Short trips, boil or filter water? Old stove pics

In the first photo, is that a model GK?

–B.G.–

MF Bob, note the flat generator over the burner.
Duane

I guess I can't tell from the photo that the pre-heat tube is flat.

–B.G.–

Ya really gotta look. The GK does not have the generator over the burner too. When buying on eBay, some pics were hard to see what stove was up.
Duane

"The GK does not have the generator over the burner too."

That's interesting. My model GK does.

My model G does not, of course.

–B.G.–

Duane,
As far as fuel consumption, the stove appears to have an older vortex type burner. The mixer is actually part of the burner head. This is efficient at low heats but looses some efficiency as the flame flaps around inside the burner. It gets too much air mixed and actually cools the flame a bit, not that most would notice. On lower heat levels, the jet forms more of a continuous flame, without the flapping and noise usually associated with these types of burners.

You're right Bob, the G was what I was thinking, the GK changed. So many models to recall all the info. I have multiples of the oldies. Some have different colored shells, others the catch arm is different. The MF here is blue, I have a gray one also.
Duane

I gotta say, whenever I've had to disinfect my drinking water by boiling it, the experience has certainly not been more fun than either filtering or chemically treating the water.

I find that there are all sorts of logistical problems with purifying water through the boiling method, but I'll name just a few:

1) It takes forever (not only do you have to boil the water, but then you have to let it cool down, which takes longer than most people think!)

2) Most pots are really not big enough to boil more than about 1 liter at a time, a big problem when you are trying to fill up all your water containers.

3) It's just not very weight efficient. I know the OP mentioned otherwise, but in my experience, it takes much more fuel weight to boil water than it would to just bring some chemical treatment along instead.

4) It just takes way more effort, plain and simple.

My advice would just be to procure two 5mL (or 3mL) dropper bottles, fill them up with the Aquamira part A and B solutions respectively, then call it good. This entire system weighs about an ounce and will treat over 35 liters of water (or around 20 liters with the 3mL dropper bottles).

To me this one is just a no-brainer. Boiling water for purification has always been an option of last resort for me. It's nice to know I can do it if all my other means of purifying water fail (and in this regard, it's saved my butt a few times), but I really don't want to be forced use this method I can help it.

Of course, YMMV.

I would agree that chemical treatment of water is much lighter. I don't care for the taste of the Aqua Mira, but I was using such light gear on this trip, an extra few pounds was no big deal. On this trip, since I had to take a stove, instead of a no thrill isobutane stove like a Giga Power or Micro Rocket, I chose to bring an oldie, my MF. Boiling was not a chore, just quality time with an old stove. :) That is more of what it is about for me the last few years since I started collecting old camping and bping stoves. Most I had never heard of before, so now I can see why they were so popular back in the 40's onward. If fire restrictions are not in place, I'll bring my Caldera Cone with the 12-10 stove to cut weight for my week long vacation trips. Just saying, if a stove of this type has to be taken anyway, a little extra fuel seems it would be lighter than say my old First Need or old, original Hiker filter if going with a full size filter. I guess I'll have to update to a Sawyer filter some time.
Duane

I agree.. Sawyer all the way. It probably weighs similar to an empty white gas bottle. Which leaves you the option for many many days worth of Isobutane in 100g (a few weeks if you only cook dinner)

boiled water also has a weird flat taste to it unless you add mix to it.(which i do anyway but i'd rather filter)

"boiled water also has a weird flat taste to it"

I forgot to mention this in my list of cons when using the boiling method to disinfect water.

I suspect that this flat taste is due to most of the dissolved gases leaving the water during the boil (as temperature increases, the amount of dissolved gas that a given volume of water can hold decreases).

Sounds like the OP knows what's up though, and simply likes giving his collection of stoves some use. Can't find any fault with that :)

Agreed about the flat taste of boiled water. It is better than no water at all, though. That is one good thing about travel in some of the rougher trails of Asia. You can taste if the water has been boiled, and that makes it relatively safe.

It's pretty easy to disguise the flat taste with just the smallest bit of beverage flavoring, and then shake it up a lot.

In some of the safer parts of California, I rely on filtering most of the time. If I have any failure or difficulty with that, I switch to some chemical treatment as a backup. If I have run out of chemicals, then I might switch to boiling, but that would depend on having plenty of fuel.

–B.G.–

I was melting snow late last winter on one weekend trip, a few miles from home and chose a couple brass Primus 210's that use kerosene. So I could pile the snow into my pot more, I left the lid off. Mistake, kero tasting water. Yuck. I just bought a 1.3 L Evernew ti pot for snow trips, so I should be fine now. Years back when I cooked over small fires in my early days of bping, I boiled the water per FS instructions, as the small lake I was at had some tannin colored water. Thinking it wasn't good, I boiled it for 10 minutes over my fire per the FS info. That was the worst tasting water I have ever drank. Plus, I only had a folding handle frying pan w/o a lid. That was back in the 70's. when fires were still allowed in the Desolation Wilderness. Aqua Mira would taste pretty good compared to smoky water.
Duane