So I got a new camp stove that takes the propane/ butane mix.
If there is two of us, hot water for oatmeal and coffee in the morning and then cooking supper, how many of the 450g tanks should I take? I'm not opposed to cooking on wood at night either, if weather permits.

Thanks

How many days?

I would say you only need 1 but bring 2. My brother and I boil our water together for coffee and our 3 meals. We have only used up 1 on a 10 day trip. Always good to be safe and bring an extra though.

Ripper24: "I would say you only need 1 but bring 2. My brother and I boil our water together for coffee and our 3 meals. We have only used up 1 on a 10 day trip. Always good to be safe and bring an extra though. "

I have 2, was debating on a third. Thanks for the input

It's dependent on so many variables - stove efficiency (under various conditions), fuel blend, temperature, wind, what you are cooking, how much you are boiling, and so on and so forth. You'll need to find out through experience about your usage, but there are some guidelines. MSR: How much fuel Many canisters will give you a burn time in minutes - look on yours, or check manufacturer website. Average burn time for 100 grams iso/pro fuel is 30 minutes.

Somewhere I have a canister gas estimator (Xcel) that I found online which works well for me now that I know my numbers. I typically heat (not boil) 1 cup of water for coffee twice a day and 1 cup or a little more for a dehydrated dinner. It takes me about 60 sec. to heat the coffee water and about 90 sec. to boil it for dinner. A 100 gram canister burns for about 30 minutes it says. I usually get at least 7 days out of the small canister. I don't run it full blast - they're said to be more efficient at less than full power. I also don't turn it on and let it burn while I get everything ready.

When I find that estimator, I'll send it to you.

straighthairedcurly: "How many days?"

I'm sorry, about 8 days

Two should be sufficient in my experience.

If it was me and another person doing exactly the same, one 230 gram canister would be plenty. But that won't be enough for you. It's hard for me to imagine you'd need more than 2 450 gram canisters, but I don't know . . .

Take 2, gotta have that backup. But you’ll only use 1.

You could always take a smaller one for the extra.

Most likely 1, but you could get in to a second one, and need a backup anyway.

What stove are you using? What has been you past use experiences with canister fuel? Why 450 gram/16 ounce canisters?
I have used 16oz canisters but feel they are too large for tripping, almost never used up an 8oz. but that's me. My last 11 day trip using a canister stove, was limited to 2 4oz. canisters for packing, used 1 and 1/2 on the trip, but as I pointed out I have some experience and practice extending fuel used by matching cookware, windscreen, and efficient cooking methods (like boiling pasta only to a full boil the shutting off the burner and insulating the container to finish the cooking).
Propane butane mixes are available in a wide variety of brand, sizes, and mix proportions. A canister fueled stove can efficiently burn any mix percentage from straight butane to about 40% of propane, beyond that the pressure in tank near canister structure limitations. Mixing propane and other gas fuels increases the temperature range use, has little impact on burner efficiency.
Boiling water for 2, coffee and oatmeal, about 32oz. will use about 1 oz. possibly a bit more, also about 7 minutes of full on run time. That is very generalized but reflects my experiences, while confirming many manufactures usage figures.
At 2oz. per day burner use, 1oz. for breakfast 1oz. for dinner, 16oz. fuel goes 8 days.
I actual use my use is much less, so there is a lot of variability in methods. I'm sure many will figure 2oz. a day is way too low.

butthead

PS: Interesting observation, all petroleum base fuels are close to those times and amount. I use the same amount of liquid fuel as pressurized gas. Kerosene is about 25-30% more efficient but I have limited experience (smelly and sooty). bh

I'm going from the big clunky one to the smaller one. It is a Coleman brand is all I know to be honest with you. I don't have all the fancy pots, windshields and insulators. if I made several trips every year, I would probably invest in all of that.

I'd get the 230g / 8 oz canisters. They fit better and give you more granularity. I don't like the little 110g / 4 oz ones - I've had trouble getting the last bit out of them sometimes, for whatever reason - but the 8 oz ones last forever. Even on a cold (above freezing - I always use liquid fuel below freezing) five day backpacking trip where I boiled a lot of water I used just a bit over half of an 8 oz canister. I'd say you'd be good with three 8 oz canisters, but you could carry a fourth if you want the security. If you already have two 16 oz canisters, that will be plenty.

Peak 1™ Butane/Propane Stove Can use most if not any Lindal valve canisters, 4/8/16oz. sizes. The 8oz. is the same diameter as 16 yet 50% shorter and thus more stable. Windscreens will save a lot and pay for itself, just do not surround the burner fully (may overheat the canister, BAD to do!). Good wide burner sized well with 5 1/2 inch diameter pots and up. An towel wrapped around the pot off the stove will make a good insulated cover.

You could cook some at home with it to get a feel for fuel use. It should be very similar to the old "clunky" burner.

butthead

I had one of those Coleman stoves maybe 8-10 years ago. If yours is the one butthead linked to, it's a little more technologically advanced than mine was. It looks like they may have upgraded the fuel too - what's the blend on those? The old ones were a 70/30 blend of butane/propane.

At any rate, I replaced it with a Jetboil and have a windscreen I no longer use. Send me your address and I'll send it to you along with some reflectix bubble wrap, which is all you need besides some metal tape to make a pot cozy. I've used it to make bag cozies. It was just leftover reflectix envelopes from work that they couldn't reuse.

@Boonie
Can you please post a link to that estimater? I used to have it but cannot find it anymore. It was very helpful.

Carla, I don't have the link either, just the download. Email me and I'll attach it back. I too find it useful, but you do have to know your own numbers.

Found it here

Just scroll down a little

Link to actual spreadsheet