[at-l] Esbit fuel vs Trioxane

[Datto <datto994@yahoo.com>]

Hi all -- I went out hiking this weekend with
Tony and took some Trioxane fuel bars along with
me as fuel for the Esbit stove. 

Here's a summary of what I think I know --
correct me anywhere you think I've no clue. When
I say "Esbit fuel" below, I mean the real Esbit
brand fuel.

1) Esbit fuel tablets are white cubes about 3/4"
x 1" x 1/2" and comes wrapped in plastic with a
foil top. Trioxane is usually purple and comes in
foil wraped bars of 3/4"" x 2" x 1/4". I think
Esbit fuel is technically called "Hexamine".

2) Esbit fuel isn't supposed to be toxic.
Trioxane is toxic, fume wise and poison-eating
wise. The Esbit fuel burns almost completely and
so do the Trioxane bars. The fumes from the
Trioxane bars weren't bad -- I probably wouldn't
have noticed it unless I was doing a smell test
but I was out in the open, not cooking in a tent
vestibule.

3) The Trioxane bars I received from
http://www.sportsmansguide.com lit immediately
from my Bic lighter (it appears they are soaked
in parafin or something flamable). The Esbit tabs
don't light immediately. This would be important
in the wind and the cold of winter/springtime. 

4) From past emails I've seen, Trioxane bars seem
to have a history of being delivered with the
bars broken or crushed. The one's I used for
testing came from two different fuel boxes and
they appeared to be intact and uncrushed. The
Esbit fuel is very hard and not easily crushed
(in my opinion). 

5) Esbit fuel in bulk runs about $50 per 144
pieces (not including shipping). Trioxane runs
about $24 for 216 pieces (not including
shipping). My take on the fuel efficiency of
Trioxane vs Esbit fuel was that the Trioxane bars
had about 2/3 the heat output per stick that one
Esbit tab has. So, doing the math, that puts
Trioxane at about 1/2 the cost of Esbit fuel (not
including shipping).

6) Esbit fuel smells faintly like rotten fish.
Trioxane smells faintly like chemicals. 

7) As mentioned above, one stick of Trioxane put
out about 2/3 the heat of one Esbit tab. However,
the Trioxane bar was longer and thinner (the
Esbit fuel is like a sugar cube) so the heat from
the Trioxane is probably going to be affected
more by wind so more attention needs to be given
to the windscreen when using Trioxane.

8) With Trioxane being toxic, you probably don't
want to keep half-used fuel bars inside your
cooking pot. 

These places have Trioxaneby the case:

http://www.sportsmansguide.com
http://www.cheaperthandirt.com

This place has Esbit fuel by the case:

http://www.backpackgear.com.

Datto summary viewpoint -- I have a case or two
of Esbit fuel in the closet and several cases of
Trioxane. The big plus I saw for Trioxane was how
quickly the Trioxane bar lit on fire. That was a
big problem last winter with the Esbit brand
fuel. If some of you remember, while I was
lighting the Esbit fuel on my deck, my windscreen
blew away, around the side of the house and out
onto the street whereby, I was out chasing it
down in the snow while wearing my robe and
slippers. You know, bad things always seem to
happen when I wear my robe...

Datto

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