Comments on: Heat Treat Hand Warmers http://toolmonger.com/2008/01/04/heat-treat-hand-warmers/ All tools. All the time. Your source for news, information, and reviews of hand tools, power tools, and tools of all kinds. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 04:47:54 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.2 by: Ken http://toolmonger.com/2008/01/04/heat-treat-hand-warmers/#comment-197980 Tue, 08 Jan 2008 02:42:01 +0000 http://toolmonger.com/2008/01/04/heat-treat-hand-warmers/#comment-197980 Personally I prefer electric socks. Personally I prefer electric socks.

]]> by: PutnamEco http://toolmonger.com/2008/01/04/heat-treat-hand-warmers/#comment-196623 Sun, 06 Jan 2008 12:42:33 +0000 http://toolmonger.com/2008/01/04/heat-treat-hand-warmers/#comment-196623 No mention of solid fuel handwarmers? Coghlans is probably the easiestly accessable version. http://store.everestgear.com/eqcg8530.html I've been using Jon-e type hand warmers for over thirty years. What benefit is gained by going to a disposable? when I go out for a week or two of winter camping, I can fit the fuel for my Jon-e in a shirt pocket, Would I be able to carry a weeks supply of oxidation heaters easily? would I be able to "recharge" phase changers efficiently and would they be potent enough to ward off frostbite? What about the trash that they generate? ==================================================== Re: What drives me nuts is that if you grab it tightly to absorb as much of its heat as possible, you smother the reaction and it cools right off. ------------------------------------------------------------ II find I'm more often treating mine like a hot potato than smothering it. If it is that cold, take it out of the bag and let it breath, in a couple of minutes it will be to hot to hold with a bare hand. ======================================================= Zippo also makes a nice handwarmer http://www.zippo.com/Products/handWarmer.aspx No mention of solid fuel handwarmers? Coghlans is probably the easiestly accessable version. http://store.everestgear.com/eqcg8530.html
I’ve been using Jon-e type hand warmers for over thirty years.
What benefit is gained by going to a disposable? when I go out for a week or two of winter camping, I can fit the fuel for my Jon-e in a shirt pocket, Would I be able to carry a weeks supply of oxidation heaters easily? would I be able to “recharge” phase changers efficiently and would they be potent enough to ward off frostbite? What about the trash that they generate?
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Re:
What drives me nuts is that if you grab it tightly to absorb as much of its heat as possible, you smother the reaction and it cools right off.
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II find I’m more often treating mine like a hot potato than smothering it. If it is that cold, take it out of the bag and let it breath, in a couple of minutes it will be to hot to hold with a bare hand.
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Zippo also makes a nice handwarmer
http://www.zippo.com/Products/handWarmer.aspx

]]> by: Jack Danials http://toolmonger.com/2008/01/04/heat-treat-hand-warmers/#comment-195790 Sat, 05 Jan 2008 10:33:02 +0000 http://toolmonger.com/2008/01/04/heat-treat-hand-warmers/#comment-195790 i have thought about buying stock in these. i drive a POS 90 F150 and the damn heater doesn't work. well it gets cold up here in reno and i feel like a fool dressed for antartica in my truck, but these handwarmers make all the difference. so this guy and and Mr. Jack Daniels deserve a nobel prize, or at least and "attaboy" i have thought about buying stock in these. i drive a POS 90 F150 and the damn heater doesn’t work. well it gets cold up here in reno and i feel like a fool dressed for antartica in my truck, but these handwarmers make all the difference. so this guy and and Mr. Jack Daniels deserve a nobel prize, or at least and “attaboy”

]]> by: Nate Bezanson http://toolmonger.com/2008/01/04/heat-treat-hand-warmers/#comment-195665 Sat, 05 Jan 2008 06:15:11 +0000 http://toolmonger.com/2008/01/04/heat-treat-hand-warmers/#comment-195665 Oh, hi Dan. :) I was going to write a second comment about the naptha burners! I got my dad one last Christmas to replace the one he lost years ago. It takes some work to get started, and smells like a Zippo convention, but it produces plenty of heat on a single filling. What drives me nuts is that if you grab it tightly to absorb as much of its heat as possible, you smother the reaction and it cools right off. As for pocket-sized catalytic burners, I find the butane-fueled soldering iron a lot more fun. ;) Oh, hi Dan. :) I was going to write a second comment about the naptha burners! I got my dad one last Christmas to replace the one he lost years ago. It takes some work to get started, and smells like a Zippo convention, but it produces plenty of heat on a single filling. What drives me nuts is that if you grab it tightly to absorb as much of its heat as possible, you smother the reaction and it cools right off.

