Amount of denatured alchohol for trip

[Karen Allanson]

Doing a 7-day backpack in the Sierra and deciding how much alcohol fuel is appropriate for 2 people. Basic heating water for meals and light cooking, at 8-10k’ altitude.

I’m used to estimating amount of white gas fuel for winter trips (5-8 oz. per person per day).

Any thoughts on the amount of alchol fuel you’d bring for a fall trip like this?

[Marion Watts]

Depends on the model of stove. Try setting up your stove in the harshest elements you can find, or run your stove with a fan blowing on it. Boil your water and multiply the amount you used times the number of meals to be prepared. Then add a ounce or two for spills, extra coffee, etc. Should get you close anyway.

[Pedro Arvy]

I would be surprised is gas didn’t turn out to be lighter than alcohol over a trip of this duration. From my experience, using gas will be lighter when your trip is longer than three to four days (depending on how and what you cook).

http://www.bushwalking.org.au/FAQ/FAQ_Ultralightweight.htm#Stove explains this well.

If you do use the alcohol stove, I strongly recommend you try using the stove boiling water in the expected wind you will encounter to get a real guage for fuel use – there is no other answer.

[Anonymous]

I agree with Teresa but would add: Elevation, Ambient Air / Water Temperature as major factors in how well your stove will perform.

[Karen Allanson]

Thanks very much for all the helpful comments. Since I posted this, I found my notes from a 9 day Sierra trip I did about 6 years ago with the same homemade alcohol stove, and we used .75 liter of alcohol fuel on that trip. So maybe I’ll just bring the same amount. I know white gas would be more efficient, but I was pleasantly surprised how little fuel we used on that trip, which was mostly at 10-11k’. And my white gas stove weighs a pound…

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