Reusable Chemical Heating Pad?

[stabnshoot]

http://www.armysurpluswarehouse.com/sur ... g-pad.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



Anyone know what's in there that allows it to be reused without end?

I'm not sure how hot these get but if they heat up to a reasonable temperature, this would most definitely replace MRE chem heaters in my BoB.

[NT2C]

Reread section 4. It's not unlimited.

Sent using secret methods known only to squirrels.

And selected hamsters.

[TacAir]

I carried those in my medic bag - they work like da bomb!

After adding water, it will get hot (helloooo warm sleeping bag) and once cooled, you will feel a lump where the chemical is used up.

The amount of water is the driver on the number of times you can use the pack.

If you are using these, wrap in a towel or other cloth, check the area heated often and DO NOT sleep on them, they will get hot enough to cause a thermal burn.

Besides heating my bag, they were good for field treatment of marginal hypothermia, folks with sore backs from humping a ruck all day and so on. They also weigh a lot, so keep that in mind when comparing to multiple packs of 'Hot Hands' or other heat products.

In the end, I went with a pair of those charcoal powered hand warmers....

[kmcdon3960]

I have a pair of zippo hand warmers and they work great

[BigEd]

Found a similar one 2 years ago. Paid $2.00(?) for it at the local flea market.
Never used it, just put it in a medical bag. (I was collecting at the time.)





Never done any research on it, but it appears to be Korea(?) or Vietnam(?) era.

[Murph]

I have the German military equivalent, look and work the same, just stamped with instructions in german. I bought a 12 pack of them years back... a couple were duds, but the rest got plenty hot. I still have them, but haven't used any recently.

[TacAir]

In case there is someone interested in modern heating pads, I would recommend the Sunbeam 731-500 Heating Pad with Ultra Heat Technology. I use it every month for relief, so I am sure it can work on other pains too. I saw a review of it recently http://toponlinereviews.com/

Poor Jane "the SPAMMER" Simmons. The product, to be worth anything, shouldn't have to have grid power.....

I wonder how much she gets paid for each post/link used? I could use some extra dough.....

[drop bear]

There is also one that you use and then boil to reset it.

https://youtu.be/zNRk7z7UCGQ

[Anianna]

There is also one that you use and then boil to reset it.

https://youtu.be/zNRk7z7UCGQ

We have a bunch of these types of heat packs from various companies and we like them a lot. They are generally the size of pocket warmers, but I have seen some larger ones. You snap them and crystals form. Squish it about a bit and the whole thing heats up. Over time it will lose its heat and begin to cool. You can boil them back to a liquid state to have for the next time you need them. The only problem we have had with them is that some brands use cheap materials and will begin to leak over time and won't work anymore. Check for the higher rated ones on Amazon to avoid that. The cheapo ones we got were from a gun show.

Snap heaters on Amazon

The other "off grid" heaters we like are the Thermacare neck and back wraps you can get at just about any pharmacy and even at Walmart. They are one-time use, but I find they last a long time and work well. They work via exothermic reaction to air, so begin to heat up as soon as you open the individual wrapper.

As for the original question, I suspect the components of these packs are the same as in MRE heaters but in different quantities. If the chemical components deteriorate or are consumed slowly it may dry within a period of time to allow enough of the components to remain for multiple uses. If you overfill them, the excess water is likely to consume or deteriorate the chemical components more than desired, reducing its effectiveness or times of use. The same sort of thing happens if you add too much water to an MRE heater.