Here is another ultra-light soda can stove design quite popular aroud here:
http://outdoors-magazine.com/s_article.php?id_article=252
http://outdoors-magazine.com/s_article.php?id_article=252
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Backpacker's stove
- Thread starter Marc123
- Start date
I like the small brass civilian Trangia burner. Weighs about 6 ounces and burns nicely, from wide open throttle, to the tiniest simmer. Well worth the $12 it costs.
My Pepsi Can stove experiments all ended either with non-functional ones, or inferior(to the Trangia) ones.
Once you get the burner itself, you can bend some wire for a pot stand, and then use some thin aluminum flashing(from Home Depot) for a windscreen.:thumbup:
I always take the Trangia burner hunting.
CHEERS
My Pepsi Can stove experiments all ended either with non-functional ones, or inferior(to the Trangia) ones.
Once you get the burner itself, you can bend some wire for a pot stand, and then use some thin aluminum flashing(from Home Depot) for a windscreen.:thumbup:
I always take the Trangia burner hunting.
CHEERS
- Joined
- May 27, 2006
- Messages
- 2,325
I have built several soda can stoves that work quite well, my favorite is the double walled open design that works the same way a Trangia does. But with that being said I much prefer a trangia and carry a mini almost everywhere I go. I like the robustness, the simmer ring, and a lid that seals so I can carry it full of fuel.
I carry my fuel in one of the smallest listerine bottles and use the lid as a measure, I pretty much have it down, put food and water into my pot, measure alcohol into burner, when the flame goes out it is done. :thumbup:
I carry my fuel in one of the smallest listerine bottles and use the lid as a measure, I pretty much have it down, put food and water into my pot, measure alcohol into burner, when the flame goes out it is done. :thumbup:
i also airgun a bit but im waiting/saving for a new airgun due to the fact i was at my moms house and i had my airgun on my rack and her house got broken into and they tok my airgun money fund and airgun so i have to save up to buy a beeman s1000h and then ill begin hunting again and have more empty tins or next time we run outa shoe polish ill have to try that one
I would recommend anything made by MSR.
The whisperlite and dragonfly are 2 great white gas stoves. I've used the dragonfly for years.
While it is not the lightest, it has a great simmering feature and its wide legs hold pots very stable.
For canister stoves, the pocket rocket and superfly are light and effective.
I have zero experience with the Jetboil stoves, but they look remarkable!
The whisperlite and dragonfly are 2 great white gas stoves. I've used the dragonfly for years.
While it is not the lightest, it has a great simmering feature and its wide legs hold pots very stable.
For canister stoves, the pocket rocket and superfly are light and effective.
I have zero experience with the Jetboil stoves, but they look remarkable!
- Joined
- Sep 27, 2002
- Messages
- 3,411
Well, I thought I'd report my experience with beer can stoves!
A week or so ago I had a go at making this stove. I tested it and, whilst it worked, sort of, I had made a couple of errors. It is important to get the top of the inner wall pretty straight, and its a good idea to avoid butchering the top seam whilst cutting out the top.
So, I made another one... fortunately I've got some canned beer in stock.
I went for a walk yesterday and tried it out. The fuel was methylated spirits. When I stopped for lunch, I was in a grassy field with no handy lumps of stone about for pot supports and I had not made a support to bring. So I simply held the pot over the lit stove for a few seconds until the outer jets lit and then plonked it down on top, blocking the inner hole. This worked fine, although it slowed down the burn rate a bit. Therewas a little bit of breeze, but it didn't seem to affect the functioning of the stove much, if at all.
The pots are the ones that came with my camping gaz twister stove. I put the stove on a little bare patch of ground, and the grass was pretty green and lush, so no risk of fire!
I had put more fuel in the stove than necessary, so I was faced with the problem of extinguishing it or wasting the rest. In the end I simply inverted one of the pots over the stove to block it's air supply.
Quite fun, all in all!
Andy
A week or so ago I had a go at making this stove. I tested it and, whilst it worked, sort of, I had made a couple of errors. It is important to get the top of the inner wall pretty straight, and its a good idea to avoid butchering the top seam whilst cutting out the top.
So, I made another one... fortunately I've got some canned beer in stock.
