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Thread: Emergency fire starter that's tinder & fuel

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    Senior Member Phaedrus's Avatar
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    Default Emergency fire starter that's tinder & fuel

    Okay, this is a bit long so bear with me. Many of you have probably used Esbit tablets before. I like them more as a fire starter than as fuel but they're good for that, too. According to everything I've read, Hexamine lasts essentially forever, even when left unsealed. It burns pretty hot and I've been able to shave it and light it easily with a firesteel. It's a bit, um, "aromatic" in use but nothing you can't deal with.

    Only one local store had carried them (Sportsman's Warehouse) and they closed a couple years ago. Everyplace I see Esbit the shipping is killer. Last summer I found some good Hexamine, the same as Esbit fuels, for a good price from Coghlan's. The tablets are smaller but pretty cheap- I've been getting them 24 tabs for $4 with free shipping. Here's a pic of the stuff.

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    Here's another pic of just the tabs with a coin for size reference.

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    One item I used to keep in my 1st Aid/survival stuff was the glucose tablets as my dad was diabetic. After he passed away I didn't think I needed the glucose stuff badly enough to carry it around so I tossed it, but by a fluke 5 those Hex tablets fit the tube nicely.

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    I thought this is a nice, clean storage option for them, but short of spending $2.50 and throwing away the sugar I'd been stumped as to where to source another tube. Then it struck me that maybe a tube meant to organize the same US quarter I included for size reference. And it turns out to fit nicely. They cost me $1 each at Amazon.com with free 2 day shipping (Prime Member). In bulk they can be had even cheaper.

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    The tubes are made to hold 40 US quarters and have a screw on cap. If they'd been made made to hold 41 quarters I could have fit 5 tablets; as is the cap won't quite screw on. Not a big deal, I fill it with 4 Hex tabs and half a cotton ball. That gives me a super flammable tinder for lighting with a firesteel and stops them from rattling around.

    The cool thing is that Hex burns even when wet. It lasts forever, and since it can be lit with a firesteel it serves as tinder and kindling/fuel.


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    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
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    Nice review and good idea on the tubes. I'll bet that if you shave a tablet or two that you could fit 5 in the tube.
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    Senior Member Phaedrus's Avatar
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    You know, I did consider just shaving one down- and I may in the future. It's sooooo close to fitting. The top of the thread starts to "bite" but it can't quite make it. But this way the cotton keeps things from rattling and is very easy to light with a spark. One minor correction...I actually paid $6.98 for 10 tubes, shipped. Again, cheaper in bulk. I think I'm gonna pick up a hundred of them. My mom has 2 rolls each of every state quarter, and when I showed these tubes to her she asked me to get a big batch for her.

    The lid screws on pretty tightly but I wouldn't bet much on them being very waterproof as-is. But they'd be pretty handy for many uses.

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    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
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    Good idea, and good tip on the containers...and I do like the idea of having the cotton in with the fuel...for rattling and tinder.....Good job.
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    Senior Member southard's Avatar
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    Great review. You jus gave me an idea. I've got a bunch of auto hose at home about that size, maybe some pvc caps or silicon plugs. I'll let ya'll know how it works.
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    Wrap a little duct tape where the lid meets the bottle. It would be water proof, plus DT is always handy!

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    Senior Member Phaedrus's Avatar
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    There's something I'm always concerned about: Will the "off brand" stuff be any good? Since this was a different batch than I used last summer (and probably from China), I just tested one of the fresh tablets. I thought I'd share my results.

    I used my Kershaw Scallion to shave a bit of the hexamine onto to the top of a large inverted stainless steel doggie dish. It's crumbly stuff and cuts/scrapes easily into fine powder. I wanted to see if I could light this stuff with my (fairly recently aquired) BlastMatch. Now, I'm still a little awkward using it since it's new to me and I'm more used to a regular firesteel (with the Firesteel.com com being the best IMO). It did take me maybe 10 strikes to light the dust but to be fair, about 1/2 the time I forget you have to push down on the striker tab really hard with your thumb to engage the striker. At any rate light it did, and I was easily able to light the tablet with the burning dust. Not bad.

