Hey folks,

I bought a couple of these "magic heat/magic stove" things today to toss in my 4x4 for emergency breakdowns. Basically it is a small can full of some sort of fuel which comes with a little stove to support a small pot or cup. They light via a wick which is secured under a metal threaded cap.

I believe Americans my call this type of thing Sterno(?). I have also heard tell of it called eco fuel or some BS like that. I believe its all the same stuff under different names.

Does anyone know if the function of this stuff will be affected by constant freezing and thawing? Is there a shelf life on it? I can't seem to find any info on this but I suspect someone here may know.

Thanks

Mac

My experience has been that Sterno tends to leak or vaporize (fairly warm environment), leaving me with unopened cans that have lost their contents. These cans are the type with a friction fit lid - perhaps there are other types of packaging that work better.

My understanding is that it is basically jellied alcohol. If so, just plain alcohol will keep, and heat, much better in any of several types of burners.

I wonder if vaccum sealing the cans would help. I guess it couldn't hurt to try.

I used to have a vargo triad w/fuel in the truck but more and more I find myself taking it on hikes due to its light weight. I switched to a brunton Raptor but ended up using that a lot as well. I kept forgetting to put them back in the truck before travelling so I snagged these magic heat stoves just to know they will always be there if my other stoves were somewhere else.

I didn't feel right about lighting the triad in the truck if in an emergency struck either. The colourless flame could make a bad situ far worst if the stove were to tip over on my seats in the truck. The Raptor is nice, But it drops to -50 deg cel here and the propane would freeze. I have a peak 1 but thats too dammed big for the truck.

I just looked up that Magic Heat, and the main difference between it and Sterno is a threaded lid. I guess that alone could make a lot of difference. One reviewer said he bought it for Y2K but just used it this year, and it was fine.

Sue

I like my Esbit stove. The fuel tabs need to be stored in something like a ziplock bag or else you wind up with everything smelling like, well a slightly fishy stench. But they keep forever...

I wouldn't want to burn esbit inside a vehicle though....

I haven't used sterno in quite a few years. To the best of my knowledge, they tended to evaporate if not sealed properly.

Has anyone tried using this type of "canned heat"? I'm curious as to your experience.

Eco fuel cannister

I picked up a case of the Eco-fuel about 10 years back and it still is good, just make sure and seal the cans back up tight. I carry a couple of cans of it (plus the stove to go with it) in my SUV, as it's stable even in hot weather. It's not nearly as fast boiling up water as my Snow Peak Gigi power stove, but in an emergency it would sure get the job done.

Thats nice to know. Ten years And I hope to have a new truck so if the magic heat lasts that long I am in business.

Do they smoke a lot as they burn?

I've used Eco-Fuel, 5-10 minutes at a time, for cooking. Didn't notice any smoke at all.

Thanks !

Since its only to be used in tight spaces, such as the inside of my truck with a window cracked that's good to know.

I got my tub of camping supplies down today to look inside it.

I must have a dozen boxes of hexamine tablets and 8 or 10 cans of Sterno and magic heat. Did not even remember I had them. I am pretty sure the Sterno and magic heat is left over from a picnic we had in July of 2002 and from the weight I would guess they are still close to full.

I thought I had a can in my car kit as an emergency heat source, but I could not find it. maybe I used it for something along the way and never replaced it.

Oddly, I was not able to find several items I thought were also in the tub - a Sterno stove, an esbit type stove, and a swiss army knife. No idea where they went to.

Hey ILBob,

Light one of the suckers and see if it still burns well. I would love to hear how it went after 8 years of storage.

Haven't tried Magic Heat/Sterno type stoves but I'm really liking the whitebox alcohol stove I just got.