Poundland BBQ bricks - hobo fuel?

[SimonM]

I was mooching in town this afternoon and went into Poundland. I saw these...

and thought "They will fit in my hobo stove", so bought 2 packets to try out!

They fit nicely in a 14cm Morrisons biscuit tin stove...

They light very easily and flare up for less than a minute, then settle done to a smokless, flameless ember.

The blurb states that...

It's the only brick that provides up to 90 minutes of constant heat at 350 degrees.

As a test, I put 500ml of cold water into my billy and after 20 minutes it was still not boiling, but was hot...

IMHO these would be ideal to leave a pan simmering over, but do not produce enough heat to boil water over and at only 50p a brick are a cheap way of keeping your food warm.

Would I carry them in my pack....no! But for Meets and Scout camps they are ideal.

Simon

 

[MartinK9]

Great Idea there Simon, I have the Zip firelighters for such an occasion

http://www.zipfires.co.uk/

No connection etc....

 

[Shewie]

How about breaking them up a bit Simon, maybe the broken pieces would burn hotter than one big lump ?


EDIT:

Just seen your reply on BCL soz

 

[SimonM]

Great Idea there Simon, I have the Zip firelighters for such an occasion

http://www.zipfires.co.uk/

No connection etc....

I carry hexy blocks for a quick brew up, but was looking for something longer burning that didn't require constant attention. In that respect these work well.

I think the main problem is lack of oxygen, preventing a good burn. I will try one in my Honey Stove tomorrow and maybe break one up in the hobo too.

Simon

 

[smoggy]

Never seen those before, I'll be needing some BBQ charcole and a quick search on the web has located my nearest store....I may take a looksee if they have any and give them a try in the big BBQ and see how they perform.

Smoggy

 

[gunslinger]

I bought some last year to try on the Barby and TBH they were crap.

I guess its one of those times when you get what you pay for.

GS

 

[SimonM]

Last nights test showed me that they burn for at least 3 hours in my hobo stove with at least an hour left in them when I last checked. Ideal for slow cooking a stew whilst busy with other tasks IMHO.

After three hours it looked like this...

But it has been pointed out by LazySod that they should have an airflow under them to burn properly. So a test in the Honey Stove should show improved results....

Simon

 

[xylaria]

Do they smell of petro chem?
It is the single thing I hate most about most firelighters, but we do alot of family camping and easy light solutions are always welcome. I have started using rendered waste fat and cotton at moment, it can boil water in less than 15 mins, but it is a bit dangerous and smoky.

 

[Shewie]

I have started using rendered waste fat and cotton at moment, it can boil water in less than 15 mins, but it is a bit dangerous and smoky.

Are you producing this yourself Fiona ? I'd like to hear more about it if you are

 

[Wayland]

I first came across something like these in Norway and used right they are cracking.

As mentioned, they need and airflow from the base to the top through the holes.

They were made of compressed coconut charcoal soaked in saltpetre to light easily. They got to a barbecuing heat in a few minutes and burned for a long time leaving little residue.

I was using one here to boil my Ti cup over, resting the block on three pebbles and the cup on three bigger stones.

The block did the job all on it's own but I added a few driftwood sticks to make some smoke and flame for the picture.

By the way, you light them at the bottom and the heat rises through the brick to increase the efficiency.

 

[xylaria]

Are you producing this yourself Fiona ? I'd like to hear more about it if you are

It is very easy. Put fat in sweet tin, shove cotton rag in grease. Light rag. Place two bricks/rocks either side. Put kettle on. Under no circumstances should any water at all be splashed on the burning fat as it turns into a fireball. It also turns your pot black and covers everything in soot. I tend to use the tin of grease and cotton rag to start a proper fire rather than use it as stove. I am working on ways of thickening up waste veg oil, as having WVO in stored in a sweet tin even when the tin is wrapped in cotton can leak, where as heated and sieved animal fat sets hard.

Does the BBQ block smell at all?

 

[Wayland]

Not once the Saltpetre has burnt out.

 

[xylaria]

We have a tin with solid block firelighters. The tin hasn't been opened in years, and there no chance of it every finding its way into any rucksack I'll pack for one reason. The smell makes me feel really really sick, it is not the smell given off when they are lit, it is the smell they contaminate everything in the pack with.

 

[SimonM]

The blocks are wrapped in clear plastic and I didn't notice any smell as I unwrapped it.

When I next have a play I'll check on the smell situation.

Simon

 

[SimonM]

Just got out in the garden with the Honey Stove and one of the bricks.

What a difference proper air flow makes to these! Within 20 minutes I had a full rolling boil of 500ml of water and you could see the difference in the burn...

There was no petrochem smell and as Wayland has said, once the saltpetre has burnt off there is no noticable smell - other than charcoal burning

Looking down on the Honey Stove...

Obviously there will be a trade off in burn time now, so I am keen to see just how long it lasts.

Simon

 

[MartinK9]

Thanks for the update Simon