[at-l] From 0 to yummy on an Esbit

[jon@outland.net (Jonathan Hartford)]

Thought y'all might wanna hear about this....



Things cooled down tonite to just about zero outside, according to my
lil digital thermometer.  So I decided to whip out my esbit on the back 
porch and do some reality testing.

I put the:
Esbit Stove
Esbit Fuel Tablets (3) 
Bic Lighter 
MSR Titanium 1L pot
Windscreen (stolen from Wisperlite)
1L water
Meal (MSR Mountain Gourmet Buttered Pasta & Herbs)

on the back porch for a half hour beforehand to cool everything off and 
simulate carrying it thru the cold woods for a few hours.  

When I got out there, it was all nice and frosty cold.  I lit an esbit tab 
with my lighter fairly easily.  No fancy warming up required.  

There was very little noticable wind, but I used the windscreen anyway.
After approx. 12 minutes, the water was still not boiling, but was definitely
hot.  The esbit tab was basically gone, and barely generating much flame.

So, I lit another tab, and popped it under the stove.   After another 3-4 
minutes, the water was definitely boiling.  After about 4 minutes more,
it was rolling and shaking.  I lifted the pot and found about 40% of the
tablet left, so I blew it out.  The esbit stove itself was cool enough to 
be touchable (and closable!) on the sides.   

The meal heated up great and was tasty, although I recommend you use 
a full cup of water instead of the 3/4 it says on the package, as the 
pasta came out a little bit dry/firm.

Since I will practically never be boiling a full liter of water (to me,
a BIG trail meal is a 2 cup water freeze dried and a cup or two of tea/hc)
I believe one tablet ought to do me, even in this weather.  

I also liked that you can successfully relight the old half-gone tab once 
you've finished your meal and you want another cuppa.  Recommend you keep the 
pot covered with only as much as you need for tea and the windscreen 
surrounding it while you finish your meal.

-- 
Jonathan Hartford				jon@outland.net