For members that use or have used alcohol camp stoves, I am curious about your opinions?

When I retired at 62 I decided to take a solo trip to the BWCA. It had been about 15 years since I had used my camping equipment and the isobutane fuel canisters that fit my camp stove were no longer available. In my search for a replacement stove I came across alcohol stoves. I typically only use a camp stove to heat water and I appreciate the simplicity and reliability of alcohol stoves. I purchased, tested and evaluated an alcohol stove at home prior to the trip. I learned that 1 ounce of fuel would sufficiently heat 750 ml of water, enough to hydrate 1 meal and 1 drink.

The alcohol stove was compact, lightweight, reliable, quiet and functional but its use is not allowed during a fire ban, it is not tolerant of wind, it is difficult to identify when the fuel is lit or fully consumed and it is susceptible to spilling fuel. I later purchased an isobutane camp stove that is comparatively compact, lightweight and meets my personal requirements better than the alcohol camp stove.

Tomcat: "The alcohol stove was compact, lightweight, reliable, quiet and functional but its use is not allowed during a fire ban, it is not tolerant of wind, it is difficult to identify when the fuel is lit or fully consumed and it is susceptible to spilling fuel. I later purchased an isobutane camp stove that is comparatively compact, lightweight and meets my personal requirements better than the alcohol camp stove."

I used an alcohol stove during a 21-day Outward Bound session about 30 years ago and swore I'd not own one. Your last paragraph perfectly sums up my evaluation of the stoves. We've been using an Optimus Vega for several years, as it checks all the boxes we list for a stove: remote canister, gas/liquid operating modes, wind screen, low & stable pot position, etc. Like you, we primarily use the stove for hot water (or brief boil times). We also greatly reduced our fuel consumption by making a Reflectix pot cozy for our titanium pot.

TZ

I used one for several years and had the same experience. I just boil water for coffee and dehydrated meals and it can't compete with my canister stove for all the same reasons. I actually took a long look at a Caldera Cone Tri system, but why complicate something simple for no advantage.

For my ultralight solo trips, I have a cat can alcohol stove that I made (0.8 oz). I use a Toaks titanium wind screen (0.8 oz) with it. Works great with my little Toaks pot. I carry the alcohol in a small Gatorade bottle with a medicine cup for measuring an ounce. I only boil water for meals and 1 oz. (or less) of fuel does the trick...quick and easy.

For a trip with a fire ban, I used an isobutane stove and while it worked fine I don't like the unknown aspect of how much fuel I have consumed.

I own a Trangia alcohol stove. Advantages are the compactness and weight reduction. The disadvantages are noted in the previous responses. I only use the Trangia for day hikes in warmer weather to boil up water for coffe or tea. If I need to boil enough water for freezed dried meals, fry in a skillet, or cook in a pot I go with my Optimus Nova gas stove.

A major disadvatage of alcohol stoves comes in cold weather. I could not get my Traniga to boil water on a winter hike where the temp was below freezing.

I use a Tangia(sp) stove combined with a wind screen and a pot stand that fits on the stove. Total 8.2oz. I like this setup because of the weight and compactness. I carry the fuel in pill bottles rather than one larger container. Everything fits in my 1 liter pot along with a liter and matches. The Tangia stove has two lids, one is a screw on that doesn't leak and a second lid with an adjustable top that you can use to control the flame. The second lid is also for extinguishing the stove.
I use the alcohol stove for morning coffee and on rainy days when a camp fire is not viable. Fire ban changes everything.
I have a canister stove but am not a fan-- weight of canisters (full or empty) canister bulk and if any thing breaks or is lost on the stove (o-ring) your out of luck.
When the fuel/ pill bottle us empty, I soften the bottle near the fire and squash it flat and into the g-bag. I have only used an alcohol stove in May thru September not in the real cold months but am going to take it with me on a hike to test when and if winter comes back.

I use an alcohol stove in conjunction with a bushbuddy twig stove and like this set up very much. My cooking is very simple, though, mostly boiling water. The alcohol stove is quiet, simple, and being housed in the bushbuddy with a wind screen, it's very reliable. I used this set up for a 24 day solo a few summers ago and it worked great. Light a fire in the twig stove for many meals and use the alcohol stove when it's rainy or I'm otherwise too lazy to make a fire.

Mostly this meant using the alcohol stove to boil water in the morning for coffee/oatmeal and using the bushbuddy at night to cook dinner....

The best part about alcohol stoves is the DIY aspect. I used to love making different designs.

If I want simple and super light I prefer a solid fuel / hexamine stove over alcohol. I'll often do this backpacking but with a canoe it's worth the weight to just bring a canister stove (or two).

keth0601: "If I want simple and super light I prefer a solid fuel / hexamine stove over alcohol. I'll often do this backpacking but with a canoe it's worth the weight to just bring a canister stove (or two)."

I've carried and used one of these as backup, but I don't like how it discolors the outside of my pot. But it is easy and lightweight.

For those who've been using an alcohol stove recently, I'm curious about your fuel usage. How much do you use, how much do you take, what do you carry it in, etc.? Do you take extra in case of . . .spillage, etc.?

