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Which Alcohol stove?

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PostedFeb 24, 2012 at 4:06 pm

I have been a long time proponent of Esbit, but am going to try alcohol. With the plethora of stove designs out there what works well for you? I have tried a "catstove" a simple catfood can with several 1/4" holes around the top. I have also tried the Etowah stove and it was moderately lame in my opinion. The burner didn't seem to have the surface area for adequate heat output. I am looking to use this in the winter but am willing to work with the limitations of alcohol. Any input here?

Nick Gatel BPL Member
PostedFeb 24, 2012 at 4:17 pm

What kind of alcohol stove are you using now? I tried stand alone stoves, but in the end found that a Caldera Cone with Esbit/alcohol capabilities was pretty darn efficient and convenient.

Bob Gross BPL Member
PostedFeb 24, 2012 at 4:21 pm

Either you start with a known cook pot and then work your way out to what kind of burner will work properly, or else you start with a known burner and then work your way out to what kind of cook pot will work properly. Not all cook pots work with all burners.

–B.G.–

Steven Paris BPL Member
PostedFeb 24, 2012 at 4:38 pm

+1 to Bob's comment.

Think about what your main pot is/will be and match the alcohol stove to match.

Bob Gross BPL Member
PostedFeb 24, 2012 at 4:43 pm

Some of that matching is just for diameter, and some of it is for overall heating capacity.

In general, for a narrow cook pot you need a narrow flame pattern. For a broad cook pot, you can probably use a broad flame pattern. If you have a cook pot with a volume of only 600ml, then maybe you want some burner that is small. If the cook pot is 1.5L, then maybe you want a big burner.

If I am only boiling water in a 600ml pot, then often I will take only Esbit. If I am trying to cook something carefully in a big pot, then I take a 12-10 burner with a simmer adjustment on it.

–B.G.–

PostedFeb 24, 2012 at 6:35 pm

I have always used esbit for my stove for most all of my 4K miles. I am just now experimenting with alcohol stoves. We use an Evernew Ti pot, I think about 1 liter, and I use a smaller MSR ti for solo trips. For cooking, we usually just boil, and use a cozy to let our meals cook, so no simmering is really necessary. I may get a larger pot at some point as this is very tight cooking for my wife and I. Much appreciated info here!!

Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)
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