Esbit Stove--love it or hate it ?

[StarLyte]

I purchased a used 1-1/2 cup aluminum percolator yesterday from a flea market, couldn't wait to perk my favorite java in it.

I perked 1-1/2 cups using 1 esbit tab at 700 ft. elevation (Lake Erie elevation at Cleveland Ohio). It took 8 minutes.

I like jerking the chains of you esbit haters ;)

This was done indoors. I'm sure at 3500-4000 ft. outdoors I would use 2 esbit tabs....OMG that would be a whole 25 cents!!!

BTW the Starbucks was excellent, and here's some photos to view of it, when I posted them they came up with the photo I shot last-hmm, so you'll have to view them backwards--there's 3 of them. Click here (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=12442&catid=newimages&cutoffdate=1)

[Ewker]

I have never used an esbit stove so I have no opinion on it. But the coffee looked good

[berninbush]

I've been curious about Esbit. I like the idea of a solid fuel, instead of messing with liquids and wicks. What are the advantages and disadvantages? How much do the tablets weigh, compared to liquid fuel? How hard are they to find? Do they hold up well, or crumble in your pack? What are they made of, and are there any concerns about toxicity?

[mingo]

they're light and simple and will get your water hot enough fairly quickly. they don't crumble up too much. but the weight adds up if you're out for a while and have to carry very many of them. and they make your pot black with soot and it's kind of messy. they are extremely toxic. napalm, i think.

[berninbush]

Thanks, mingo! How does the weight of the amount of Esbit needed to boil a pint of water compare to the weight of alcohol needed for ditto?

(I know stove design, elevation, etc. can affect this, but I'm just thinking about "on average.")

If you touch the stuff, then touch your food, will you make yourself sick? What do you do with the ashes?

[WalkinHome]

Touched the stuff all the time then ate, never got sick. A bit of soot but I kept my pot in a plastic grocery bag. Lights easy blows out easy. Can be mailed ground delivery (parcel post) with the right labels, heats 2 cups of water in 8-12 minutes (use a wind screen though) a bit more expensive than other fuels but I would do it again. Starlyte is my hero.

[Smile]

Stinky.

Hiked with somebody who used this, smelled worse than any hiker in the shelter. Cooked good though!

[Lilred]

I carried Esbit tabs with me as a back up fuel. About four of them. Smelled so bad I ended up giving them away. I figure, why deal with the smell and soot if there is no considerable advantage in weight, money, or convenience? I do have an Esbit stove here at home, but it rarely goes out with me on the trail. I'd use my esbit over most canister stoves though, except maybe the pocket rocket.

[karo]

I have an old esbit stove and used it on a few ocassions. It does work great in the cold temps, ice and snow. I made cappicuino at Rainbow Falls in the Smokies several years ago. It certaintly does stink and it tends to blacken your pots, but I may take a couple as back-ups for my alcohol stove. All you have to do it just turn a pepsi can stove up-side-down and light the esbit tablet on the underside of the can. Again as mentioned you should use a wind screen. One advantage is the tabs can be blown out and reuse the remaining piece of tablet. I would suggest double bagging them and not putting them in your pack, but maybe an outside pocket because of the smell.

[Frosty]

Esbit Stove--love it or hate it ?

Yes. :D

[saimyoji]

I watched Cedar Moe cook with his esbit earlier this summer. I didn't notice any smell at all. Asked him about it and he said that was just a myth. I wonder if this is a genetic trait: some people can smell it, others can't. :-?

[StarLyte]

God you guys are whoosies (except for Walkin Home).......

Esbits USED TO smell...they have improved them.

If you note in my posting, I did this little project indoors-in my kitchen, directly on my stove top. There was very little smell.

I have used it in my tent to keep warm and it didn't bother me, and I have asthma. The tabs are a different size now too. The cost was $3.00 for 2 dozen. They weigh .25 ounce each. There was little residue on the pot, which comes right off. The tabs get wet, no problem, you wipe them off. They relight. If you don't use an entire tab, no problem, blow it out and reuse it at another time. I like the stove because it's small, lightweight and constructed of a plated tensile structured steel with designed air flow slits in the base to provide a stronger flame. Supporting side projections help direct heat and can be adjusted to stabilize pots or cups (copied the last sentence of the box).

One tab perked 1-1/2 cups of water to make coffee. Not bad, so I'm thinking I'd have to use 2 in most outdoor conditions.

The money I save on the tabs I can spend on other essential things

.....like a pocketmail device - just kiddin :D

[Spock]

Let me be clear: I don't like Esbit. It stinks. It is messy. It's low class. It is not aesthetically pleasing. And it is more expensive.

