Melting Snow Setup

I've used my MSR Int'l for years, but with a much smaller pot. From posts here, the larger pot is supposed to be more efficient. On a snow trip last winter with mostly folks I had not camped with before, they mostly had Simmerlites, not sure why. If one gets something in a group, the others follow along in many cases if they all like it. I'm branching out to other stoves (collect them now) that I have to see how they do in winter conditions. I've got so many, I have to take two at a time to get occasional use out of them and as a backup to each other. I like to bring two containers like you for water so I'm not always out.
Duane

> MSR Simmerlite and a BPL Firelite 1100 pot
Sure. But double the fuel allowance.

cheers

Here's a chemical engineering trick for more output:

Use one pot as the lid to another. Melt snow for cold water in the upper pot.

Make boiling water in the bottom pot.

Especially if you simmer for a while, you're get some free melting in the top pot (and less steam in your tent or on your hand as you reach for the pots).

> Would you guys recommend that I use a bigger wider pot?
If at all possible, yes. 150 mm (6") is much better.

Cheers

I have a very cheap 1.5L (51 oz) al pot for that , 5" wide. 155g (5.4oz)
6" would be better.

Fill the pot with snow then add some water to it.
Always try to have some water to start melting snow.
Try priming it with alcohol. (less of a flare up start…)
Franco

I have the open country pot from REI, its a good one, totally bomber — and cheap!. I use it for family camping. Also, check out fourdog.com, they have some affordable alum pots, tho can't remember sizes.

I haven't had a problem with the tabs in my backpack, and the tabs are great at keeping the handle up and in place when in use. I have a little stacking system I put together and then shove it all in a USPS tyvek envelope — so that keeps everything protected (and clean, if you put pot on fire, which i do, then it gets charred and dirty). Its a fairly light pot too, lighter than the official specs if I remember right. Could lighten further by using a cut pie pan for a lid.

I use that Open Country 2 liter pot for winter too. I left the tabs/bail on. The bottom of the pot will deform a little over a campfire, but I don't mind. I also have an even larger 4 liter one I use for family backpacking.

Last year I looked around for a 2 qt pot for snow melting to possibly replace my old Sigg Tourist sets. I have 2 Sigg sets. One with a special wind screen for my old Svea 123, that is retired; and one without that I normally use with a Whisperlite or Dragonfly in winter. Really couldn't find anything. Either they had bails, teflon coating or something that didn't appeal to me. Finally decided that the old Siggs were still the cat's meow.

You might want to try and find a Sigg Tourist set on eBay. My complete Sigg set-up with a 1.25 qt pot, 1.75 qt pot, fry pan/lid, and pot handle weighs just under 16 ounces for everything. The bottom of the 1.75 pot is stepped running from 6" at the flat of the bottom to just over 7" in diameter about a 1/4" up from the bottom.

Here are a some pictures

Sigg Tourist and Dragonfly. The Whisperlite is inside the pot set.

Here are all the pieces. The large pot is on the stove. That thing in the front is a base for MSR stoves, which I have never actually used. Too heavy.

This is my Whisperlite inside the two pots.

Anyway, I couldn't find anything on the market better than the Sigg set up.

Nick, very clean WL, great yeller pump. !!! Woohoo!
Duane

I am pretty meticulous about cleaning and maintaining my gear, vehicles, etc.

:)

I forgot to mention also, that the WL you have is one of the old ones with the non-brass? woven fuel line. Nice job.
Duane

> Here’s a chemical engineering trick for more output:

Use one pot as the lid to another. Melt snow for cold water in the upper pot.

Make boiling water in the bottom pot.

Especially if you simmer for a while, you’re get some free melting in the top pot (and less steam in your tent or on your hand as you reach for the pots).

Now, that is a good idea. Not that I like carrying an extra pot, but why not have water with two different temperatures (drinking vs. cooking) and gain some efficiency.

@Nick, great old Whisperlite. Take good care of that one. It’s one of the originals from ca. 1984. It can actually simmer whereas the redesigned Whisperlites with a shaker jet really struggle to simmer.

HJ
Adventures In Stoving

In winter I am finding fuel easily and quickly overwhelms the weight I cam carrying in gear if I am out for several days.

I just picked up a MSR reactor and used it for 6 days in -15 – -5C (0 – 20F) temperatures and, once you figure out how to warm up the canister, that thing boils quick. Part of the reason why I bought the setup was I heard you can use the pot with a Wisperlite and when I tested it worked great.

The pot is indeed a lot heaver (10.5 oz or about 4 oz heaver) than my old one but when I calculate the daily fuel consumption it makes up for it quickly. I calculated I will go from needing 8FLoz of white gas a day to around 5FLoz which saves me about 2.5 oz in weight for every days of fuel I need to carry. Also there is still wasted heat so I think I can boost it up some more if I can make some sort of corrugated metal wrap for the pot to channel the still hot gases along the side. It will add weight but for my longer trips or those where the stove is shared I will still end up ahead.

Primus also make a "eta" line of pots with built in heat exchangers.

We used a reactor in the Alaska Range and were very impressed over the whisperlite and superflys we have used before, as well as over jetboils, though apparently others have no problem with the jetboil climbing. The ability to use the reactor perched on my lap in a snowcave was helpful and the carbon monoxide didn't get us, as I'd heard warned was a problem with earlier versions of the stove. It's a snow melting machine. I am bummed about the wasteful pressurized gas container disposability.

I use a JB 1.5 L. pot because the bottom fins seem to be more efficient with my MSR Dragonfly and windscreen. Not so much with my WindPro, for some reason. Maybe even at 28 F. the WindPro W/MSR canister is not giving the same BTUs as the Dragonfly.

OP- Backcountry.com has a two liter titanium pot without non stick but with handles for $59. On my scale, the pot weighs 5 oz, the ti lid 2 oz and the plastic lid weighs 1 oz. I tossed the plastic lid.

The photos make the pot look like it may have a rounded bottom but not so, it is just a normally shaped pot. I have one and like it.

http://www.backcountry.com/snow-peak-cook-and-save-titanium-pot