Looking at buying a bcb cooker in stainless steel to go with my bcb mug, but was woundering what is or prefered fuel of your choice and why?
Thanks
Bill
Thanks
Bill
what do you use in your bcb cooker as fuel?
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I use a small meths burner in mine. If you haven't seen the 'monkey boy' stove before its a lip balm size Vaseline tin filled with firbreglass loft insulation and capped off with the mesh from a tea strainer. Works out a lot cheaper compared to hexamine or that alcohol gel stuff.
Thanks Copper Head, how do you carry the meths? small bottle? and not that iam in any hurry to boil a cup of water but how does it compare to other methords you have tried in the cooker? how much meths would you take say for a weekends camp saying three cups a day?
Thanks
Bill
Thanks
Bill
I carry my meths in a DIY side pouch on the BCB pouch. It's a 250ml flat bottle which should give 10 cupfuls with a bit spare.
My burner is a tin with carbon felt in, the tins lid has a 25mm hole to use as a simmer device of without for full boil.
My burner is a tin with carbon felt in, the tins lid has a 25mm hole to use as a simmer device of without for full boil.
No problems. I use a Swedish army meths bottle (Like this one) or sometimes a small 100ml bottle from a travel set. My stove can hold 28g of meths which is more than enough to bring the lidded mug to boil. Cant recall how quick it is but not too bad. Not tried the alcohol gel but meths better than Hexamine imo.
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I sometimes use hexi but also use chafing gel.
The modern trend is towards ethanol gels as they are, basically, non-toxic when compared to the likes of hexi. However they can be expensive to buy so here's my hint and tip
You can buy chafing gel in 4kg tubs in a catering supplier for less than £20. It makes great fuel for something like the Crusader or other, similar stoves, and is easier to light than hexi. I decant it into a 1/2 litre milk bottle for carrying in my rucksack but you'd get away with something much smaller than that. It burns pretty clean and there is nothing much more to say about it.
The modern trend is towards ethanol gels as they are, basically, non-toxic when compared to the likes of hexi. However they can be expensive to buy so here's my hint and tip
You can buy chafing gel in 4kg tubs in a catering supplier for less than £20. It makes great fuel for something like the Crusader or other, similar stoves, and is easier to light than hexi. I decant it into a 1/2 litre milk bottle for carrying in my rucksack but you'd get away with something much smaller than that. It burns pretty clean and there is nothing much more to say about it.
+1 for the Monkeyboy stove. Got them in three sizes and use them with just a pot stand and windshield as well as the Crusader setup.
I sometimes use hexi but also use chafing gel.
The modern trend is towards ethanol gels as they are, basically, non-toxic when compared to the likes of hexi. However they can be expensive to buy so here's my hint and tip
You can buy chafing gel in 4kg tubs in a catering supplier for less than £20. It makes great fuel for something like the Crusader or other, similar stoves, and is easier to light than hexi. I decant it into a 1/2 litre milk bottle for carrying in my rucksack but you'd get away with something much smaller than that. It burns pretty clean and there is nothing much more to say about it.
caorach, would this stuff be OK ?
http://www.nisbets.co.uk/Chafing-Ge...mpaign=CE242&gclid=CL3Uj-X9w8QCFQIGwwodQF4AnA
Glad you made me aware of the Monkeystove copper-head, must make 1 or 2 or 3 now.
Ha now you'll be looking at every tin you come across for stove eligibility.
The old Kiwi polish tins are good for them as it's easier to remove the lid with the twister jobbie on the side.
Yip, that's it. That is basically the same stuff that is in the greenheat packets and also that makes up all these "fuel tab" things which have recently taken off. There may be a catering store local to you if you don't want to pay postage as it is bulky for something that only costs a few quid so postage would likely be a problem.
I suspect it doesn't have the energy density of a hexi tab, hence why they were favoured over the ethanol except for the toxic by products in confined spaces, but this is basically pure ethanol with something added to make it into a gel.
You should note that meths is also, basically, ethanol with a little bit of other stuff added to stop you drinking it.
