Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Gear Forum :: Alcohol camping soves
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Tomcat |
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. |
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TrailZen |
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 |
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Tomcat |
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. |
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Loony_canoe |
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. |
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straighthairedcurly |
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. |
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boonie |
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? |
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iCallitMaize |
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. |
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Tomcat |
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.? 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. |
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Tryin |
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/ |
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chessie |
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boonie |
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?? |
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cowdoc |
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boonie |
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keth0601 |
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Samsquatch |
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. |
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tomo |
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.... |
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merlyn |
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. |
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boonie |
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iCallitMaize |
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straighthairedcurly |
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. |
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Tomcat |
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. |
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Grizzlyman |
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. |