Help with cook kit – trying to move to alcohol

Zach, Zelph only made a handful of them.

My son’s Imusa kit burns clean with a QiWiz windscreen and stand (the bent screen one). He uses a DIY Gram Cracker or a Zelph Esbitimizer. I’ve not used the QiWiz stove but in Esbit mode it would be about 1cm lower than the stoves we use  I wonder what would happen if you tried it again with the a small rock under the Esbit tray?

.Best Backpacking Stove System – Trail Designs Caldera vs. JetBoil .

.Gear List || 3-Season Stoves || System 2: The Cadillac .

.TD Sidewinder Caldera Cone & the 0.9L Evernew “UL” Ti Cook Pot .

.The Starlyte & The 12-10 .

I have had many stoves and pots over the years and my favorite is the Caldera Cone Ti Tri Sidewinder with Zelph Starlyte stove with either the Evernew 600 or 900 pot depending on the trip, it’s more efficient because the pot sets all the way down inside the windscreen and the windscreen and stove fit inside the pot, it is a short wide pot which is also more efficient for heating and I can use esbit, alcohol or wood as fuel.

I’m with Link.  I have a cone with a 900 ml Toaks.  It is really a lot more efficient.  It is not particularly fast.  Just start your water first thing and get to a few other chores and it’s not a waste of time though.  I have almost never had nothing I needed to be doing while my pot was boiling.

I may just need to have a few kits and decide before my trip (obviously I have to anyway based on what food I bring)

Bingo.

Very rare is the ULer who has only one system. :-)

And there’s something to be said for experimenting with different systems and fuels to become ‘fluent’ with all of them.

Over time I have gravitated to the Open Country 3-cup aluminum pot and Fancee Feest stove/pot support and an aluminum windscreen. Easily boils 3 cups of cold water with 30ml alcohol, which is my personal “Goldilocks zone” for hot water needs. That Open Country pot is no longer available, however the Toaks 900ml wide-bottom is the closest substitute I have found.

In the month of October I will resume manufacturing kits utilizing the Toaks light weight pots. I will be moving south(Columbus, MS) for the winter again in 2 weeks. I’ll be at US Army Corps of Engineers DeWayne Hayes Recreational Area. I’ll be hosting(RV’ing) in the Day Use Area.

The 900ml pot sounds like a good one to place a ridge onto. I’ll have to experiment. I should be able to modify the long handles to half their length for weight reduction ;-)

I have toaks 600 kits available with long handles and will experiment with shortening the handles. The kits are not listed on my site, been too busy ;)

I’m conflicted hearing this news, Dan. On one hand, my 550 Toaks from you is one of two pieces of gear that I am 100% happy with and will never sell. On the other hand, I wonder if one of these would be even more better…

matthew king

The volume of the Starlyte Burner is insufficient  for the 900. I’d have to make a larger version which is no problem. it would be the same diameter as the “companion burner” only shorter. Body made of aluminum.

posts being rejected somehow – maybe I’m on double secret probation or you can’t send photos that I’ve downloaded from Zelph’s site.  I’ll get to the point this time, and sorry if my other longer posts appear later.

I like this kit for the 650, but you need to add the indent in the pot to use the shorter cone.  Great if you are buying new and can wait.

But you already have the pot, lid and windscreen that are nearly the lightest out there for 650 ml.  Consider one of the stoves with a built-in pot stand, like the Zelph Fancee Feest or Batchstovez Gram Weenie Pro – both good for narrow pots.  If you are willing add a few stakes to your windscreen to make an integrated pot stand and try Zelph’s modified Starlyte with lid, which allows you to conserve unused fuel.

Dan, why would your Starlyte be too small for a 900 ml pot? I’m using it on an 1 liter pot with no problems (though a lightbulb just flicked on that I’m never boiling a full liter with alcohol.) Was there a smaller Starlyte you sold with that kit or do you just feel it’s optimised for a smaller pot?

Thanks for any input.

DC,  a few reports are coming back to me via Trail Designs saying the burner is starting to leak around the seam where it’s joined with Super Glue.  When the burner is filled to the top for large amounts of water, it becomes fuellogged hehe new word. When lit, the liquid fuel heats up, expands and overflows down the sides of the burner causing the burner to be engulfed in flames for a space of time. That large amount of heat causes the seam/burner to expand and break the seal.

The Starlyte burner with cap was designed for Dan Durston when he was maximizing his 2 cup system with the Caldera Cone. Storing the TD Cone sideways in the pot worked so well TD wanted in and the rest is history.

The most reliable system I have is the Caldera either the Ti-Tri of the Fissure. The Ti-Tri is slightly more fuel efficient as it works with the 900ml wide/flat pot vs the taller mug style. However the taller mug style is better as an overall vessel as I can use it as a mug, leaving my dedicated mug behind. Both systems also allow wood burning as a backup fuel source. Used with a modified Starlyte my burn times are sub 10 for 500ml.

Ti-Tri Fissure, Stakes, Floor, Starlyte in ziplock: 3.97 oz

Ti-Tri Sidewinder, Stakes, Floor, Starlyte in ziplock: 2.93oz

My homemade short windscreens have not been nearly as efficient, I am making a short cone design shortly to test that out with a Vargo 750 tilite pot (an actual 750ml with room to spare) if it works it would make an ideal solo pot for a meal plus hot beverage.