As for pocket-sized catalytic burners, I find the butane-fueled soldering iron a lot more fun. ;)

]]> by: Nate Bezanson http://toolmonger.com/2008/01/04/heat-treat-hand-warmers/#comment-195663 Sat, 05 Jan 2008 06:06:58 +0000 http://toolmonger.com/2008/01/04/heat-treat-hand-warmers/#comment-195663 I'm a big fan of the reusable (sodium acetate phase-change) heat packs, for everyday use. They don't pack nearly the same heat per unit weight or volume, but you can recharge 'em hundreds of times, by just dropping them in hot water until the crystals melt again. The oxidation heat packs shown here are good for hiking or hunting where weight is a concern, or to toss in the emergency kit since they keep well. But for shoveling snow or just taking the chill off the fingers while the car warms up, the reusable phase-change packs are definitely more cost effective and environmentally sensible. One more tip: These oxidation type packs can be "paused" by depriving them of fresh air. Just seal inside a zippered plastic bag, with as much air as possible squeezed out. To restart the reaction, just open the bag again! Actually the "oxygen absorber" packs you find in bags of beef jerky work on the same principle, though they're much slower and won't heat up appreciably. I’m a big fan of the reusable (sodium acetate phase-change) heat packs, for everyday use. They don’t pack nearly the same heat per unit weight or volume, but you can recharge ‘em hundreds of times, by just dropping them in hot water until the crystals melt again.

The oxidation heat packs shown here are good for hiking or hunting where weight is a concern, or to toss in the emergency kit since they keep well. But for shoveling snow or just taking the chill off the fingers while the car warms up, the reusable phase-change packs are definitely more cost effective and environmentally sensible.

One more tip: These oxidation type packs can be “paused” by depriving them of fresh air. Just seal inside a zippered plastic bag, with as much air as possible squeezed out. To restart the reaction, just open the bag again! Actually the “oxygen absorber” packs you find in bags of beef jerky work on the same principle, though they’re much slower and won’t heat up appreciably.

]]> by: Daniel Rutter http://toolmonger.com/2008/01/04/heat-treat-hand-warmers/#comment-195659 Sat, 05 Jan 2008 06:00:44 +0000 http://toolmonger.com/2008/01/04/heat-treat-hand-warmers/#comment-195659 There are two other common kinds of warmer gadget - sodium acetate phase change packs, and catalytic combustors usually fueled by naphtha lighter fluid. The first is clean and reusable (you boil them to re-liquefy the supersaturated acetate solution) but gives less energy than the iron-combustion type; the second is long-lasting and reusable but can give you "Zippo rash". I wrote about all of them in <a href="http://www.dansdata.com/danletters153.htm#3" rel="nofollow">this letters column</a>. There are two other common kinds of warmer gadget - sodium acetate phase change packs, and catalytic combustors usually fueled by naphtha lighter fluid. The first is clean and reusable (you boil them to re-liquefy the supersaturated acetate solution) but gives less energy than the iron-combustion type; the second is long-lasting and reusable but can give you “Zippo rash”.

I wrote about all of them in this letters column.

]]> by: PutnamEco http://toolmonger.com/2008/01/04/heat-treat-hand-warmers/#comment-195516 Sat, 05 Jan 2008 01:29:40 +0000 http://toolmonger.com/2008/01/04/heat-treat-hand-warmers/#comment-195516 Should I trade in my Jon-E hand warmer? Should I trade in my Jon-E hand warmer?

]]> by: Randy http://toolmonger.com/2008/01/04/heat-treat-hand-warmers/#comment-195345 Fri, 04 Jan 2008 19:22:36 +0000 http://toolmonger.com/2008/01/04/heat-treat-hand-warmers/#comment-195345 These things rule and last 6+ hours as advertised. The toe warmers don't seem to last more than a couple of hours. I've never used the body warmers (just a larger version of the hand warmer), but my dad loves them during winter hunting and fishing trips. There are generic brands for less, but I've never tried them. Probably exactly the same. These things rule and last 6+ hours as advertised. The toe warmers don’t seem to last more than a couple of hours. I’ve never used the body warmers (just a larger version of the hand warmer), but my dad loves them during winter hunting and fishing trips. There are generic brands for less, but I’ve never tried them. Probably exactly the same.

]]> by: Frank Townend http://toolmonger.com/2008/01/04/heat-treat-hand-warmers/#comment-195288 Fri, 04 Jan 2008 18:01:18 +0000 http://toolmonger.com/2008/01/04/heat-treat-hand-warmers/#comment-195288 I get it now: "... the temperature drops, blood vessels ... constrict to redirect blood flow to ... the brain..." So, if we warm up our hands, less blood flows to the brain, which will keep us from being smart enough to come in from the cold. I get it now: “… the temperature drops, blood vessels … constrict to redirect blood flow to … the brain…”

So, if we warm up our hands, less blood flows to the brain, which will keep us from being smart enough to come in from the cold.

]]> by: kdp http://toolmonger.com/2008/01/04/heat-treat-hand-warmers/#comment-195278 Fri, 04 Jan 2008 17:49:12 +0000 http://toolmonger.com/2008/01/04/heat-treat-hand-warmers/#comment-195278 Definitely HOT! oh, wait... Definitely HOT!

oh, wait…

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