[at-l] Esbit, was at-l] Da stove question again---~~~

[jbullar1 at twcny.rr.com (Jim Bullard)]

At 03:16 PM 11/1/2005 -0500, Gary Ticknor wrote:
>Jim Bullard wrote:
>
>>Calling your raise:
>>Is it really that much more work to pour alcohol into the stove than to 
>>unwrap a trioxane/hexamine tablet?
>
>Not really. But we were talking convenience, and Esbit does have the edge 
>here. Especially in the morning. I was disputing your statement that 
>alcohol is more convenient than Esbit. It isn't. Not by much, but by 
>enough so that convenience goes to Esbit.
>
>>If I spill alcohol it evaporates in fairly short order. Those tablets are 
>>gooey before they burn too and would just goo up other stuff in your pack 
>>if they ever did get squished.
>
>Not sure about trioxane/hexamine tablet, is this the stuff that the Army 
>issues? I use Esbit, and they aren't at all gooey! They are a white 
>crystalline solid, and very dry. Really. Even a bit difficult to break in 
>two, they are so ungooey. The residue is gooey, not the fuel. BTW, 
>evaporating alcohol fumes are not good for your liver, or so I've been 
>told. Probably as bad as Esbit stink ;)
>
>Topic is Esbit vs alcohol, not trioxane/hexamine/agent orange/napalm 
>whatever. Be fair.
>
>- Greenbriar

Esbit tabs are hexamethylenetetramine AKA hexamine. Perhaps the tablets I 
have are different but they are a kind of semihard waxy consistency that 
gets softer when it is warmer. I don't find them all that easy to light. 
You seem to have to expose the to flame for several seconds, which can be 
difficult when it's breezy. You only have to show alcohol a flame for it to 
ignite. I *really* don't like the goo on my cook pot. I'd rather deal with 
the carbon from a zip stove than deal with that goo. It's all a matter of 
taste anyway. If it gets your food hot and you are comfortable with it, as 
Martha says "it's a good thing".