Alcohol stoves

Kathleen, yes, you are reading my chart correctly(although I made a numerical error and just updated the chart). The Snowpeak line would cross the alcohol line if I could get enough burns from a 100gram canister. But at 12 g/burn I can't.
Alan, thank you for noticing my numbers were low; they were for starting weight including a dry canister using algebra.. I actually placed the setups on the scale with a full canister and corrected the numbers. The alcohol setup includes the weight of the same Trek900 pot and caldera used in the canister setup. These are both about the same capacity as the Jetboil. To neglect the pot in these two setups would make the Jetboil seem even heavier. As it is, the canister or alcohol are lighter for short trips.
I'd like to update the chart to calculate total gram-days. Although as Ben says, convenience is also important; If Im rushing out the door to the crag or something I usually grab the Jetboil setup.

Question please? I understand the big steps in your graph, having to carry another canister, but what accounts for the small steps?

"The weight listed is the starting weight, so it does not go down over time. Therefore, the lines are level since you can only get canisters in specific weights. In contrast you can bring any amount of fuel you want for an alcohol stove. This leads to varying starting weights."

Of course you can actually (assuming you have some partially used canisters) start with a less than full canister if you won't be out that long. This would reduce the starting weight of the canister setup

The starting weight is an interesting analysis. Even more interesting is the total system weight over time. I've plotted some graphs for various systems (alchohol/esbit/canister/woodburning) and the results are interesting. For example, an alcohol systems liability (high fuel weight/low fuel efficiency) becomes an asset over time because the fuel is used up at a higher rate. It will generally be the lightest towards the end of a trip. A bushbuddy system will be one of the lightest towards the beginning of a trip but will be heavier towards the end.

For the trips I tend to take (shorter durations) the weight difference between most of these sytems is not that much, so ultimately it comes down to personal choice/style, fiddle factor, etc

> Even more interesting is the total system weight over time

Here are the Average Carry Weight curves per pint of fuel boiled (which is essentially a time sequence assuming you boil a fairly constant amount per day).

BPL does NOT advise boiling stove fuel.

Your charts confirm my experience. I boil 3 pints per night and like to carry a little alcohol in reserve. Without the Caldera Cone I switched from alcohol to canister after 2 nights. With the Caldera I switch to a canister after 4 nights because the convenience of the canister is worth a little weight.

Good graph, thank you.

Hi Brett,

A great forum debate. I hope to contribute when I have a bit more time.

“The Snowpeak line would cross the alcohol line if I could get enough burns from a 100gram canister. But at 12 g/burn I can't. “

I gather that this is for 500ml. 12 g canister gas is a lot of fuel to boil 500 ml water, my testing on my std upright canister stoves uses 5-7g of fuel. My JB uses 4-5g.

Tony