windscreen and to focus the heat and the esbit as a base of sorts. I am not really hopeful, but since I have it, I may as well play with it before scrapping it as a bad idea.

[goose]

I carry a small mess kit, the bigger pan takes enough water to make a brew, it was cheap and fits in my bum bag. I have used it a couple of times with esbit blocks and one block is plenty to boil it up. I dont carry a cooker, I have used three small logs, laid on their side making a triangle shape, to hold my pan and dropped the hexamine into the hole. I have also made a pot stand from tent pegs and that seems to work with one block too. The pan holds, I guess, just over half a pint.
Another thing I have is a small SS mug and I use barbeque matches with that, one "match" gets it just hot enough for a coffee but not quite a rolling boil, but as it fits in a pocket it has come in useful( when car keys where in a bag in someone elses car with the majority of my kit half way home before I realised which bags he had took to give me more room for passengers )
I usually use the blocks whole but try breaking them up, less burn time but more heat.

[hanzo]

Thanks Goose. I will try a block broken in half and fuzzed up on top. I am wondering if 16 ounces is too ambitious. I didn't think 2 cups of water was unreasonable.

[hefty]

if its just for a quick brew up i use a butterfly handled aluminium mug with a tube of alchol jelly fuel and 4 stones to rest it on depending on the weather it takes about 4-5 mins to boil and the brew is big enough for 2 to share.

[hanzo]

Aloha Hefty, How much fuel did you have to use?