Gas Canister Stoves Question

[OzSwaggie]

Hi All

I know this is a bit of a "how long is a piece of string" question, but I'm just after guidelines.

We've always used alcohol stoves when hiking/camping but have just become aware of the fire restrictions in Inyo meaning these are not permitted this year. So we're going to buy a gas stove and propane/butane canisters.

We've never used this type of fuel before, so have no idea how much we are likely to use each day. (We know exactly how much fuel we use with alcohol, sigh.)

Can anyone give a rough guide? We'll be around 9-10,000 feet most of the time and probably we'll boil a one-pint kettle four times per day... Any guesses as to how long a canister might last? What size would we need to last four days?

many thanks

Donna

[Carne_DelMuerto]

Donna, while I can't answer your question directly, there are a few threads on this forum that address this. One quick search yeilded this:

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=3704&p=21839&hilit ... son#p21839" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Try a few different terms and I'm almost positive you'll find the info you seek.

[frediver]

Don't 4get a wind screen.
IMHO 1 med can should get
you 3 days, 2 cans a week.
If you run the 1st can out early
you can adjust with your 2nd.
OR
One large can with a 100gm.
sm. can as backup.
For 4 days a single lg. can would
be my choice.

[OzSwaggie]

Thank you frediver, that is great! I did do a search and look at other posts about gas stoves etc but they seemed awfully technical and as we are flying out in twelve sleeps now I found them a bit intimidating!

So a large (8oz? / 240g?) canister with a small (3oz?/ 100g) for backup for four days? That sounds great, and won't weigh much more than the alcohol would have. Just wondering, did you factor in our usage (4 - 5 pints boiled per day) which I think is fairly high (there are two of us)...

Thanks again, this site is so great for allowing people to share experience, saves us all independently reinventing the wheel!

[frediver]

Rereading.
Nope small is 100gm
Med. Is 8oz
Lg 16oz.
Ruff guess 5 min. Per boil. The specs
say less but lets avg.
A med can will last about 1hr on hi. and boil a liter
under 4min. if you believe the advertising.
At one time rei had a stove fuel/time chart.

lots of ways to futz numbers. Do you simmer or
use the stove on low to keep water warm. Do you
start with warm or Cold water. Etc.

Don't 4get a wind screen. Don't fully enclose the stove,
let it get some air so it does not overheat.

[OzSwaggie]

Hmm, so we should get somewhere between 12 and 20 boils from a medium canister, (8oz) and that means at our rate of consumption a medium should last three days, which is I think exactly what you advised in your first post. I am covered in admiration! Thanks again!

[OzSwaggie]

PS - thanks for the tip about not fully enclosing the stove with the windscreen, we did do this with the alcohol stove (overheating not a problem) so a very valuable piece of advice!!

[tim]

Do the fire restrictions (http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/inyo/home ... rdb5375855" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) really prevent use of your stove? They permit pressured liquid fuel, like white gas. it's hard for me to understand why alcohol would be any different.

Carrying a stove on a plane would seem to be more of a challenge - a few years ago a friend was told he could take his white gas stove on a flight unless it had never been used, because there might be residual gas in the bottle. But that was soon after 9/11 so things might be less strict now.

[Wandering Daisy]

My husband and I get 5-6 days from a medium canister. On a 9-10 day trip we use the large canister that is equivalent to two mediums (can only get these at REI). When I solo I use one medium canister for 7-8 days. We actually cook, not just boil water.

Three factors that really save us gas is 1) solar pre-heat water for dinner and 2) use a wind screen and 3) use "pot cozies". First thing in camp, we get water and lay it facing the sun, on a black stuff sack. One hour of heating really warms the water. Most food does not need to be boiled or even simmered for the 10-minute recommended cook time. After I add food, I simmer it for 2-3 minutes then turn off the stove and wrap the pot in a cozy. I make pot cozies from that bubble wrap with one foil side. I cut these to wrap around the pot and attach with a rubber band and cut two round pieces to cover top and bottom. 5-10 minutes in the cozy finishes the cooking. I actually like my food "al-dente" . If you have freeze dried food, it is good to soak it before cooking. My wind screen is a home-made one that weighs nothing. A friend made it for me - I think it is made from a round candle reflector. You can buy screens designed for specific stoves. With a canister, it is important NOT to restrict air flow around the canister itself. The "screens" actually attach to the stove ABOVE the canister. Even with a canister, you have to find a cook site well protected from wind. And some stove systems like the jet boil use a pot that has a heat exchanger. With these systems, if you just boil water, one person can actually go a week on one small canister.

In summary, it varies. Depends on your cooking style. But anyone can save gas with wind screen, cozy and pre-heating.

[HikeSierraNevada]

At the risk of being repetitive, I'm also surprised that an alcohol stove would be banned due to fire restrictions. I would double check your source on that one.

I typically get at least 6 days out of a medium canister. I just completed a 4-day trip with my wife and two kids and did not empty a medium (8oz net) canister using an MSR Pocket Rocket. I brought a small canister as a backup and never used it. We boil 2 liters at a time for coffee and oatmeal for breakfast, and dehydrated meals for dinner. We camped at 10,000 and 8,000 ft, cold water, custom windscreen - an aluminum pie pan that just wraps around the burner and the base of the pot. Do NOT enclose the canister as the trapped heat could cause an explosion (unlikely, but it could ruin your meal and a bit more). I also have an ultra light Esbit stove that makes a lighter backup alternative than a second canister.