Snow Peak and Starlyte Advice?

[David K]

I recently got a Snow Peak titanium cook set and the newest Starlyte alcohol stove, the Pop-N-Lock.  Took them out this weekend and for the life of me couldn’t boil water.  I had a wind screen around the stove that doubles as the pot rest to keep the optimal distance.  First I tried to boil 2 cups of water.  After 20 minutes and an ounce of Everclear I settled for hot water.  Then I tried 3 cups the next night.  30 minutes later and 2.5 ounces in, STILL NO BOIL!  Finally I decided to try to boil 1 cup of water.  A full ounce of Everclear and 15 minutes in, still just hot water.

In the past I’ve used aluminum cookware and a Trangia stove and never had a problem getting 2 cups to boil with 0.5 oz of Everclet in about 6-7 minutes.

Am I missing something crucial here?!

[Matthew / BPL]

Are you sure it was at the optimal distance between stove and pot? How far was it?

[Roger Caffin]

Something is obviously wrong.
But we will need several photos of your set-up before we can help.

Cheers

[Erik Hagen]

I’m wondering if the fuel source was compromised.  Do you have teenagers?

[Matthew / BPL]

Whoops I missed the Everclear detail. Do you have the 190 proof or the 150? I don’t think the 190 is available in my state any more.

[David K]

I’m having trouble figuring out how to attach photos but the pot is about 1.25″ above the flame.  The Everclear is 190 proof and I definitely don’t have teenagers diluting it :-D

[David K]

Hi Roger, I can’t for the life of me figure out how to attach photos from my phone

[David K]

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[David K]

[David K]

[Roger Caffin]

I doubt that there is enough air coming in. I suggest you remove the clip-on lid from underneath and put burner on the floor/deck/wherever and try again.

Cheers

[Bob Shuff]

This size pot would work really well with a Fancee Feest stove.  I would still have a separate loose fitting windscreen, but that’s neither here nor there.  I wasn’t aware of this option for the starlyte.  I have the plastic cap version that works great inside a Caldera Cone windscreen.  It says it excels inside in a high-heat, low-oxygen environment like that.

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

That dog don’t hunt. Wait for Dan to chime in to tell you why.  My 2 cents.

[ij395]

Boil 3 cups why don’t use a smaller pot. Heat loose quickly through such a large pot for only 3 cups.

[David K]

So I just tried an experiment.  The Starlyte took 0.75 oz of Everclear to boil 2 cups of water in 12.5 minutes.  My Trangia boiled the same amount of water in the same pot in 6 minutes using only 0.5 oz of Everclear.  It’s not the pot, it’s the stove.  It looks like I have to hunt for another stove in the Trangia style but much lighter.

[Mole J]

 

Never heard Jon’s saying before, but it’s very apt!

That near solid  potstand is the issue. Not the stove.

 

[DAN-Y/FANCEE FEEST]

So I just tried an experiment.  The Starlyte took 0.75 oz of Everclear to boil 2 cups of water in 12.5 minutes.  My Trangia boiled the same amount of water in the same pot in 6 minutes using only 0.5 oz of Everclear.  It’s not the pot, it’s the stove.  It looks like I have to hunt for another stove in the Trangia style but much lighter.

 

0.75 oz of Everclear to boil 2 cups of water in 12.5 minutes is doing just fine for the size of pot you’re using.

Do as Roger suggests, remove lid from under the burner to allow more oxygen in.

Return the stove and I will give a full refund.

You’re looking for speed. You need a canister stove. Yon has the Kovia Spider

https://www.flatcatgear.com/shop/kovea-spider-remote-canister-stove-canister-can-be-inverted/

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

Dan,

Really?

Back to using Yon again?  In the present climate you should know better than that.  My 2 cents.

[DAN-Y/FANCEE FEEST]

Believe it or not….I came back to check on the spelling and low and behold you were quick on the draw. I am truly sorry.

 

[David K]

3 cups fills the pot over half way.  4 cups is just below the rim

[David K]

Hi Dan,

I still like the stove and I’m experimenting with different heights.  Using a different pot stand and increasing the distance to about 2.5″ got me a boil in 7.5 minutes with 0.625 fl oz of Everclear.  Much better.  I think 2″ above the stove will be the ideal height and I’ll probably be able to just barely get a boil of room temp water with 0.5 oz in about 6 min, which is the longest the flame will last.

 

I appreciate the offer of a refund but you gave me a really good deal on BCUSA and frankly it would be just as much of a pain to send it back.  I bought it knowing that it was a new design.  I’ll keep the stove and experiment and report back on what I manage to figure out.  :-)

 

As for the Spider, it looks really cool.  For liquid fuel I have a Whisperlite International That has served me well for years.  A bit heavy, especially with the canister, but still great.  I’ve been avoiding canister stoves because I can’t support the waste of throwing out half full containers or carrying multiple ones for when one runs out and not knowing how much I have left in one, etc.  A lot of people like them, I haven’t used them, but they seem to be a PITA in many ways.  I’m open to changing that opinion though if someone has different information

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

To get good fuel efficiency, you need to approach this at the system level.  IMO, its not the stove, its your pot stand.  The stove is a well know design with a lot of history.  Your potstand on the other hand is more than likely causing you problems.  What you have is an extremly small “burner volume”.  Picture a 100 watt lightbulb in a 10’by 10′ room.  No noticable impact.  Put the same lightbulb in a 12′ by 12′ box; the bax gets warm.  What you have is someone cupping a lightbulb in their bare hands (and cutting off airflow).

If you are going to experiment, switch to a wirecloth pot stand that is close to the width of you pot (you can always make it smaller).  then test the system and I think that you will find great improvements in performance.  then you can optimize the height.  My 2 cents.

[Pedestrian]

“I came back to check on the spelling and low and behold”

I don’t got no dog in this fight…….

But, the spelling still ain’t right…..

 

 

 

[Bob Shuff]

I’m not a stove professional like Jon and Dan, but I have their stoves and a lot more.  They are the experts for alcohol stoves in my opinion.  Spiguyver and PaleoHikerMD also put out a lot of Youtube videos recently testing various stoves.

For the canister concerns, you can get a one way valve to consolidate partial canisters into one.  That gives me piece of mind when I’m starting off on a trip that the canister I have is full based on it’s weight.  You have to be careful not to overfill, and don’t use Propane.   We had a dry year in CA and already I’m seeing the seasonal rules go into affect.  It can be debated, but being part of the BSA we want Scouts to use canisters or solid fuel anyway.  The Kovea Spider (with one of Jon’s screens) is my favorite for boy scout trips if they are going to operate the stove.  I have a Soto Windmaster that I’ve only used once.  You can go lighter with a BSR stove as well.

With the bigger pot, I still recommend a Fancee Feest (from Dan), a Bobcat system (from Jon) or a Caldera Cone from Trail design with your Starlyte.  For canister stoves I like Kovea Spider – which can also work with the Bobcat screen or a plenty of other aluminum, Ti or even carbon felt windscreens to improve efficiency.

[Roger Caffin]

>> I can’t support the waste of throwing out half full containers
Neither can I!

Get a really empty (MT) canister and weigh it.
Figure out how much fuel you need per day from past trips. (30 g/day for the 2 of us)
Weigh your partly-used canister, subtract MT weight, get remaining fuel
Divide ‘remaining fuel’ by ‘per-day’ and that will tell you how long the canister can go.

Or get a refilling adapter from ebay and top up half-full ones. Do NOT overfill!

Cheers

[Author]

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