How much fuel does it take you to boil water for a hot drink or a dehydrated meal? How much is usage affected by environmental factors like wind, temperature?

Do you use it just to boil water?

So, for example, if you were going for a one week trip the last half of Sept. and were going to have 2 hot drinks and 1 dehydrated dinner per day, how much fuel would you take? Same scenario but for a 2-week trip?

keth0601: "If I want simple and super light I prefer a solid fuel / hexamine stove over alcohol. I'll often do this backpacking but with a canoe it's worth the weight to just bring a canister stove (or two)."

I’m a big fan of using an esbit style stove as backup. Those fuel tabs have some added survival value beyond cooking.

boonie: "For those who've been using an alcohol stove recently, I'm curious about your fuel usage. How much do you use, how much do you take, what do you carry it in, etc.? Do you take extra in case of . . .spillage, etc.?


How much fuel does it take you to boil water for a hot drink or a dehydrated meal? How much is usage affected by environmental factors like wind, temperature?


Do you use it just to boil water?


So, for example, if you were going for a one week trip the last half of Sept. and were going to have 2 hot drinks and 1 dehydrated dinner per day, how much fuel would you take? Same scenario but for a 2-week trip? "

Prior to using an Evernew DX alcohol stove on a 6 day solo trip in July 2019 I did extensive testing at home.

I researched and chose the yellow bottle Heet as fuel for the stove. I determined that 750 ml of water was sufficient to hydrate 1 meal and 1 drink. I also determined that 1 ounce of fuel would not bring 750 ml of water to a full boil but would heat the water enough for my requirements. I tried several fuel containers including some with squeeze nozzle tips. I chose a 12 oz. bottle with a 1 ounce cap for measuring as my fuel container. I added a secondary wind screen.

I was solo with time on my hands and I enjoyed using the alcohol stove. It was quiet and had a peaceful charm about it. Wind was never an issue and it always heated water to my satisfaction. The one annoyance was the difficulty of knowing when the fuel was lit or fully consumed. The flame is difficult to see so when lighting I sometimes burned my finger and even though I knew the approximate burn time, because the stove burns quietly and the flame is difficult to see I was never sure exactly when the fuel was fully consumed and it was important to me that I remove the water when it had reached it's highest temperature.

I later purchased a BRS isobutane stove and did some size, weight and burn comparisons with the Evernew alcohol stove. I found that the isobutane stove with fuel is equally compact and lightweight but more efficient at heating water. I like the quiet charm of the alcohol stove, the inexpensive and available fuel and the reliability but the equally compact and lightweight isobutane stove meets my requirements much better.

My preferred camping seasons are not conducive to alcohol stove use. Cold and wind render mine nearly unusable. I got one because I'm a stovaholic and love everything about backcountry cooking technology. Below 40f and with wind over 10mph, boiling water is difficult at best.

I use isobutane, sticks, white gas, and alcohol in that order. I keep track of iso use by floating the can in water and marking the start point. I also know how many boils I can get from each size canister at room temp with water-cooler temp water because I use them every day to make coffee at work. Work in a safety factor of your choosing and good to go. I know I can boil 75 1-liter batches with a 12oz canister under those conditions, so my safety factor of 2 puts me at 36-ish boils in the backcountry. In reality, I've never even been close to hitting that safety stop, and have brought home a substantial amount of fuel to transfer to another canister or use for coffee.

With alcohol, it's a wild swing in consumption. Room temp is usually 1oz per liter boil, but I've used over 6oz in the field trying to do the same thing.

To each their own, and there isn't anything wrong with liking what one likes. If you go the alcohol route, though, you owe it to yourself to get a good fuel bottle and stay away from the garbage flip tops that pop open and soak everything. Not that I would know.... :grin: Trangia has the best plastic one I've used. Great little device.

https://trangia.se/en/shop/fuel-bottle-red/

We now use the Trangia exclusively. As someone noted, you can now get the fuel compartment with a lid that does not leak, so you don't have to worry about burning all the fuel before packing up. We have found this stove to be equivalent to our old Coleman Peak single burner stoves. The fuel use is about the same. We've not had any problems in cool temps (don't camp in winter). We burn denatured alcohol which you can get at any hardware store. We have always used a small tri-fold windscreen, which helps w/ fuel efficiency, etc. I have no complaints about this stove. There are no moving parts, so less can go wrong/break. It is QUIET, and it can be hard to see the flame when you light it, so you need to be mindful of this. You will also need a leather glove and or tool for closing off the 'lid' to slow or stop flame. We do ALL our cooking with this. I think I figure a standard size fuel bottle is enough for 2 people x 10 days. There are two sizes, so consider how/what you cook to determine your needs. We tend to make 'one pot meals' when canoe camping, so this is perfect for us. trangia stove

A comparison of the isobutane and alcohol stoves with fuel and cooking set that I have used on 6 day trips. The isobutane setup is lighter, more compact, quicker and easier to use and is capable of heating a larger quantity of water faster with the 110 g canister of isobutane compared to the 12 oz bottle of ethanol.

