Comparative Fuel Efficiency and Carry Weight for Six Lightweight Backpacking Cooking Systems: Part I

[David Thomas]

Oh, and if using motor gasoline as white gas, buy it in the summer (in places that have a winter) because summer-blend gasoline is lower volatility (more towards white gas) with Reid Vapor Pressures of 7.8 to 9 psi while winter blends can be as high as 15 psi*.

*yes, it would seem that 15 psi “vapor pressure” means it would be boiling, but RVP is measured at 100F and in winter the gasoline in transport, storage and use would always be below that.

Bonus tip: when driving your car in winter, from say, San Jose to Tahoe, plan to full up in Tahoe when you arrive so you get winter-blend gasoline for easier starting and smoother running.

Bonus tip#2: when carrying lots of backpackers from Berkeley to the Sierra in the summer, I’d top off before leaving the Central Valley both to get the lower price, but also to get the 87-octane “regular” rather than the 85-octane “regular” at elevation.  Usually the 85-octane high-elevation “regular” worked fine at elevation, but with a heavy load and steep climbs, I’d get a little knocking with the lower-octane fuel.

[Roger Caffin]

so you get winter-blend gasoline for easier starting and smoother running.
Same applies to diesel.
After leaving my diesel LandCruiser parked in the snow for a week, the filter filter was so blocked up with wax from summer diesel that the engine could barely run. That was sorted out after very gently cruising downhill with the engine hiccuping for 10 minutes, when the engine bay finally warmed up. A once only event!

Cheers

[David Thomas]

A (risky) hack to make winter diesel is to add 5% gasoline and stir well.

[Roger Caffin]

Risky, and possibly ineffectual. Adding gasoline will not remove the heavier waxes which freeze out. Auto club or Gov’t experiments needed (not fuel companies).
‘Winter diesel’ is supplied to necessary towns in winter here. Same retail price but probably slightly more $$ to refine.

Cheers

[Nick Gatel]

But if bubbling with something like an electric fish-tank bubbler, place any electrical equipment well off the ground (>18″) so as not to ignite the heavy gasoline fumes.  Also, it’s good practice to place such equipment and yourself on the upwind side.

You know more about this stuff than I do (chemistry).

Years ago we were remodeling the station I managed. The new technology was mind-boggling. Dual capture containment basins under the tanks with computerized monitoring equipment.

In the old days the plumbing for the gas pumps came up through the ground. Inside the gas pump housing, the base where the plumbing came out of the ground was dirt. Any leaks from the pump would just drain into the ground. When our new pumps — MPDs (multiple product dispensers) where being installed I noticed there were small containment basins at the base of the MPDs. One of the MPDs had a small leak during testing and filled the basin; probably a gallon or two at most. So the guy goes to his truck and gets a wet/dry vacuum. I stop him and say that looks like a bad idea. Nah, he does it all the time. So I get a chair and sit about 50 feet away and tell him I’ll call 911 when the explosion occurs. Nah, ain’t going to happen. A few seconds later the vacuum is engulfed in flames. While I put the fire out with an extinguisher, I made sure to spray him real good too :)

[Roger Caffin]

While I put the fire out with an extinguisher, I made sure to spray him real good too :)
Ah – did he appreciate it? Either you putting the fire out, or being foamed?

Cheers

[Nick Gatel]

Not happy to be being foamed, but truly embarrassed. Of course I told his boss because they obviously had serious training deficiencies.

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