portable stoves

[MustardMan]

I love my Trangia burner alky stove, in conjuction with a clikstand ( http://www.clikstand.com ) and windscreen - the clikstand makes it way more efficient on fuel use, and is a smaller package than all but the trangia mini stand. My whole stove setup nests inside of a 900ml Evernew titanium pot.


HOWEVER, for super cold weather, alky stoves can be hard to get lit. I hate liquid fuel stoves, so am leaning towards a wood burning stove like the bush buddy.


In other words, PLEASE post a link to the instructions for the DIY bushbuddy clone :thumbup:

 

[steelheadr]

If you are deciding between a cannister style (butane, isobutane, etc.) and a liquid fueld version (white gas, kerosene, etc.), keep in mind that you will actually be burning the fuel vapor, not the liquid.

The convenience and simplicity of cannister stoves can't be beat, but the gas doesn't vaporize easily when the temp gets really cold. Warm the cannister up first (inside jacket works great) and keep it well insulated from the cold ground/snow. There's also the issue of properly disposing used cannisters as they can't be refilled.

Liquid fuel stoves take a bit more prep than cannisters since you need to prime the stove by heating the fuel until it begins to vaporize. This can be done with some of the liquid fuel itself, a bit of alcohol, fire starting paste or anything else that can add heat to the fuel line. The fuel bottles are typically available in multiple sizes so you can bring an appropriate amount of fuel.

Good Luck,
Jay

 

[PatriotDan]

I really liked the Bushbuddy but could't justify the price. After researching it I made the DIY version. Cost about $5.00 in parts and about 30 minutes of my time.

I have some pictures of constucting it I could post if anyone is interested.

Paul

Please do! I'd be very interested.

 

[Eyegor]

......I want as little fuss as possible. That is why I fairly often (but not always) carry Sterno. My stove folds flat, I can use it with Sterno, wood, or even my alky. It has been my experience that Sterno is absolutely bombproof. I have never had it fail to light. It is also self contained. Even without the stove I can cook on it with very little fuss.

I have experienced all of the negatives as well: It sometimes has a funky smell, the cans can get bulky (but less than canisters), and most importantly, the heat output can be quite low(although since my stove is almost completely enclosed it helps quite a bit). For day trips where I'm just doing a boil up for lunch, or when warming pre-cooked dishes i like it quite a bit. If I was doing all my cooking on more than an overnight I would probably use my alcohol burner (same stove though) instead.

 

[hollowdweller]

http://www.zzstove.com/

 

[Kismet]

I'm old.

Svea 123, Lasts longer than most marraiges and one heckuva lot less expensive to maintain.

 

[Todd A]

For just boiling a canteen cup of water I use a German surplus folding Esbit stove. I use Trioxane with it insted of Esbit tabs though.

 

[dartanyon]

Kismet ... +++ for the svea 123, my absolute favourite. Also I have the optimus 000, an optimus hunter, an old coleman and primus multi, all liquid fuel (refined petrol) and the svea 123 is still on a podium of its own. They all roar.

 

[1066vik]

For just boiling a canteen cup of water I use a German surplus folding Esbit stove. I use Trioxane with it insted of Esbit tabs though.

+1 on this - picked mine up cheap with a CMB of trioxane tablets from Sportsman's guide years ago.

 

[Mikel_24]

^ and MSR stands behind their products and customers 110%

for a winter water boiler i recommend the MSR REACTOR (got a review somewhere in BF WS&S). Works great in icy cold conditions, uses little fuel, boils water really fast. Windproof.

Like two days ago or so I posted a comment on a review about this stove made by a Spanish site/store (www.barrabes.com) about this stove.
It is a great stove no doubt but please, be carefull when advertising it for very cold temps. It runs on butane/propante mixture and below -0,5ºC butane DOES NOT gasify... which means that you will be burning only propane. You could end up burning all the propane and not being able to cook any more with the bottle half full of butane.

GAS STOVES DON'T WORK WELL UNDER FREEZING TEMPS. Well, you don't even need to go below zero... the endothermic reaction of gasifying gas inside the canister lowers the temperature of the cartridge itself even lower...

There is a chance though with separate bottle stoves (the one with a hose attached to the burner on one end and the canister on the other side) as long as the burner has a generator tube and the canister can be set up upside down. The propane on top (now the bottom of the canister), pushes the liquid butane down the hose and... it gasifyes on the generator tube. You need to run them for a minute or so with the canister in the upright position though to bring that generator tube up to temp. All the multifuel stoves allow this procedure.

Anyway, back to the topic. For a cup of tea any light stove with a small canister will do. MSR Pocker Rocket might not be the lightest (some are a tad ligther) but it will be for sure the best bang for the buck (very cheap compared with the titanium models which are the only ligther ones).

Mikel

 

[Any Cal.]

Like two days ago or so I posted a comment on a review about this stove made by a Spanish site/store (www.barrabes.com) about this stove.
It is a great stove no doubt but please, be carefull when advertising it for very cold temps. It runs on butane/propante mixture and below -0,5ºC butane DOES NOT gasify... which means that you will be burning only propane. You could end up burning all the propane and not being able to cook any more with the bottle half full of butane.

GAS STOVES DON'T WORK WELL UNDER FREEZING TEMPS. Well, you don't even need to go below zero... the endothermic reaction of gasifying gas inside the canister lowers the temperature of the cartridge itself even lower...

There is a chance though with separate bottle stoves (the one with a hose attached to the burner on one end and the canister on the other side) as long as the burner has a generator tube and the canister can be set up upside down. The propane on top (now the bottom of the canister), pushes the liquid butane down the hose and... it gasifyes on the generator tube. You need to run them for a minute or so with the canister in the upright position though to bring that generator tube up to temp. All the multifuel stoves allow this procedure.