The Starlyte Burner will hold in suspension 1.5 ounces of fuel, no more. There are people out there that are not measuring, just filling it so as to see liquid fuel setting on top of the screen. I’m a realist, I know what goes on out there. The more I burn, the more I learn :-) I think it was minibull that coined that ;) I caution against over filling, you will regret it. If your burner begins to have flames come out it’s side, then it’s time to reseal it with Super Glue.  You have to remember, the burner is not pressurized, no flames should come out the side. Pass this information for me please to other sites, friends and relatives :-)

I pulled the handles off my pot and got 3.5 oz total weight with the following:

650ml Toaks LIGHT Ti pot

QiWiz pot stand

QiWiz Ti windscreen pulled tight to the pot, with a paperclip to hold it together

QiWiz floor plate

CF pot lid

Modified StarLyte stove (based on spec weight)

Zpacks ditty bag

There’s room for everything inside the pot, including the stove, lighter, spoon and fuel bottle. Total volume is 3.75″ dia. x 3.75″ tall

I’m still looking at other options, but in the meantime, this may be my setup. I think the 650ml pot allows for room to easily rehydrate my meal in the pot if I want.

That sounds like a great setup. Enjoy!

I have the Fancee Feast stove by Zelph, as shown in Shug Emery’s video. It’s a great stove, especially with narrow pots.

I quote Richard Cullip from a thread started by Dan Durston;

Dan – that’s exactly what I’ve done with your Fancee Feest stove. I’ve cut down a cone to just the height needed to fit inside my Evernew Ultralight Ti pot (the wide 900ml version) and I’m using the pot support on the Fancee Feest stove to hold the pot. This has given me a nice compact light-weight cooking setup with a minimum of parts to lose. Everything fits inside the pot. So far it’s working for me and, in side-by-side tests, I’m getting similar boil times and fuel efficiencies as my bulkier Caldera Cone and 12-10 stove setup.

Reco on pot cozy?

I’ve seen Antigravitygear’s ~0.6 oz setup:

https://www.antigravitygear.com/shop/cozy-collection/antigravitygear-pot-cozy/

I remember seeing something about a carbon felt lid insulator as well.

Shug on cozy construction.

Super easy to make, and the pot in the cozy will still fit in the orange mesh stuff sack.  I’m sure AGG would be good too.

Gossamer gear had one that looked really nicend replaces the stuff sack.

Zach,
There are a large number of fuels.
Canister:~200000 (petroleum/manufactured)
WG/Car Unleaded/Kero: ~19500-20000BTU (all petroleum products)
Esbit: ~13000BTU (manufactured)
Ethanol: ~12000BTU (natural/distilled)
Methanol: ~9500BTU (Yellow HEET, petroleum byproducts)
As you can see, alky is not the best for weight/BTU. Canisters add the weight of the can and recycle problems. WG, et al, can be carried in a plastic soda bottle but requires a heavy stove, offsetting it’s advantage on short,ie <five to seven day, trips. Esbit burns a bit sooty and smelly (formaldehyde?) Good ethanol is taxed as a liquor in the USA. Methanol has the most weight for heat produced.

Going for a 3-5min burn with alcohol will reduce efficiency. With all fuels, as a general rule, the faster you burn, the more heat is lost to the outside air. Boiling with slightly more than 1/2oz ethanol, a 9-11 minute boil for 2 cups@around 34F(ice water) to 210F is, all around, the best, with the Caldera Cone burning best around 11-13min (because it traps exhaust heat, offsetting heat losses.) (40-50 test runs. All consistently between 9-11min. I used a grease pot (Stanco) with heat exchanger and lid for all test runs with a variety of stoves. https://www.shcsupply.com/products/grease-strainer-cup-lid%7C758464.html)

The 12/10 stove burns hotter than that. It WILL consistently boil 2 cups in ~5min using 5/8-3/4oz ethanol. But that stove does require “blooming.”
IFF you change parameters, you change efficiency (fuel consumption is usually used for comparisons, but time is also used.)

WG works well in a BrassLite Stove. It does produce some soot but the chimney design keeps 3/8oz fuel from boiling over. More will ruin the stove, however. Keeping to ~3/8oz fuel, it WILL boil 2 cups water in 5 min.

Hi James Marco,

Boiling with slightly more than 1/2oz ethanol, a 9-11 minute boil for 2 cups@around 34F(ice water) to 210F is, all around, the best, with the Caldera Cone burning best around 11-13min (because it traps exhaust heat, offsetting heat losses.) (40-50 test runs. All consistently between 9-11min.

Are you saying this for a Starlyte?  If so, is it standard or modified?  Love the rigorous testing, but would like to understand if you insulate (from ground) or raise the Starlyte under the pot, or does it matter since most of the heat is trapped?

Thanks,

Zach…you will have a great cook kit.  I usually plan to cook with alcohol, but bring an esbit tablet and gram cracker or BGET just in case – my trip is extended, or in one case, I just forgot the alcohol bottle in the garage (Doh!)  I still use canisters sometimes because the boy scouts don’t like alcohol – I think mainly due to potential spills with 11 year olds, and anyway the many-year drought in SoCal has some areas requiring canister stoves.  When I can I use an alcohol stove and the extra time has never been an issue.