issue 02
February 2018
NL4S Your Adventure Start Here
How Do Self Heating Meals Work?
How Do Self Heating Meals Work? IThere are many companies that produce MREs. Some of them are going to have a wide variety of different types of food. Whether you are someone that's looking for steak or chicken, or if you are a vegetarian, you should be able to find exactly what you want. Something else that people look for are companies that sell MREs that can heat up. It's nice to have a warm meal, especially if you are out in the cold. Self-heating meals are veryÂ
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easy to understand regarding how they work. That's going over the basics of how a flameless ration heater is able to heat your food.
What Is A Flameless Ration Heater?
These are heaters that are more like batteries. It is the way they are put together. There is a chemical reaction that will actually create enough heat to warm your food, going all the way up to 100 degrees. The chemical process will take between 10 and 12 minutes to complete, allowing it to reach its maximum temperature. After that, it will begin to cool down as the processÂ
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comes to an end.Â
What Is Inside Of These Heaters?
There is a mineral call magnesium that consists of about 95% of this package. What remains is salt and iron. There are electrolytes that will form as a result of adding water. This will create a type of battery that is going to give off a substantial amount of heat. There is so much heat that the water will actually be brought to the boiling point. It is perfectly safe within the confines of the packaging. These are one-off products, ones that can only be use the one time, but that's enough for a single meal.Â
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You can purchase these with every single MREs that you purchase from these stores.
Are They Safe?
In an outdoor environment, there is nothing unsafe about using these. There is simply an oxidation-reduction reaction going on inside. However, if these are used on a plane, in these enclosed areas, the hydrogen that is produced could prove to be dangerous. That is why these are not allowed to be used on planes. This is true for those that are designed for civilians as well as people on militaryÂ
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aircraft. Overall, they are easy enough to be activated, and despite the chain reaction which produces substantial heat, they are safe to touch as they heat up your food.
Now that you know how these work, you should feel confident that the ones that you purchase are going to be perfectly safe to use. You should have no problem pouring in the water, and once you do, you can get ready to have hot or warm food. They are designed to be easy to store, and also bring with you, regardless of where you are going out in the wilderness. At the very least, they will allow you toÂ
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have a warm meal if you are ever in a situation that will require you to rely upon the self-heating meals.
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