I went for a walk yesterday and tried it out. The fuel was methylated spirits. When I stopped for lunch, I was in a grassy field with no handy lumps of stone about for pot supports and I had not made a support to bring. So I simply held the pot over the lit stove for a few seconds until the outer jets lit and then plonked it down on top, blocking the inner hole. This worked fine, although it slowed down the burn rate a bit. Therewas a little bit of breeze, but it didn't seem to affect the functioning of the stove much, if at all.
The pots are the ones that came with my camping gaz twister stove. I put the stove on a little bare patch of ground, and the grass was pretty green and lush, so no risk of fire!
I had put more fuel in the stove than necessary, so I was faced with the problem of extinguishing it or wasting the rest. In the end I simply inverted one of the pots over the stove to block it's air supply.
Quite fun, all in all!
Andy
I just stumbled upon this thread, and wanted to put another vote in for the Sierra Zip stove. I like mine a lot You get used to the blackened pots (I keep mine in a stuff bag). The Sierra stove has more or less replaced my Peak 1 Dual Fuel stove. The Peak 1 has proven to be bomb proof.
The alcohol stoves seem insanely popular. I'll have to make and try one of those.
The alcohol stoves seem insanely popular. I'll have to make and try one of those.
WeaselBites
Banned
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2006
- Messages
- 328
I've used a Peak 1 white gas stove at 12,000 feet, but let me tell you, the leather gasket in the pump mechanism dried out, and if I had not been carrying some 3-in-1 oil , that would have been my ass. Also, when you go from sea level to above treeline, those fuel bottles you filled back home suddenly become a capital bitch to open.
I had thought those little Gaz canister stoves were bunk, but after seeing someone else use one, I decided to try it, and now I'm a convert.
For backup, emergency, or ultralight, there is the Esbit folding solid-fuel stove. It's about as big as a deck of cards, including fuel, and people swear by it. On a weight-per-day basis, it beats the crud out of anything else, especially for shorter hauls.
I had thought those little Gaz canister stoves were bunk, but after seeing someone else use one, I decided to try it, and now I'm a convert.
For backup, emergency, or ultralight, there is the Esbit folding solid-fuel stove. It's about as big as a deck of cards, including fuel, and people swear by it. On a weight-per-day basis, it beats the crud out of anything else, especially for shorter hauls.
- Joined
- Sep 4, 2002
- Messages
- 2,177
I've used MSR for the last 20 years - 1st an XGK which is still going strong but is very noisy and a tad overkill for most camping in the aussie bush. I've just switched over to a whisperlight internationale and recently completed a 20 day trip through the West Mcdonnell ranges in central Australia, feeding a gang of four three times a day.
If I was just going solo I'd probably experiment with something smaller and lighter but for expedition cooking a petrol stove is hard to beat for it's heat output and low fuel consumed (and carried). The photo shows a 4 pot curry cooked up at one of our cache points, all done on the MSR (we didn't carry the large plastic box - it's what we buried the caches in)
Brewing up 2-3 times per day and occasionally boiling 5 litre pots of water for sterilisation we averaged 200ml/day of fuel consumtion, burning white gas (shellite we call it here).
I miscalculated the fuel required at one point but we came across a car campers spot and just siphoned 3-400ml of unleaded from someones petrol tank (with their permission of course) This kept us going until the next cache point.
It's minus 5-10 degrees(celcius) most mornings in the desert - the water bottles don't thaw until mid-morning (then it reaches 30+ during the day
) The MSR is just a blowtorch - regardless of the ambient temperature.
The downside is it takes some skill to master cooking without getting a congealed, burned, sticky mass on your pots. Constant attention and stirring, while not pumping too much pressure into the fuel bottle to begin with, are the secrets. My trek mates called me 'the stove whisperer'.
If I was just going solo I'd probably experiment with something smaller and lighter but for expedition cooking a petrol stove is hard to beat for it's heat output and low fuel consumed (and carried). The photo shows a 4 pot curry cooked up at one of our cache points, all done on the MSR (we didn't carry the large plastic box - it's what we buried the caches in)
Brewing up 2-3 times per day and occasionally boiling 5 litre pots of water for sterilisation we averaged 200ml/day of fuel consumtion, burning white gas (shellite we call it here).
