Backpacking Stoves

[jentzschman]

I love my homemade fancy feast stove. It was simple to "build" and even simpler to use. It cost less than a dollar, weighs less than an ounce (including windscreen) and it works.

Full disclosure, I rarely boil more than 3 or 4 cups of water per day. If I was cooking for a group, and not just for me, I would want something that boiled water more efficiently. I only need to carry about 2 oz. of fuel per day out. My entire cook kit (including pot, stove, screen, fuel, ignition and spork) for a 3 -day trip weighs about 9 oz.

I am in the process of making one of these little guys. I hear pretty much nothing but great things about the simplicity and easy of use form this little stove. I currently have and use a Soto micro regulator stove. I love that little thing but working my way more into the UL and want to get use to using a alcohol stove.

 

[Bob]

One thing to remember, with a fire restriction in place alky or esbit stoves are illegal. A stove has to have a shutoff to be legal.

 

[jentzschman]

One thing to remember, with a fire restriction in place alky or esbit stoves are illegal. A stove has to have a shutoff to be legal.

Alas, there is always the give and take in all things. I wish there were smaller canisters available. It is such a bummer not knowing how much fuel you have left in a canister.

 

[Unimog]

Alas, there is always the give and take in all things. I wish there were smaller canisters available. It is such a bummer not knowing how much fuel you have left in a canister.

I assume you are referring to knowing while on the trail. At home, you can simply weigh the canister to see how full it is.

 

[Bob]

As above. On trail I know how much I burn. Sometimes I pack a extra 4oz canister if I think I may be close to using one up, doesn't weigh much. Also everyone else has canister stoves and if one runs out we have an alternative.

 

[LoriB]

I always take a small ziplock bag with 1/4 full of baking soda. I use it for getting rid of smells, soap, cleaning dishes, and so on. Just dusting with some baking soda usually takes care of smells.

I take baking soda too, didn't think of the smell or soap factors, I carry it as a natural antibiotic...just in case

 

[slc_dan]

I was at Home Depot last night, and scoped a giant jug of denatured alcohol for $15. The cheap cost of that has me considering picking up a cheap alky stove. The jetboil will probably be my primary still, but those canisters can get expensive.

 

[WindRiverHiker]

I am in the process of making one of these little guys. I hear pretty much nothing but great things about the simplicity and easy of use form this little stove. I currently have and use a Soto micro regulator stove. I love that little thing but working my way more into the UL and want to get use to using a alcohol stove.

I made and used a cat can (fancy feast) stove for one season. A friend made a Pepsi can stove for me and when comparing the fuel usage, I found the Pepsi stove was a little more efficient. I have recently made a pot cozy out of a small piece of cooler wrap. It weighs 1.5 oz and should help to keep my meals warmer longer. My cook kit (stove, pot stand, fuel measuring cup, windscreen, ground reflector, kettle & lid, pot cozy, cup, Lexan spoon and one book of 20 matches in a small ziplock bag) weighs in at 10.5 oz and takes up about 133 cu in. in my pack. I use 3/4 oz of alcohol to boil 2 cups of water in about 6 min. I do that twice a day-for fuel weight of 1.5 oz per day. I add 2 extra oz of fuel for a 5 day trip. That makes 7.5 oz of fuel. Add 3/8 oz for a fuel bottle and that makes 18.375 oz for cooking for the trip. I think my cat can stove (+ fuel) weighed only a little more than that. The stove weighs a little less but the fuel is a little more. Not really much difference. I think you will be pleased with the alky stove but they do take a little practice. They are best for simply boiling water and I would not try to melt snow for water in the winter- other stoves are much better for that. Good luck!

 

[jentzschman]

I picked up a batch stove 2.0 and did a little test with in compared to my first attempt fancy feat stove:

I used 20 grams of HEET fuel to boil 2 cups of tap water. The batch stove brought the 2 cups to a rolling boil in ~5 minutes and 30 seconds and then continued to burn for ~ another minute. ( I did this test to fin rout what a minimum amount of fuel would be needed to boil 2 cups of water).

The fancy feat stove with the exact amount of fuel did not bring 2 cups of water to boil in over 8 minutes. This could be because of the stove (after all it was my first attempt at one and perhaps I did not space the holes enough). It is interesting that the rule lasted longer in the fancy feast can but did not bring the water to a boil before running gout of fuel. I am going to make another FF stove and put a little more time in its construction and then retest.

