Alternative fuels for the simple solid fuel stove (Charcoal firestarter)

I had a box of fire starters lying around and the thought occurred to me that this may serve as a good alternative fuel for my solid fuel stove. These are generic fire starters that can be easily obtained in most supermarkets and cost about $1.40 for a box of 40 cylindrical fire starters.

 

They are made out of two layers, the top consisting of a thin bedding of cotton fibers dyed with red (wax?) that catches fire easily while the bottom layer is made out of compressed fine wood shavings.

When used as a what is intended to, a single cylinder of fire starter will take about 10 minutes to properly light up enough charcoal for a small sized barbecue pit. The way you stack up the charcoal should allow enough air for effective combustion and to make sure most, if not all the charcoal are directly on top of the flame. I shall talk about stacking methods another time.

 

I like the fact that these generic fire starters light up easily with a match, unlike the solid fuel . Just hold the match near to the sides of the red tinder layer and off it goes! 

Using my Trangia 0.9l kettle, I wanted to test if a single fire starter is sufficient to boil the kettle of water. Unfortunately, it could not and I had to add another piece of fire starter. By then, almost 15min had elapsed. The flame also produced a very thick layer of soot underneath the kettle, in the same way solid fuel does.

 

Even the 2nd fire stater did not get the water to boil. By the time bubbles were forming at the bottom of the kettle, the fire starter was extinguished.

 

Hey, I still needed hot water, so I decided to supplemented the stove with some small chunks of solid fuel. After a short minute or two, the water reached a good rolling boil. The flame from the solid fuel is a lot less smokey and seemed to burn a lot hotter than the fire starter.

By now, the kettle is so sooty that I could scratch out my name on the sidewalls. Soot and smoke is an indication that the flame is not efficient, leaving behind fuel in the form of smoke and soot in the process.

 Not only that, the fire starters left behind a huge pile of ash, which is yet more unburnt fuel.
 

In a pinch, it is possible to use fire starters as an alternative to solid fuel, but be prepared to use more fire starters to accomplish the same task and be patient.

 

It is not an efficient burn. But it may be due to the fact that the composition of the fire starter may be more suitable for starting charcoal because as the charcoal heats up, it reflects heat back onto the fire starter, possibly reaching a high enough temperature to ignite the smoke from the fire starter, which is why the smoke from a fire starter disappears after a while when used to light up charcoal.

Price wise, solid fuel (sometimes known as hexamine blocks or Esbit cubes) can be rather expensive in other countries, which makes sense to use alternative fuels for lightweight camping needs. In Singapore, solid fuel is a very low cost camping fuel as it is a standard issue in the army ration pack. Given the economy of scale, a box of 8 large solid fuel blocks sells for as little as $1.40.

5 Must Have Items to Bring to Camp Growl - Ex Wallaby 2015

So, I returned from a 16-day reservist in Australia for Ex Wallaby this year. This was a rather different experience my previous trip there almost a decade ago since it was a really long time ago too!

Now that I am back in the comforts of my own home and writing my blog, it would be great for me to pen down my own thoughts about my accommodation in Camp Growl and share some thoughts about how to make your stay in this faraway camp a little more comfortable...

... Because the last time I was there, I did not expect myself to be heading there again in my entire life and did not write a small note to remind myself of how I could have made my stay better

Really, its the extra items aren't in the packing list that can greatly improve your experience in Camp Growl!

1. Pre-paid SIM card / Data Roaming Add-on

Being someone who checks emails, messages and social media umpteen times a day, it is quite difficult to truly put aside my mobile phone for 2-3 weeks. I suspect you'll feel the same too. There are several ways to stay connected to your loved ones at home.

Check your mobile provider for roaming data plans for Australia. For my trip, I found that Singtel had an offer for a monthly 1GB plan for a small price of $10. This 1GB is probably enough since there is limited time to surf data intensive apps such as youtube. Alternatively, you can choose to buy a prepaid mobile SIM card from Telstra or Optus.

