Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Gear Forum :: pocket rocket 2 boil time
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tumblehome |
YetiJedi: "tumblehome: "I keep the wind screen off the canister. I made a hook for it to attach to the top of my cup when it’s wrapped around it. It probably nearly cuts the boil time in by a third." I don’t have a picture but I simply wrap the wind screen around my coffee cup and use a piece of wire bent over the top of the cup to keep it from falling down. The other end of the wire is slipped into a small hole in the wind screen. I put another piece of tin over the top of the cup and it really speeds up the boiling process and saves fuel. Tom |
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butthead |
Smaller diameter pots to match the small burner flame and a windscreen as posted by tumblehome help a lot. Take care to not overheat the canister! Such is why I drag out the liquid gas burners for cold weather. A Dragonfly or Optimus Nova shine in cold conditions. butthead |
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keth0601 |
Upright Isopro/canister stoves work very poorly in cold temps as not all of the gas will vaporize effectively at those temps and you'll get very low output. It might be OK at first as the propane burns off, but then the output will continue to drop and probably go out at some point leaving the butane in the canister. If you want to use that stove in cold temps you'll have to keep the canister warm somehow (put it in warm water, tape and chem warmer to it, etc). If you're using it in normal temps and have a good wind block you should get some very good boil times on it. Also as butthead stated the style of pot you use will make a big difference. If you find a pot with a heat exchanger you'll get some really good boil times. :) |
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LarryS48 |
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LarryS48 |
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thegildedgopher |
Northwoodsman: "I used my Pocket Rocket for my emergency back-up stove, never as my primary. It is highly effected by wind (even a small breeze)." Yeah, my wife threw this in my stocking. Very thoughtful but I probably would not have purchased it on my own. I have other stoves for camp cooking but I can see myself tossing this in the daypack or my fishing boat to make coffee during lunch. Or for bikepacking where space is at a real premium |
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thegildedgopher |
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TomP |
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Northwoodsman |
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YetiJedi |
The stove has worked great for me, except for the wind. It also doesn't simmer very well but for my solo trips, I eat for fuel and boiling works fine. For finer-tuned cooking, I prefer the MSR dragonfly. Good luck working through it and getting it dialed in. |
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LarryS48 |
Also, when using windscreens with canister stoves, be careful to not let the fuel canister itself get too hot. They can explode if heated too much. A wind screen for a canister stove should block the wind around the stove but allow ventilation around the canister. |
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thegildedgopher |
The other day I tested mine -- albeit in very cold conditions -- and it took more like 8 minutes to boil just 1/2 liter. Is that normal for these cold conditions? The water itself was also frigid to begin with. |
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boonie |
Yes, all stoves/fuels and boil times/fuel usage are affected by a variety of factors just like your home heating system. I think the standard test for the boil time is under fairly benign conditions like room temperature (or summer). I don't know the temperature and conditions under which you used yours nor the precise time it took and amount of fuel used. Stoves are more or less affected by wind, temperature, fuel source, etc. In the case of canister stoves, various fuel blends work better under colder conditions. Some remote canister stoves can use it inverted in liquid feed mode to improve that. The important thing is to determine its performance under the conditions you use it. Over the course of years I've determined a fairly accurate average usage for my trips. I use a format from the blog to determine how much fuel to bring on my trips. |
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tumblehome |
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YetiJedi |
tumblehome: "I keep the wind screen off the canister. I made a hook for it to attach to the top of my cup when it’s wrapped around it. It probably nearly cuts the boil time in by a third." Cool concept! Willing to share a pic, tumblehome? |
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Northwoodsman |
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boonie |
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tumblehome |
A few pointers after 15 years of use: Always keep the flame as low as reasonably possible to conserve fuel. Don’t blast it on high or heat efficiency is lost. Use a heat/wind shield to maximize the BTU’s onto the pot. This cheap little heat deflector is the single most important accessory to increase heat efficiency. They are plentiful on Ebay. There are Chinese knock-offs on Ebay of a Pocket Rocket style stove for less then $10. I received one for a present once and it is obviously made in a factory that produces the expensive name-brand butane stoves. It is a very nice little stove. |
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blackdawg9 |
i look at iso as a back up stove. im figuring you can get 8-10 cooks on a small iso can, if you keep meals really simple. better for making coffee or tea , than actual coooking. |
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butthead |
Have done the same with my own collection. Find that boil times for 16 oz. is near the same across the variety of liquid and gaseous fuels used, alcohol and solid fuel being in a separate much slower category. 2-3 minutes is generally the better time. Even inside and in good conditions the use of a windscreen makes a significant difference, I'd guess at 25-50% shorter time with a screen. You can overdo unbalanced burner size to pot size that breaks consistent times. A small burner and a 6 inch diameter pot take noticeably longer boil times. Old paddle partner Beavers used a PocketRocket with a very good screen DIY, butthead |