    I noticed this batch doesn't smell quite as "fishy" as Esbit, although it's close. It does feel exactly the same but doesn't stink as bad. Of course, it could be just because there's less of it. It quickly gets burning, and I noted that the flames off the small tab were over 3" high for around 5-6 minutes. It was burning strongly enough that you could probably cook on it at minute seven. From that point on the flame dropped off a bit, with flame strong enough to light stuff up til about 9 & 1/2 minutes. It finally flamed out at almost exactly 10 minutes. Unlike Esbit there was a little bit of solid matter left but not very much.

    Overall I think that's pretty decent for the size. The tabs measure exactly 7 grams on my kitchen scale. That's good burning time for 7 grams of fuel, IMO. They're easy to light and burn very well. All in all very good for the price. I'm getting them off eBay for around $4.50-5.25 per 24 pack shipped (depending on the vendor).

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    Senior Member Phaedrus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by natertot View Post
    Wrap a little duct tape where the lid meets the bottle. It would be water proof, plus DT is always handy!
    D'oh! Why didn't I think of that? That's a great idea! I'm always wrapping Gorilla Tape on stuff to have more of it on hand.

    I don't think it's at all critical for hexamine to be kept dry, but if one was worried maybe some wax or rubber cement on the threads would also help.

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    Wet or dry it should work the same.
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    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
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    They are supposed to burn floating in water right?
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    Senior Member sh4d0wm4573ri7's Avatar
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    Nice review you say those are coin holders? Are they available at the bank then?
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    Phaedrus, have you tried boiling water with them yet? I have a bunch of those coghlan fuel tabs that I got when I bought their emergency stove a while ago. This was before I knew about esbit stoves. I decided to try the coghlan ones out on my trip last June. I was unable to get 2 cups of water boiling with 2 tablets. I need to buy real esbit tablets to do a real comparison (maybe they are the same?). But, for now, I am unimpressed with these guys as a fuel tab. They do make good fire starters though. And, I carry a bunch in my pack for that reason.
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    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    Esbit will boil water with no problem. My son carries one. He boils water about as quickly as I do with an MSR Pocket Rocket.
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    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by hunter63 View Post
    They are supposed to burn floating in water right?
    Wet Fire tinder does, as well as Webber BBQ fire starting cubes. I don't think these do - they look very porous.
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    Senior Member Phaedrus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by finallyME View Post
    Phaedrus, have you tried boiling water with them yet? I have a bunch of those coghlan fuel tabs that I got when I bought their emergency stove a while ago. This was before I knew about esbit stoves. I decided to try the coghlan ones out on my trip last June. I was unable to get 2 cups of water boiling with 2 tablets. I need to buy real esbit tablets to do a real comparison (maybe they are the same?). But, for now, I am unimpressed with these guys as a fuel tab. They do make good fire starters though. And, I carry a bunch in my pack for that reason.
    I haven't tried them as a fuel to boil water, and frankly I probably won't. I have an Esbit stove and Esbit fuel but I rarely carry it. My sole intended use of the Coghlan's tablets is as a firestarter. They do work well in that capacity.

    And as for floating, I doubt they will. Wetfire & Weber tinder both float but these tablets are pretty dense & heavy for their size.

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    Phaedrus great find on the quarter tubes! Im picking up a box now for various kits. fishing kit, fire kit, etc. thats brilliant.

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    Senior Member Phaedrus's Avatar
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    Someone has also pointed out to me that you can buy M&M candy in 3 different sized tubes that are all the same diameter (sized to fit a quarter). I guess the largest will hold like 80 coins. I don't eat candy but I'll have to try to find them next time I'm at WallyWorld. Seems like they're just a buck.

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    Senior Member Phaedrus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by sh4d0wm4573ri7 View Post
    Nice review you say those are coin holders? Are they available at the bank then?
    Sorry, missed your question. I guess maybe they would be but I think banks use paper rolls. These are more for coin collectors. I bought mine from Amazon.com but if you have a FLGS or hobby shop they can probably hook you up. I've also been told that Hobby Lobby has similar sized tubes for beads.

  19. #19

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    This place has a ton of those coin tubes, they appear to sell them in different quanities also.
    Plus they have them for all size coins, pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, even half dollar and silver dollar sizes.
    http://www.coinsupplyexpress.com/qua...-sku-5784.aspx

    Im thinking the bigger size coin tubes would be great for other kit uses also..

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    easy one in sunny climates is a magnifying glass and tinder(cedar)

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