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Caldera Keg-F/H
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May 26, 2010 at 7:49 pm #1259491
Can these actually boil 2 cups of water? I need a lighter setup and i love my current caldera cone setup, i just need to know if it can boil 2 cups. Some people say it cant, while i have heard the opposite from others. Thanks
May 26, 2010 at 8:43 pm #1614294Easily. I have only done actual tests at about 400 feet altitude. 7.5 minutes to a rolling boil with water temperature at 70F to start, with no lid on the K. The highest I have used it is around 10K feet, but did not time it.
May 26, 2010 at 8:47 pm #1614296do you have the f or h?
Do you use the caddy, if so how much does it weigh? Im contemplating it but don't know if i would come out on top weight wise if i replaced my ziploc bowl with it.
May 26, 2010 at 8:56 pm #1614301I have the Keg-F system and have never had a problem with boiling 2 cups of water.
May 27, 2010 at 11:43 am #1614532i have the keg Fosters version and it will boil 2 cups no problem. i use the esbit, i have the GVP setup. what i reall like is that with one esbit tab i can boil 16oz of cold stream water for dinner, and heat up enough water for coffee or tea with the rest of the esbit tab. i was able to do this at about 8000'. i almost did not use the caddy because of the weight, but i found it to be very versitile as a bowl and to hold my kit together with fuel, matches, etc. just my poersonal opinion as to the caddy, one good thing about the keg is that the screen pretty much fits inside the can, so you could leave the caddy behind if you can pack it carefully.
the one thing i don't like about the caddy is that the can and windscreen can move around causing a tapping sound, so i put my towel inside to take up that volume and keep everything from rattling around.May 27, 2010 at 12:11 pm #1614545issac,
I have the Fosters. The caddy weighs 3.0 oz. and I do not use it. I pack everything in a cuben sack that fits snug. Got the sack from zPacks. So the can, cone, stove, cozy, and empty fuel bottle weighs 3.8 oz. For a bowl I was using a Frosted Flakes plastic container at .4 oz. For dinner, I would use the Mountain House bag. On my next trip I am packaging everything into some Ziplock microwave bags, and just add boiling water (oatmeal and Mountain House). I will probably make a Reflectix cozy for the MH meals. At least that is my plan for this weekend. I still have play with the weights. I have to bring microspikes on my trip, and current base is 5lbs 10 oz, and am trying to get rid of some of this weight.
May 27, 2010 at 12:19 pm #1614547>>>On my next trip I am packaging everything into some Ziplock microwave bags, and just add boiling water (oatmeal and Mountain House).<<<
Nick – if you mean the Ziplock microwave steamer bags then be careful and test before you go. The Ziplock steamer bags I tested had the venting holes on the side of the bag, so when filled with hot water and stood up the water will leak out.
I use the Glad "Simply Steaming" bags which have the vent holes at the top. Plus the Glad bags are formed so they stand up nicely on their own after filling with water and you can roll the top down and eat from it like a bowl when your food is ready.
Edit: because I can't spell anything correctly the first time. We need a preview button.
May 27, 2010 at 1:53 pm #1614581John,
Thanks for the information. I could not find the Glad bags, and no time to order via the Web. I like the ability to stand them up.
The bags I bought are the Zip Lock Zip n Steam bags. There are two measuring marks 1/2 bag (16oz) and full bag (32 oz). There is a vent on each side on the full bag line, so I should be okay. I tried one under ideal conditions in my wife's kitchen when she was at work. It is my wife's kitchen, because I am not allowed in it to mess things up. That is because I used the oven to cure some painted motorcycle parts. But, she does not know what happens when she is at work :)
Edit for Preview comments: I would like to see a preview function also, especially when posing pictures. For spelling, I can use the Google Tool Bar spellcheckers, but usually forget it is there.
May 27, 2010 at 5:13 pm #1614636I have caldera keg foster and it works great. I also have the caddy setup and like it a lot. I use one end of the caddy for hot drinks and then a freezer bag in the other end with the reflective around it. Great combination. The caddy was worth the weight because:
1. protective storage
2. serves as mug for hot drinks
3. works great for freezer bag cooking (don't need a cozy)my two cents
Brad
May 27, 2010 at 10:03 pm #1614725@ Nick,
What Z-packs cuben stuff sac did you purchase to store your Caldera Keg setup? I'm looking at getting an Inferno setup for my BPL Trappers mug and I think a simple cylindrical shaped cuben stuff sack would work well. Do you simply roll up the cone tight, place inside sac and allow the cone to unwind in the stuff sack? I place my caldera on top of my consumables at the top of my pack so I'm not worried about damaging my cone.
@ Isaac,
Curious, why would you think the Calder Keg options wouldn't be able to boil 2 cups? Can volume?
May 28, 2010 at 5:55 am #1614783The cone nearly fits all the way into the keg (in some models the cone fits 100% into the keg) so you can roll up the cone, put it into the keg, then put the stove (if you're using alcohol) upside down into the top of the keg as well. Then just put the keg into the stuff sack, drop the lid on top, then cinch down the drawstring.