I miscalculated the fuel required at one point but we came across a car campers spot and just siphoned 3-400ml of unleaded from someones petrol tank (with their permission of course) This kept us going until the next cache point.
It's minus 5-10 degrees(celcius) most mornings in the desert - the water bottles don't thaw until mid-morning (then it reaches 30+ during the day
) The MSR is just a blowtorch - regardless of the ambient temperature. The downside is it takes some skill to master cooking without getting a congealed, burned, sticky mass on your pots. Constant attention and stirring, while not pumping too much pressure into the fuel bottle to begin with, are the secrets. My trek mates called me 'the stove whisperer'.
the 3 types of stoves
gas-usally butane and propane
pros
-light n go, no warm up
-no pumping
-no pouring
cons
-have to pack out empty cansters and they cant be refilled
-dont work well in winter
-usally not as hot as white gas
-gas is expensive and can be hard to find
liquid-usally white gas but some multi-fuel can use gasoline or kerosene
pros
-very hot
-works in any weather
-efficent
-fuel is easy to find
cons
-have to fill the fuel bottes (but they are resuable)
-have to pump and prime
-have to continuously prime
-takes some time for the generator to heat up (i got it down to 30 sec for my featherlite)
alcohol
pros
-can make them
cons
-not controlable
-alcohol can be expensive
-short burn time
overall i really like white gas stoves except for the fact that they dont simmer very well. other than that they are the best IMO and since you can (with stoves lik the whisper lite) pick the fuel bottle that you need, since the stove is 2 parts, it is much lighter
gas-usally butane and propane
pros
-light n go, no warm up
-no pumping
-no pouring
cons
-have to pack out empty cansters and they cant be refilled
-dont work well in winter
-usally not as hot as white gas
-gas is expensive and can be hard to find
liquid-usally white gas but some multi-fuel can use gasoline or kerosene
pros
-very hot
-works in any weather
-efficent
-fuel is easy to find
cons
-have to fill the fuel bottes (but they are resuable)
-have to pump and prime
-have to continuously prime
-takes some time for the generator to heat up (i got it down to 30 sec for my featherlite)
alcohol
pros
-can make them
cons
-not controlable
-alcohol can be expensive
-short burn time
overall i really like white gas stoves except for the fact that they dont simmer very well. other than that they are the best IMO and since you can (with stoves lik the whisper lite) pick the fuel bottle that you need, since the stove is 2 parts, it is much lighter
I've used most of the stoves mentioned, plus others, and have come to the conclusion that stove choice is a very personal thing. If used properly, with patience, all will do the job.
Come morning wake up, I want COFFEE NOW. In cold weather that means using my old Peak 1, in warmer weather the "pocket size" cannister stoves work fine. Some trips I just boil water to make a meal and all stoves do that fine. But, when I'm in the mood for something special, I want a stove that will simmer quietly for extended periods. Toss in the issue of fuel re-supply makes the choice more cloudy.
In short, I don't think that (for me) there is one perfect stove. I regularly use: Pocket Rocket, MSR Whisper Light International, Peak 1, Optimus Explorer and Swiss Army Surplus model. The trip, weather, menu, weight and possible need for fuel re-supply determine which one I take.
Come morning wake up, I want COFFEE NOW. In cold weather that means using my old Peak 1, in warmer weather the "pocket size" cannister stoves work fine. Some trips I just boil water to make a meal and all stoves do that fine. But, when I'm in the mood for something special, I want a stove that will simmer quietly for extended periods. Toss in the issue of fuel re-supply makes the choice more cloudy.
In short, I don't think that (for me) there is one perfect stove. I regularly use: Pocket Rocket, MSR Whisper Light International, Peak 1, Optimus Explorer and Swiss Army Surplus model. The trip, weather, menu, weight and possible need for fuel re-supply determine which one I take.
lambertiana
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2000
- Messages
- 9,905
Spyder10 - There are a few white gas stoves that simmer. I have an Optimus Nova, and I know several people who use an MSR Dragonfly. Both simmer very well.
I'm a jetboil convert, started with a whisperlite international, the thing weighed a tonne compared to my jetboil. I've got a mate interested in buying mine, ut I'm not sure, I might try an alchol stove before I give it up, if that doesn't satisfy me then I'll be getting a snowpeak.