How to make my own big FRH?

[britman]

Hi everyone,

Bit of a weird topic but hear me out

I recently saw the post on:

http://www.heatermeals.com/cafe2go/cafe2go-kits.html

Which gives 18 cups of coffee out of a carton with an element like an FRH in it. Apparently its from the same firm that provide drinks for the UGR-E.

This got me thinking.

I thought if I could take the heating element out of a couple of these, and put it underneath a tray ration, I would get something approaching my own UGR-E

However, even doing it this way it is pretty pricey, and I would have to gut out some sets of coffee, and its not cheap, and thats without shipping to UK.

So, since the heating technology and the FRH are basically just "a simple combination of powdered food grade iron and magnesium, salt, and water", this got me thinking, how about just a little home chemistry instead. How hard can it be?

Anyone here used or seen a UGR-E, or know the weight of the chemicals used, basically how big a home-made FRH would I have to make? And what sort of volume of bag for the heating element do they use, and how is the pressure released given that there is no simple folded-over-top bag design like with FRHs to prevent pressure buildup?

Also, does anyone know the composition of UGR-E or FRH chemicals? How many parts magnesium to how many parts salt to how many parts iron?

I guess I could just get 18x FRH and empty them out into a big bag with some sort of release valve so it doesn't all go pop, also.

Thoughts? Or am I better off not donning my labcoat do you think? :p

Cheers!
BM

[housil]

Thoughts? Or am I better off not donning my labcoat do you think? :p

Cheers!
BM

This FRH causing flameable hydrogen.

A "hugh" FRH will cause a hugh amount of hydrogen.

Nothing I would try at home...

[britman]

Guess I will have to do it outside and away from any flame. The hydrogen should be what causes the pressure build-up so will just have to make sure there is some sort of release for it.

It would be handy to see the heating element from UGR-Es or these coffee packs to see how they deal with it.
Quite a lot of gas coming off these! I wonder if just having a bit of piping coming out of the bag which holds the water and FRH mixture would be enough to let the hydrogen and pressure out.

[britman]

According to http://www.natick.army.mil/about/pao/pu ... /index.htm a UGR-E has 4x heaters that are each equivalent to 10 FRH. Looks like that cooks up 4 tray-rats. So 10 FRH per tray.

Would really be cool to get my hands on a real one but I'm guessing thats unlikely, although http://nsrdec.natick.army.mil/business/ ... echLic.htm does mention 'commercial licensing opportunities' so maybe some firm is out there coming up with a plan for civvy UGR-Es as we speak - like Heater Meals seem to have the drinks portion released as Cafe2Go on the other thread.

Anyone here used or handled a UGR-E, or have any links to a cut-section of one, or a list of just what is included in one?

Cheers!
BM

[kman]

I don't know if this is what you're looking for, but here the official info on the UGE-Es:

http://www.dscp.dla.mil/subs/rations/pr ... /ueabt.asp
and
http://www.dscp.dla.mil/subs/support/sp ... s/ugre.asp

[britman]

Cheers man, found these also (for anyone else who's interested):

http://www.dscp.dla.mil/subs/support/sp ... r/ugre.asp Specifications
http://www.dscp.dla.mil/subs/support/sp ... /32235.asp Heater module specs
http://www.vaccainc.com/about/pressrelease2006.html The company who got the contract

Wonder if they would be willing to sell heater modules, like big FRHs? 4 of those, 4 trays, Cafe2Go set and a few plastic spoons all in a cardboard box and you've got your UGR-E pretty much.

[Big Galloot]

Hey Britman -

Have you considered using calcium oxide? As with the FRH materials it produces heat when mixed with water, but there is no release of gas, flammable or otherwise. The materials are far less expensive, can be readily shipped, and can be reused.

The downside is that calcium oxide only produces about 1/3 of the heat per unit of weight.