I don't think Joe lists the stuff sacks for the kegs on his webpage, but if you just tell him you want a stuff sack for either the Heinie can or Fosters can he will make it for you. (Well, at least back in the old days he would before he got overwhelmed with orders for the hexamid.) With your trappers mug you're probably going to need something different anyway as I don't believe your cone will fit into the mug.
May 28, 2010 at 8:36 am #1614817The sack is close to 7" tall and 3.5" in diameter. I don't know how Joe measures them. I bought a selection of sacks from him. On some of my trips, using a few cuben sacks protects my gear and weighs less than a pack liner.
I roll the cone and put it in the Fosters can. I would be concerned about a shart edge tearing the cuben. Sinc it is in the Fosters can, about 1/2" of the cone extends past the top of the can. I place the stove at the top of the extended cone. The base of the stove fits the top of the cone like a lid, with the body of the stove pointed down inside the cone. This protects the extend top of the cone and prevents tearing the cuben sack. Inside I keep a spoon, aluminum foil lid and matches. I carry my fuel bottle separately.
May 28, 2010 at 9:31 am #1614826Eugene I read in several threads regarding it could not
May 28, 2010 at 9:59 am #1614835The question could be, will they boil a pint on just one fill of fuel and how much fuel is that? Not boiling on one fill of 15 ml is not to be confused with not ever boiling. More or colder water or windy conditions may dictate a second filling or a larger initial amount of fuel depending on the capacity of the stove, no big deal to me.
May 28, 2010 at 1:16 pm #1614885isaac, hopefully this will ease your concerns a bit. i just did a test. this test was done in my kitchen so take it for what its worth.
i filled the fosters keg with 16oz of ice water, using ice cubes and cold tap water. i filled the alcohol stove with 1oz of fuel (which is the recommended maximum for the stove). it took approx 3 minutes for the ice to melt completely. full rolling boil was achieved in 9:41 and the stove continued to burn until 14:52.
you should have no problems boiling 2 cups of water in the wild as you will not have 20-25 ice cubes in your water. and you will have an extra 5 min worth of fuel in the stove. i have found that when i am out i use 15mL of fuel per 16oz boil with no problems.
i thought you might like some hard numbers-May 29, 2010 at 7:55 am #1615041My recent experience has been 20ml to boil 2 cups.
Aug 4, 2010 at 7:56 pm #1634952Bumping this up. Just wondering what the difference/pros/cons of the F vs the H apart from using the different cans? I can see that the packing is slightly different. I know I'm probably missing something obvious. Are they different sizes? Have they done anything special to the cans to make them work with the system? Or can you make up your own if it gets damaged? ta
Aug 4, 2010 at 10:22 pm #1634989Cameron:
I'll let others weigh in on which they prefer in the field….however I can detail the component differences:
1) The Can – Yes, one is a Fosters and one is a Heineken. Both have their bottoms reformed to provide more space to store the cone. The Fosters has a ridge formed into the body of the can to support it on the top of the cone (the Heineken uses a specially designed extra large silicone band in the middle to support itself on the cone). Both have their lids removed with a "Safe Cut" opener, and the lids aren't "popped"…..so we don't use cans from the garbage….each can is purchased retail for this purpose. The Fosters is lighter than the Heineken….even before factoring in the band.
2) The Cone – The Keg-H cone fits completely inside the Heineken can. The Keg-GVP cone fits completely inside the Fosters can. The Keg-F cone is taller and sticks out a bit but provides more water inside the cone than the Keg-H.
3) The "Caddy" – The Keg-F comes with a full Caddy mainly due to the nature of the fragile Fosters can. The Heineken can comes with a half Caddy because it is a much sturdier can and doesn't need the Caddy protection as much.
4) Beer Bands – As noted above, all systems come with a set of silicone bands. One "normal" size wrist band that fits around the lip as a lip guard. One much larger band that fits around the body (or the lip if you like). If you crush your can, you can buy another, open it with the Safe Cut can opener, drink the beer, and slide the large band down over the body of the can to be used to support it on the cone.
6) Cozys – Both come with a cozy…..the Keg-H a cozy to hold the caddy…..the Keg-F a cozy to hold the can.
7)Stove and fuel bottle are the same in all systems, except the Keg-H doesn't come with a measuring cup. The Keg-GVP doesn't get either and comes with a Gram Cracker setup.
Hope that helps!
Rand :-)
Aug 5, 2010 at 4:24 pm #1635197Thanks Rand. Very helpful post. I ended up grabbing the keg-F.
"so we don't use cans from the garbage….each can is purchased retail for this purpose."
Sounds like someone gets to drink alot of excess beer.
Aug 5, 2010 at 7:52 pm #1635241> Sounds like someone gets to drink alot of excess beer.
Yea….it's not a pretty picture around here! :-) Hate to say it….but on rare occasion to meet a rush order, we've even had to pour some down the drain…..MAJOR beer foul…but the cost of doing business!
Rand :-)
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