On the other hand, Esbit really is the lightest, most efficient fuel you can get. When stove weight is calculated in, it is in a class by itself. The fuel weight/efficiency is equivalent to JetBoil for as long - as many boils - as a JetBoil canister will last. Esbit is also safe to use. I have nearly burned myself down with alcohol. No joke. Esbit is perfectly suited to my short duration hikes. For long trails, there is sometimes a supply problem, so I carry a compatible alcohol burner (either a Fuzzy's L'l Stove or a mini-Cat) and buy (or scavenge) a suitable sized drink bottle when I find alcohol instead of Esbit at the country store. As far as cost goes, think of how much Esbit you can buy with the cost of a canister stove and an equivalent amount of canister fuel. The short answer is lots and lots more than you will need for a whole lot of hiking.

[Frosty]

The tabs are a different size now too. The cost was $3.00 for 2 dozen. They weigh .25 ounce each. That's interesting. I assume they burn half as long? Because the ones I have weight 1/2 ounce and were ...hey ....I paid $6.00 a dozen. That's a buck and ounce. At $3.00 for 2 dozen and 1/4 ounce each that's only 50 cents an ounce. And bought a whole crapload of 'em, too.

Are they the Esbit tabs in the red box? Please tell me they were $3.00 a dozen, or I wasted a bunch on money....

[Spock]

Frosty,
Tablet size: There are 2 major types, Esbit 1/2 ounces, square, scored tabs and the round 1/4 ounce military style now distributed under the Coghlans brand. Old surplus stuff shows up from time to time. All of them are compressed hexamine, a solid powder or crystal. The degree of compression and the binder material, if any, influence performance. However, 1/4 ounce is 1/4 ounce whether it is highly compressed or not. Some older hexamine may have a smokey wax binder that leaves a durable soot. Most new production from either Esbit or Coghlans has no binder that I can detect. The only soot is hexamine's characteristic black smudge which is easily water soluable.

[StarLyte]

That's interesting. I assume they burn half as long? Because the ones I have weight 1/2 ounce and were ...hey ....I paid $6.00 a dozen. That's a buck and ounce. At $3.00 for 2 dozen and 1/4 ounce each that's only 50 cents an ounce. And bought a whole crapload of 'em, too.

Are they the Esbit tabs in the red box? Please tell me they were $3.00 a dozen, or I wasted a bunch on money....

Hey Frosty-
I posted 2 photos of the new esbit tabs - click here (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=12445&c=694)

[Frosty]

Spock and StarLyte,

Thanks. I guess it is the Coughlan's brand that is cheaper than Esbit. As you say, Spock, the same stuff.

I've used Esbits a lot on short backpacks and like them. I like the planning (Okay, one for tonight, three tomorrow, say two the next day, then one. And a spare or two.)

On my two aborted AT attempts I used a Jetboil (loved it) and Sgt Rock's Ion stove (loved it, also)

[Doctari]

I hate them. My fault totally, but there it is.

My story: wanted to go lighter & figured to start with changing stoves, this was before homemade alcohol stoves so I decided to get an esbit. The one I got came with actual esbit tabs, but as I had a case (about 50 tabs) of Trioxine (sic) from SG, I figured to go with them. This cut my predicted cooking weight by about 1 LB. I even took 2x the tabs I thought I would need.
The mistake(s): I did NOT practice with the stove. I un-wraped it & tossed it into my pack. Then, to calculate how much fuel I would need, I read the instructions on the Esbit tabs, not the trioxine mil-surplus ones I was going to use. Shipped the Esbit tabs ahead for the end of the trip. Based on absolutly no testing or practice, I figured they were the same. didn't even notice that they were: different sized, made of different stuff, etc. THEN: I used way to many my first two dinners & even started a camp fire or 2 with the "spares". With 2 days to re-supply, I had ONE tab left, needed 2 to 3 to fix dinner, so I would have crunchy food tonight, & Yuck the next 2 nights.

I was at a piont where I could bail the next AM, so I did. Turns out that I could have made resupply the next day, (early PM it turns out) but I had read the guide wrong, dammit.


Anyway: learn from my mistake, Practice with ALL of your gear before hitting the trail.


Doctari.

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

I keep a pack of these in my car for 'emergency' use (like the dinos are starved or have a severe coffee deficiency first thing in the morning and are in the middle of nowhere). They are fine to warm up a can of beef stew, make instant rice / pasta dishes, make small amounts of coffee, but I wouldn't want to try to do any real cooking for two using them. If you are the sort that could easily use a jet boil stove, esbit tablets may be a good choice for you. If you will be cooking in freezer bags pretty much exclusively, then esbits will likely work for you. However, if you plan to cook anything that needs to get much above 212 F (100 C), you need a more robust fuel.

[berninbush]

Thanks for the input! I'm thinking about trying freezer bag cooking, and wondered if Esbit might be good for that. And I also wondered if they were good for starting campfires. I will be sure to try them out at home first... thanks for the reminder, Doctari! ;-) Sorry your own experience wasn't so great.

[max patch]

Esbits are great if you tend to hike from your bedroom to your kitchen.