emergency use of Starlyte Stove

[Diane Pinkers]

I could have just e-mailed Dan Yeruski on this, but I thought I'd throw it out to the community in case someone else had similar questions.

I've been really happy with the Starlyte stove for my regular cook-stove. I've been thinking about purchasing a couple more with the caps, pre-filling them and tossing them into my emergency kit I carry for day hiking. I only have two questions about that:

1) if pre-filled and capped, how long could I reasonably expect the fuel to stay good for? Would it still be usable and unevaporated in a month? 3 months? a year?

2) I usually use this with a Caldera Cone, which I do not carry as an emergency item. For emergency use I have a 600 Snowpeak mug, but how would I suspend it above the stove? I would want something light and foldable/compact. I keep a piece of aluminum foil in the emergency kit for a windscreen, so that would supply the other purpose of the Caldera Cone.

Thanks!

[Dan Yeruski]

I only had the patience to test the capped StarLyte burner for one week. No loss of fuel during that period of time.I would venture to say no loss after one month.

I used a 1" wide strip of brass to make a quick pot support for the StarLyte. You can cut up a soup can to make one. make 2 pieces 1"x2" cut slit 1/2 way down through middle anso you can cross the 2 pices as shown in the photos. Place on top of burner. folds flat for easy storage in emergency kit.

[steven franchuk]

keep in mind that there is a big difference between alcohol and petroleum fuels. Petroleum fuels are mix of different hydrocarbons fuels. Alcohol is Ch3oh (methanol or C2H50h Ethanol, and ideally nothing else.

in petroleum fuel in storage some of it will evaporate while the heavier molecules will be left behind. What is left behind may not w urn well. In other cases all of the fuel will evaporate.

for alcohol if it will either evaporate or stay unchanged in the fuel bottle or stove. Since Alcohol chemically doesn't change as it ages it will stay good indefinitely. So if the fuel doesn't evaporate it should burn just like new fuel.

Note in many places ethanol must be denatured to be sold. denatured means poisoned. Ethanol is typically poisoned by mixing it with gasoline, MEK or other hydrocarbons. If denatured alcohol evaporates the denaturing hydrocarbons may be left behind. How well those burn compared to the original fuel mix is impossible to predict .

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

I've left fuel in a Starlyte for a long time, probably 3-6 mths. I never weighed it before hand so I can't speculate how much was left (I didn't mean to do it), but after a long period there was a reasonable amount of fuel and it worked normally. The only caveat was some white residue on the mesh, which was probably related to the specific fuel being used and posed no functional problem. It could have also been oxidation of the mesh in the continual presence of fuel (pure speculation), which could pose issues if you did this for several years.

[Dale Wambaugh]

I use an alternative setup for a day hike and minimalist overnight cook kit with a Ti Esbit wing stove, a 450ml Ti mug and some aluminum foil for a lid and windscreen. The Esbit makes a good emergency fire starter too. With a folding spoon, it can all fit in the mug.

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