Army Surplus Immersion Heaters

[M35A2]

Has anyone found military surplus immersion heaters to be useful when camping?

They are used with plain old galvanized steel trash cans. Fill with water, a ring sits inside, a gasoline tank drips, smoke goes up a flue, and the water gets hot.

I recall that it did not take too long for the water to get good and hot.

The Mess Tent would have three set up. One was soapy water and two were for rinse. You'd dip your mess kit in them to clean up before chowing down. It did not take long for the cooks to set them up or break them down, and each day of course we were somewhere else.

I don't see them around anymore; is this a bad idea that came and went, or forgotten technology?

 

[Bbasso]

I had no clue what that was...
Google to the rescue, http://www.sportsmansguide.com/prod...ary-surplus-immersion-barrel-heater?a=1880898

Very cool thing, but how could it be used for smaller applications?

 

[M35A2]

I had no clue what that was...
Google to the rescue, http://www.sportsmansguide.com/prod...ary-surplus-immersion-barrel-heater?a=1880898

Very cool thing, but how could it be used for smaller applications?

A smaller trash can? Seriously, a standard trash can is what (I am guessing) 30 gallons? That's plenty of hot water for bathing and washing up around the camp site.

 

[Haf-E]

Probably had too many people who couldn't make sense of the instructions and ended up blowing themselves up...

It does makes me think about using them for a camping hot tub...

 

[Haf-E]

Wonder if you could burn diesel or used engine oil in them too?

 

[M35A2]

Probably had too many people who couldn't make sense of the instructions and ended up blowing themselves up...

It does makes me think about using them for a camping hot tub...

Now that is a brilliant idea.......................

..........fill an M416 with water, immersion heater aflame....it's a beautiful thing.

 

[M35A2]

Wonder if you could burn diesel or used engine oil in them too?

Good question. I've only seen them used with gasoline. You don't want a sooty flame; used crankcase oil might gunk things up with deposits. But good question.

 

[Retired Tanker]

Used them to heat water to clean mess kits and such back in the 70's. Army did away with them in the early 80's. Pretty dangerous; required constant monitoring and tweaking.

Essentially it drips gas into a fire in the lower "combustion chamber" that is immersed in water. If the fire gets too high it can light the fuel can on fire.

 

[Hnoroian]

Kinda sounds like my msr whisperlite international stove burner. Not a hard thing to do at all but could end up dangerous quickly if not careful.

 

[M35A2]

Kinda sounds like my msr whisperlite international stove burner. Not a hard thing to do at all but could end up dangerous quickly if not careful.

Heck, the Army used them for years. Plenty of bright-eyed 18 year olds set these things up and ran them. What could go wrong?

 

[Retired Tanker]

Heck, the Army used them for years. Plenty of bright-eyed 18 year olds set these things up and ran them. What could go wrong?

I remember a Drill Sergeant trying to light one in 1975 while in basic training. The only way to describe the sound is "FOOM." It knocked his hat off and a bunch of us did about a million pushups for laughing at him.

 

[M35A2]

I remember a Drill Sergeant trying to light one in 1975 while in basic training. The only way to describe the sound is "FOOM." It knocked his hat off and a bunch of us did about a million pushups for laughing at him.

Oh, jeez - never laugh at the DI.

(Edit: Never let him see you laughing at him.)

 

[kj4vyi]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsO9N7GIfis

Had to know how this worked and yep there's a youtube vid !!!

kinda cool

 

[M35A2]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsO9N7GIfis

Had to know how this worked and yep there's a youtube vid !!!

kinda cool

If he had used gasoline that water would have been about boiling.

 

[pugslyyy]

Used them to heat water to clean mess kits and such back in the 70's. Army did away with them in the early 80's. Pretty dangerous; required constant monitoring and tweaking.

Essentially it drips gas into a fire in the lower "combustion chamber" that is immersed in water. If the fire gets too high it can light the fuel can on fire.

We were still using them during the Gulf War for cleaning pot and pans - I remember it from taking my turn at KP. Pretty sure we ran them on jet fuel (kerosene), you just had to use some paper/tinder to get it going.