ebit stove fuel

[Nanc]

For those of you who chose to carry the esbit, or similar stove fueled with pellets, where did you access the fuel?
The pellets can't be carried on a plane even in luggage. (right?)
Here in the states it is carried by REI- not sure where you sourced in Spain
(yeah I know, not really needed on CF but my mind is ever expanding)
Nanc

 

[koilife]

Not sure that you will easily find solid fuel tablets (any hexamine derivative, of which Esbit is only one) in Spain. The common lightweight fuel over there seems to be alcohol or similar liquid fuels.

I carry a couple tablets as part of my emergency kit along with an 11 gram tripod burner (and will again this summer). I simply have them in my kit, which is inside my pack, and no one has ever checked it.

 

[Bradypus]

If you do have trouble finding Esbit-type fuel then you might consider a small alcohol burner as an alternative. Small bottles of 95-99% isopropyl alcohol (for external use only !) are pretty widely available and it burns well. Lots of instructions on the web for making an ultralight burner from soft drink or beer cans. Fun to experiment with.

 

[peregrino_tom]

Nanc
you could look around for solid fuel or switch to alcohol, but I'd recommend a rethink based on the situation you'll find in Spain.
Unless your're planning to camp, which most people find doesn't work so well on the Camino Frances, there are other better ways of heating things up.
Nearly every albergue has a microwave and many have an electric cooker. One or two have gas. Nearly all have mugs and many have other utensils although the availability of these tends to fall off in Galicia.
To cover all bases I started taking a single wall 600ml titanium mug in 2010 to make a brew for one/two or even warm up a simple meal on a cooker. And that worked fine. Then there started to be more microwaves and fewer cookers so I found a 500ml tupperware jar with lid that sits snugly inside the mug. This I can drink/eat out of, use to heat water, food etc with a microwave and keep any leftovers/smelly cheese for later if need be.
So in the rare cases where there are no utensils in an albergue, I can get a caffeine fix and be on me way before the village bar opens at 6.30-7am - if that's how I want to go. Other folks like to take those single cup electric elements - and there's whole threads on that somewhere....
cheers, tom

 

[Nanc]

Thanks all for comments and thoughts

 

[MinaKamina]

Esbit is a German company, the fuel is available in Spain by mail order.

https://esbit.de/en/service/#shop-and-dealer-locator

 

[whariwharangi]

For those of you who chose to carry the esbit, or similar stove fueled with pellets, where did you access the fuel?
The pellets can't be carried on a plane even in luggage. (right?)
Here in the states it is carried by REI- not sure where you sourced in Spain
(yeah I know, not really needed on CF but my mind is ever expanding)
Nanc

Airlines are very particular about stoves and fuel of any kind ... so don't bring fuel ... not even esbit.

And consider how you will use it ... most camping stoves are intended for outdoor use ... not spewing carbon monoxide and other chemical fumes in a crowded firetrap albergue. And, as mentioned most have stoves and or microwaves.

The best solution is to bring an electric coil.

If you must bring a stove try the Church of Trangia ... and get a Trangia stove. Methylated spirits, denatured alcohol etc ... find the name of the product as it is called in Spain before you travel.