 

[WindRiverHiker]

I picked up a batch stove 2.0 and did a little test with in compared to my first attempt fancy feat stove:

I used 20 grams of HEET fuel to boil 2 cups of tap water. The batch stove brought the 2 cups to a rolling boil in ~5 minutes and 30 seconds and then continued to burn for ~ another minute. ( I did this test to fin rout what a minimum amount of fuel would be needed to boil 2 cups of water).

The fancy feat stove with the exact amount of fuel did not bring 2 cups of water to boil in over 8 minutes. This could be because of the stove (after all it was my first attempt at one and perhaps I did not space the holes enough). It is interesting that the rule lasted longer in the fancy feast can but did not bring the water to a boil before running gout of fuel. I am going to make another FF stove and put a little more time in its construction and then retest.

Glad to hear you are doing tests. The Batch stove sounds great. Keep us posted on further results.

 

[jentzschman]

Glad to hear you are doing tests. The Batch stove sounds great. Keep us posted on further results.

Will do.

 

[WasatchWill]

@jentzschman I'm wondering if your lack of success with your fancy feast stove was in part due to the kind of pot you are using. If it is tall and narrow, it can take much longer to bring water to a boil with certain stoves compared to a wider shallower pot containing an equal amount of water. In fact, I've made a few alkys myself thus far, including the Supercat and a pop-can stove similar to this one, and for this reason, I've picked me up a GSI Kettle to pair with alcohol stoves which works very well, especially since I use the freezer bag cooking method for most of my backcountry meals. It is also very lightweight. I do have a GSI dualist for when I go out with my wife as well as a Minimilist that I plan to still use when conditions justify the use of a canister over alcohol and/or I need to minimize my space.

If you are trying out a Supercat, you might find this template handy: http://zenstoves.net/Templates/TemplateSuperCat.GIF

For even more comprehensive info and if you really want to see an array of options, both for the Supercat and beyond, try out http://jwbasecamp.com/Articles/SuperCat/HTML/Super_Cat7.htm and then http://zenstoves.net/.

I find it fascinating to see how many different kinds of alcohol stove designs there are out there with more DIY designs coming out all the time as it seems. Of the few I've made so far, I found the Supercat to be very effective and reliable for me so far. It's nearly the lightest weight you can get, probably the simplest to make, doesn't require a pot stand, and while it's not the most efficient when it comes to burn time, it does seem to boil water in a respectable amount of time, for an alky. I was just playing with mine the other night and was able to boil three cups of cold tap water in about 7.5 minutes on my counter top with 1 oz of Heet. The stove burned on for about 90 more seconds after that. Knowing that, I could probably get two cups of water to boil on 3/4 oz and in a much shorter period of time. I like to boil 3 cups though - 2 cups for a dinner meal and 1 cup for a hot drink. Of course, mileage will vary outdoors where a windscreen becomes necessary and so on.

P.S. If this is the Batch Stove you got, I'll have to keep that in mind as well. Sounds reliable and looks really sturdy as well. I saw some a lot like this for sale at Recreation Outlet for about $30 and thought that was ridiculous so I'm glad to see the can be purchase for much less and with accessories included. Thanks for sharing your results!

 

[jentzschman]

I used my GSI minimalist pot for both tests.

@jentzschman I'm wondering if your lack of success with your fancy feast stove was in part due to the kind of pot you are using. If it is tall and narrow, it can take much longer to bring water to a boil with certain stoves compared to a wider shallower pot containing an equal amount of water. In fact, I've made a few alkys myself thus far, including the Supercat and a pop-can stove similar to this one, and for this reason, I've picked me up a GSI Kettle to pair with alcohol stoves which works very well, especially since I use the freezer bag cooking method for most of my backcountry meals. It is also very lightweight. I do have a GSI dualist for when I go out with my wife as well as a Minimilist that I plan to still use when conditions justify the use of a canister over alcohol and/or I need to minimize my space.

