East German Esbit Stove

I bought a six pack of lightly used ones from CTD for $9.99 with milspec trioxane fuel about 15 years ago, just to have during hurricane season.

I played with them when I first got them and actually used them during Wilma in '05, when my power was out for 15 hours.  I was able to heat some things up like soup, chili, water for tea...stuff like that.  The problem with these things, is that you can't use normal cookware, you need the thinner camping stuff, otherwise the typical household items acts like a huge heatsink and things heat up much more slowly.  This holds true with other stoves as well, not just the Esbits.

I go to the Army Navy surplus store and buy trioxane, although I've moved on to the Trangia, Coleman duel fuel and propane stoves/BBQs.  I even have one of those folding Sterno type stoves, so the Esbits are relegated to back up status, or giving to condo neighbors, in a pinch.

Chris

With these minimalist stoves you have to use the smallest cooking pot possible if you want any chance of reaching a boil under less than ideal circumstances.

This I have one, and I have yet make anything boil over it.  Cool little stoves, but worthless for most things IMO.  I'll stick with my trangia alcohol stove.

We like ours.







 
 
 

I think it would have boiled if I had an AL pot, a lid, and a wind screen. Maybe just a wind screen would have done it. It got pretty breezy.

I have successfully boiled water in a E. German and a Russian aluminum mess tin with temps in the mid twenties. I think you may be onto something since the intended purpose was probably a aluminum mess tin or small cup.

***Edit*** If I remember correctly I need two or 3 tabs to get the water boiling.

Yeah, I used my small AL pot from my trangia stove when I tried it out.  I used 2 tablets, and it almost boiled.  It got to the point it had the bubbles on the bottom, but no full boil...