Gel or solid fuel tabs on MKettle / Ghillie / Kelly kettle - any experience?

[chrisinhove]

I really like the ease of lighting and relatively odour free burn of the Fire Dragon fuel tabs, but the 25g blobs won't boil a full MKettle: 4 1/2 mins to 84deg yesterday.

I tried closing off the flue with a perforated plate: 6 1/2 mins to 86deg!

A second blob gets a great boil well before it's half burnt so I guess a c.35g squirt of liquid gel might be the answer.

Any one use this or a similar set up?

Thanks!

 

[Quixoticgeek]

I used the gel stuff on my crusader once (the place i bought it from included some free when I bought it). It burned well, was clean burning, didn't stink, and worked. *BUT* it left a gunky residue in the pan. Even now it's still there over 15 years later. I don't like it. But then hexi tabs also seem to leave a small unburnt residue which builds up over time, so neither's an ideal method.

J

 

[Hammock_man]

I have a 1.9l Gilly so I really don't think it would touch the sides!
From what I have heard a lot of folk struggle to get a full boil on a single tab ( with other setups,) so one tab and a drop from a bottle seems the way to go.
A lot of the time I use a drop of gel as a starter and a bed of shop bought dried firewood ( I now live in a city!), its a light and get on with something else solution for me.

 

[MikeLA]

Apart from the smell of Hexi the new dragon blocks are not as good and I have been using Hexi regularly since 1988.

 

[caorach]

It is worth considering that the Fire Dragon Fuel tabs are, basically, ethanol in some sort of matrix to hold it together and (probably) stop people drinking it. So if one tab isn't doing the job for you then just buy a big bucket of "chafing gel" at a local catering suppliers and decant some into a smaller bottle for carrying with you on trips. This is just an ethanol gel so it is the same stuff as the fuel tabs but just in a slightly different format. The big buckets are about 5kg of gel and don't cost a lot, but buy it in the big plastic buckets and not in the little metal tins as they are much more costly and you will get about 5kg of fuel for £20 or less. I decant mine into one of the small plastic milk bottles and it flows sufficiently well to sort of shake/squeeze the right amount out to get the job done. Ethanol is ethanol so it is going to have a very similar energy density etc. to the fuel tabs but I suspect from previous discussions that the tabs might be constructed such that they will, under certain circumstances, boil water faster, I can't explain that but probably down to a more controlled burn due to them being more solid or something.

 

[Rabid]

Just did a quick search and came up with this.
http://www.bidvestcateringequipment.com/Product/Gel-Chafing-Fuel-4kg-Bucket-Ethanol/3275
£12 for 4kg seems like good value for money to me.

 

[caorach]

£12 for 4kg seems like good value for money to me.

I've been using it for years and it works well, though clearly due to the high volume/weight and low value most places will not post it so it can require some shopping around to get someone who will post but there may also be a catering store close by who will just sell it over the counter.

Another point in its favour is that it is easier to light than hexi - I would also burn hexi in my Crusader but adding even a tiny blob of the chafing gel makes it much easier to get going especially on a windy day. Often I burn a mix of the hexi and the chafing gel as I'm bad at paying attention and the chafing gel, when exhausted, just goes out whereas the hexi will smoke a bit for a while before it actual goes out. If I want to keep the burn going, and this is sometimes the case, then the hexi gives a little warning of needing to add more fuel whereas the gel doesn't. I know being more attentive is the simple solution to this problem but sometimes I get distracted.

 

[breff]

Just did a quick search and came up with this.
http://www.bidvestcateringequipment.com/Product/Gel-Chafing-Fuel-4kg-Bucket-Ethanol/3275
£12 for 4kg seems like good value for money to me.

Just ordered a tub, good find there, thanks.

 

[Hammock_man]

Got to add on 4quid for delivery mind

 

[MikeLA]

I know some say Hexi is hard to light but I've never had a problem in 30 years with all the camping and day walk use. Just cup a corner in you hands in a diamond shape and light it works for me

 

[TarHeelBrit]

I used the gel stuff on my crusader once (the place i bought it from included some free when I bought it). It burned well, was clean burning, didn't stink, and worked. *BUT* it left a gunky residue in the pan. Even now it's still there over 15 years later. I don't like it. But then hexi tabs also seem to leave a small unburnt residue which builds up over time, so neither's an ideal method.

J

I know the members here are fully aware of this little cheat but I thought it worth mentioning in case a lurker wanders by. I've been using hexi/Esbit tablets for years and more recently Fire Dragon fuel. I always line the burner tray with some tin foil to make clean up easier. In the case of the Crusader it make switching between FD and fire rope/meths a whole lot easier and cleaner. There's no gunky residue to clean from the burner.

 

[Tonyuk]

You can light hexy easily if you snap it in half and light one of the crumbled ends. The blocks seem to have some kind of wax covering on them that makes them harder to light.

I use an old air pellet tin to line my crusader, it keeps the gel blocks from spreading too far. If your using them to light a fire, only half peel off the top foil, then light it still in its plastic. They burn for much longer, although not as fiercely. I'm a big fan of chaffing fuel since it seems to work very well for me.

Tonyuk

 

[RAPPLEBY2000]

I've little experience with Gel as evey time I've used it, it was rubbish, it was messy, and difficult to get hot enough for any real practical use.
The Gel was used as previously suggested in the crusader stove, it was so bad I made a tiny meths burning Coke can stove to fit under the Crusader cup it worked so amazingly, I'm still using it today 10 years later.

one thing I'l say about Hexi, they are convenient, they will store innert for years untill you need them, you can safely add more fuel as it burns like a Kelly kettle, they aren't dangerous to store in pockets or in your bag, temperature doesn't effect them, (a petrol container would expand in heat) there are no fumes like gas or petrol to leak and I say they are like Marmite, if you use them be thankful for the ease but accept the sticky mess. BTW store your used pan/messtin/pot in a plastic bag, and don't worry too much about the sticky stuff til you get home the soot that is not Marmite.
I'm sure it's been mentioned umpteen times but an old scout trick, put washing up liquid on your pot before putting it on a fire(or hexi) and it will clean more easily.

not tried firedragon, but if it's ethanol...that's very similar to Methanol, I'll stick with my coke can stove, perhaps for another 10 years