Zippo Hand Warmers

[peterbennett9]

Igot two of these little beautys under the tree yday, great pieces of kit! I tried them out on panel wipe as there were no shops open to buy fuel, works great!

I followed the instructions which says to fill it with two full tanks of fuel on first use, lit them both at 8pm last night and theyre still burning strong without any extra fuel!

Anyone else get one? I never expected them to run for this long!

Peter

 

[Rups]

Still waiting for mine to arrive from Amazon. It'll come in useful shooting on New Year's Day. Can't wait.

 

[peterbennett9]

These are little gems, would be a god send on a cold night and they burn long enough to keep ur sleeping bag warm through the night after!

 

[Robbi]

best advice you will ever get.........use only lighter fuel !

anything else will distroy the burner element but fast !

 

[peterbennett9]

Surely panel wipe is distilled petrol the same as lighter fuel?

 

[salan]

I have one and it is great. Gought a spare head for it though just in case.
They can get very hot (but then I am still wearing sandals and short sleeve shirts!).
They need some air so if you want it hotter, then take it out of its case and let air get to it.
Seems to make a fair dif.
Well worth the money.
Alan

 

[peterbennett9]

A mesh pouch sewn into the foot of your sleeping bag would be great for one of these

 

[Robbi]

there is a thread on here somewhere regarding the adatives in lighter fuel and catalitic reactions that generates the heat...anything else will destroy the burner in your handwarmer very quickly

 

[peterbennett9]

Ah sorry Robbi i did not realise there were additives in zippo fuel, is there a link to that thread?

 

[Elines]

here you are

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=65702#post796410

 

[widu13]

I use panel wipe in mine without issue. The catalysts are designed to be replaced every 80 refills or so. Nothing is forever!

 

[ArkAngel]

Got 2 on a group buy on BB before they were readily available over here. Fantastic bits of kit.

I only ever use zippo fuel in them.

Does anyone know where you get the spare burners from? I've never seen them advertised anywhere.

 

[satosato]

I got mine a year ago, part of my 'must have' camping gear, very haapy with them. I too only use zippo fuel in them.

 

[salan]

I got spare top from ebay.
Alan

 

[ged]

Does anyone know where you get the spare burners from? I've never seen them advertised anywhere.

Lurch at Lakeland Bushcraft does them, but I happen to know he hasn't got any in until at least the third week in January. He told me he just couldn't get enough of these hand warmers, he could sell every one he could get!

As I understand it there are two versions. The older one made before about June 2010 uses 12ml of fuel per fill. The later one uses 20ml. I think they both run for about 12 hours so you must get more heat from the later model. I don't think they're making two versions now, I think they discontinued the older one. This wasn't at all clear from what advertising I've seen, it's just what I pieced together from reading about them before I bought one for the wife. She loves it.

 

[fast but dim]

i got one fox xmas, i've used it on a day walk on boxing day, and then when out clay shooting yesterday. everyone who saw it was impressed. nice little luxury when it's cold. you probably nee 2 though, one for each pocket

 

[MSkiba]

I never understood them. Is it possible to set your sleeping bag alight with one?

 

[chris_irwin]

I got one of these for xmas too. Haven't tried it out yet though.

Mskiba - I wouldn't have thought so, it burns the fumes from the lighter fluid using a catalytic burner. The burner is covered by a metal case, it seems pretty safe.

 

[ged]

I never understood them. Is it possible to set your sleeping bag alight with one?

It's just a thing that burns a fuel but with no flame to give you some heat. Your muscles burn fuel and give you heat, also with no flame. My wife likes them a lot (well she likes muscles too), but for use in a sleeping bag I admit I'd feel safer with a hot water bottle. Er, I'll think about rewriting all this later.

If you use it as per the instructions I'd say you're most unlikely to be able to set light to anything with one of these things unless you were foolish enough to take one down a coal mine or into an oil refinery. The thought of forgetting that you're carrying one while you fill up at the petrol station makes me feel a little bit queasy.

I would definitely want to consider the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning or asphyxiation from lack of oxygen in an enclosed space like a tent, and especially something like a hooded sleeping bag. Out in the fresh air, or even in a house or a shed, I'd have absolutely no worries at all.

 

[MSkiba]

oo will have to get myself one