water. The second and third cans contain clear hot (180F) water. The entire setup,
commonly referred to as a mess kit laundry, is placed over a soakage pit (paragraph 4-
4) to take care of splash and overflow. A long-handled washbrush and a garbage can
or pit are also needed.
Figure 3-3. Mess kit washing setup.
b. Immersion Heater. An immersion heater is normally used to heat the water
in a mess kit laundry.
(CAUTION: Do not operate heater within a building, tent, or other enclosed place
unless exhaust fumes are piped outside.)
The heater is fired by gasoline. It consists of a doughnut-shaped combustion chamber
and a stack assembly welded together. The unit is placed directly in the water that
is to be heated. The unit displaces approximately 12 gallons of water; therefore,
an immersion heater reduces the 32-gallon capacity of a standard GI can to 20 gallons.
This will accommodate 80 persons. If the strength of a unit exceeds 80, an additional
wash line must be set up for each 80 persons or fraction thereof.
MD0535
3-10