Caldera Cone stove fuel consumption results from recent 7 day backpack

Thanks for the update, I remember when we were discussing this a few months ago.  Always good to have another data point from the field.  Something very much like the measuring cup you used is including with Children’s liquid Tylenol, Advil, and cough syrup – small and light.

I’m not sure the starlyte is any more efficient.  It is much easier to capture unused fuel though.  And there is no spilling if turned over.  I have never used the 12-10, so I don’t know much about its efficiency.

Greg, I am a little fuzzy on the math.  How many cups did you actual boil with 16 oz of fuel.  Thanks.

Arthur, I didn’t keep a running total, but 6 breakfasts of 5 – 6 cups each (probably closer to 6), 6 dinners of 4 cups, 3 extra lunches of 3 cups each = approximately 68 cups, plus or minus a cup.  We had 16 ounces of fuel and ended the trip with a dab left in the bottle (less than 1/2 ounce).  So the 16 ounces boiled 67 to 69 cups, that’s boiling slightly more than 4 cups per ounce, or needing slightly less than one ounce of fuel to boil 4 cups of water.  (68/16 = 4.25 cups boiled per ounce of fuel, or 0.94 ounces of fuel needed to boil 4 cups of water)

As I said, I would put 1 ounce of fuel into the stove, 4 cups of water in the pot, and fire it up. 13-14 minutes later, it’s boiling, I put the stove out, let it cool and then pour extra (fraction of an ounce) back into the fuel bottle.

Good info, thanks

Thanks for sharing this. I use more fuel I think than you do with my Trail Designs Calder Cone stove but I am probably a bit more haphazard with my measuring. I think IIRC I use ~13 ml (0.45 fluid ounces) per cup of water (~250 ml)

Andrew, something I didn’t do: Run fuel consumption tests on smaller quantities than 4 cups of water.  I’m not sure it would be the same ratio.  In other words, can I boil 2 cups of water using 1/2 ounce of fuel?  Maybe, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it takes slightly more than a half ounce.  On the occasions where I did boil only 2 cups instead of 4, I believe I put more than 1/2 ounce in the stove, but then had some left over, so I don’t have an exact amount for that.  And boiling only 1 cup at a time might be even more in that direction, that is, taking substantially more than 1/4 ounce.

I like using the round coffee creamer cups without the pouring lip to measure my alcohol (2 cups = 1 ounce).  The creamer cup nest nicely inside the 2/10 stove and is flush with the opening.   It helps maximize storage space.

“The denatured alcohol that I used leaves a lacquer-like residue that I’m not crazy about, nor crazy about its smell. ”

That’s what I found with a few brands of denatured. They always burned different. Some had yellow flames. For consistent results with no-lacquer results the classic yellow HEET or the generic brand from Walmart works best and consistently.

“The completely silent operation of the stove is a nice feature after having spent many years using noisy butane and gas stoves. ”

Amen. Silent cooking is amazing.

“…and the unburned fuel would pour down into the measuring cup that I could then pour back into my fuel bottle.”

Cool!

What were the temperatures you were cooking at?

Thanx,

-Barry

Hi Barry,

Thanks for the HEET tip!  I’ll try it.  I suspect it’s a lot less expensive than going with 190 proof ethyl alcohol (if I can even find it!).

Morning (breakfast time) temps were in the 30’s.  We had frost a couple of mornings.  We’re early risers, up at first light, so I’m boiling the breakfast water at the coldest time of day.  Main meal temps were in 50’s or 60’s.  We usually cooked our dinner meal at midday.

Greg, I think you have a point about the quantity now that I think about it. I may use a little bit less when I boil a full pot (two cups basically). Need to take note next time.

13ml DA for one cup is high consumption!

Accurate testing is in order.