Zip fuel in Crusader stove test
- Thread starter David Morningstar
- Start date
Hmmm... my Crusader stove gets filthy in use so the idea of upending it over the inside of my cup and shaking it around a lot does not appeal. Would the water bottle go in the other way up, i.e. the stove goes in first, bottle goes into the stove and the cup is inverted over both? That seem like a sensible way to pack it for ease of access to cup and bottle, plus the filthy stove problem.
widu13
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Yes it does Dave, sorry my original post wasn't clear enough. I only photo'd it that way as it is more familiar to most people for the bottle on the bottom. Squaddies tend to favour the bottle upside down in the mug, but it is equally happy nestled cooker first, bottle the right way up with the mug on top.
I probably won't get to test the fuel until Friday now, so bear with me.
They arent paraffin based, its a new product. There is no smell of paraffin at all, and I run classic brass Primus stoves so I know the smell of paraffin very well
It would appear to be made from a reaction between palm oil or coconut oil and methanol: http://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/summary/summary.cgi?cid=8050
Another new product aiming to replace hexamine is this stuff made by BCB: http://www.firedragonfuel.com/ Unfortunately it doesnt seem to be available in retail yet.
I've got Palm oil, and Methanol. Lots of it. I wonder what the difference between Fatty Acid Methyl Esther, (Bio diesel) and Methyl Esther is? Shouldn't be to difficult to make. I'll have to have a look into that one.
Just been on the bcb website ad noticed that the new crusader 2 seems to be only directed towards bushcraft and not the military , doesn't look nowhere near as robust as the original cup setup, maybe the esbit setup would be a better choice and cheaper price.
widu13
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
A bit of an update. I've just tested the fuel side by side with zip fuel in a Crusader ONE (Original) burner and mug. Please bear in mind that the Crusader TWO is designed to burn the Firedragon fuel. (Hence the taller burner with more channelled air flow). The tests were conducted with 0.5l of ordinary cold tap water, inside an outdoor shed (so perfect conditions) at 14c.
The FD fuel is a transparent solid gel like substance which smells like alcohol gel. The plastic and foil pot it is supplied in needs to be disposed of separately. There are only 6 cubes to a pack.
The fuel lit very easily and burned well immediately and very cleanly, in fact the only marks to the (clean) mug were signs of heat discolouration. The covered mug came to a rolling boil at 5mins 56secs, with the usable flame dying off at 6mins 30secs and extinguished at 7mins 15secs. There was a small amount of a black hardened substance (imagine burned sugar) which was scraped off. A rub over with a wet cloth returned the mug and cooker to it's original state.
The Zip fuel is lit through the plastic covering, so nothing to carry out. Lighting was not as easy but not difficult. The fuel smells of coconut slightly. The flame was very yellow and produced LOTS of black smoke. A rolling boil came at 9mins 2secs, but burned on to 14mins 30secs before extinguishing at 15mins 20secs. There was a small cube of burnt fuel left and when removed there was a small bit of unburnt fuel beneath that. The mug was absolutely caked in soot. 5-10 mins later with washing up liquid and a nylon pad returned both mug and cooker to a near original state.
Verdict?
FD- Clean, fast but does not last long. Not many cubes to a pack. May not be an ideal choice for purification by boiling.
Zip- Long lasting, more plentiful per pack but makes a hell of a mess. I would NOT want to drink out of the mug without cleaning it and the water smelled of the fuel slightly
My choice to use with the Crusader? Fireside embers or meths/methanol.
The FD fuel is a transparent solid gel like substance which smells like alcohol gel. The plastic and foil pot it is supplied in needs to be disposed of separately. There are only 6 cubes to a pack.
The fuel lit very easily and burned well immediately and very cleanly, in fact the only marks to the (clean) mug were signs of heat discolouration. The covered mug came to a rolling boil at 5mins 56secs, with the usable flame dying off at 6mins 30secs and extinguished at 7mins 15secs. There was a small amount of a black hardened substance (imagine burned sugar) which was scraped off. A rub over with a wet cloth returned the mug and cooker to it's original state.
The Zip fuel is lit through the plastic covering, so nothing to carry out. Lighting was not as easy but not difficult. The fuel smells of coconut slightly. The flame was very yellow and produced LOTS of black smoke. A rolling boil came at 9mins 2secs, but burned on to 14mins 30secs before extinguishing at 15mins 20secs. There was a small cube of burnt fuel left and when removed there was a small bit of unburnt fuel beneath that. The mug was absolutely caked in soot. 5-10 mins later with washing up liquid and a nylon pad returned both mug and cooker to a near original state.
Verdict?
FD- Clean, fast but does not last long. Not many cubes to a pack. May not be an ideal choice for purification by boiling.
Zip- Long lasting, more plentiful per pack but makes a hell of a mess. I would NOT want to drink out of the mug without cleaning it and the water smelled of the fuel slightly
My choice to use with the Crusader? Fireside embers or meths/methanol.
My choice to use with the Crusader? Fireside embers or meths/methanol.
sounds like best to stick with the more robust crusader mug and the above or my faithful hexi's
sounds like best to stick with the more robust crusader mug and the above or my faithful hexi's
widu13
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
It was the Zip military fuel referred to earlier bud, not the ordinary firelighter zip.
Lots of nice information, thanks , but on a side note I'm not sure how something that burns with a very bright and visible flame and lots of soot/smoke can be properly advertised as "military fuel" - I thought they were designed to be as stealthy as possible?
widu13
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Yep. Hexi for instance smells, smokes less and the flame is less visible. I happen to know that Zip put considerable effort into producing that fuel. IMHO they haven't hit the mark.
What a plum!
There was a noise not too dissimilar to a penny dropping, and I realised that the unit stacks with the cooker or mug on the bottom, the bottle inside (which does fit), and then the reverse (either cooker/mug) at the top. There is no scope to fit an additional mug on the unit as per the steel crusader set up.
The complete kit fits in a range of Osprey pouches including the water bottle, UGL and LMG pouches.
View attachment 22539
Do you've got a piccie of the botton of Crusader mug G2 by any chance? Is it a larger surface when compared to the G1?
Looks like it's not / less tapered?
widu13
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
I haven't, but the lip is slightly flared otherwise it is the same dimensions all of the way down, so no it's not tapered.
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Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4
They were trying to produce a suitable replacement for hexi which was less toxic. Hexi is unsuitable for use indoors as it gives of toxic fumes.
Plus they likely wanted something that enthusiastic amateurs can't make HMTD out of as well.