P.S.
Turns out that the isobutane canister I used for the weight comparison had been used. It was not empty but was not full. The two systems that I use are very similar in weight and size.

I was never able to nail down how much alcohol fuel to take on trips under the scenarios I outlined. Still not much more certain but it seems like most would take at least an ounce per day. Does that sound reasonable? Would it include a margin for error on environmental factors and spillage?

I found it to be less than ideal under 40 degrees. One frosty morning I even attempted makeshift “priming” without meaningful results. I switched to the canister stove and after several years of tracking I’m pretty confident in my calculations of fuel needs for a trip. They pretty much echo others in this thread.

I usually calculate based on 3.5 grams per “boil” which is slightly higher than my average usage over the years. I usually nonetheless add a 10% margin of error. For a 2-week trip with one dehydrated meal and two coffees, I’d calculate 3x14x3.5=147 grams + 10% = 162 grams, plenty for the two weeks with 58 grams remaining in a 230 gram canister. That’s enough for an additional 16 boils or 5 days and still includes the original hedge on average usage and 10% margin.

I have in fact used one on an 18 day trip and had remaining fuel. I just don’t see alcohol fuel competing with that for my uses. Weight is not my only consideration and like Tomcat, I appreciate the simplicity, efficiency, and ease and quickness of use, as well as acceptability during a fire ban.

A few notes for those who are interested: I use an old Jetboil Sol system stove, which is fairly efficient in fuel usage. I weigh a canister before use, after use to get the fuel used, and divide by the number of boils. I also follow other fuel conservation methods which are applicable to other fuels as well such as having everything ready before lighting the stove, and turning off immediately when it boils (or slightly less for coffee). It’s also easier to get a consistent measure since I merely boil water and don’t cook. My trips have mostly been during that time period although there has been considerable variance in temperature and wind. It’s more complicated to explain than to actually do??

I do like the alcohol stove. We use it exclusively. I tested a number of diy designs, and the Tomcat was/is my favorite. I found that if you take the same idea, but size it up you can get a better stove with a. More stable base. I sized it up to a soup can outside and I can’t remember what inside. . Also, if you get another can, chunky soup can size if I remember correctly, you can then put that over the tomcat like a cover. I use this to snuff out the fire before adding or when done. We have two that we bring with and actually do some decent cooking on it… eggs, bacon, steak, etc.

The tomcat design is its own pot stand. I use a small cheap windscreen too.

I actually timed boil times a few years back in a thread. I’ll see if I can find it. But if I recall this larger tomcat design beat the penny stoves, all variations of the bud light bottle jet stoves, and maybe few other. Boil time of 2 cups of water was like 5:30 or something.

It also had the more consistent flame pattern as it’s an even burn all around and can’t spill if you tip it as the alcohol is wicked up into the insulation.

Fuel is not much- just a few ounces per day. We use denatured alcohol and I keep it in two containers for redundancy- small steel waters bottle work well.

I've been using alcohol stoves for years. I keep trying to use iso-butane stoves, but the noise and the unknown fuel quantities keep pushing me back to a wood/alcohol kit. If I'm doing a group trip or deep winter trips I use my white gas stove (a very old APEX II stove). It is heavy, but is just super convenient.
I have been doing 18 -21 day trips to BWCA lately, and am planning longer trips. So to limit fuel weight, my kit includes a bush buddy mini for most meals and extra hot drinks, I gather twigs as I go and keep some kindling with me for wet days. I also bring a few cotton/wax fire starters to make my life a little easier. My cat food can stove fits well inside the wood stove and has served me well for years. It does require a wind screen. I use it for morning coffee on cold breakfast and lazy day meals. I do find I am more careful limiting the use of my fuel than when I use iso canisters, but after a while you get the feel for how much fuel is needed per boil.
I allow 1 oz of fuel per day and make up the rest with the wood stove or campfire. A general rule I follow is 1 oz of fuel for 2 cups. From what I have read, for trips longer than 4 days iso fuel is a better choice, but I like what I like. Not related to fuel, But my pot has a bail handle and it makes fire retrieval so much easier. As for cold weather, I keep 1 oz of fuel in a separate bottle and keep it warm in my pocket (thanks SHUG). Like all camping equipment, it comes down to what you feel most comfortable with.

Love my DIY alcohol stove for boiling coffee water in morning. Quiet, easy....I can enjoy the sounds of the morning woods. I have built about 20 different models but my favorite is the wick type.

I briefly mentioned above that when I was contemplating 2-3 week trips, I spent considerable time investigating options and almost went the route of a Caldera Cone tri-system - alcohol, wood, solid fuel stove. The nail in the coffin on that for me was "what about a fire ban when none of those are permissible?".

boonie: "I briefly mentioned above that when I was contemplating 2-3 week trips, I spent considerable time investigating options and almost went the route of a Caldera Cone tri-system - alcohol, wood, solid fuel stove. The nail in the coffin on that for me was "what about a fire ban when none of those are permissible?". "

The pot stand that I use with my alcohol stove can be used as a twig stove and will accept solid fuel tablets. In addition to the fire ban issue I dislike the soot that solid fuel and twigs leave on my pot.