If you are trying out a Supercat, you might find this template handy: http://zenstoves.net/Templates/TemplateSuperCat.GIF

For even more comprehensive info and if you really want to see an array of options, both for the Supercat and beyond, try out http://jwbasecamp.com/Articles/SuperCat/HTML/Super_Cat7.htm and then http://zenstoves.net/.

I find it fascinating to see how many different kinds of alcohol stove designs there are out there with more DIY designs coming out all the time as it seems. Of the few I've made so far, I found the Supercat to be very effective and reliable for me so far. It's nearly the lightest weight you can get, probably the simplest to make, doesn't require a pot stand, and while it's not the most efficient when it comes to burn time, it does seem to boil water in a respectable amount of time, for an alky. I was just playing with mine the other night and was able to boil three cups of cold tap water in about 7.5 minutes on my counter top with 1 oz of Heet. The stove burned on for about 90 more seconds after that. Knowing that, I could probably get two cups of water to boil on 3/4 oz and in a much shorter period of time. I like to boil 3 cups though - 2 cups for a dinner meal and 1 cup for a hot drink. Of course, mileage will vary outdoors where a windscreen becomes necessary and so on.

P.S. If this is the Batch Stove you got, I'll have to keep that in mind as well. Sounds reliable and looks really sturdy as well. I saw some a lot like this for sale at Recreation Outlet for about $30 and thought that was ridiculous so I'm glad to see the can be purchase for much less and with accessories included. Thanks for sharing your results!

Awesome info!

I used a GSI minimalist cup for my tests. It is interesting that the 2 cups boiled on the batch stove but not the FF being a slender cup as you mentioned.

I think for now I will stick with the batch stove for awhile and see how it performs. Knowing now that I can boil 2 cups of water with only 20 grams of fuel will be useful for future outings. All I need to do now is find an appropriate container to transport the fuel while in my pack. I am trying to find a small squeeze bottle.

 

[WindRiverHiker]

I used my GSI minimalist pot for both tests.


Awesome info!

I used a GSI minimalist cup for my tests. It is interesting that the 2 cups boiled on the batch stove but not the FF being a slender cup as you mentioned.

I think for now I will stick with the batch stove for awhile and see how it performs. Knowing now that I can boil 2 cups of water with only 20 grams of fuel will be useful for future outings. All I need to do now is find an appropriate container to transport the fuel while in my pack. I am trying to find a small squeeze bottle.

I like to use an 8 oz bottled water bottle for fuel. They weigh less than 1/2 oz and hold enough fuel (for my needs) to last 5 or 6 days. Just be sure they are clearly labeled as FUEL so no one can accidentally drink the contents!

 

[jentzschman]

Awesome. I purchased some plastic bottles from a online supplier in hopes of riding a good size for fuel.

 

[WasatchWill]

You can also pick up a pack of assorted bottles by Coghlans at just about any outdoor retailer or even some supermarkets for just a few bucks. Included are some 2 Oz and 4 Oz bottles that are just right for 2-3 day trips. They come with the folding spout cap too.

Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk

 

[Jimmy Olsen]

I assume you are referring to knowing while on the trail. At home, you can simply weigh the canister to see how full it is.

The newer canisters have markings on the side. Float them in water and you can read how much fuel is left.

 

[jentzschman]

The newer canisters have markings on the side. Float them in water and you can read how much fuel is left.

That is sweet. I will have to check them out when I can.

 

[Duke]

I have found my whisperlite to be a bit temperamental. A bit of a pain to pump, get the bottom wick wet, light, warm the vaporizer, get it going. And, when the bottle gets low I have the choice of pumping the schnitzel out of it or having it burn poorly because the pressure is low. I did find a tutorial on Youtube showing how to clean it with the cable and that did help.....but I still find it a pain and am thinking of looking at a jetboil. I went into the Lemhi range last weekend for some arctic grayling and it sure seemed like I was spending a lot of time nursing my stove along while my friend had his jetboil lit and food done in minutes. I think I would have made the trade already except that I still hate the thoughts of the canisters and not knowing how much I have left. I cook hotwater bottles for my toes at night sometimes and it is always based on how much fuel I have left. If I am low on fuel my toes just have to suck it up that night. I would never know with the canisters and i do like my hotwater bottle.

This thread has been very informative for me.

 

[Duke]

Oh, I meant to ask......does anyone have experience with a SVEA 123? I have a friend that swears by his.