Optimising alcohol fuel usage

[Franco Darioli]

Often I see people commenting that they use the Trangia because you can easily recover left over fuel from it.
So I shot a quick video to show that it can be done with most stoves.

video
Franco

[Kevin Beeden]

Of course, the alternative is to measure the fuel and water, and know how your burner performs…

With a Trangia burner, you can just screw the cap on, and no need to recover fuel between burns. Not a good idea to leave fuel in the burner for any great length of time, as it tends to rot the brass…

[Franco Darioli]

The problem with measuring the fuel and water is that every time the temperature of the water changes and factoring in some wind you may end up having just not enough fuel or a bit too much.
Now if you multiply that for 3 burns a day by say 5 days it can make a difference.
And that was the point of the video.
Franco

[Bob Gross]

"And that was the point of the video."

That, and also the cat's walk-on part.

–B.G.–

[Al Nichols]

I just cut the bottom half of a 24 oz Molson can; when my water has reached boiling point I take it off of the fire and drop the Molson can, upside down, onto the stove. It puts out the fire. Then, after the stove has cooled, I flip both the stove and the can over and recover the unburned alcohol and pour it back into my fuel bottle. Now how hard is that????

Al

[M B]

You cant figure out exactly how much you will need in all conditions. Wind can make it require 50% more than no wind. Water temp doesnt really matter much, 40 degree water may take 1-2 min more to heat than 70 degree water , which is about ~.1oz fuel for 2 cups.

Just add extra fuel and recover it. Unless somehow you have a stove that wont. You need a snuffer can for some designs (sideburner especially). I like a tealight because just remove the pot stand with a twig and snuff it with a small piece of aluminum foil or pot lid or anything else handy thats flat and covers top for just a sec..

[Kevin Beeden]

Franco,

Yes, you're right, of course. But I find that I can accommodate for the variability with experience.

The snuffer and fuel recovery is a straightforward alternative to relying on experience.

I guess the cat was saying "where's the Cat stove, Franco?"…

[Franco Darioli]

Hi Kevin
I do have several cat stoves , but the 10-20 works best for me.
My cats always hang around when I fiddle with my gear in the backyard.
This one likes to sleep inside the vestibule of my tents , her mother inside the inner..
Franco

[Author]

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