New Stove Gear: Fire Maple 117t and XK6 “HE” Pot
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Okay, we've got a few more outings this year to go, but I thought I'd report in on the utility of the Fire Maple/Olicamp stove/pot rigs we're using for the Scout Troop's backpacking stoves.
We're just back from the annual trek that is actually the progenitor of these stoves for us: our 7-day "High Sierra Fishing Expedition". Last year, we trekked with 6, using two Optimus Cruxi and either the related .9l HE pot/pan or my old 1.2l perc pot for all our cooking, which was either "water" for dehydrated food or trout, chopped into medallions and cooked in the mini pan. We learned that the HE pots heat up faster and are more efficient, particularly with a windscreen, but that Scouts will knock them over and that they're kinda wobble for a skillet larger than the mini-thing we had. We heat water for cleaning/sanitizing spoons and for hot drinks, and planned for 19 boils per canister of fuel. We managed 20 with the perc pot and 22 with the HE pot, using about 30oz for most boils, and we fried up fish four times.
This year, we had 12 on trail, with two of the rigs shown above in this thread, one orange and one blue. We used the aluminum foil windscreens at all times and we brought along a nice, wide MSR skillet for fish this year. I planned 19 boils per canister again, being conservative and knowing we'd be simmering and frying up fish and some vegetables we packed in.
In terms of fuel use, the stoves beat all our predictions, albeit with generally temperate weather at 8900-9800', usually. We used less fuel than last year, with more boils and more fish cooked (the Clark Lake Trout Massacre of 2013 resulted in 8 fish for breakfast one morning).
The stoves are nicely stable and handle the skillet very well. The system is simple and intuitive to those unfamiliar with the stove and it's easier to light for some folks that have trouble with the canister top stove (don't ask me why, this is what they said). They simmer easily and effectively. We determined that a setting of "high but not blasting" is the most effective and efficient use of the stove. We determined that "blasting" is when flame comes out the side vents of the HE fins and kept the stoves operating below that level.
The Olicamp version of the HE pot has imperial markings stamped into it, and the Scouts preferred that "calibration" to the prepared, dehydrated food. The soft, plastic lids require a careful hand if one allows it to get hot from air rushing up the sides of the pot, but this is less of an issue in cool air. The orange, "grip" sections on the Fire Maple's wire bail handles burned and charred for about 1/8" closest to the pot, also from heat charging up the sides of the pot while operating the stove inside the wind screen for that rig, which gives about 1" of draft around the pot. The screen we folded for the Olicamp was longer/larger and we didn't burn anything with that one.
I received the Olicamp Xcelerator Ti stove today. Looks and feels good, but the pivoting pot support arms are a tad loose for my liking. Not overly loose, but I'd like them a bit tighter similar to the action of the leg supports.
Anyways, I figured I'd give the rivet head a whack with a small ball-peen hammer or maybe it would be better to squeeze the rivets with some pliers. Does anyone know the preferred way to tighten up such small aluminum rivets?
Fire Maple is now making a new “Blade 2” remote canister stove, the FMS-117H, which combines the titanium of the 117T with the preheat tube of the 118. No more need for frankenstoves! Quoted weight is 135g (4¾ oz), and it’s just US$35 shipped from China: aliexpress.
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