Anyway, back to the topic. For a cup of tea any light stove with a small canister will do. MSR Pocker Rocket might not be the lightest (some are a tad ligther) but it will be for sure the best bang for the buck (very cheap compared with the titanium models which are the only ligther ones).

Mikel

For the ultimate Rube Goldberg setup, do like I have done and set the canister next to the fire to keep it warm enough to heat water.

 

[Joezilla]

MSR pocket rocket is hard to beat, and you can see what the others think of them. The alky stoves aren't too bad either but you'll have to use your noggin to get the most out of them in really cold stove.

 

[redpoint]

Canister stoves are unreliable below -15C. An MSR multi-fuel stove is a great option. The MSR SimmerLite would be my choice for a compact, reliable stove. Pair that with a small Snow Peak titanium pot or the MSR Titan kettle and you have a great little lightweight, bomber, winter set-up.

http://cascadedesigns.com/msr/stoves/fast-and-light-stoves/simmerlite/product

 

[Mikel_24]

For the ultimate Rube Goldberg setup, do like I have done and set the canister next to the fire to keep it warm enough to heat water.

Sure you can. I woke up a lazy canister once with a ligther and I know may ways arround making heating pipes out of flattened copper tube that goes from the burner to the bottom of the canister and such... but... those are dangerous ways that I wouldn't feel comfortable recomending. Don't want to take any responsabilities!

That said, there are two other ways that may help. Placing the canister on a pan of water works well... since melting water doesn't go below 0ºC. Another thing you can try is using one of those chemical heat pads strapped with some tape under the can.

Mikel

 

[DavG]

Esbits are the way to go if you're only boiling water and can deal with the horrible residue they leave on the surrounding stuff/cookware.

If you want versatility around the world and reliability in all conditions, I'd recommend the Primus Nova multi-fuel. It also has a controlled output, so you can simmer if you are doing more cooking.

Wood burning stoves are great, but not that useful above the treeline and can be difficult in windy/wet weather.

Basically, you have a hundred options and should make a list of exactly what you want.

 

[Bushman5]

Like two days ago or so I posted a comment on a review about this stove made by a Spanish site/store (www.barrabes.com) about this stove.
It is a great stove no doubt but please, be carefull when advertising it for very cold temps. It runs on butane/propante mixture and below -0,5ºC butane DOES NOT gasify... which means that you will be burning only propane. You could end up burning all the propane and not being able to cook any more with the bottle half full of butane.

GAS STOVES DON'T WORK WELL UNDER FREEZING TEMPS. Well, you don't even need to go below zero... the endothermic reaction of gasifying gas inside the canister lowers the temperature of the cartridge itself even lower...

There is a chance though with separate bottle stoves (the one with a hose attached to the burner on one end and the canister on the other side) as long as the burner has a generator tube and the canister can be set up upside down. The propane on top (now the bottom of the canister), pushes the liquid butane down the hose and... it gasifyes on the generator tube. You need to run them for a minute or so with the canister in the upright position though to bring that generator tube up to temp. All the multifuel stoves allow this procedure.

Anyway, back to the topic. For a cup of tea any light stove with a small canister will do. MSR Pocker Rocket might not be the lightest (some are a tad ligther) but it will be for sure the best bang for the buck (very cheap compared with the titanium models which are the only ligther ones).

Mikel

and yet i've used it in winter, and have had zero problems. This issue of gas canister stoves not working in cold temps has been been blown WAY out of proportion.

I stand behind it (MSR REACTOR) for winter temps. Why? because it works just fine in cold temps. Maybe on Everest there might be problems, but i have had the stove up 10,000 feet here in BC's mountains with ZERO issues.

On top of that there is many ways to prevent the (miniscule, less than 20%) amount of butane from freezing, including such basics as setting the stove on a piece of wood off the snow, to pouring warm water onto the canister as the fuel levels get low. All basic mountaineering kitchen skills.

Besides , from my experience (over 80 canisters of isopropane run thru my MSR reactor) the Reactor boils water so fast that there is never really a chance for rapid cooling to occur in the canister (even with the endothermic reaction). 2 - 3 minutes boil time for 1.5 liters, less time (1min) for a single cup, plus the huge amount of heat radiated out from the burner radiator = a warm canister.

If it ever got so cold that i actually had problems with the fuel canister, I would go against MSR's warning of NOT using windshields around the canister and i would use a bit of tin foil to reflect the radiant burners heat to the canisters side, being well aware of course of the risks.

 

[mtwarden]

hard to beat this little titanium Esbit stove for weight (~ 13 grams)

http://www.ultimatesurvival.com/product_view.cfm?product_line_ID=730

I made a windscreen (Ti) that allows me to burn Esbit or wood, for wood I simply add two ti stakes (that are in my pack anyways)

everything (stove, windscreen, spork, mini bic/birthday candle, Esbit fuel) all nestle in a small Snowpeak 600 mug

the versatility of using wood or Esbit makes it pretty handy

here's some more ideas on DIY light stoves

http://www.howardjohnson.name/Backpacking/Stove/Howards_Esbit_Stove_3.0.html

 

[Bige610]

thanks for the ideas guys. i like the idea of the stoves were i can burn whatever fuel i find on my hikes. i know have a lot of info to digest. thanks again

 

[revolverman357]

I use a brunton raptor. Great stove, no problems.

 

[Nobody]

MT Warden,
What's the thickness of your foil? I also really like your design, it is simplicity itself!