2 Solid Fuel Tablets Tested & Compared - Esbit & Expedition Research

In this video we are testing and comparing two brands of 14-gram hexamine solid fuel tablets: Esbit and Expedition Research. Our test shows that the burn time of each is about 12 to 13 minutes worth of usable flame. There is a small flame after that lasting until about 15 minutes from when the tab was ignited. Both are sealed in air tight, water-proof packaging. Esbit has a foil seal on its blister pack and Expedition Research has a stronger plastic seal on the back of its packaging.

While both made steam and tiny bubbles at the bottom of the pan, neither one accomplished a rolling boil. A quick demonstration with denatured alcohol in a stove was able to accomplish a rolling boil. Is this too much to ask of solid fuel tabs?

Esbit 14-gram fuel tablet manufacturer claims
shelf life: 10+ years
burn time: 12 minutes
burn temperature: 1,300 degrees F

Expedition Research 14-gram fuel tablet manufactuer claims
shelf life: 100 years
burn time: 15 minutes
burn temperature: 1,500 degrees F

Hexamine fuel tablets are supposed to be smokeless and have no residue. In our test, there was a small amount of sooty residue on the bottom of the pan. It was easily removed with a wet towel.

Just to see if it would work, I scrapped each of the fuel tablets to make a dust then tried to ignite the dust with a spark. This worked with the Expedition Research tab, but not the Esbit brand.

Both fuel tabs smell like fish, with the Esbit having a stronger odor than the Expedition Research. When inside their packaging, the odor of the Esbit is more apparent than that of the Expedition Research.

I thought this type of fuel might be perfect to have in a go bag and be good to have for survival purposes, especially because of their packaging. The only trouble is that it works best to use a flame to start them.

PRODUCTS IN THIS VIDEO
(When you use the links below, at no additional cost to you, we may earn a small commission. Thank you for supporting Wobbly Otter.)

Solid Fuel Tablets: https://amzn.to/3cJf2Fu
Morakniv Garberg Full Tank with Carbon Steel Blade, 4.3-inch: https://amzn.to/2HChGkR
Firebox Stove Nano: https://amzn.to/2EE82Nv
Stainless Steel Fuel Plate for Firebox Nano Stove: https://www.fireboxstove.com/steel-fu...
Ferro Rod: https://amzn.to/3jb94PR
Check out our Amazon Influencer Page to see all the products we use, along with our personal notes about each: https://www.amazon.com/shop/wobblyott...

(As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.)

CONNECT WITH WOBBLY OTTER OUTDOORS
Website: http://wobblyotteroutdoors.com/
Patreon (Your support is deeply appreciated):   / wobblyotteroutdoors  
Gear We Use - on our Amazon Influencer page - with our personal notes about each item: https://www.amazon.com/shop/wobblyott...
Gear We Use - on WOO Website: https://www.wobblyotteroutdoors.com/g...
WOO's Amazon Storefront: https://bit.ly/2Jic9hG
Facebook:   / wobblyotteroutdoors  
Instagram:   / wobblyotteroutdoors  
Twitter:   / wobblyotter  
Pinterest:   / wobblyotter  

Music from Epidemic Sound: https://www.epidemicsound.com/referra...