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Stoves

Good summary, Philip, comparing a variety of gas stoves. Agree with you on the tripod stoves. Owned one but never felt confident with it. We used our Svea mainly inside a cooker tailor made for it, which enlarged the footprint quite a bit, for stability. Yes, we always carried a spare fuel cap.

Paws is three time zones away. Expect she has already made her decision.

What do you think about heat exchangers as sold for the Esbit? Third photo down.
http://sectionhiker.com/esbit-alcohol-s ... cs985h-ex/
 
Astoriadave said:
Kayakwriter, Got any thoughts on the Esbit versus Trangia? Also, how about the heat shield on the Esbit? Worth the extra bucks? Here's that link. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001UEL76Q/ref ... EAWN1CC45L
Based on no experience with them, just eyeballin' and speculatin', they look beautifully made. But I can't help wondering if the heat shield is offered because the wind protection of the burner holder is inferior to the enclosed protection of a Trangia cookset windshield. That said, the little wire handle for adjusting the flame looks handier than the Trangia procedure, which is: lift off pot, pull on fire gloves (which I carry anyway for the woodstove), fish out burner cap, pivot cover more open or closed as needed, replace cap, replace pot. Guess that's the upside to the more open, less wind-protected Esbit burner holder.

Astoriadave said:
Good summary, Philip, SNIP what do you think about heat exchangers as sold for the Esbit? Third photo down. http://sectionhiker.com/esbit-alcohol-s ... cs985h-ex/
Looks like a cool idea. I know that for LPG stoves like the Jetboil and similar, the heat exchanger makes them incredibly fast and efficient. When we're boiling coffee water in the morning on my buddy Mike's Jetboil, it's like a backcountry microwave.

I'm guessing the gram weenies will have a field day figuring out the precise tipping point of days/meals at which the additional weight of the heat exchanger starts paying for itself in terms of the weight and bulk of fuel it saves.
 
If you're just cooking for yourself, then I'd also consider the Jetboil solo, which is compact and the canister will last a couple of days.

If you don't want to bring fuel canisters, then you might consider a SoloStove. I just picked one up on Amazon as a stove/pot combo. In full disclosure, I haven't had a chance to try it out, but from their website, It looks like it will do a nice job with a supply of twigs. The stove/pot combo is nice because each comes in its own stuff bag, and the stove nests inside the pot with lid - http://www.solostove.com. I will try it out tomorrow, but the website indicates it will boil 32oz of water in about 8 minutes. They have three sizes, from the solo to a multiparty size stove. I got the combo on Amazon.
 
kayakwriter said:
That said, the little wire handle for adjusting the flame looks handier than the Trangia procedure, which is: lift off pot, pull on fire gloves (which I carry anyway for the woodstove), fish out burner cap, pivot cover more open or closed as needed, replace cap, replace pot. Guess that's the upside to the more open, less wind-protected Esbit burner holder.

The little wire handle makes it much easier. Just don't do what I did...put the snuff cap on, leave it for a couple of minutes then pick it up again and burn your fingers on the wire handle! :mrgreen:
 
stevenf said:
kayakwriter said:
That said, the little wire handle for adjusting the flame looks handier than the Trangia procedure, which is: lift off pot, pull on fire gloves (which I carry anyway for the woodstove), fish out burner cap, pivot cover more open or closed as needed, replace cap, replace pot. Guess that's the upside to the more open, less wind-protected Esbit burner holder.

The little wire handle makes it much easier. Just don't do what I did...put the snuff cap on, leave it for a couple of minutes then pick it up again and burn your fingers on the wire handle! :mrgreen:
I don't think that's what they mean by "brand management."
Ba-domfm!

I'll see myself out...
 
. . . fish out burner cap, pivot cover more open or closed as needed, replace . . .
that's why i always have a set of chopsticks in the bottom of the drybag:

hold cap in place with one, and pivot cover with the other . . . . . . . . . .

. . . quickly.
 
Bioflame brand (from Rechochem) denatured alcohol is 90% ethanol, 10% isopropyl, and is less toxic than ethanol which has methanol in it. It works well in Trangia, with a less blue flame, and a hint of yellow (the isopropyl talking)..

http://www.recochem.com/products/firepl ... hanol_fuel

You can buy it at places like Rona and Home Depot

It's also pretty cheap compared to Captain Phab, with is denatured with methanol.
 
Could not find a US source for Bioflame denatured alcohol. Sunnyside is commonly available in hardware stores, and at 95 per cent alcohol, no water, should burn as hot as an alcohol stove can get. Denaturants include a ketone, some naphtha, and 3.6 per cent methanol. At that percentage, most of the concerns about its use should be minimal. Sunnyside is much cheaper than Bioflame, available in quarts for a try, gallons for economy.
 
At the risk of excommunication from The Church of Trangia, I've found a system I really like for kayaking and motorcycle trips.

* MSR Windpro stove (or your favorite isobutane stove)

* Replace isobutane cannister with standard coleman propane cannister ($3 from Big Box) like this:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0J8NZJR2GPW8JT56WA3D

* Use this adapter on the Coleman tank ($27):

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CFPISZW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

* Refill the tank after your trip with this adapter ($13):

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0J8NZJR2GPW8JT56WA3D.

The refill uses about 30 cents of propane from the 20# tank. The propane tank is twice the size of a standard 8oz isobutane and lasts about 1.5 times as long.

Here's the procedure:

https://youtu.be/xKCYIOnxwkg

I still love my Trangia 27 and it is all I use on solo trips. But when it comes time to prepare food fast for a group this system rocks. Careful: it can put out WAY more heat than a windpro using isobutane. I've been using this system about a year now and have had no problems.
 
Here's a vid on a slightly different method (which I haven't tried, but will as it refills the container more completely). There's a good economic analysis in this one as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fD1CmorB_qM

Finally, here's a DIY method of refilling the MSR canisters. There's actually an adapter you can purchase so as to bypass fabricating one yourself. I have tried this, but I found the butane difficult to find locally at the price quoted in the vid...

https://youtu.be/IAQ5BFSTQWE

I haven't tried refilling the MSR canisters with propane - just didn't get around to it...
 
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