For what it is worth I often burn a mix of a hexi tab and the chafing gel as this works for me, but the chafing gel will do perfectly fine on its own. The gel is easier to light and burns very clean but the hexi is more resistant to blowing out in strong winds and seems to produce a little more heat so it's swings and roundabouts.
Thanks all for the replies, its got me thinking now about one of these monkey stoves, so i popped in the man cave today and came up with these
pellet tin, inside is filled with felt that i bought on here years ago on a group buy, and a sieve from the cupboard we dont use, also made a very light weight bcb stand to go with it
Tomorrow I will make a wind shield from ali flashing, and a casket type seal for the lid
Thanks again
Bill
pellet tin, inside is filled with felt that i bought on here years ago on a group buy, and a sieve from the cupboard we dont use, also made a very light weight bcb stand to go with it
Tomorrow I will make a wind shield from ali flashing, and a casket type seal for the lid
Thanks again
Bill
BCB Fire Dragon is far more calorie-dense than chafing gel, it is almost as calorie-dense as hexamine.
UK Defence has not yet stopped using hexamine, but know that it is toxic and so the tender has gone out for its replacement.
I've been very impressed by the Fire Dragon and I've compared it with hexamine (good fuel but toxic and hard to light) and many previous gels (which have been the same as chafing gel which does not burn hot enough). Zip military fuel is horrible stuff, burns well but very sooty.
One drawback of BCB Fire Dragon fuel (gel or solid block) is that it will evaporate if the packaging is compromised. The solid blocks actually melt, so whether you use the gel or the solid blocks, it is best used with the Crusader stove.
I get hexamine for free at work, I've already stopped using it and I've bought a stash of Fire Dragon blocks from the bay, won't be using anything else this year unless one of the Trangias gets an outing. I'll be burning bioethanol in the Trangia because I find it burns hotter and cleaner than meths for roughly the same price.
I'm no expert, personal findings only, but I spend plenty of time in the bondoo and I've worked out what works best for me.
Happy to hear other views though.
UK Defence has not yet stopped using hexamine, but know that it is toxic and so the tender has gone out for its replacement.
I've been very impressed by the Fire Dragon and I've compared it with hexamine (good fuel but toxic and hard to light) and many previous gels (which have been the same as chafing gel which does not burn hot enough). Zip military fuel is horrible stuff, burns well but very sooty.
One drawback of BCB Fire Dragon fuel (gel or solid block) is that it will evaporate if the packaging is compromised. The solid blocks actually melt, so whether you use the gel or the solid blocks, it is best used with the Crusader stove.
I get hexamine for free at work, I've already stopped using it and I've bought a stash of Fire Dragon blocks from the bay, won't be using anything else this year unless one of the Trangias gets an outing. I'll be burning bioethanol in the Trangia because I find it burns hotter and cleaner than meths for roughly the same price.
I'm no expert, personal findings only, but I spend plenty of time in the bondoo and I've worked out what works best for me.
Happy to hear other views though.
Out of interest where did you get this info from? My info was that the active ingredient in the fire dragon blocks was denatured bioethanol plus a few things to make it solid etc. so I'd never given it a test as it seemed pointless to test an expensive solution when I've got the same thing almost for free. I'd also seen a test, on this site, where one block wouldn't boil a mug of water and at around 60p per block this put me off. However, if they are actually using something else and have bumped the energy up then it might be at least worth my giving one a try just to see. Honestly I can't see me moving from the chafing gel for the reasons given above, but I'd hate there to be something better and my not to have given it a test
Ah, I've found the value on the BCB site - they say approx 29,000 kJ/kg for the fire dragon and pure ethanol is usually considered to be about 29,700 kJ/kg so there'll not be enough difference there to make it worth a test for me.
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10% by volume of added Naptha in your Meths will decrease the boil time while not overly sooting up your pots! I tried this on pressure penny stoves and wicking stoves. Not tried any other mixes but the more Naptha the more soot and at some point could become dangerous!
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