But wait, you should know that you are in a forested area and mobile signal will be non-existent most of the time. You may need to ask around to know where are the best spots to receive the signals. Really then, the only time you will be able to use your phone is when you are out in town for R&R.

Some people would decide give up on using the mobile phone altogether during their time in Camp Growl. But fear not, that doesn't mean that all is lost. The camp has kindly provided an internet cafe or sorts, albeit with limited number of computers and slow internet speed, you may not always get a chance at the computers. There are more than adequate phones (wired ones, mind you) that allow the use of IDD calling cards and they are often vacant. I suspect that not many people would use the phones due to the lack of privacy and the fact that thats not how we roll anymore.

2. Power and Electricity - a big ass powerbank, multi head adapter and an Australian power adapter

Electrical energy is probably one of the most valued commodity by Camp Growl residents. Although electricity is abundant in the camp, they aren't available for your use!

Despite the lack of mobile signal, your phone or entertainment device is going to well used while you wait for time to pass. Unless you are extremely extroverted and can talk with your bunkmates for hours, it is seriously boring in Camp Growl!

A decent sized powerbank can let you charge your phone conveniently by your safari bedside as you would at home. Lying on the bed and playing games on your phone is one of the greatest luxuries you can have in the camp down under. For me, I brought my Xiaomi 16000mAh powerbeast. Its huge capacity means that I could charge my phone at least several times before the powerbank is depleted. Another nice feature is that it can pull in up to 2.0A of electrical current to charge up its huge ass batteries, making it possible to charge it back up in approximately 7 hours. It isn't exactly the fastest charging but it is rather fast for such a huge powerbank. Just make sure that your charger is capable of delivering such high current!

Whoa wait! Where do we charge our phones bruh? The only place to charge your devices is at the canteen. If you are lucky, you may get a free socket to charge from. Usually, it is full because the times when most people are free are also the times that you are free. One way to guarantee your access to a bring a multi head adapter or extension. It is worth the extra weight.

3. Daiso Heat Packs!

The daily temperature cycle in Camp Growl can be rather drastic. It can get really cold in the night and excruciatingly hot after sunrise. You'll need to prepare for that if you are going during Aug - early Oct. The temperature changes are less drastic as Australia approaches a full blown summer from early Nov-Dec.

Occasional drizzles and wind will add further chill factor to the already cold nights.

There is not much you can do if you were out in the forest for an exercise, however, if you are fortunate enough to be resting in camp, you can bring heat packs from Daiso to keep your sleeping bag warm and comfortable. These heat packs from Daiso come in 2 versions, one with an adhesive (body warmer) and another without (hand warmer).

I found them very value for money as no other brands so much as 6 hand warmer sachets for $2. They are said to last 8 hours and you can pause the heat production midway by simply putting the opened heat pack into a ziplock bag and wait till the remaining air inside the bag is used up.

To be safe, allocate 1 heat pack for every night. Having a heat pack inside your standard issue sleeping bag will keep you warm and toasty even in the coldest of Wallaby nights. 

4. Sunscreen lotion

This may or may not be inside your packing list. But sunscreen lotion is an absolute necessity in the UV bathed Australia. Unless you want to be on KFC's extra crispy meal, apply your sunscreen generously!

5. Detergent, clothes hangers and pegs

These are easily forgotten from most packing lists. Mine did not state the need to bring any! Luckily, the old birds were kind enough to inform us newbies to pack some. The need for detergent is self-explanatory. Washing clothes inside the toilet while being completely naked is a very normal thing. Having detergent helps to clean your clothes the way your parents expect them to be. But do refrain from using too much as the soap suds will form considerably and will require several rinses before your clothes are free from detergent.

It is easy to wash clothes and dry them quickly thanks to the extremely dry wind and strong mid-day heat. At the same time, it is also easy to lose your clothing to the wind if it is not properly secured. Having clothes hangers and pegs will prevent the need to be overly creative about where you can secure your clothes to.