Canister fuel. How many boils?

[Elizabeth Tracy]

I'm used to Esbit, but am trying out my canister stove (a cheap Chinese Snowpeak knock-off) on the next trip.

Is there a rule of thumb for how many days/boils a particular size of canister stove will achieve? Assume a one-person trip.

110g size
220g size
450-500g size

Let's assume I'm making coffee and 1-minute (not instant) oatmeal each morning; and at night, bringing meal to a boil and cooking for 2 minutes.

– Elizabeth

[Philip Tschersich]

I use my Jetboil Sol stove more or less exactly as you outlined (my dinners probably use a little more hot water and I also do a hot drink in the evening), and I use about 16-18g of fuel per day, so a 100g canister lasts me 5 days. My stove may be more efficient than yours though.

Use a sacrificial fuel canister, weigh it, head outside your house, and boil the water you anticipate using each day, and then reweigh the canister. Add 10% use as a safety margin.

[Terry G]

I go back to this article again and again for that info.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/lightweight_canister_stoves_test_report.html

[Billy Ray]

"Use a sacrificial fuel canister, weigh it, head outside your house, and boil the water you anticipate using each day, and then reweigh the canister. Add 10% use as a safety margin."

That method will not necessarily yield good results unless you can be sure you are duplicating the conditions under which you stove will be used on your backpack trip.

For instance, if you are planning a trip to the high mountains where the air temp and water are much colder and the wind often blows hard and you do your testing at sea level with much warmer water, air temp, and no wind your results could be off significantly… MUCH more than 10%

Billy

[Jerry Adams]

220 g is 8 ounces

I use 1 ounce of fuel to boil 4 pints of water

Sometimes a little more fuel depending on conditions

You got to try it yourself though, like others said, in as realistic conditions as possible

[Alex H]

As others have said you need to test it yourself but over the years in varied conditions (mostly cool to cold weather) we have used .4 oz. of fuel/person/meal in group cooking (2 or 3 people sharing one pot meals or boiling water in the morning for coffee and oatmeal, etc.) so that would be 20 boils for an 8 oz. canister for one person. Better mileage in mild conditions. I am using an Optimus Crux with Trail Designs varivent windscreen and 2 qt. Open Country pot

[Billy Ray]

Elizabeth,
It would help if you could state:

1) Where will your trip be?…
2) What time of year?
3) Do you have a windscreen for your canister stove?
4) the quantity of water you want to boil each day.

These variables will have a huge effect on how much fuel you will need.

[James Marco]

I usually figure about an ounce per day for:
Mornings: 28oz (enough for oatmeal and two cups of coffee)
Evenings: 24oz of water (3 cups) plus 2 minutes simmer.

If it is less than 40F in the morning, I add another half ounce. I often have a third cup of coffee or cocoa. But, I need to boil this seperatly. Caffin's Stove is slightly more efficient than that, but I really cannot use a 4oz cannister for 5 days. I can use a 220gm (~8oz) or 240gm container for 8 days, though without extra coffee. Temp is above 40F. Below that, I am often scratching for more hot water.

[Billy Ray]

I use about 24oz of hot water a day. I don't bring it to a full boil; I turn the stove off when it just begins to simmer.

In the High Sierra in the summer where nights are often in the 30's.

I use a wind screen even when there is no wind as it makes the fuel go further.

Under the above conditions, I can get 9 to 12 solo days out of a 4oz canister, depending on how much wind and how cold and how religious I am about turning the stove off before it simmers much.

Billy

[Bob Gross]

Also remember that there are some good butane blends and some others that are bad. If you have one of the bad ones, you will get very poor or zero performance in near-freezing weather, which is when you need the hot water the most.

So, either you buy the good stuff or else you count on carrying one extra canister besides what you expect to use. Keep the extra canister stored for warmth, like inside your sleeping bag overnight. It can't hurt.

–B.G.–

[Betsy Frazier]

Using a Snow Peak stove and a 4 oz canister, I usually get nine days of use. I boil an average of 22 oz of water a day. I kept track of the usage when I hiked the JMT last year.

[Gordon Gray]

I always wondered how long a canister would last. I would end up bringing a spare. No wonder my pack used to be 45lbs…..

After spending 5-10 minutes in cold weather and never seeing it boil using a stove like you described, I decided to get a jet boil. It took 1:28 to boil 16 oz water in 45 degree temps at 9500 feet elevation. Wind isn't an issue with these. I have used the same 3.75 oz canister for 4 overnights. Thats just about 6 days worth (2 diff trips). One was a solo trip and the other 3 of us shared the canister. There is still 50% fuel left. Previously, I would use almost an entire canister for a single 2 night trip.

[Marko Botsaris]

My result are similar to Gordon. I use a jetBoil to BOIL water, not to cook. I can get about 12 liters out of a single small canister under ideal conditions. As a pleasant surprise JetBoil's own specs (10-12) turn out to be reasonably conservative, and not like a Hyundai gas mileage rating. But even though ALL my food can be prepared by soaking in cold water if necessary I still round this way down when planning on a trip. I use at most 1 liter per day (dinner and coffee) for up to 12 days. Frankly I'm not sure I'd ever do a long enough trip between resupplies to ever have to carry more than 1 can. Yes my system is put together around very simple heating needs, but still no comparison with any stove I have ever used for week long or more trips.

The fact that is takes only about 90 second to do a full boil on 2 cups – just the cherry on top.

[Roger Caffin]

We have covered this in many threads and quite a few articles.

However, once again: a 450 g canister is enough fuel for my wife and myself for all cooking for 2 weeks. This has been repeatedly tested over months of walking. YMMV.

Cheers

[Antti Tirilä]

Earlier this summer I made a trip in Finnish Lapland. 5 days and nights. Temperatures ranging from 5C (40F) to around 15C (60F). Water was very cold. Elevation ranging (iirc) from 250m (800ft) to about 700m (2300ft).

I used about 90g from a 220g canister (18g per day). I only boil water, about 1.2-1.5 liters per day.

Windscreen is absolutely essential!

Hope this helps :)

Antti

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